Jason Trufant takes pride in being a process-oriented individual.
That’s why it shouldn’t be surprising that the Mississippi University for Women director of athletics said he “actually enjoyed” being a part of the team that put together a 79-page exploratory application to send to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Membership Committee.
On Friday morning, The W announced the NCAA had approved the application, which means it will become an official exploratory member of the NCAA on Sept. 1. The exploratory year of membership with the NCAA is the first of a 5-year process to becoming a Division III NCAA member.
“We were able to give the NCAA an in-depth look at what we’re trying to do so we’re not set up for failure down the road,” Trufant said. “We were able to go through every aspect of the athletic department and the university. I don’t want to call it a fun process by any means, but it was an educational process to get us where we needed to be.”
The process
Trufant was hired last May to spearhead The W’s drive toward rebuilding an intercollegiate athletic department that was discontinued in 2003 by then-President Claudia Limbert after a November tornado destroyed the school’s gymnasium. He started his work last June and has been working closely with MUW President Jim Borsig to formulate the plan The W will follow to make sure everything comes into focus.
Trufant said the application helped greatly in that regard because it helped The W understand what is going to happen in the next three to four years and how that period of time is going to affect the next 30-40 years.
“(The report) gave us pretty good blueprint,” Trufant said. “The great thing is we are not on an island. We are amongst friends here and we can learn from others, and the NCAA, and have a direct line to any questions we need answered.”
Trufant said the committee looked at everything The W provided and voted to approve its application. He said the NCAA didn’t ask for any more material.
Borsig called the approval “an important milestone” and a “turning point” because he feels it makes concrete to friends and supporters that The W is on the path to return to intercollegiate athletics. He said four years of work by faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends and supporters helped lay the groundwork to help The W get NCAA committee approval — “tangible signal,” he said, that The W is on the right track.
“I knew the high level of work we had done before we hired the athletics director, and I felt we had hadn’t left many stones unturned,” Borsig said. “For Jason and the staff he hired to bring it to life and to translate it into the NCAA application is gratifying for me and all of those folks who have been involved last four years. We felt good about the work that was done and how the contributions of everyone all flowed into that 79 pages and was accepted on the first go-round.”
Moving forward
Borsig said he continues to look forward to the fall, when the volleyball and men’s soccer teams will be the school’s first to bring the Owls back to intercollegiate athletic competition.
Trufant echoed that excitement and said work continues in many areas, including beginning the process of working with local architectural firms to design plans for indoor and outdoor facilities. He said The W is still on the same schedule to add sports and hire coaches for the 2018-19 school year.
The report to the NCAA, Trufant said, included university policies and procedures concerning, but not limited to admissions, financial aid, student support, and enrollment. Compliance procedures, student-athlete, and staff handbooks, scheduling, roster goals, and athletic training also were addressed.
The four years to follow the exploratory year of membership will include setting educational and operational benchmarks that will introduce The W to the Division III philosophy and best practices. Exploratory institutions are assigned a mentor by the NCAA to answer questions and provide feedback.
Key members of The W’s staff will travel to NCAA headquarters later this year to begin the orientation and educational process.
“Things are moving in a good direction for us,” said Trufant, who feels the news the NCAA has accepted the report will help in the school’s recruit efforts to attract more traditional-age college students to the Columbus campus. “The coaches have done an outstanding job telling people who we are, what we’re trying to do, and what we’re going to be about five to 10 years down the road.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.