JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The NAIA College of Presidents voted to merge the two divisions of basketball into one this weekend at the NAIA National Convention in Kansas City. The merger will take place prior to the 2020-21 academic year, so there are two more seasons left of the current model.

The move combines the 94 Division I schools with the 135 Division II schools to create a single-division of 229 institutions. Basketball was the only NAIA sanction sport that had two divisions.

The main difference between the two divisions is the amount of potential scholarships. In Division I, schools to give 11 full scholarships and in Division II that number was six. The merger will change that threshold for all institutions to eight.

The postseason, though not official until a summer vote, will likely include 64 teams with a 16-team final site. Which likely means there will be four-team regional pods.