FB: American Rivers Conference

[hazzben]

The ARC is on the forefront of promoting 5 for 5 in D3.
https://x.com/D3Ticker/status/2088317667312582930

5 for 5 is fascinating to me, on the face of it Pat and Greg called out it's not in line with the D3 mission and ethos.

Having said that, enrollment implications color everything nowadays. If NAIA adopts 5 for 5, that's not nothing when you're recruiting kids, especially in Iowa where there are so many strong NAIA programs. Kids know they have a very limited window to play football, a guaranteed 5th year is enticing. Makes sense why the ARC is leading the charge on this.

Also an interesting wrinkle for the WIAC and grey shirting. They would lose the advantage of 90% of their seniors being 5th year guys.

In football most guys could just save a class or two for the fall of their 5th season. It's a lot harder for a sport like basketball that spans two semesters each season.

[DriftlessDuhawk]

I think that the 5 for 5 proposal for football is a no brainer. If a kid wants to play 5 years of football he would just leave a single class for the fall of the fifth year and be done with it. Maybe accrue an extra 1-4k in debt?  That is what most of the 5th year covid seniors did and I would bet most of those guys would tell you it was the correct decision.

That being said football (and all fall sports) are in a much different place than winter and spring sports. Staying for an extra semester and taking 1-3 credits feels like a no brainer with a limited cost. Staying for a full semester plus additional classes in the spring costing up to around 10-20k extra for one more year? That year starts to seem less worth it.

I totally understand why the ARC is leading this charge. Most of the schools in the conference are enrollment based institutions that need more and more kids enrolling than ever. They most likely see this as a cash cow and are willing to pass the buck along to the students to bear the load of some of their debt. I personally do not believe that these schools are searching for what's best for the athletes, and simply looking for ways to stay open.

All that being said... If it keeps my favorite school and conference afloat then I guess I am here for it.