Some years ago I started referring to players transferring to Division III as “moving up” to D-III. After all, any first grader can tell you that three is greater than one, but more importantly, people going to Division III are moving up to the highest level of pure amateur athletics in the USA.

In fact, I still curse John Feinstein for his insinuation that Patriot League players are The Last Amateurs. If he’d looked a little more closely, he’d have found that D-III is where those amateurs reside.

So when I read the bio of new North Park coach Scott Pethtel, it struck a chord with me:

Although he coached football at the NCAA Division 1-A level, Scott Pethtel considers taking the reigns (sic) of North Park University’s program to be a step up.

“I think it’s the truest form of amateurism in football,” Pethtel says. “The athletes love the game. They don’t come because of scholarship. I just like that attitude. They still love to play the game and they are as committed as any level of football.”

Coaching at Division III will allow him to help instill values that he might not have been able to at the larger programs. “The almighty buck was driving Division I football and not the development of character,” Pethtel notes.

Welcome to Division III. Your team last won a CCIW game on Oct. 7, 2000, 40 conference games ago. Good luck!