The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the governing body of 1,099 higher education institutions in the United States. The NCAA was founded in 1906 to help facilitate athletic competitions between colleges and universities during a time when there was desire to create sports teams and foster athletic competition between these teams.
For any athletes and those involved in athletics you may know that Covenant is a member of the NCAA Division III. DIII is home to 422 colleges and universities. These colleges and universities tend to be smaller than those in Divisions I and II with a median enrollment of 1,700 students per school.
However, the size is not what determines what makes a school Division III. What makes Division III unique is the lack of athletic-scholarships for student athletes.
The lack of athletic scholarships has its pros and cons. There are low barriers to entry within Division III sports; the line between walk-ons and recruits in Division III is rather blurred because no one is getting scholarships. However, the lack of athletic scholarships can be a drawback to prospective athletes getting offers at the Division I and II level where they could potentially attend college for a lower cost.
If this is the case, why would talented athletes, athletes that could have been recruited to Division I or Division II schools, choose to attend a Division III school for their higher education considering the money, spotlight and development they could potentially gain from choosing a higher level institution?
As it turns out, education is the reason for most, as it well should be.
Former Tampa Bay Offensive Lineman Ali Marpet became a Pro Bowler in 2021 and was a member of the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl LV victory. He was selected in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. Where did he attend college? Hobart College in Geneva, New York—a DIII institution with an enrollment of just over 2,000.
Did Marpet choose Hobart because it was the school with the best athletic program he could be recruited to? No. Marpet had offers from Division I Marist, Holy Cross and Fordham.
Why did he choose Hobart? Academics, “It was one of the better schools that I could get into. I was almost certain that I wanted to major in economics, and they had it there.” Marpet graduated from Hobart in 2015 with a major in economics and a minor in philosophy.
Another example is two time Olympian Nick Symmonds. Symmonds won the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 800 meter and reached the Olympic semi-finals that year. He returned to the Olympic stage in 2012 and placed fifth in 800m finals. Symmonds attended college at Division III Willamette University in Oregon.
Symmonds' reason for attending the school that he did is education which is the highest priority when choosing a college, “You are a student athlete, not the other way around. Focus on your schooling and make your education your number one priority.”