What Makes Division 1 Better Than Division 3? Essay

Division III athletics have become more then high school athletes holding onto a dream and competing at the non-scholarship level of the National collegiate athletic association. From 2004 to 2012 the average cost of having a division III athletics program has gone up 200% (Fulks, 2013). From 2004 until 2012 the average cost per athlete has also gone up, from $3,500 to $5,800. This money does not even touch the levels that are being spent in Division I, but Division III athletics are on an upward trend of spending.

What are the three main reason you can get into a D1 sports school. This topic explain ways you can get into a D1 school for sports easy as possible. It is important because some students can’t get an academic scholarship so they get scholarships for sports. Attending camps is one of the entries to a D1 college.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is an $11-billion-dollar industry that provides high school athletes the opportunity to continue their athletic careers while still getting an education. The NCAA is divided into three divisions; Division 1,2and 3. Between these 3 divisions the NCAA accounts for 72,788 football players. At the Division 1 level, athletes are awarded full athletic scholarships, also known as “full rides.” These athletes are in the top tier of their sport and some may even go on to play professionally. Division 2 athletes are looked at as 2nd best in comparison to Division 1 but nonetheless still have a lot of competition and offer partial athletic scholarships. The last of part of the NCAA is Division 3, where no athletic scholarships are awarded. One of the most controversial topics about athletic scholarships is why Division 3 schools don’t get any and this is best exemplified through the sport of football. In my opinion, all NCAA football players should receive full athletic scholarships regardless of division.

The Intercollegiate Athlete Association of the United States, In May of 1910, became what is now known as the NCAA (Time Toast). “When the NCAA first began, there were no such things as Division I, Division II, and Division III colleges (NCAA.org)”. “The membership was divided into three divisions for competition and legislative purposes (NCAA.org)”. “Among the three NCAA divisions, Division I schools generally have the biggest student bodies, manage the largest athletics budgets and offer the most generous number of scholarships (NCAA.org)”. “With nearly 350 colleges and universities in its membership, Division I schools have more than 6,000 sports teams, and provide opportunities for more than 170,000 student-athletes

The NCAA believes “that a student-athlete is a student first and athlete second.” Student-athletes benefit more than from playing a sport that they love. The graduation rate is higher among the student athletes than the general student body. “NCAA studies show that student-athletes enjoy high levels of engagement in academics, athletics and community: have positive feeling about their overall athletics and academic experiences: attribute invaluable life skills to being a student-athlete: and are more likely to earn similar or higher wages after college than non-student athletes.”

Athletics are a big attraction to many students when looking at colleges. When college sports programs have success, research done by Pope and Pope show that there is a boost in applications that the colleges receive from students. “Applications [after] a Championship add 7-8 percent, with a big effect in the immediate year and little effect after one year.” It was found that when colleges have winning athletic teams get more applications sent in from all levels of student and not just athletes. This is found true for basketball and football. Not only increase in applications is found but also found after success in football there is a growth in enrollment, this is not found true for basketball (Getz and Siegfried “What Does Intercollegiate Athletics Do…”). “David Schmidly the president of the University of New Mexico said “One of the most effective ways to market your university nationally is to have a really quality athletic program. It helps recruit faculty, students, and donors. It helps with the image of the whole university.” (qtd. in Getz and Siegfried “College Sports: The Mystery of the Zero-Sum Game.”)

For many students, the college experience is measured by the success of their NCAA-sanctioned athletic programs. Without the experience and athletic performance the student athlete brings, most colleges would not reap the benefit of these significant revenue-generating activities. At best, current NCAA regulations need to be revisited to ensure all avenues are addressed to enable the success of athletic students both in the classroom and on the field or court of play. As stated previously, even though students receive full and partial scholarships determined by their athletic performance, in both instances

As college athletic programs expanded, they began to become more diverse making the NCAA create structures that recognized different levels of importance. The association divided the memberships into three different competitive divisions. In 1978 division I members voted to make subdivisions. The NCAA has not always been the organization it is today.

When looking at NCAA division programs, one will notice different factors that make it that type of division. These factors all have to be considered when an athletic administrator is looking to move their program up or down in divisions. These decisions are crucial to the university because the outcome can have a positive or negative effect on more than just the athletic staff. One thing an administrator needs to look at is the athletic competition for that university. This is important, because you want to be able to compete at that type of level. You don’t want to waste time and money on a team that can’t compete at the division’s level. Another factor you have to look at is the amount of people. This is important because you need the right amount of staff and people in general to help the program function, whether that be coaches, game-day operators, or fans bringing in revenue. Money is another factor; without money the program won’t survive. Without money, the programs won’t have the means to succeed.

Jolley, D. (2009). Academic Achievement Is Improving for College Athletes. In C. Watkins, Sports and Athletes (pp. 71-78). Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

With that in mind, to keep college sports prestigious, colleges must come up with a way to keep their athletes interested in playing at their school until they have finished their degrees. College athletes at the Division One level should be paid to play.

College football players receive a lot of benefits by attending big name universities, especially if they’re on scholarship. Full football scholarships are given to the top athletes in the country, these scholarships include all their books, room and board, whole tuition paid for, and any sporting equipment needed. For some reason Division 1 football players still want more on top of everything previously stated. This is a pretty crazy argument due to all the “free” stuff that these big name athletes do get. Kain Colter, a former Northwestern university quarterback, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA describing the life of a college football player, describing it like a day of work.

Division-One athletes already are getting paid. They already get paid with full ride athletic scholarships. Some that is even in the hundred thousand dollar range. You get the scholarship and its benefits whether you Start every game or rid the bench all four years. A Division-One athletic scholarship covers textbooks for every class, that universities fees, tuition, and finally room and boarding.

All Division 1 athletes put their heart and soul into the sport that they work so hard for day after day, week after week, month after month. For many years, athletes’ passion and hard work for the game that they play has gotten them an opportunity to attend a university where they are able to showcase their talent and ability at one of the highest amateur levels of athletics. When one makes it to the Division 1 level, playing sports is more or less a business. The job that one has as a student athlete is to play sports and make a profit for the college he or she attends. In the past years, there has been one controversial question that lingers in the minds of athletes, sports analysts and fans across the nation. Should Division 1 athletes be paid to participate? Division 1 student athletes should not receive payment or a salary for competing in college athletics.

College Athletics. College sports are huge to a college’s students. It gives them pride and a reason why they want to be at that college. Nothing will start a debate like talking about your Alma mater’s athletics. Who’s got the best football team? What about the basketball? How about who gets the best recruits? Athletics at the collegiate level went from clubs playing at each other to a billion dollar business. That is just one example of change in college sports. College athletics have changed over time from the number of sports, money dedicated to sports, and how women’s athletics has improved.