South Dakota School of Mines Athletic Director Dick Kaiser received word Monday the Hardrocker Athletic Dept. has successfully completed the first year of NCAA Div. II candidacy and has been accepted into Year II candidacy.

“It’s a milestone step for Hardrocker athletics to get moved from candidacy Year I to candidacy Year II,” Kaiser said. “We view the phone call today as an important step forward in the NCAA process. We will continue to seek a conference affiliation which is important to our future, while we move forward toward full membership in NCAA D-II”.

In the second year of candidacy, SD Mines will now be recognized as a NCAA Div. II competitor to other NCAA opponents and the contests against the Hardrockers will count toward national and regional ratings.

Also at the candidacy Year II level, the Hardrockers will strive to schedule additional Div. II contests to fulfill the NCAA requirements.

“We have to keep working toward a more comprehensive schedule that includes close to 80 percent of our contests against other Div. II opponents,” Kaiser added.

If the Hardrockers pass the second year of candidacy, they will move into the third year of the transition called the provisional stage. In the spring of 2012 a three-person NCAA membership committee will conduct a campus visit to evaluate the progress SD Mines has made and prepare the Hardrockers for the final year of transition.

“It’s exciting for us because this is the path and direction we want our athletic program to move. For us to get the positive call today, it’s like climbing the ladder a little higher,” Kaiser said. “It’s a great moment for SD Mines, but now we have to continue and forge ahead. We have two more years of scrutinization before we get full membership and nothing can be taken for granted.”