Drawback to Div III college?

[Anonymous]

The quality of D3 athletics can be higher at the top than some lower-level D1 programs, in part because there are plenty of lower-level D1-level athletes who decide to go there for the academics, quality of life, and/or chance to play immediately.

Most people's knowledge of D1 is based on Power 5 conferences, but most kids who think they are D1 are really lower-level D1 quality. When comparing these schools with D3, the advantages of D1 lessen. Some of the D3s even have better athletic facilities than the lower-level D1s. This is especially true at elite academic D3 schools that have big donors.

The big advantage of D3, depending upon the sport, is the limit on off-season training days, which leaves more room for internships, study abroad programs, lab classes etc, the chance for more immediate playing time, and the reduced pressure on the players and coaches to win at all costs, which is the environment that often leads to player abuse.

Your son and his dad should watch some D3 games in person and online (they are all streamed these days) and see for themselves whether the quality is too low. They also should visit some facilities and meet with the coaches.

As a practical matter, if your son wants the overall experience of D3, he won't last long in D1. He'll burnout quickly and quit. Kind of the worst of both worlds. Chose a school for athletics instead of using athletics to get him into the best school and left without athletics or the best school fit for him.

If your son and his Dad want to compromise, focus on D3-style D1 athletic programs. Schools like Davidson, Colgate, Bucknell, Lehigh, Lafayette, and the Ivy's are D1 (lower-level in most sports), but are smaller and have more focus on academics. They often have practice times designed not to conflict with classes and they play schedules designed to minimize long travel. They also generally don't go deep into post-season, thus minimizing conflicts further.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would MUCH rather my child play d3 over d1. D3 your kid can put academics first and still competitively play the sport they love. There is a much better sport/academic/social life balance for d3. I see no downside

You make a good point. DS is looking at such demanding schools that I think the relative ease of a D3 sport compared to D1 would make for a better life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Your son and his dad should watch some D3 games in person and online (they are all streamed these days) and see for themselves whether the quality is too low. They also should visit some facilities and meet with the coaches.

This is great advice. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just one sport or multiple sports? D1 you can only do 1 sport. D3 you can pull off doing a fall and spring.....
Which sport and which schools D1?
Will he play as D1? If he will be benched first year, he might be interested in D2 or D3 for the playing time.
Is he also smart, have specific education goals? That may matter as well......

This isn't true. There are multisport athetes (mostly football and track or football and wrestling) at a number of D1 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would MUCH rather my child play d3 over d1. D3 your kid can put academics first and still competitively play the sport they love. There is a much better sport/academic/social life balance for d3. I see no downside

My DS plays baseball at a D3. He is able to major in whatever he wants. I've heard that STEM majors are really difficult for D1 baseball players because of practice time requirements and when labs tend to occur. At my DS' school, if a class that is required for his major conflicts with practice, he is able to take the class. I know he has one class this semester that has him late to practice one day a week. He also had an exam a few weeks ago. He was not able to reschedule it, and there was no repercussion with the coach.

Someone else mentioned lack of school spirit at D3s. I go to a most of my DS' home games. There are always quite a few students in the stands watching the games, especially the weekend games when the weather is really nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would MUCH rather my child play d3 over d1. D3 your kid can put academics first and still competitively play the sport they love. There is a much better sport/academic/social life balance for d3. I see no downside

+1 When you play D1, the sport is your primary job, not your academics.

And, the "no athletic scholarships" piece is meaningless, you can still get great scholarships at a D3, they are just merit scholarships instead of athletics so they are not contingent on continuing to play your sport. That sounds like a pro, not a con.

[Anonymous]

What sport your big shot son play?

[Anonymous]

Kind of a different take here and not really on point to the OPs question - but I find this very interesting as to what additional opportunities college athletes have theses days

In June 2021, the Division 1 Board of Directors approved an interim name, image and likeness (NIL) policy. This new policy allows all NCAA D1, D2 and D3 student-athletes to be compensated for their NIL as of July 1, 2021, regardless of whether their state has a NIL law in place or not.

A wide receiver for Amherst is considered the "king" of D3 NIL. He gets about $7,500 in cash and free merchandise a year from his deals.

We also know a kid in Texas playing D3 baseball. He is the best on the team and a top player in the conference. He got an NIL deal for $3,000 plus free meals from a local restaurant for the year.

To put it in perspective, the top two NIL deals in D!: Arch Manning (freshman QB at Texas who has not yet played a snap) makes $3,8 million. Live Dunne (LSU gymnastics) makes $3.5 million. Coming in with the 100th ranked NIL, a wide receiver ay Michigan who makes $497K annually as a sophomore.

[Anonymous]

One thing to keep in mind, OP - keep in mind that a lot of athletes quit. Some of them get injured, and others just don't want to do it any more. This means it is of paramount importance to pick a school that your son would want to attend if he is unable or unwilling to play the sport any more.

From this perspective the smaller D3 schools could be a disadvantage because the athletes are a relatively large proportion of the student population, and if your kid is no longer doing athletics he may end up socially isolated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing to keep in mind, OP - keep in mind that a lot of athletes quit. Some of them get injured, and others just don't want to do it any more. This means it is of paramount importance to pick a school that your son would want to attend if he is unable or unwilling to play the sport any more.

From this perspective the smaller D3 schools could be a disadvantage because the athletes are a relatively large proportion of the student population, and if your kid is no longer doing athletics he may end up socially isolated.

We've talked about this a lot. He's wanting a ROTC program, so I think he's aware. Double whammy when it comes to losing community, I guess..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What sport your big shot son play?

He's a swimmer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To some extent this is going to be determined by whether or not your son actually is D1 material as dad seems to think.

If this is a sport with no prospect of "going pro" after college, then really who cares if you play D1 or D3?

D1 has scholarships, D3 doesn't. A quarterback who will never sniff the NFL or even a power conference can still attend a D1 school for free

D1 has some scholarships, but most on the team do not or have less than you think. When my nephew was being recruited, they wanted to see the FAFSA before they offered any scholarships and when they saw my sister and BIL could pay, no scholarship was offered they wanted to save them for less well off teammates. Now, if the student is stupendously good and being recruited nationally the story is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Our DC played on a travel team with a lot of players expecting D1 offers, including from T20 schools. In the end, three kids got D1 offers and none were T40 schools. They were not the flashy players with the pushy parents, but the hard working ones with the pleasant parents. Some others ended up with D3 offers and are enjoying it - but dang had to listen to those parents for five years go on and on about their DCs eventually playing at their Ivy alma maters.

Ha! I sometimes think this is the most painful part of high school sports.

Yes, our DC was not one of the stronger players on the travel team and some of the parents clearly looked down on her. But DC was one of tops on school team, which went on to win a state championship. DC did take some delight in that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would MUCH rather my child play d3 over d1. D3 your kid can put academics first and still competitively play the sport they love. There is a much better sport/academic/social life balance for d3. I see no downside

+1 When you play D1, the sport is your primary job, not your academics.

And, the "no athletic scholarships" piece is meaningless, you can still get great scholarships at a D3, they are just merit scholarships instead of athletics so they are not contingent on continuing to play your sport. That sounds like a pro, not a con.

+1
Know a kid who is playing D3 at a top 35-ish ranked school. The kid was not an academic rock star but parents told me he received a 33% break off tuition. Honestly don't know if it was called scholarship or merit award (didn't ask), but parents were happy with that result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would MUCH rather my child play d3 over d1. D3 your kid can put academics first and still competitively play the sport they love. There is a much better sport/academic/social life balance for d3. I see no downside

I have wondered if this is true! I kind of feel the same and would prefer D3 over D1.