LOWELL, Mass. --- Success can be measured many ways, but for UMass Lowell, in its first year of an athletic transition to full Division I status, any measuring stick yields the same result; success.
 
"The entire campus embraced this initiative and it's been incredibly well received by the students, the faculty, the staff, the alumni and the general community," said UMass Lowell Director of Athletics Dana Skinner.  "(Year One) was a success, an overwhelming success for the entire campus."
 
Just six months, an unusually short period of time, after move from Division II to Division I and the America East Conference was announced River Hawk teams were competing, playing a challenging Division I schedule which found UMass Lowell on the road more often than not. 
 
"We kind of thrived on this, the whole campus did," said Skinner.  "It's not very often in life that you get a chance to transform an organization.  That's the opportunity that we all have been presented with.  It's incredibly fun, but it's a challenge.  It's a great opportunity for all of us to be part of something that's special."
 
There were some terrific moments and strong performances.   Men's Basketball was .500 in the conference. Baseball finished third in the America East regular season standings with a .500 record.  Track and Field featured several America East Champions and a slew of school records.   Some teams did better on the scoreboard than others, but year one of the four year transition was not about wins and losses.   Athletic teams are not eligible for conference or NCAA tournaments.
 
"That was a hard reality for student-athletes here," said Skinner.  "To watch them in practice, in competition, with the spirit they demonstrated the energy and commitment to improve and get better and the willingness to accept this role for the university. To represent the university during this four year transition so future student-athletes would have opportunities to compete at the highest level, you have to applaud the student athletes for that. They really were terrific all year long."
 
This first year was about a financial plan, a branding strategy, the classroom, building schedules, relationships and working closely with the financial aid office, admissions, the registrar, the development office, public affairs, the America East office.
 
"Don't forget the reason we elevated first and foremost had to do with affiliating with similar public research universities in our geographic footprint, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Stony Brook, UMBC etc.," said Skinner.  "It is a broad campus initiative, it isn't just about athletics."
 
UMass Lowell has submitted its first year NCAA Division I report and the updated Strategic Plan.   Every commitment that was made to America East and to the NCAA has been met. For the first time ever, student-athletes, as a whole, finished with a better than 3.0 grade point average.  The Athletic Department staff increased by 30, which brought a new energy and student athletes recruited to play in Division II stood tall in Division I.
 
"You have got to build this slowly," according to Skinner.  "You got to build it with individuals who share your values and what you are trying to accomplish who want to be in the fight with you basically. You want them in your foxhole. That's what we are looking for, those kinds of student-athletes right now."
 
The Athletic Director prefers to sum up the first year of a four-year transition with just one word; resolute.
 
"Resolute is characterized by a determination in spirit and in our actions that captures what we've been about," said Skinner.  "Moving forward it going to be critically important that our efforts have a combination of vision, teamwork and perseverance…  and resolute captures that spirit for us."