A Pivotal Moment in College Sports
Two days ago, the NCAA announced a $2.8 billion agreement that would, if approved by a federal judge, for the first time permit almost 25,000 Division I college athletes attending 363 schools to receive direct compensation from their institutions. Three years ago, a judicial decision allowed NCAA athletes for the first time in its 120-year history to profit by using their names and images to market products. In conjunction with the major Division I conferences, the NCAA has agreed to settle a class-action antitrust lawsuit brought by college athletes. If approved by Claudia Wilken, a federal judge in California who is presiding over the case, the agreement would permit colleges and universities to pay athletes directly for playing a variety of sports through revenue sharing plans. It would also compensate any Division I athletes who participated in this lawsuit and played a sport between 2016 and 2020, men who played football and basketball for Division I major conferences and women who played basketball for these conferences during these years.
The NIL (names, images, and likenesses) decision, the recent changes to the transfer portal, and this revenue sharing plan prompt some to argue that NCAA Division III athletes who do not receive athletic scholarships and play primarily for the love of their sport constitute the last bastion of amateurism and are the best role model for college sports. Division III was founded in 1973 to offer an alternative to big-time college athletics. Its founding philosophy asserts that athletics is an integral aspect of the educational process and that student-athletes should be treated similarly to other students. D-3 colleges and universities prioritize students’ educational experience and the successful completion of their academic program.
Division III is currently the largest component of the NCAA with over 450 member colleges and universities. More than 155,000 D-3 student-athletes currently compete annually for 36 different national championships. D-3 provides a wider variety of athletic opportunities than any other NCAA division. Many D-3 athletes were among the best at their high schools and, in some cases, conferences, regions, and even states. They choose to play at their respective institutions because of their academic and sports reputations, size, location, courses of study, coaches, and other factors.
Many D-3 athletes have a well-rounded collegiate experience that balances demanding academic work, competitive athletics, and participation in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities. Some of them play more than one sport. They learn lessons in teamwork, personal discipline, leadership, and perseverance, which helps many of them excel in the classroom, prepare effectively for varied careers, and become mature, responsible, caring citizens. Because of the smaller size of D-3 schools, many athletes develop a family-like connection with their coaches, teammates, and professors. D-3 coaches can spend more time with individual athletes than their D-1 and D-2 counterparts because their teams typically have fewer participants.
Colleges that play D-3 sports offer other advantages to athletes: their lower student enrollment, which may enable athletes to feel more comfortable; their strong sense of community; their focus on academics; their smaller class sizes; their greater opportunity to interact with and collaborate with professors on projects; athletes’ likelihood of getting more playing time early in their careers; the opportunity to play more than one sport; and having coaches who support athletes’ desire to participate in varied extracurricular activities. At D-3 schools, athletes are generally able to do internships, participate in a service-learning projects, join clubs or organizations, serve in student government, write for student publications, perform with musical ensembles, and study abroad.
D-3 athletes experience much less pressure in their respective sports than do their D-1 and D-2 counterparts. This enables them to focus on their own personal growth and enjoy playing their sport. Many D-3 institutions prioritize academic excellence and give their student-athletes excellent networking and leadership opportunities and career counseling to prepare for their vocations after graduating.
Expressing the philosophy of many D-3 institutions, Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, argues that competitive sports have “educational value” and structures its athletic programs “to maximize their contribution to student development.” The college declares that its coaches are educators first and foremost and that it “is committed to providing the resources necessary” to help students be the best possible teachers, mentors and leaders. Like many D-3 schools, Maryville College near Knoxville, Tennessee, emphasizes the family-like connection student-athletes develop with their coaches, teammates, and professors. By spending a large amount of quality time with one another in their athletics programs and other activities, players create relationships that will last a lifetime.
A Boston university philosophy major deplores the “rotten idea popular among America’s youth” that has reared “its ugly head in the Dartmouth men’s basketball team’s decision to unionize: that the value of any activity is determined by how much money it can generate.” He argues that “Keeping college sports amateur ensures that athletes participate” because of “their love for the game, pride in their school and passion for achieving greatness,” not to receive “a weekly paycheck and benefits.” Amateur athletes work zealously to achieve team and personal goals without receiving any financial compensation. This concept encourages athletes to set aside their egos and work together as a team. Division III schools pledge to promote good sportsmanship and integrity among their coaches, students, administrators, faculty, and fans and to ensure that coaches act fairly, honestly, and transparently.
As these developments continue to transform Division I athletics, consider the value and benefit of amateur athletics at the Division III level.