This is the transcript from Radio CaptainU: The Real Differences Between DI, DII, and DIII.
We've got an interesting topic on task for today we’re gonna talk a little about the different divisions. Division one, division two and division three. This kind of came out of an interview, a newspaper interview I was doing earlier today a little about what are the differences between those divisions and how do people end up making some of the most common mistakes that in terms of how they think about D1, D2 and D3.
So that’s what up on the table today, on the podcast, hope you enjoy it. Hope you're enjoying CaptainU. We’ve seen a lot of really good recruiting outcomes in the last few weeks. A lot of people are getting in touch with college coaches. That’s really exciting for us to see.
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Okay so onward with today’s topic D1, D2 and D3. So what are the real differences? Now the first thing that we have to do when discussing this particular topic, is we have to dispel the number one myth and that is that D1, D2 and D3 correspond directly with the quality of the play in the particular division.
In other words a lot of people seem to think that division one by virtue of being number one is best, D2 would be second best and D3 would be third best or awful by some accounts. But really that’s not the case, and so we’re gonna talk about what those designations actually mean to them and one thing that we’ve actually joked about for a while here at CaptainU is changing the whole D1, D2, D3 system and making it more like NCAA red NCAA blue, NCAA green. You know some color designation that makes it a little less like of a hierarchy than you see with D1, D2 and D3. So the first thing that you need to just get out of your mind is the idea that D1 is the best and D3 is the worst.
Alright so the second thing, the second thing to really take into consideration is what are the real differences between these three divisions and they really fall into kind of two categories.
The first is of course scholarships and this gets a lot of attention because athletic scholarships are a pretty hot topic, a pretty neat thing, you know something that people really like to discuss a lot.
Division one and two teams have scholarships, athletic scholarships. Division three teams don’t have scholarships athletic scholarships. However an interesting statistic that you should know is that the average division three athlete is receiving on average more financial aid through a variety of grant programs, loans, various awards than the average division one player. That’s a pretty fascinating statistic. As far as scholarships in division one go just because a team is allowed scholarships doesn’t mean it has all the scholarships that it is allotted.
The NCAA allows a certain number of scholarships per team and not every team necessarily has fully funded all of those scholarships. So you may be allowed ten scholarships for a given team and a given sport. But the athletic department may only have enough money to fund three or four in many cases and indeed this is the case. Many teams, many Division I teams while they are allowed to have scholarships don’t have the full allotment funded. So that’s another thing to take into consideration.
So of the two main issues that are the real differences between the Divisions, scholarships is certainly one. And the second one is the time commitment. And this is something that really should not be overlooked because it really gets to the core of what it is that you want your college experience to be like. Athletics in Division I should be considered basically a full time job. Athletes spend five, six hours a day doing various activities associated with the team whether that’s lifting weights, doing fitness work, going to the trainer practicing, traveling to games, playing in games. And they do this year round.
By contrast in Division III for example, the time commitment is much less. Now during the season it’s no doubt very intense in division three but the off season is much more restricted. The NCAA has very clearly restricted the amount of time that division three athletes can spend with their team.
And the effect that this has is that it dramatically changes the kind of college experience that you have. So if you’re playing sports in Division III, you will find that you have more time to pursue other college activities. Whether that may be student government newspapers or other student groups. And this is certainly something that a lot of people like to have. They like to broaden their horizons a bit when they get to school. Of course there are athletes who really want to go to school and focus on playing sports and going to school and for them Division I maybe a better bet.
So the bottom line is, before you just say reflexively that you want to play Division I because it’s the best, forget about that myth, that idea that Division I is necessarily the best, because to be quite frank, many, there are many top Division II and Division III teams that could beat many division one teams. It‘s not necessarily the rule and certainly the best D1 teams are usually the best teams in the country. But the quality in D3 and D2 is very high.
So first off all, drop the myth, forget the myth that D1 is necessarily the best, and also take into the consideration the real issue, the scholarships issue as well as the time commitment and then you’ll have a more realistic sense of what the whole D1, D2, D3 hierarchy is actually about.
