A university in the area has been approved to be an active member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division II, effective Sept. 1.

Davenport University was previously a provisional member of DII, according to the school last week.

This means the private four-year university’s 22 NCAA-sponsored teams and more than 560 athletes will be eligible to compete in NCAA DII post-season championships, and they and the coaches can receive national NCAA awards, honors and other association benefits.

The NCAA is comprised of more than 1,200 institutions, conferences and affiliated organizations. Division II is a collection of more than 300 NCAA colleges and universities with thousands of student-athletes.

The NCAA DII philosophy focuses on a "balance between academic and athletic achievement, while taking time to build relationships and participate in the wider community," according to Davenport.

Davenport University started the membership process in February 2016 and began competing as a provisional member in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference during the 2017-18 academic year. The GLIAC includes 11 other member institutions across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Since joining the GLIAC, Davenport’s men’s basketball team won a GLIAC regular season title in 2018-19, and its men’s soccer team won a GLIAC tournament title in 2017. In the last two seasons, seven of Davenport’s student-athletes received All-GLIAC top honors, and 467 student-athletes received all-academic honors.