The future of Western Kentucky football has been decided – now the waiting begins.

The WKU Board of Regents voted to upgrade the football program to Division I-A during a meeting Thursday in Owensboro – a move that will take small steps before jumping completely into the mix in 2009.

&#8220We’re excited. We’ve been monitoring this situation for years, but the timing just presented itself recently,” WKU athletics director Wood Selig said. &#8220Now I guess is the time since the board has voted to just roll up the sleeves and get to work and make this transition a success.”

The Hilltoppers are currently members of the Division I-AA Gateway Football Conference. Next season will be the first of two transition years before WKU becomes a full-time member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2009 with eligibility for both the conference championship and a postseason bowl appearance.

The move has been the cause of much debate throughout the university, from the top all the way to the bottom. The vote passed 7-2 with one abstention. Since the vote passed, Selig says he’s gotten nothing but positive feedback from a variety of people, ranging from Hilltopper students, alumni and other athletic directors from around the country.

&#8220It’s just been very, very positive. I really think this is going to be a real sense of pride for WKU,” Selig said. &#8220It’s been overwhelming. My phone has been ringing since last night. People from all over the country that are peers and friends have been calling, texting me, e-mailing me.”

WKU coach David Elson, his staff and players are not available to comment on the move until the end of the 2006 season. The Hilltoppers (5-3, 4-1) play at Northern Iowa this Saturday in a game that will go a long way in deciding the outcome of the Gateway race.

For the WKU sophomores and juniors, the next two seasons will not offer the same postseason possibilities. The Hilltoppers will not be eligible for either the I-AA playoffs or any bowl consideration during the next two seasons as they transition to I-A. That scenario has made this season even more important for the players who came to WKU with the hopes of competing for a national championship.

&#8220We’ve got to get it done this year, because this might be my last year to go to the playoffs,” WKU wideout Curtis Hamilton said earlier this year. &#8220Next year, we’re making the move – so you know – this is it.”

The move to I-A football will allow the Hilltoppers to add 22 more full scholarships for football. The football budget will grow by an estimated $2.5 million and will be paid for through a $70 tuition increase in the student athletic fee that will begin in the fall of 2007.

By the time the Hilltoppers take the field in 2009, renovations at L.T. Smith Stadium should be complete. WKU has budgeted an estimated $37.5 million to giving the home field a complete facelift.

Although next season’s schedule has yet to be finalized, the hope is to get six I-A games next season and eight the following season before making a full plunge in 2009.

According to Selig, next season’s schedule should looks something like this: Four Sun Belt games – two at home with Troy and either Florida Atlantic or Florida International as well as two road games – Middle Tennessee and North Texas. Western already has two home games with Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State scheduled, as well as a trip to Chattanooga, which leaves some room for a national exposure game against a highly touted I-A team.

&#8220Philosophically, the ideal schedule is going to have six I-As and six I-AAs next year,” Selig said. &#8220We may not be totally in control of our fate. We may have to take some other type of combination because it just might not be possible to come out with that.”

For the Sun Belt, which is just one of 11 I-A football conferences, the move has been a long time coming.

&#8220I think it was a great decision for Western Kentucky – one that as years go by will show great wisdom,” SBC Commissioner Wright Waters said. &#8220There are advantages in I-A football compared to I-AA with the importance of football in society today. I just think it’s a great move.”

With eight current members playing football in the Sun Belt (Middle Tennessee, Troy, Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana-Lafayette, North Texas, Florida International and Louisiana-Monroe), there is a conflict of conference teams having to play an odd number of home and away games. With the addition of WKU, now teams can play both four home and four away games, making it much easier to have a fair schedule.

With 10 consecutive winning seasons and a national championship in 2002, the Hilltoppers will enter Sun Belt play a proven commodity at the I-AA level. Many of the schools currently in the SBC are new to I-A football, with only five schools still remaining from the conference’s first season in 2001.

&#8220I would be careful with that,” Waters said. &#8220All of our schools had some success before making the move to I-A. Certainly it’s nice to add a team that’s had some prior success, though. Obviously, I think it’s easier to build when you’ve had some success.”

As for the Gateway Conference, there are ongoing talks with both North Dakota State and South Dakota State as a potential replacement or replacements for WKU. Both schools are currently I-AA, but participate in a conference that is not eligible for the postseason, which makes a move attractive for both schools.

&#8220It’s a regrettable day for us,” Gateway Associate Commissioner Mike Kern said. &#8220We’re sorry to see Western Kentucky go and we wish them the best of luck. It’s a sad day, but we still feel like we’ve got seven strong teams and we feel like we can still compete at a high level.”