Quote from: sac on May 24, 2023, 10:57:36 AMQuote from: WUPHF on May 24, 2023, 10:46:49 AM
Cynically, I think the move to Division II is also often about a president or chancellor growing his or her list of accomplishments.
And survival for some. D2 also, allegedly, brings in more donations to the endowments in some cases, which I am skeptical of, but can also believe.
I think you're much more likely to see a split of MIAA schools going D2 and NAIA. But, just me.
Re: endowments, I took a quick look at the top at all endowments >$1B amongst US colleges and universities. My quick scan shows that that 100% of public institutions with endowments >$1B compete at D1 level, which feels intuitive. But amongst the 80 private institutions listed with endowments >$1B, 32 of them compete at D3 level, and zero of them compete at D2 level (My count might be off by a few since it was a quick scan). I don't see the case that moving from D3 to D2 increases giving to the endowment.