Heralded as a "historic day for the University of Northern Colorado," by school officials, the Bears' rise out of Division II has been certified in advance of their season-opening football game with the University of Hawai'i, the NCAA said.

UNC, which won NCAA Division II national championships in 1996 and '97, had been in a four-year transition process toward full membership in the 124-school Football Championship Subdivision (previously known as Division I-AA).

UH is a member of the 119-school Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as I-A). I-A teams may award up to 85 scholarships and I-AA teams 63. A UNC spokesman said the Bears will award 60 scholarships this season. The Division II maximum was 36.

"We've said all along that we want to match the level of our athletics programs with the quality of our academics," UNC President Kay Norton said in a press release.

Damani J. Leech, NCAA director for football, said the NCAA Management Council Membership Subcommittee has approved UNC and the University of California-Davis as the newest I-AA members based upon "a fairly comprehensive review of their entire athletics departments."

UNC debuted in the Big Sky Conference in 2006 and, for the first time, would now be eligible to compete for the I-AA national championship in 2007.

The Bears were 1-10 last season and are picked to finish ninth in the nine-team conference in both the coaches' and media polls.

The Sept. 1 game at Aloha Stadium will be the Bears' only game against a I-A team in the 2007 season. UNC last played a I-A team in 1986, according to sports information director Heather Kennedy. UNC will play at Purdue in 2008.

For the first time in 30 years, UH will play two I-AA opponents in a season, UNC and Charleston Southern.