By R.J. Anderson
With 420 members, and the potential to expand to 600 in 10 years time, growth within NCAA Division III is creating a competitive inequity that has many athletic directors and coaches searching for solutions. But what is the best solution? Some have suggested the NCAA create a subdivision within Division III, while others have proposed asking some schools to split off to form a fourth division. Critics argue that these types of moves could segregate schools based on their athletic prowess and leave smaller institutions (with great academic reputations) feeling as though they're being relegated to a lesser tier.
As this article in the NY Times points out, these options are not embraced by everyone.
"It's going to be like a middle school dance where everyone is watching to see who moves from one end of the gym to the other first," said Dick Rasmussen, the chief executive of the University Athletic Association, a group of eight academically respected institutions that have also won dozens of Division III national championships. "Once you start to see who is dancing with whom, the philosophical underpinnings to this whole thing might get stretched."
There also fears that any changes to Division III could affect the N.A.I.A. , which could dissolve if it loses too many members.
"There has always been the thought that if enough N.A.I.A. schools leave, it will reach a tipping point and then the N.A.I.A. contributes dozens of schools to the N.C.A.A.," said Steve Ulrich, executive director of the N.C.A.A.'s Centennial Conference.
A couple of years ago, Athletic Management asked Athletic Directors at all levels of the NCAA their thoughts on the NCAA's current three-tier structure. Their answers were as diverse as the young men and women who make up their student body.
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