URBANA — Two years down and one to go.

That’s the new battle cry at Urbana University, which had a lot to celebrate Thursday, July 9, as it received official notice that the NCAA Membership Committee had approved the school’s transition to a Division II provisional membership.

“It’s a tremendous boost for Urbana University,” said Blue Knights Athletic Director Doug Young, whose school had been in the NAIA until 2007. “The entire thing has been a team effort by the entire campus community.”

Urbana University’s sports teams have for the last two years been playing NCAA D-II schools and ramping up its compliance and academic services as part of a mandatory candidacy phase.

So this is not just good news for Urbana athletes.

“When we took on this challenge, we did it with the betterment of all our students in mind, not just the student-athletes,” Young said. “To provide everyone with the opportunity to be a success.

“This provides a higher level of image and quality of education.”

While Thursday’s announcement might have appeared as merely formal, there was some suspense as well.

“We were given no hint at all as to whether or not if we were going to be able to move forward,” Young said. “We had a consultant throughout the whole thing, and she gave us a lot of comfort. But we didn’t know for sure.”

As it turned out, there was no need for concern.

“Urbana did a fantastic job on its annual report and showed major progress from the first to the second year of exploratory status,” said Jess Rigler, the NCAA’s assistant director of membership affairs, during a conference call on Thursday.

Next for Urbana will be a one-year “dress rehearsal” before becoming a full-fledged NCAA D-II member in July of 2010. During the next year, the Blue Knights’ progress in academic compliance, recruiting and scholarship procedures, among other criteria, will be monitored closely by the NCAA.

“It’s been even better than we expected,” Young said. “The goal is to be there in July of 2010. I think we are in good position, and the NCAA membership committee has told us that.”

Cedarville University expects to find out today, July 10, if it has been accepted into the NCAA D-II candidacy phase.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0364 or krowe@coxohio.com.