The University of Michigan-Flint is set to start an intercollegiate sports program before the start of the fall 2028 semester. This follows the BLUEprint 2031 plan, which aims to grow enrollment and student opportunities on the UM-Flint campus. The proposed program would allow for existing teams at the college to move into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics division.
The NAIA was founded in 1940 and is the current governing body for small colleges and universities in North America. The NAIA program also allows students at various universities such as UM-Flint to compete for grant equivalencies, which are taken in lieu of scholarships.
Director of Recreational Services at UM-Flint, Julia Stulock, said that the university will choose which teams are moved into the NAIA category. Those teams will be different from programs such as club sports or intramural sports, although those programs will continue to exist.
“NAIA teams are selected by the University and influenced by a variety of factors, including conference sport offerings,” Stulock said. Club Sports are student organizations. As always, club sport teams will continue to exist as long as student leaders keep them running, and there’s enough interest to field a team.”
The university is also currently looking to develop a new athletics department and add the position of Athletics Director, which would allow for more expansion in this space. Connor Quigley, member services & student development manager with the Division of Student Affairs at UM-Flint, said that this will not change any of the current procedures with already existing clubs.
“The NAIA teams will be overseen by the new Athletic Department, not the Recreational Services department. The majority of these teams are being created brand new, not moved over from the Club teams, so a varsity and club team in the same sport can coexist on campus,” Quigley said. “The main effect is going to come in facility scheduling as Athletics and Recreational Services will be sharing spaces on campus.”
In a statement from UM-Flint News, Chancellor Laurence B. Alexander said that this program will allow for new opportunities for student-athletes at UM-Flint.
“Intercollegiate athletics will create new opportunities for student-athletes, strengthen students’ sense of belonging and pride, and bring our campus and community together,” Alexander said. By helping us reimagine the Recreation Center and establish a strong foundation for athletics, this gift will also build momentum as we seek additional partners who share our vision for a thriving university and a thriving Flint.”
The current athletics programs with NAIA are Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Cross Country and Golf, as well as Women’s Volleyball. The Men’s Hockey team at UM-Flint will be moving into D1 status.
“The only existing team that’s moving to varsity is D1 hockey, which really is a special circumstance,” Stulock said. “They are already competing in the same governing body & division (ACHA D1) as other NAIA varsity programs in the WHAC. This circumstance doesn’t exist for any other club teams.”
There is no current statement on how this will affect pricing for all future events.
Maxwell Loxton is a writer for the Michigan Times he can be reached at mloxton@umich.edu.
