'Division III -- The Place to Be!'

Like you, Josh, I had an awesome experience competing at a top tier Division III academic institution. I loved being a true student-athlete, and it was awesome that at that level, everybody is competing because they love their sport, not because of the scholarship money they received. I think there are many great stories that involve academic and athletic excellence that need to be brought into the spotlight more so than they currently are. However, as a recently-graduated student-athlete, I saw first-hand that many D-III institutions do not have as high of academic standards as I previously would have thought. In fact, I learned that many schools take in student-athletes that either do not academically qualify for Division I schools or are junior college transfers. Many of these student-athletes have a huge impact on the national landscape of their respective sport, which creates a tough issue when you talk about D-III branding mainly because of the membership's diversity. While it is important to highlight many of the great academic institutions that make up Division III, it is a fact that many of its most successful student-athletes and institutions do not fit into the "academic" mold.

Josh, I hate to say this but I think the general public, the parents that think that their kid is the best of the best, have the notion that Division II & III schools are the poor or the so-so athletes. In the area that I live in, I see this all of the time with UGA being the school to go to.

As I have said before, I think Division I sports are becoming too demanding, in that the schools are putting so much pressure not only on the kids but on the staff to do well for the money and the showcase that these departments can get.

A student athlete is a student athlete in my eyes no matter what division they are in. Look at how you turned out Josh!

You do see some athletes in the pros that have come from a Division III school, but few of course. I think most people that are in Division III sports would love to go pro if possible, but they probably know that will not happen. But most of these student athletes just want to play and have fun. And I do not know this for sure, but you probably do not have a lot of attitude problems with kids wanting to play because of who they are or where they came from. No matter what Division you play in, you are a student first and then an athlete second.

But I do have to disagree with Howard on the previous post. Now with the APR in place, these coaches have to be careful who they get or else the school will get punished...

This is not all schools, but the smaller schools (academic wise) may not have as high of SAT scores as the big schools, but that is not their fault. In some cases, they may have lower, but still good score requirements so that more people are able to go to school, among other things. These schools also do not have the money as a national recognize school. But "I" would rather go to a Division III and be able to be both a student and an athlete for four years than be at a Division I school for less than two years because I could not hack the academic part with all of the pressure that the coaches put on the kids these days.

Division III - The best you could get....

I know that a lot of high school athletes think that they have (in some way) failed to live up to their parent's expectations when they do not get that D1 scholarship. And that all they could manage was to play at a Division III school. It should not be what's important, but that's the perception.

Division III to me means Purity. There is nothing more pure than the love for the game. People tend to think anyone can play at the DIII level, and that these are the sub-par kids on their respective HS teams that couldn't get a scholarship somewhere else. I played Division III basketball, was fortunate enough to play in Europe for a bit. Division I & II may offer scholarships and sound better on a resume, but in terms of purity and sportsmanship, and in the way it's played, with passion and love for the game, not a minor league stepping block to the NBA, division III is the cream of the crop.

I have been involved with all three divisions and there is something to really be said about the DIII philosophy, they have not lost sight of what the big picture is...students getting as many different experiences as possible so they can go out into the world and be great. I don't see a huge gap in talent between II and III and in many cases the DIII schools have the bigger budget and better facilities.

I do think there needs to be some work done on the branding from the NCAA and then all members must do their part to sell it to their community.

I agree with Andy. For many student-athletes coming out of high school it is perceived that getting a scholarship to compete is the only viable option to continue. Few student-athletes fully explore their option to compete at the intercollegiate level because they believe it's DI or nothing. I have recently been living in a region with very few DIII schools and the student-athletes do not even recognize that there are student-athletes out there who do not compete under scholarships. It saddens me that they are so unaware of the possibilities and, even more so, it saddens me that they feel in some way superior to non-scholarship athletes of DIII. I think that DIII, although hugely successful, could find a better way of getting the option out to the countless high school student-athletes who don't know it is an option.

As a former DIII athlete and now as a coach at the DIII level, I spend a fair amount of time recruiting prospective student-athletes. I always love when these athletes first ask what division we are, and then immediately dismiss us because of our DIII status. Many of these SAs wouldn't be good enough to play for us, but the perception exists that there is more esteem attending and play for a DI or DII institution. We also get a fair amount of transfers from these DI or DII schools-students who felt lost in the crowd or the program was not as good as it was perceived to be.
There is definite charm, pride, and more benefits than could be listed to attending and/or participating in sports at the DIII level. Academics should be first, because at the end of the day-and as the NCAA commercials remind us-most of these athletes "go pro in something other than sports". I would rather have a team full of smart athletes, who are productive members of society and active alumni long after they depart our campus, than to have students who receive an athletic scholarship and struggle in the academic or social areas of college. It is all in how the institution and the membership choose to define pride or success.
I fully believe and support the idea of a branding campaign. "I'm me, and I choose Division III"? Too cheesy....

Andy sounds like a high school coach who is only focused on how many kids he can get on scholarship in order to pad his resume.

I have story after story of people who get to Division III and expect to dominate and are truly surprised by the level of competition. It's not just glorified intramurals.

Larry's branding is spot on. Otherwise, why do they keep closing off Division III to new schools? Why is Division III so large that it threatens to burst at the seams.

Division III is indeed the place to be.

Since becoming a DIII athlete I have loved my academic and athletic experience. However, to the public when I mention I am a DIII athlete people just look at me and I feel like they are thinking...where you not good enough to go DI?

I was proud of the commitment I made when I was coming out of high school...however my school only recognized those athletes that were signing scholarships instead of all those playing high school sports. I still do think about that day that the school I went to celebrated the future college athletes...it hurt to go through that day.

I am so proud to be a DIII athlete because I have been getting a great education and loving my athletic experience. In some way I think something should be done to explain to the general public what DIII really is...

Erin, tell people that you want to be a college athlete in whatever your sport is but you don't want the sport to run your life.

You want to be a student as well as an athlete.

You want a well-rounded life experience and an education.

I'm sorry your high school couldn't see the value of the decision you made.

Interesting that Muhlenberg College's Magazine has a current article on this very subject, with almost the same title.

http://www.muhlenberg.edu/cultural/magazine/may08mag.pdf

When I hear DIII I think of a group that perceives their education to be superior to any DI and DII university. It seems humorous as everyone associated with a DIII at one time gets bent out of shape if someone perceives their talents to be less if in DIII but at the same time will talk about how much better their education is. Do you think there aren't smart hard working student-athletes in DII and DI? A DIII school is not the only one that has high academics.

There are so many DIII schools because it is more cost affective to not offer scholarships. That is more money that could be put in actual operating budgets. They don't have to give the large discounts that DII & DI schools do.

I chose d3 for the love of the game (FB) My collge choices were less open than most I am a pastor in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and there are just a few schools open to us if we choose to get a Pastoral Studies degree --

Concordia WI was my school. We were NAIA II then and in 1990 went d3. I am proud to have been on the teams that made that transition.

In retrospect it was a blessing not to face the pressure - that scholarship guys must -- one blown knee and youre done -- we played because we wanted to... and wanted to so bad we paid in some case extra activity fees.

as my former coach used to say (especially in poor weather) It's a great day for football.

d3 captures what it means to be a student - athlete

Division III is a great division, but I think some of this nonsense about it being the "best" division and the "holier than thou" attitude because they don't give "evil" athletic scholarships has to go. First of all, a lot of DIII schools ARE giving athletic scholarships, they are just calling them something else. At least DI and DII schools are honest about it and call them athletic scholarships. Also, there are a heck of a lot of kids at the DI and DII levels, most in fact, who are not playing on a full scholarship. In fact, unless you are a DI football, basketball or hockey player or a DII basketball player, chances are you are NOT on a full ride and paying for at least some of your education. I think DIII is great, but as someone associated with another division, I tire of hearing all the time how DIII is so much better and more pure because they don't give scholarships.

Josh, you have brought up several questions about branding in D-III.

We have one "branded championship", the Stagg Bowl in football.

Why not name the Basketball Championship after that guy invented the sport at the YMCA training center at the D-III school in Springfield, MA? Why not "brand" the Walnut and Bronze in basketball as the Naismith Championships?

The baseball executive who "broke the color line" in Major League Baseball was also a student-athlete at Ohio Wesleyan and a coach at Allegheny College. I am strongly in favor of "branding" the baseball championships as the "Branch Rickey Series". Bringing Mr Rickey's name back into the annual discussion might remind fans of his contributions to baseball as we know it.

As one peruses the all-time best performances by D-III student-athletes in the 400 Meter Hurdles as maintained by Kelly Beck at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Morehouse student Edwin Moses' performance in 1977 at the USA Championships is still the best.

http://www.raceberryjam.com/indexod.html

Is there a branding opportunity there?

If the re-branding effort is where D-III needs to go now that it has strongly rejected "D-IV", then this fan hopes that the NCAA will increase the administrative support that D-III receives. In the conduct of recent championships, the 2006 Football brackets were not seeded with the recent changes in the mileage standards in mind. The 2006-07 men's basketball and 2007 baseball handbooks had incorrect numbers of bids allocated to the various pools. These errors were detected by fans who read the Handbook and "did the math".

"Big bang for the buck" in the branding efforts can occur by investing in webcasting regional and national championships of the major sports, e.g. soccer, volleyball/ football, basketball and softball/ baseball. (I prefer to have announcers on those webcasts who "know" D-III as opposed so some "rent-a-voice" who cannot pronounce "Willamette" and doesn't know the difference between Wheaton IL and Wheaton MA or MacMurray IL and McMurry TX.)

Many local D-III schools have invested heavily in their brands and are quite proud of the value that their efforts to brand themselves as D-III have brought their own institutions. This consumer of sports entertainment believes that the problem has been at the top level of the NCAA.

What is the budget allocation to D-III? 3.2%?

Raising that to 4% is actually a 25% increase in funding to D-III. Putting that "micro-investment" into D-III could reap great rewards in the accomplishing the mission of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The most underated athletes in all of college sports. Anyone that has been to a D3 game know these kids are for reel.

I don't think parents are actually that hung up about scholarship offers when comparing Div II and III schools. As a parent of a player who chose a D-III school he did so based more on the standard comparisons: strength in his desired major, atmosphere of the campus, and future job potential. Certainly cost will always be a consideration but in the end I think it was an overall comfort level in the D-III school he chose that put him there. He loves his sport and would have gladly played at whatever college or level had the best fit for him. Had he prefered one of the D-II schools that recruited him he would have gone there and we would be just as happy for him. We just want him to be happy and playing football is a nice bonus.

GR, if they are "giving athletic scholarships, they are just calling them something else," then they will get caught thanks to the NCAA's audit of such things. Division III schools cannot give more aid to athletes than they do to non-athletes, within a small variance.

100% pure? No, probably not, since nothing is. But your words "more pure" are definitely accurate.

I love Division III. In my opinion it is far more team oriented than Division I or II. I came up through the JUCO system first in Mississippi, and som many guys were more concerned with making it to the next level than they were about the team or about education. i even played football while I was in law school, and the coaches allowed me to succeed at both. I dont think any other division would have allowed me to do that. DIII is definitely more about education first and athletics second, which is why I chose DIII, i wanted to be successful on more than the field, i wanted to be successful after college.

I would like to point out that many DIII athletes do in fact have the opportunity to play DI or DII sports but choose DIII for all the reasons posted above me.

As a former D3 student-athlete and as one of a dedicated group who covers Division III athletics, nothing beats D3!

When I looked at schools years back, I chose my school based on the school first, athletic program second. For those looking at D1 programs, they tend to make their decision based on the athletic or team program first, school maybe second.

Does DIII have a branding problem, yep! What needs to be done, plenty! This is more than just a slogan, there needs to be a complete dedication to "selling" the division. Part of that dedication means getting all the schools on board with that sell. There can't be a bunch of programs who see the advantages of webcasting (video and/or audio) and making efforts to be better reocgnized, only to have a bunch of schools that don't care and don't make an effort to do the same. The result is many who look at Division III seeing inconsistencies and confusion.

And there needs to be more than a few people willing to also dedicate their free time and lives outside of the schools to help promote the product. Let's put this product out there so no one can say they don't know anything about Division III, or aren't familiar with the schools in their area, or even the thought processes that Division III can't be better than D1 or D2. Lots of people say a lot and complain a lot, but then don't follow that up with any work to change the image. The idea of branding Division III is also a chance for people to promote and re-educate the public about this division.

And the idea of branding the championships... very, very smart!

As a former D3 player and now a baseball coach in a collegiate league as well as the HS level I can honestly tell you as far as baseball is concerned people are starting to realize that division isn't everything. The d3 players more than hold their own in the college league I coach in and in some cases are flat out BETTER.

Because baseball isn't a huge revenue generator like football and basketball even at the d1 level, most don't get scholarships at that level unless you go to a top shelf school like a Miami etc etc. Even then, it's difficult and not everyone gets a FULL free ride. So school choice in my opinion at least with baseball doesn't matter. If your good enough, the scouts will find you. What REALLY matters is high quality coaching that can get you to that next level.

Where I live in CT there's two programs that are better than the top D1 programs in CT IMO. Trinity is a perfect example. Bill Decker has churned out more professional draft picks in the last 5 years than state school and D1 program Uconn. Eastern CT St U is another program that led by longtime coach Bill Holowaty regularly sends guys to the pro ranks and from what I hear is no longer scheduled by UConn in the fall for fear they may get beat-which has happened in the past.

The bottom line is kids go to those schools and get BETTER. MUCH Better. Just because a school is D1 doesn't mean it has a great coach that will get you better each and every year, that's a gross misconception. The advice I give kids is go to a school or program that suits your needs and with a coach with a proven track record d1, d2 or d3.

As far as branding is concerned I DO think d3 needs better branding. Starting with mandating a high quality website for each and every member school. Most d1 and many d2 schools have solid sports websites now. d3 is still a hodgepodge. Some schools have it and some schools don't sending mixed messages. First impressions are usually the lasting ones and kids these days do so much online that the first contact they may have with your school and program may be via internet and if you have a poorly run site, it sends a message that d3 baseball and your program is a joke not to be taken seriously and thus wont be.

So my first order of business would be getting all member schools on board with this and if possible assisting them in doing it. This is something that should be fairly easy and cost effective to do (having a high quality website) and would send the right message to prospective athletes and families. This alone IMO will go a LONG way to changing misconceptions.

OK this is getting crazy do people really think that the DI level people care only about sports? What about Notre Dame, Duke, Stanford, any Ivy League school, Northwestern, Rice, American, Boston College, Boston Unversity, Bucknell, Georgia Tech, Butler, the list goes on and on. It is such a joke to think that DIII is the only place where student-athletes have to go to get great academics and athletics.

I think that D3 is a great choice for college athletics. Many talented athletes at my high school and other local high schools have gone D3 instead of DI. Recently a local Western New York football player went to D3 Carnegie Mellon. He was heavily recruited by DI schools as well as many D2 and D3 schools. He made his choice, because Carnegie Mellon had a top program he was interested in, he liked the coaches and the program, and he liked the small school atmosphere. Athletically, he could have played football just about anywhere but he made his choices based on his own priorities just like any other student-athlete should.

I chose d3 sports because I love the game. Like most d3 athletes, its my authentic love of competition and football itself which gets me up to go practice and lift. Some people may hate on d3 athletes, but in my opinion, it is sports at their purest.

If you compare how little funding Division III schools receive from the NCAA in comparison to Divisions I and II, which was previously mentioned as being 3.2%, it is hard to place Division III on the same pedestal.

I'm a student athlete at Utica College and I get less financial aid than the average student there. So I'll be paying off what it costs to be a "real" student athlete for quite a while.

As a parent of a D3 football player I can tell you that there is nothing that can explain the enthusiam shown by these players. They are doing this because they truly love the sport and it shows. The shame of it is that they all know that their chances of being recognized for their talent and drive will go unnoticed, yet they still play as if this was their career choice. I only wish that all athletes could experience this type of commitment and love for what they do. My son not only plays hard, he studies hard. Even though the chances of ever being recognized are slim, he still gives it 200%. And when the uniform goes off after the last game of the season, he can't wait until he can put it on again. How many of us can say that about our own "career" choices. God bless you all in D3, I admire your commitment, drive and sheer love of sport and teamwork! Keep it up.

Well, the reason why I chose DIII was first off I wanted a school that was great academically because that's the first thing from college, next I wanted a good academic school with a great baseball program. I'm from NC and went to high school in the Raleigh area and the entire focus is NC State or UNC, going DI, however not many people in our area look outside the NC area, so I did some exploring. I had 2 places where I could go and play D1 Vermont and Lafayette but they were both invited walk-on spots where I would be on the team for the fall... My speed is what hurt me... From the first day of my junior year I started looking at small liberal arts schools. I then fell in love with the small school atmosphere, when I made my visits. Then I decided on just heading on that route. So that's why I chose DIII

One of the star players on my high school football team accepted a football scholarship to his first choice. Although I was a less gifted high school football player I was able to successfully compete as a D-III college football player (www.salisbury.edu). Years later he openly expressed his envy. When I asked him what inspired his envy he said it was because I “played college football for fun”. He then went on to explain in detail how enjoyment was absent from his scholarship college football experience. As the poet Robert Frost wrote: “No memory of having starred atones for later disregard, or keeps the end from being hard.” My D-III college football career was not just fun. It was a four-year serial blast!

I currently play Div3 soccer and I wouldnt have traded it for anything. im a chem major/math minor and i look forward to the academics. i, like many, had scholarship offers to Div1 and Div2 schools. Schools like UNC-G, Fort Lewis, and various other highly ranked, in their own Div, were offering me spots. There is nothing wrong with traveling on a bus 600 miles, instead of a plane because the budget cant afford airfare. Im proud to be a part of Div3 and all it has to offer. I feel at home and I feel like the top dog on campus. I wont make the millions playing pro sports, but i will have a brain on my shoulders earning my future family a solid income . This is why i chose Div3

Dave, I meant to post this a while ago in response to your comment: "Now with the APR in place, these coaches have to be careful who they get or else the school will get punished..."

Just to clear things up, Division III does not have a APR system. As long as the student-athlete can stay eligible based on the school's academic standards, which obviously vary to a large degree based on the school, then the institution has nothing to worry about as far as NCAA penalties.

I don't think anyone would argue that the average D3 athlete is the same athlete as the average D1 athlete. Conversly, I doubt the average D1 student athlete is the same student as the average D3 student athlete.

However, playing a sport that you love and putting in the effort and focus to be the best you can be is equal between the divisions.

Isn't it all about "Being the best I can be."

Oh, wait. that one is taken.