Although IUPUC gained provisional membership to the NAIA last year, its acceptance as a full member by other schools wasn’t a foregone conclusion.

So when it was announced this week that the Crimson Pride had gained full membership, IUPUC officials were relieved.

“It wasn’t a formality,” athletics director Zach McClellan said. “We had to deliver on our plan. Because of the support of our city, we were able to deliver and execute our plan and gain our membership. A lot of hard work went into it for sure. It wasn’t just a slam dunk that we could get in. We had to prove that we could exist.”

Schools must meet membership criteria, including financial stability, sports sponsorship, accreditation and a commitment to character-driven athletics. Also taken into consideration are athletics facilities, enrollment numbers, retention rates, and overall financial commitment to athletics.

“None of this would be possible without close collaboration between our athletics staff, admissions and recruiting, UCOL, and staff and faculty throughout IUPUC,” Reinhold Hill, Vice Chancellor and Dean at IUPUC, said in a news release. “I look forward to the remainder of our seasons this year and the addition of additional sports next year.”

The Crimson Pride began competing in men’s and women’s cross-country in the fall and currently are in the middle of baseball and softball seasons this spring. They have added volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer for the coming fall and are considering adding men’s and women’s golf and men’s and women’s basketball for the 2024-25 school year.

This spring, IUPUC has played its baseball home games at Jennings County High School.

“All the members get to give feedback on us,” McClellan said. “Their experience in Columbus, their experience in Jennings County, wherever we had to host games, those are the things that we had to prove. Not only that, but we had to input our statistics to the NAIA. There’s just a lot of processes that they would manage and make sure we were complying with. It was a lot of pressure and a lot of work, but definitely worth it.”

IUPUC played the first home games in school history in February when the softball team hosted Indiana Wesleyan at Ceraland. The Crimson Pride hosted a softball doubleheader against St. Francis on Sunday at Jennings County.

“Their coach (Bobby Willis) and their athletic director (Cory Stevens) allowed us to play a doubleheader,” McClellan said. “About 200 fans showed up. Right after the game, there was an 8U game, so you had girls watching a college softball game and then playing a game. It was kind of the vision playing out. It really was an awesome day.”

New baseball and softball fields are being constructed at Ceraland for IUPUC. It is uncertain if they will be ready for play before the end of the season.

“There’s things that we’re mindful of, and that is the safety of the players, making sure that we don’t do lasting damage on the field,” McClellan said. “We want to be respectful of the facility. There’s a long-term play here where that could be an incredible field for a decade. We may or may not get a game at home at Ceraland this year, but even if we don’t, we are set up for the future. It’s a long-term relationship with Ceraland. They’re investing a lot in our facilities, so we want to make sure we’re ready.”

IUPUC currently has 50 student-athletes participating in baseball or softball this spring. The Crimson Pride has 13 volleyball, 18 men’s soccer, 14 women’s soccer, 23 baseball and 12 softball recruits committed for the 2023-2024 school year.

A volleyball court that the volleyball team will use was recently finished at Ceraland. McClellan said schedules for volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer should be released in the next few weeks.

IUPUC is joining the River States Conference and will be eligible for postseason tournaments beginning in the fall.

“I believe that if it wasn’t in a city like Columbus, it would have a hard time being successful,” McClellan said. “But because the city has embraced us, it has a foundation to launch from.”