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Grand
Valley Focuses on Division II Title
Jeff Chaney
The Grand Rapids Press
 So
much for being ranked No. 3 in the nation.
It's not even high enough for Grand
Valley to be picked to win its own conference.
The Lakers enter the 2010-11 season as
the third-ranked team in The Sporting News' NCAA Division II preseason
poll, but they still are looking up at defending Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Findlay, which is picked to win
the league all this season.
Central
Washington Looks to Mesh Quickly
Colter Nuanez
The Ellensburg Daily Record
 High-octane
basketball: it's been the identity of Central Washington under head coach
Greg Sparling. The Wildcats have made the scoreboard sizzle, averaging 85
points per game each of the past three seasons. The propensity to push the
basketball has translated into success in the win column as well, as each
of the last three CWU squads have qualified for the NCAA Division II
National Tournament.
This season, the Wildcats will again look
to play an up-tempo, high-scoring, unrelenting style of basketball. But in
order to run, the Wildcats must heal.
Augie
Looks to Take Next Step
Matt Zimmer
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
 After
years of being a doormat, Augustana finds itself as a respected Division
II program, one of the heavyweights of the region.
That's thanks to Tom Billeter, who has
taken the Vikings to three straight NCAA tournaments, and, in each of the
last two years, within one game of the Elite Eight.
Last year's team won a school-record 24
games, and appeared on the verge of reaching that Elite Eight until
falling in overtime to St. Cloud State.
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Knights
Won't Let Hype Get to Their Heads
Jeff Robinson
The Louisville Courier-Journal
 Expectations
for Bellarmine have never been higher, but Scott Davenport isn't buying
into the preseason hype.
Some polls have the Knights ranked No. 1
in the ultra-tough Great Lakes Valley Conference, and The Sporting News
has them perched at No. 2 in the country in their NCAA Division II
preseason poll.
But Davenport has a preseason message for
his team: Ignore all that, and keep your eyes on the court.
Hawks
Hoping to Build Fan Base
Tony Coccagna
The Indiana Gazette
 Joe
Lombardi has an offer you can't refuse.
The IUP program, in conjunction with the
athletic department and Student Cooperative Association, has launched a
season-ticket sales program aimed at attracting a fan base as the Crimson
Hawks play their last season in Memorial Field House before moving into
the new Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Center next season.
To generate sales, IUP is offering groups
and organizations throughout the area the opportunity to sell tickets and
in the process raise funds for their causes.
California
Baptist heads to PacWest
BPSports.com
 California
Baptist University has accepted an invitation to join the Pacific West
Conference (PacWest) in NCAA Division II, beginning with the 2011-12
athletic seasons.
CBU will become the 10th school in the
PacWest, joining three San Francisco Bay Area schools, Notre Dame de Namur
University, Academy of Art University and Dominican University of
California; Grand Canyon University in Arizona; Dixie State College in
Utah; and four Hawaii schools, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Brigham
Young University Hawaii, the University of Hawai'i at Hilo and Hawai'i
Pacific University.
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