Our friends at the Double-A Zone have asked the question, Who chooses Division III? It’s the NCAA’s official blog, so you have to take that into consideration, but unlike many ways in which the NCAA deals with Division III (can’t get its own playoff brackets right, doesn’t know how many Pool C bids there should be), the blog has a healthy knowledge of Division III, run by former Brandeis baseball player Josh Centor.
In light of the fact that Division II has spent a fair amount of time over the past few years trying to find its identity, there’s now apparently some sort of buzz. For me, I’m not sure what “I Chose Division II” actually means, while Division I’s identity is fairly clear and Division III has staked out the student-athlete high ground as the only purely amateur division (non-scholarship) in college athletics.
However, there seems to be some discussion from commenters, not much of it well-informed, as to what Division III’s identity is. Those people need a good dose of D3sports.com readers to fill them in. (I myself have a comment that is awaiting moderator approval.)
Meanwhile, the core question: Should Division III do more to brand itself? Speaking as someone who has done most of the branding of Division III over the past decade, absolutely. I look at what Division II has done in this area over the past few years, in terms of fancy promotional spots, games on CBS College Sports and football playoffs on ESPN, a full package of streaming video broadcasts of football and basketball, and I am definitely jealous. All Division III fans should be.
Division III should be branding itself. It should not be left to people like us here at D3sports.com or Steve Clay and D3Cast or Robb Modica and D3Scoreboard.
We just wasted a bunch of time and money figuring out Division IV was not the place we really wanted to be. So let’s spruce up our house a little bit while we’re here. Let’s show the rest of college fandom that this is not just glorified intramurals. Let’s get our games out there for people to see.
Why did you choose Division III? Go tell them.
And tell us below.
I don’t really care what the rest of college fandom thinks about DIII. There is nothing I, or we DIII fans, can do to affect a change in their thinking.
I choose DIII because it is the closest thing to purity in collegiate athletic endeavor….desire to achieve the maximum level of performance possible without expecting the”normal” standards of recognition and reward.
Interesting. Part of me agrees with lg1970, but part of me realizes this as an honest chance to shed light on how we end up here.
Because honestly, for the most part, unless we grew up as family of a Division III grad, or in a small town with a D3 college, most of us didn’t come up through the ranks dreaming to be players at D3 schools. There are D3 schools students dream of going to, don’t get me wrong, but I know I myself sort of ended up here and fell in love with it.
So for those people who haven’t had a reason to end up here yet, it is probably worthwhile to explain to them that, football-wise at least, this is the same offenses and defenses they run in D1, and the same game, just played by guys who spend a little more time beefing up their minds in class and a little less in the weight room, because they know their physical gifts are probably not going to be their meal ticket.
It’s a discussion we’ve had a million times on this side of the board. Perhaps one good reason to take it outside the board is for the parent and student-athlete who is making that life-changing decision sometime soon … are we really going to let them waste a year or two of their lives somewhere they don’t want to be? 🙂
I think just about everybody’s got a view on this subject that has merit.
Until I made a career change and moved my family to McMinnville I didn’t have clue one or interest in D3. It’s a good lesson about just about anything that…”You just don’t know until you know”. That’s a poor Yogyism but there it is!
The community, the school, the quality of young people that are here and, of course, the quality of the athletics make for an eye-opener about small college life. The tight knit community that surrounds and generously nurtures our school makes it feel like we’re all integral and welcome to be a part of a very special experience in Linfield athletics.
To get back on task…why do these young men choose an expensive school with very little chance of going anywhere else (in football) beyond graduation.
Clearly, and it’s been said already, these guys are here for a first rate education. The chance to continue playing ball competitively and with, we hope, a real chance of seeing an extended season beyond the printed schedule must also play into a student athletes decision.
…ahh heck…it’s just too much fun to pass up!
While I came from a family deeply rooted in small colleges, I turned my back on free tuition, room and board at a Division I school because I didn’t want my athletic career to end. My free ride was based on my Dad’s employment with the university and I had little or no chance of competing there. Several small colleges expressed an interest in me and that was exciting for me at 17.
Today I tell my students in the small Ohio high school I teach at, that they can get a similar teacher to student experience in a small college. When I changed careers in later life, I returned to the same small school to further my education. I’ve never understood the lure of a big school or a big town for that matter.
Division III is the substance that allows the small town player who is just on the cusp of being a great player howerver getting to the Division I level is just out of their reach. The DIII player is the player who plays because he loves the game. Why else would he do two a days risking injury to the body unless it was not for the love of the game. DIII is just as exciting as DI, DII and has the aura of yesterday for those who played in the past. DIII is chosen for the love of the game.
When I opted to go to Alfred University in 1954 there was no Division III.
As a fairly decent athlete from the Hudson Valley of New York I had aspirations of playing college football. However, a accident (fractured vertabra) after my freshman year in high school my aspirations were shattered. Had a very good freshman year and was slated to be the starting center on the high school team the next year. Rather than being on the football field that fall I was in a hospital bed.
Finally, in my senior year, my parents and the school agreed to let me try out for the football team. Luckily, I made the team and was honored by a few all-star selections. The great Alex Yunevich from Alfred University visited our high school and told me that I might be able to play there. Other schools, apparently, were reluctant to take a look at me because of lack of experience. No promises were made about scholarships; play and get a scholarship was the theme of Alex’s sell.
Made the team as a 17 year old, played in all but one game, and was one of the few freshmen to garner a letter. Lettered three subsequent years and started each game following the second or third game of my sophomore (when the starting center was injured during a game and never returned to play). Where else could have this dream come true?
Team did fairly well during those four memorable years; undefeated two years and recognized by the Touchdown Club of Washington, DC as the “Small College Team of the Nation.”
Have never thanked the late Alex Yunevich for taking that leap of faith in me; thank you sir. Thank you for what you did for me and hundreds of young men like me. I cannot help but think there are many who faced similar circumstances and would not have had the opportunity to both go to college and enjoy four years of playing football while there. It was a great ride!!
Why I chose DIII, and Delaware Valley at that in 1996? Well, as a D-Lineman at 5-10 ans 225 lbs with all league and all county mention in Northern NJ, I was not going to play in the NFL. DIII gave me an opportunity to play NCAA which was a dream come true and the support in academics from a small school is, I believe hard to come by in bigger schools.
At a small school or DIII school, the community tends to be close knit and offer an environment that allows and encourages student atletes to excell by doing more than providing lip service.