Why so few D3 colleges in the Western half of the U.S.?

[Gregory Sager]

"Benedict resides in Tecumseh, Mich. and will begin recruiting and head coach responsibilities immediately. "

Where does one recruit HS corn hole players? High School keg parties?

LOL.  I expected to scroll down the bio and see that he played D1 cornhole at Detroit Mercy.

But here's the big million dollar question.....are they gonna tighten up the cornholing sub rules to be more in line with international cornhole standards?  How many generally get carried on a roster, how many travel, and how many have to wait their turn a couple of years before snagging playing time?

I guess that it's all riding upon whether or not the D1 schools with cornhole programs will insist upon playing a split-season schedule. It's all a part of that big chase to make cornhole an Olympic sport, no doubt.

In all fairness to our beanbag-tossing youth, however, you have to concede that if the rich kids who attend the tonier D3 schools can participate in intercollegiate squash, fencing, and equestrian, it's only right that the blue-collar kids get to play intercollegiate cornhole. Besides, cornhole doesn't look any weirder on a D3 school's athletics webpage than esports. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the idea of video games being an intercollegiate sport.



Meanwhile, I'm tipping my cap to the Adrian rugby team, which went 3-1 against Big Ten competition last season while also defeating Kentucky, Louisville, and Notre Dame. Sure, those were club teams that the Bulldogs were playing, but those club teams (Notre Dame aside) draw their players from absolutely gargantuan student populations.

Adrian is a school of about 1,700 students that sponsors 45 varsity teams (including each of the multi-level hockey teams for both men and women). Wow.

[OldNed]

"Benedict resides in Tecumseh, Mich. and will begin recruiting and head coach responsibilities immediately. "

Where does one recruit HS corn hole players? High School keg parties?

Hmm.  I'm a pretty fair thrower and I've got 4 years of eligibility left 

[WLCALUM83]

2 more cornhole sport links:

https://www.cornholeaddicts.com/leagues
https://americancornhole.com (next televised meet is scheduled for 4/22-23/22 in Cedar Rapids, IA)

ACO's got too many divisions, so I'd have to pick only 1 or 2, mainly.

Results from Cedar Rapids. IA cornhole meet are up:

https://players.americancornhole.com/schedules/index/1/results#divisions

(Note:  Go to the arrow for the division you want to look at, and then left-click. Scroll down a bit on the next screen that shows up.)

[Kuiper]

To bring the thread back on topic (not that the discussion of cornhole meet results aren't fascinating to many, I'm sure), Simple Coach has a new Quick Shot up with the coach at Luther about the difficulty faced by teams in the west (which really includes the midwest and southwest - reflecting just how small the footprint of D3 athletics is in the US):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmKpOCnp9S8

For what it's worth, I echo the general sentiment of the conversation that it really is challenging for western program to thrive in D3 and I'm also not sure what you could do about it.  The effect of travel, both in terms of wear and tear and jet lag, on traveling west to east, probably can't be overstated for western teams competing in the NCAA tournament.  Moreover, lumping in a UChicago with a Redlands or Claremont obscures that effect because (1) you're talking about a one hour time difference versus a three hour time difference and (2) the flights are more than twice as long. 

It's little wonder that the only time the NCAA DIII Men's Soccer national championships was held in California or anywhere on the West Coast -- in 1991 when the Final Four was held in San Diego -- UC San Diego won it (although, to be fair, UCSD also won it in 1988 (at Rochester Inst) and 1993 (at Williams) and Redlands lost in the finals in 2001 (at Messiah) and UC Santa Cruz lost in the finals in 2004 (at Greensboro)).  It's also little wonder that UCSD moved to DII and recently just made the jump to DI.

[Ron Boerger]

It's a chicken and egg thing ... if there were more D3 schools in the west you would probably see more D2/NAIA schools wanting to move to D3.  But yeah, unless you have very deep pockets and a huge commitment to the principles of D3 there's very little reason for a school to make a move.  It does happen - Centenary (LA) and St Thomas (TX) are among those to move to D3 despite their modest financial situations.  But if you're in the Mountain time zone or a state school on the west coast?   Fuggitaboutit.  Colorado College has hung in for decades despite having to board a plane to play anyone in D3 including their conference opponents, but they're an odd duck with several D1 sports grandfathered in. 

[SimpleCoach]

For what it's worth, I echo the general sentiment of the conversation that it really is challenging for western program to thrive in D3 and I'm also not sure what you could do about it.

First, @Kuiper, thanks for watching!  I usually have to think about what parts to put up as a Quick Shot.  This one was so obvious.

Two, totally get the issue.  Totally understand the challenges and the real differences and challenges that western teams face.  His breakdown of the travel they endured in a week during the Tournament in 2019(?), was downright shocking.

Finally, I am with you.  I am not sure what to do about it.  It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

SC.