Future of Division III

[Titan Q]

If this keeps up at this pace (where athletics are emphasized) don't many Division III schools know they are sliding down as slippery slope.  In time they will inadvertantly becoming like those "prep academies" that cater to athlete-student.  What's the tipping point?  Will the day come when an incoming freshman class has 75% of the class as student-athletes as opposed to 50% like Maryville?  Where does it all end?   All for the $$$$! 

See link below to NY Times article on those type of prep schools tha the NCAA has been slow to regulate. 

www.nytimes.com/2006/02/25/sports/ncaabasketball/25preps.html

That is a stretch, wilburt.  It's one thing for a university to use athletics as a way to attract potential students -- students who meet the school's academic requirements, and students who will leave a with a valuable degree.  It is another to operate a Division I athletics developmental academy and call it a "prep school." 

A good friend of mine has a daughter who is a 17-year-old high school senior in central Illinois.  She is a terrific student and also a sprinter on the track team.  She is currently weighing her college options between four finalists - U. of Missouri, U. of Illinois, Augustana, and Illinois Wesleyan.  The appeal of the two D3 schools to her is the chance to continue participating in track, which she can't do at the two huge state schools she is considering.  She knows she won't be a track star in college (even at the D3 level), but she enjoys it.

I certainly don't think Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan are doing anything wrong by using the opportunity to participate in intercollegiate athletics as a selling point in attracting a high-caliber student.  These two NCAA Division III schools are not "catering" to an athlete but simply leveraging their athletic programs in support of their overall mission.

[Titan Q]

Here is a link to a feature ESPN did on Division III basketball two seasons ago, featuring Lincoln and Illinois Wesleyan...

http://europa.iwu.edu:8080/ramgen/news/IWU_on_ESPN.rm

(This is from IWU's site and it just includes the IWU portions.)

There are a lot of great points about the differences between Division I and Division III.  The piece also includes interviews with a couple players, including Keelan Amelianovich ('06).  Amelianovich found Illinois Wesleyan 100% due to basketball, but he also had impeccable high school credentials.  He was named the 2006 College Division Academic All-American of the Year.

I certainly won't apologize for my alma mater finding a first class student-athlete like Keelan Amelianovich via athletic channels.  That is happening all over Division III and it is a very healthy thing.

[frank uible]

Why does any college need the NCAA to help it make decisions about its operation, including decisions about admissions, scheduling of athletic opponents or other extra-curricular opportunities for its student body?

[golden_dome]

Chris, can you clarify what you mean?  Are you saying Division III student athletes select schools based on athletics alone?

I want to make sure I understand your point before responding.  Thanks.

Titan, thanks for letting me clarify first, I see another meaning in that post now. I just meant that the decision to participate in athletics is not directly for the benefit of academics, wherever you attend school. You end up spending hours out of the classroom on the road, which one could argue would adversely affect academics. I believe that athletic participation can indirectly benefit academics for a student-athlete, but I'm sure that is not part of the decision to play.

I definitely did not intend to insinuate students should choose schools for athletics alone, without regard for academics.

[Spence]

The Adrian example is just the scenario I forsee some D-II schools pursuing if D-III is split into more and less restrictive separate entities.

[cush]

I think alot of D1 school's use a type of the adrian example to get students, ie use athletics as a marketing thing to attract students...in the d1 case its not to give them a chance to play which is the adrian case but rather getting the school exposure. For instance, i think when northwestern went to the rose bowl in the mid-90's, their applications went way up, ditto any team that makes it to the final four. Heck, you probably could make the case duke basketball made that school a top five academic institution...going back 20-30 years, there probably wasn't much of a difference between duke and vanderbilt or emory but those school's haven't had the athletic success duke found on the bball court. 

[hickory_cornhusker]

I know that both Marquette and George Mason saw huge jumps in their applications after their recent Final Four runs.

[Warren Thompson]

I know that both Marquette and George Mason saw huge jumps in their applications after their recent Final Four runs.

If applications spike because of athletic success, that perhaps says something about the values priorities of the applicants ....

[NEPAFAN]

I know that both Marquette and George Mason saw huge jumps in their applications after their recent Final Four runs.

If applications spike because of athletic success, that perhaps says something about the values priorities of the applicants ....

Maybe, maybe Not. More athletic success = more press. Perhaps said applicants were not aware of Mason or Marquette prior to their success.

[smedindy]

I'd say it was the exposure, especially for George Mason. It's a pretty unheralded school sitting near DC with so many powerhouses nearby.

[johnnie_esq]

It happens closer to home than you may think.  SJU had a spike in applications after its Stagg Bowl win also; and I think UWW would say the same thing. 

In SJU's case the free exposure on the Twin Cities media certainly helped introduce candidates to the school, but remember that males tend to matriculate in far greater numbers to schools with football teams.  And when you have a successful football team, well, everyone likes a winner.

[old ends]

Ralph: this just popped up in my alert box. Survey time from NCAA about a new DIV III subdivision.

Click here: http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=other/news/AON4128659.htm

enjoy

[iwumichigander]

Why does any college need the NCAA to help it make decisions about its operation, including decisions about admissions, scheduling of athletic opponents or other extra-curricular opportunities for its student body?

Member institutions voluntarily decide to join the NCAA; and, by joining, make their own conscious decision to abide by the NCAA rules, regulations and governing bodies.  The NCAA does not make decisions for its individual member institutions; it provides a framework within which its members make their own decisions.  Decisions to change, or not change, that framework, unless provisioned otherwise within its bylaws, are voted upon by the collective members.

[frank uible]

My point exactly. Let's do away with the NCAA as useless.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

My point exactly. Let's do away with the NCAA as useless.

I have a veteran AD friend who expects the BCS conferences to do just that in a few years.