This article is within the scope of WikiProject Illinois, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Illinois on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.IllinoisWikipedia:WikiProject IllinoisTemplate:WikiProject IllinoisWikiProject Illinois articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Higher education, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of higher education, universities, and colleges on Wikipedia. Please visit the project page to join the discussion, and see the project's article guideline for useful advice.Higher educationWikipedia:WikiProject Higher educationTemplate:WikiProject Higher educationHigher education articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Chicago, which aims to improve all articles or pages related to Chicago or the Chicago metropolitan area.ChicagoWikipedia:WikiProject ChicagoTemplate:WikiProject ChicagoChicago articles
This article has been automatically rated by a bot or other tool because one or more other projects use this class. Please ensure the assessment is correct before removing the |auto= parameter.
What does this sentence mean: "NIU is one of only two public universities in Illinois that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the highest levels of all sports, Division I." By my count, there are six other public universities that compete in Division I: Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, both Southern Illinois campuses, University of Illinois Chicago, and Western Illinois. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Oscarfan (talk • contribs) 23:47, 28 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I agree. A lot of Illinois universities play Division I athletics. NIU competes in the Mid-American Conference for every sport, except men's soccer, which plays in the Missouri Valley Conference (same conference as ISU, SIU, and UIC). The current sentence is inaccurate and vague.
I think they meant to say, "NIU is one of only two public Division 1-A programs in Illinois", Division I-A being the highest level of college football. The public aspect seems trivial. It's an oddly specific accolade. I think it should be removed or re-written. Something along the lines of:
NIU is one of only three universities in Illinois that compete in the NCAA at the highest level of football, Division I-A (FBS)
This seems like a more concise and notable fact than the previous one (the 3rd team is NU). Do any other public Illinois universities compete entirely in Division I? If not, then it could simply read:
NIU is one of only three universities in Illinois that compete in the NCAA at the highest level of Division I for all sports
The following Wikipedia contributor may be personally or professionally connected to the subject of this article. Relevant policies and guidelines may include conflict of interest, autobiography, and neutral point of view.
