Two Division I schools in Louisiana got the final go-ahead to begin reclassifying into Division III as a result of approval from the Division III Management Council.

The University of New Orleans and Centenary (La.) are on the road to joining the largest division in the NCAA, with 432 member institutions and nearly two dozen more in the pipeline.

UNO plans to add three sports in time for the 2011-12 academic year, and expects to make an announcement in the fall about which new teams it will field.

"We have received a lot of positive feedback from the community each time the possibility of adding football, women's golf and women's soccer at UNO comes up in conversation," said interim athletic director Amy Champion. "Adding sports is always an exciting process and one that our campus has embraced."

In 2010-11, the school will sponsor teams in nine sports, of which five are men's and four are women's. These teams will compete as an NCAA Division I Independent Transitioning to Division III. UNO last competed as NCAA Division I Independent in 1975-76 and again from 1980-1987.

Additionally, UNO has established a partnership with Texas-Dallas, which will serve as a mentor during the reclassification process.

Founded in 1961, UT-Dallas is a public research institution with an undergraduate enrollment of more than 9,800 students that competes in the American Southwest Conference. The ASC is a Division III conference that includes members in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.

"It is our pleasure to work in collaboration with everyone at the University of New Orleans in their pursuit of transitioning from Division I to Division III," said UT-Dallas athletic director Chris Gage. "We feel that part of our collegiality is to assist and nurture institutions as best we can in such endeavors; it strengthens the division as well as the industry to welcome like institutions into our organizations."