Division III

Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States.

Membership

The division consists of colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletically related financial aid (athletic scholarships) to their student-athletes. There are 449 member institutions (both full and provisional), making Division III (D-III) the largest of the three divisions sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

D-III schools range in size from less than 500 to over 10,000 students. D-III schools compete in athletics as a non-revenue making, extracurricular activity for students; hence, they may not offer athletic scholarships, they may not redshirt freshmen [cite web |url=http://www.ncaa.org/library/membership/division_iii_manual/2007-08/2007-08_d3_manual.pdf |title=2007-2008 NCAA Division III Manual |accessdate=2007-11-07 |author=NCAA |authorlink=National Collegiate Athletic Association |format=PDF |pages=Page 90 |quote=14.2.4.1 Minimum Amount of Participation ] and they may not use endowments or funds whose primary purpose is to benefit their athletic programs.

:Conferences competing in Division III

::*Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference::*American Southwest Conference::*Atlantic Central Football Conference::*Capital Athletic Conference::*Centennial Conference::*City University of New York Athletic Conference::*College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin::*Colonial States Athletic Conference::*Commonwealth Coast Conference::*Empire 8 Conference::*Great South Athletic Conference::*Great Northeast Athletic Conference::*Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference::*Illini-Badger Football Conference::*Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference::*Landmark Conference::*Liberty League::*Little East Conference::*Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference::*Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association::*Middle Atlantic Conference::*Midwest Conference::*Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference::*New England Football Conference::*New England Small College Athletic Conference::*New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference::*New Jersey Athletic Conference::*North Atlantic Conference::*North Coast Athletic Conference::*North Eastern Athletic Conference::*Northern Athletics Conference::*Northwest Conference::*Ohio Athletic Conference::*Old Dominion Athletic Conference::*Presidents' Athletic Conference::*St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference::*Skyline Conference::*Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference::*Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference::*State University of New York Athletic Conference::*USA South Athletic Conference::*University Athletic Association::*Upper Midwest Athletic Conference::*Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Division III schools with Division I programs

Twelve D-III schools currently play up to the Division I level in one or two sports (one for each gender maximum).

Seven of them are grandfathered schools which have traditionally competed at the highest level of a particular sport prior to the institution of the Division classifications in 1971. These schools are allowed to offer athletic scholarships in their Division I sports to remain competitive with their opponents. [http://www.uscho.com/news/college-hockey/id,7693/ScholarshipsWillContinueForPlayUpSchools.html USCHO: Scholarships Will Continue For D-III 'Play Up' Schools] ]

*Clarkson University (men's and women's ice hockey)
*Colorado College (men's ice hockey and women's soccer)
*Hartwick College (men's soccer and women's water polo)
*Johns Hopkins University (men's and women's lacrosse)
*Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, (men's and women's ice hockey)
*Rutgers at Newark (men's volleyball)
*St. Lawrence University (men's and women's ice hockey)

(SUNY Oneonta was previously grandfathered in men's soccer but dropped down to Division III in 2006.)

The other five schools choose to play up in one sport for men and optionally one sport for women, but they are not grandfathered and thus are not allowed to offer athletic scholarships. Academic-based and need-based financial aid is still available.

*Franklin and Marshall College (men's wrestling)
*Hobart College (men's lacrosse)
*Lawrence University (fencing)
*Rochester Institute of Technology (men's ice hockey)
*Union College (men's and women's ice hockey)

Football and basketball may not be grandfathered Division I programs because their revenue-enhancing potential would give them an unfair advantage over other Division III schools. In 1992, several Division III schools who competed at the Division I level in basketball, most notably Georgetown University, were forced to upgrade the rest of their athletic program to a Division I level.

The NCAA currently has a moratorium in place on schools moving divisions, including Division III schools playing up to Division I. [http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=86721 College Sporting News: NCAA Division I Board Enacts Four-Year Moratorium on Accepting New Members] ]

Recent changes

In 2003, concerned about the direction of the Division, the Division III Presidents' Council, led by Middlebury College President John McCardell, acted to limit the length of the traditional and non-traditional seasons, eliminate redshirting, and redefine a season of participation, all of which were approved by a majority vote of the membership.

An additional proposal which would have eliminated the ability of the institutions listed above to offer athletic scholarships was rejected, though rules limiting the exception to only those schools currently offering D-I programs was approved. These actions took place at the January 2004 NCAA Convention.

ee also

*Division I
*Division II
*NCAA Division III national football championship
*NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Championship

References

External links

[http://www.ncaa.org NCAA official website]
[http://NCAAsports.com NCAA official sports website]
[http://www.d3football.com D3football.com, covers Division III football]
[http://www.d3wrestle.com D3Wrestle.com, covers Division III wrestling]
[http://www.d3hoops.com D3hoops.com, covers Division III men's and women's basketball]
[http://www.d3baseball.com D3baseball.com, covers Division III baseball]
[http://www.d3soccer.com D3soccer.com, covers Division III men's and women's soccer]
[http://www.d3kicks.com D3Kicks.com, covers Division III soccer]
[http://www.uscho.com USCHO.com, covers Division III men's and women's ice hockey]