What Division III sport should we add a board for next?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Soccer and Track are catching up on the poll; this could be a tight race by the end.

[woolax]

Lacrosse the sport of the Kings of Spring

[mybleedinghands]

Lacrosse is the second best sport in the world after basketball of course.
I discovered lacrosse last year and fell in love with it instantly! It didn't take me long to figure out why its one of the fastest growing sports in the country.

[kingjames]

Pat, I know you're stretched thin here the way it is.  It is a lot of work.  I'd say the next sport should be soccer.  I think bgsoccer.com may have a thread dedicated to D3 but here would be better.  I think whichever sport it is try to get a couple moderators ready to go so it doesn't take you away from the other boards. 

If the USA can have similar success in this summers world cup like they did 4 years ago in Korea (quarterfinals) then this really could put soccer over the "media" hump in this country.  It's already immensely popular with players and fans.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I agree, but sadly, we'll have to win our group to avoid Brazil in the second round.  Oh well, we act like the whole world is against us anyway; they might as well be.

[Ralph Turner]

I agree, but sadly, we'll have to win our group to avoid Brazil in the second round.  Oh well, we act like the whole world is against us anyway; they might as well be.

Okay, I gotta say this,

"Maybe the US can get seeded in the Northeast Sectional instead of the Great Lakes or Midwest Sectional in the second round!"    8)

[Tuxguy]

Soccer please! Having watched &  coached for many years, I must vote for Soccer. I have a son who plays College Soccer. Once you know the game it's fun to watch!

[radiomike]

Pat,

I would look at Soccer. Hockey is covered very well at USCHO http://www.uscho.com/d2d3/ and Lacrosse at LaxPower http://www.laxpower.com

It would be repetative to add these.

[Pat Coleman]

There seems to be a lot of support for lacrosse interest on this site nonetheless. Why not keep them here?

[Ryan Coleman]

I agree with Pat on the LAX topic and you on the hockey one. USCHO definitely has an excellent hold on the hockey discussion for Division III, of course; I don't know if there is any competition out there though.

Pat,

I would look at Soccer. Hockey is covered very well at USCHO http://www.uscho.com/d2d3/ and Lacrosse at LaxPower http://www.laxpower.com

It would be repetative to add these.

[radiomike]

There seems to be a lot of support for lacrosse interest on this site nonetheless. Why not keep them here?

While that may be the intent, like USCHO, Laxpower is THE place for lacrosse discussions on the 'net. You may get some support, but you likely won't get the traffic you would with other sports that may have a more national focus. I think everyone knows the reputation of this site and would welcome any additions. However, would it dilute your existing coverage? I am all for more places to post, and am a huge proponent of the sport, but I don't think you will get the posters in droves coming over from Laxpower, as you see for football or hoops. That site has survived and has grown, while others have folded or have stagnated. One aspect is the moderation of the posts, that keeps everything at a pretty high level, unlike some of the other lax sites or "fansonly" sites hosted by schools. Most of the traffic at that site is generated by DI and DIII men's lax, with more interest in DI. However, depending on the weekend, the DIII is just as active. So you may want to consider that before adding, especially when you consider there are almost twice as many NCAA DIII Men's teams as D1 Men's teams.

As posted previously, Lax is growing. But to be honest, at the NCAA level, it is still very heavy in the East, even at DIII. Women's DI is more geographically diverse, but the true nationwide appeal is club. It is everywhere, with almost 200 teams. However, DI and DIII men are pretty much Ohio and East, and NC and North, with a couple of DI programs in Indiana (Butler and ND). You fly over the midwest to Colorado for the next programs at the collegiate level, before skipping again to the west coast for Whittier at DIII. You might want to consider that before you add a sport that at the collegiate level, is not universally nationwide, as Football, Hoops, and some of the other suggestions, such as Baseball (which has already been added), Soccer, or "track and field sports" including cross country.

As much as I would say go ahead and add lax, you might get more interest in Soccer, since it does not really have a good place to discuss it and it truly does have a nationwide reach at DIII. "Track" and Vollyeball would be my next suggestions.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Three cheers for the beautiful game.

[tributetothemaninblack]

I would say track and field.  Simply beacuse this site started with football and basketball and there are many baksetball and football players who also participate in in track and field.  Therefore, it would be a great addition to see how the student athletes are during in track and field.

[Pat Coleman]

However, would it dilute your existing coverage?

We're not covering lacrosse, so it would not dilute our other coverage. We're just providing a place to talk.

I don't think you will get the posters in droves coming over from Laxpower, as you see for football or hoops.

That's OK, it isn't really our intent anyway. If they come, great, more power to them (and us). But there's an interest among current D3sports.com users to talk about lacrosse, like there was with baseball, and we'd like to fulfill it.

As much as I would say go ahead and add lax, you might get more interest in Soccer, since it does not really have a good place to discuss it and it truly does have a nationwide reach at DIII.

That could still happen. But we're also trying to start with sports that our current users have interest in as well. Soccer and football don't have much crossover, whereas football and lacrosse do. If some come over from laxpower in order to discuss Division III issues such as playoff setup, NCAA trends and the other things we offer, great. But if they don't, I would still like to see what we have in terms of discussion.

[Warren Thompson]

Good point, Pat. I suspect that at a goodly number of D3 venues, some football players also play lacrosse (hitting people in the spring helps maintain autumnal hitting skills  )