Division I transfers
Junior soccer player Kristen Conway and sophomore basketball player Kristin Turner both committed to Division I programs while in high school. After their first year, they decided to transfer to UIndy’s smaller Division II athletic program.
Conway transferred to UIndy after her freshman year at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She said she felt that Division I schools emphasize athletics over academics.
“One reason I transferred was the school that I was at didn’t focus a lot on academics, and academics are very important to me,” Conway said.
Conway, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, said she prefers UIndy because of its small class sizes and the fact that it is closer to home.
Turner also picked UIndy for its small size and one-on-one instruction.
“I just really wasn’t happy where I was,” Turner said. “I felt like a smaller school would be better for me. [UIndy] is a very successful school in basketball. It is a great campus, it has a very good degree, and it’s closer to my family.”
Turner, originally from Seymour, Ind., transferred from Oakland University in Michigan after her freshman year. While in high school, she began searching for colleges and found Oakland.
“Oakland was honestly my first school that I took interest to,” Turner said. “I committed my junior year, so I didn’t do much searching otherwise.”
Conway said that she originally went to a Division I school because she thought she would like a big school, and she wanted to play soccer there. Ultimately, she began feeling apathetic toward both her team and the game as a whole.
“I didn’t feel connected with the team in Louisiana,” Conway said. “I honestly lost my love for the game. When I came here and I met the coaches and the team, I felt that bond and the love for the game come back.”
Although the UIndy current women’s soccer head coach is Kiley Cirillo, former Head Coach Geoff VanDeusen helped Conway transfer to UIndy. Conway said that VanDeusen made transferring easy for her when she expected it to be difficult. She didn’t have to contact multiple people or send in a transcript.
“When I transferred, [academics] was the number one thing I looked for in Indianapolis,” Conway said.
Conway explained that Division I soccer games are faster paced than Division II games due to the speed of play and the ball moving around more quickly.
“Playing with a Division I team wasn’t really skillful,” Conway said. “It was more fast-paced, where you just pass the ball and move. Here, you have more time to do skills and show off what you learn.”
Turner also noted that Division I basketball games are faster and have quicker transitions, while Division II games involve more shooting.
Turner mentioned that because UIndy is a Division II school, the team travels on a bus for all away games. At Oakland, they would frequently travel by plane, which was more stressful and difficult to complete schoolwork on, unlike a bus.
“Being at UIndy broadens me to more things,”Turner said. “I’m not just focused on basketball. It’s not an all-year-round thing.”
Both Turner and Conway noted that a positive effect of coming to UIndy is that because it is smaller, they can get one-on-one instruction from their professors.
“I’m just happy with my decision to transfer, and I love the Division II school,” Turner said. “If I could do it again, I would.”
These are not the only Greyhound athletes who originally committed to Division I and transferred to UIndy; there are dozens on the athletic rosters who chose Division II.
