By Jim O'Hara

ROME, Ga. – With the end of 2013 just around the corner, Shorter's athletic department is eagerly awaiting the start of a new year knowing that it will usher in a new chapter in the program's history.

Fresh from taking part in a compliance blueprint review that involved a third and final on-site visit by an NCAA official, Shorter is now in the home stretch of becoming a full NCAA Division II member that is expected to take place on Sept. 1, 2014.

"It's what some consider the final exam in the membership process," Shorter Athletic Director Bill Peterson said about the visit by the NCAA last month, one that was a comprehensive evaluation of the university's compliance program. "We'll get a letter outlining what we can do better but at our last meeting we were told that this was the best NCAA Compliance Program she had even seen."

The results of the review that will be shared Shorter and included as part of the annual report that along with an Institutional Self-Study Guide is due not later than June 1, 2014.

At the conclusion of Shorter's current provisional year of the three-year membership process, the NCAA Membership Committee evaluates Shorter for invitation to become an active Division II member next summer.

During the visit, Peterson explained, the NCAA's vender on hand to evaluate if Shorter's compliance program was on track spent two days interviewing university officials, including President Dr. Donald Dowless, Shorter's administrative, academic and athletic departments, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members and various members of the coaching staff.

Capping the process was a meeting with those who Peterson felt served as the heart and soul of the transition toward becoming a full Division II member – Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Jill Borchert; Interim Senior Woman Administrator Brittni Dulaney, who picked up the torch lit by former SWA Rachel Rogers; and Shorter's top compliance officials in Dr. Richard Cowan and Matt Green.

"All of the policies and procedures are in place," Peterson said, "so those being interviewed and involved in the process explained to (the NCAA representative) what their responsibilities are."

During the current academic year, Shorter's athletic teams have been competing as a provisional NCAA Division II member and are being required to operate in full compliance with NCAA Division II legislation during the 2013-14 year.

The Hawks and Lady Hawks, however, are still ineligible to compete in NCAA postseason events or be considered for any NCAA postseason honors. But that will change next fall.

At the conclusion of the provisional year of the membership process which ends when Shorter submits its final report in June, the NCAA Membership Committee evaluates Shorter for invitation to become an active Division II member that would start of Sept. 1, 2014.

"In the long run," Peterson said about the long and grueling process Shorter has been a part of for three years, "this will pay dividends to the athletic department and the university."