The transition to Division I has not only meant changes to recruiting rules, but it has also brought forth additional changes noticed by both coaches and players alike.

“It [the Division I recruitment rules] affects you in a number of ways. It changes what you do and how you recruit,” men’s basketball Head Coach Dave Bezold said. “In Division II, you’re allowed out all of June and July and can go wherever you want. In Division I, you have three weeks, and you have to be specific and know where the kids are and logistically be able to maneuver to see as many kids as possible.”

Since coaches have to see recruits within a certain time frame because of the transition to Division I, the budget allotted for this process has changed, according to Bezold.

“Yeah, the [budget has] gone up, to take a flight if we need to, to be in certain hotels to be close in proximity,” Bezold said. “In Division II, we had multiple people out, we drove there and drove back together in order to save money. In Division I, we can’t do that. We can’t keep traveling back. We have to stay on the road. It allows us to recruit the right way.”

The men’s basketball team’s 2013 recruiting class tallied an official total of seven incoming players, five being freshmen. The members of this class include Daniel Camps, Deontae Cole, Dean Danos, sophomore Jake Giesler, junior Jordan Jackson, Cole Murray and Matt Rosenwinkel.

One of the leading recruits in the class, Daniel Camps, a 6-foot-5 forward out of Fayetteville, N.C., who is undeclared, shared his thoughts on being a part of this class.

“I’m very excited for this opportunity,” Camps said. “Personally, I feel as if all the players we have on the team right now are Division I caliber players.”

To give some insight into Division I recruiting, Camps shared why he ultimately chose NKU over other opportunities.

“What really stuck out to me about NKU was that it’s a growing school on the rise with great educational opportunities,” Camps said. “Just about every person I have talked to about NKU, whether it’s a student that goes here or a random person in a store, has told me they are starting to see more support for the school year by year.”

On the other side, women’s basketball Head Coach Dawn Plitzuweit shared her thoughts on the transition. With a background as a Division II assistant coach and head coach as well as some experience in Division I, she is more familiar and knowledgeable about different aspects of the transition.

“The transition between Division II and Division I are very different entities,” Plitzuweit said. “Some differences are that Division II has a longer evaluation period, and Division I is much shorter. You can only see kids in sanctioned events, which means you have to travel to different time zones and areas to see them play.”

Due to all the traveling and expenses for the women’s basketball team, the budget has gone up as well, according to Plitzuweit.

“It has to, to see kids at sanctioned events means you have to buy the booklets, which means you have to travel to see a kid that might even play down the road, so you might have to go to Vegas, Chicago or Franklin, Tenn. just to see them,” Plitzuweit said. “Which adds hotels and travel costs, and in Division I you’re also allowed to have four coaches on the road at one time now. They just changed that rule.”

According to Plitzuweit, the women’s team wants to bring in four new players next season.