Quote from: Kuiper on April 25, 2025, 03:21:47 PMI think I didn't post this in the fall when it came out, but I thought it was pretty cool to read that Capital University will be hosting the Men's and Women's soccer national championship games at historic Crew stadium in 2026

https://athletics.capital.edu/news/2024/10/2/general-capital-selected-as-host-institution-for-2026-mens-and-womens-soccer-ncaa-division-iii-national-championships.aspx

Las Vegas might have been cool for the players and families last year, but it didn't allow for many others to travel and watch the games and UNLV's soccer stadium is pretty underwhelming for spectators.  Plus, the fact that it's not a DIII institution gave it an odd feel.  It's nice to have a DIII school taking ownership of the event, while still giving it a major league facility.  Only downside to the facility is that the stadium might be too cavernous even if one of Ohio's many strong soccer programs qualifies for the Final Four.  The other potential downside is weather that time of year, although I don't know if it's that much different from Salem, VA.

QuoteCapital University has been selected as the host institution for the 2026 Men's and Women's Soccer NCAA Division III National Championships to be held at Historic Crew Stadium. Capital will serve as hosts alongside the Greater Columbus Sports Commission.

"Capital University is excited to have been selected alongside our partners at the Greater Columbus Sports Commission as the hosts of the DIII Men's and Women's Soccer National Championships in 2026," said Dr. Darrell Bailey Sr., Director of Athletics at Capital. "We were very proud to host the Division III Women's Basketball Championship in 2024, and we look forward to serving as the host institution again very soon. Our athletic department strives for excellence on and off the field of competition, and this is another great opportunity to put our campus, department, and facilities on display on a national level."

This will mark the first time that Columbus has served as the host city for the Division III men's and women's soccer championships.

I managed to make it to UNLV Kuiper! However, I completely get your point and in my case, I think it's quite unlikely I would get to Las Vegas again and in truth, whilst I loved watching what I did get to see, it definitely wasn't the best place to watch at.  I mentioned at the time that I thought Roanoke was a quite iconic place to not just watch at, but to visit also.  A quick peek at Capital suggests it looks like an impressive field, albeit one with too many lines, but also Columbus looks a pretty cool place.

As an aside, I was thinking about what D3 field would be a suitable one for a Final Four.  I haven't been to lots, but based on where I have actually attended, other than Roanoke, that perhaps Babson is one that would tick all the boxes.  But, I know there are many more that would easily do the job too.

If there was consistent, high quality filming taking place at every game, then this could be a good idea.  But right now, based on what I have seen, that's not the case.  On average it may improve a few decisions, but ultimately, if it's going to be the same human being that made the original one, I suspect the general happiness with officials is unlikely to get much more than a marginal bump.

I suppose that you could argue that multiple days of reckoning have been coming for the sector for a very long time and the new White House administration, for better or worse has its own ideas on how it should look, has suddenly created a massive disruption.  I sit in the middle in terms of what higher education should look like and for all the focus on the more vocational aspects to it, I also believe that needs to be more than offset by people who study philosophy, anthropology and dare I say it, in light of recent events, economic history.

Probably should be in the NESCAC section, but Amherst did something similar:


https://www.amherst.edu/news/news_releases/2025/april/breaking-news-from-amherst-college#:~:text=After%20careful%20consideration%20(and%20endless,the%20institution's%20name%20beginning%20today.

I got pulled up pretty quickly about the silent H when I first visited.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/securities-law/struggling-college-gives-bondholders-rights-to-presidents-house

Fun times at La Roche...

It feels like the general demographic time bomb couldn't have come along at a worse time.  As well as some D1s musing over whether D1 makes sense, I guess at the very top end, most D1s must be wondering the same.  I don't have much of a feel for D1 football or hoops, but do supporters of the best teams in those sports care so much about whether the games are under the auspices of the NCAA? Michigan v Ohio State will be big irrespective I presume.

Very good stuff Kuiper and I do wish we had more of this insight when the journey first started back in 2018.  I do think the why D3 question is an important one and as an international consumer of American education (boosting the US trade position at Australia's expense and hopefully helping avoid the imposition of tariffs) I feel well qualified to offer an opinion if only from that perspective.  The perspective I have now, which I hasten to add, wasn't the same as when the process started, is that the level you play at is as important as you want to make it.  But then, I think that it's compulsory to be completely honest about what your standard actually is.  The instagram update that says you have committed to such & such Big 10 college could well be the highlight of your athletic "career".  It's not hard to find a roster at that type of school and D1 schools in general where a senior has hardly played.  That doesn't mean they haven't had fun, but in part they have sacrificed the potential academic benefit at the expense of what is essentially a "there for the ride" experience.  That's not to say that it will be any easier at a D3 programme, but at least in D3 you will have time to actually focus on the academic and lifestyle aspects of attending university, which is an important part of the experience and ultimately better sets you up in your actual career.   

Asking the current club coach and anyone else who is properly knowledgeable and most importantly, prepared to be honest, is super important, as is listening to the response.  Later on, asking prospective college coaches where they actually see the opportunity is crucial also.  It may be the case that you need to read between the lines, but listening to the answer is the key for me.  I have been helping a friend here whose son has just joined a D2 school and the response he got when asking that question was, "the team has underperformed in the position you play, we are trying to fill that gap and you will have the chance to be the solution".  No guarantees of course, but since arriving, he has already identified there is an opportunity, what happens after that is up to him. 

Ultimately, very few players, irrespective of the division, are going to actually have careers in the game as players, but perhaps have a better chance as coaches.  The average lifespan of a college player drafted to the MLS is one year and I recently heard a podcast where an agent said that players being drafted are essentially looking at spots 24 to 36 on an MLS roster and that is for the players considered rightly or wrongly as amongst the best in D1.  I understand there are player who beat those odds, sometimes from D3, but there are many, many more doctors, lawyers and engineers created than professional soccer players. 

So, my guide essentially distils to get to the best academic institution you can, taking into account whatever boxes need to be ticked on that side.  If you can identify five, for example, then start to look at their soccer programmes.  Is there going to be a big senior class graduating?  Who actually played and in the position you're looking at?  Were they freshmen or juniors, how did the team actually go?  Obviously, things worked out differently for EnmoreKitten, but when I was checking out programmes, I liked the idea of a well-ranked academic institution where there was a re-build taking place and therefore opportunity to play.  Four years of potentially not playing much is probably something no one expects wherever they commit, but it's kind of down the same path as what I think is very good advice, that is, if you were injured and unable to play, would that school be a place you want to attend?

I agree strongly that watching games is super important.  We had the chance in 2018 to watch D1, 2 & 3 games and spend time with coaches and players.  Whilst it was valuable and insightful, 6.5 years later, I truly can say I knew nowhere near as much as I thought I did and inside these forums, there are treasure troves of knowledge and experience that are easily accessible and can fast track your learning.  I would encourage you to reach out.

Quote from: stlawus on January 29, 2025, 01:49:14 AMI missed it at the time but Jeremy Ogango from SLU was in the transfer portal in early December. Don't know what came of it, if anything as he's still on campus. Though that doesn't necessarily mean anything for next year. I believe it is/was an attempt to level up.

The Portal Whisperer!

As an international consumer, I'm a strong advocate.  World class academic possibilities, a robust athletic experience, plus one of the few countries left (sadly not including Australia so much these days) that offers an authentic student life.  Can't ask for more really...

All interesting points, I guess my cynical side wonders if it's more an opportunity to reduce actual academic effort so that more time can be dedicated to the underlying sport.  In the bigger picture, it might be doing the players who do get drafted, a favour, but the ones who don't are possibly left with a less useful qualification.  But, if they have good fortune with NIL, perhaps it won't matter as much.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/25/business/college-sports-academic-major.html

Not really a D3 issue, but the only surprise is that it hasn't already happened I guess.  The top level of college basketball and football is clearly the second tier beneath NBA and NFL and will continue to separate from all other sports over time potentially.

Thanks Kuiper, I'm getting goosebumps forever...

I feel like there is a synergy there waiting to be exploited

Quote from: Falconer on December 11, 2024, 12:18:51 PM

Quote from: EnmoreCat on December 10, 2024, 06:21:18 PMThe Amherst players that can read, do also.

All three of them, in addition to your son?

Unfortunately Falconer, there is less accurate data available about how many can count...

The Amherst players that can read, do also.