Future of Division III

[IC798891]

I have to think that the cuts are partially budget related because basically every Division I athletics department is struggling to adjust to the pay to play.  But if you know otherwise...

The Syracuse Provost has been quoted as saying they aren't. We don't have to take them at their word but, to me, the relevant detail is this:

"No positions or departments have been slated for elimination"

They're not eliminating, for example, the professors who teach French and Francophone Studies. They're simply eliminating the ability to pursue it as a major.

Just as a D3 example, Ithaca College offers a degree in World Languages and Cultures, and minors in various specific languages -- one being French and Francophone Studies. There are also other degree programs at the college that require taking a second language as part of the degree requirements. Also, people may just want to take some of these programs' courses as general electives.

So you still need professors who can teach French, even without a French major. And that's your main cost

[WUPHF]

"No positions or departments have been slated for elimination"

They're not eliminating, for example, the professors who teach French and Francophone Studies. They're simply eliminating the ability to pursue it as a major.

Yet. This is higher education and restructuring is more complicated than for most sectors.

[DagarmanSpartan]

There was a WSJ article today that stated that it is small, private colleges that are being most affected by declining enrollments and falling revenues.  I suppose that that could disproportionately affect D3, as some here have claimed.

That same article, however, said that Ivies, major universities, and big-time athletic schools appear to be unaffected.  I didn't get to read the whole thing because it was behind a paywall, but perhaps a subscriber here could elaborate more fully on it.

[scottiedoug]

Meanwhile, there are strong cases to be made for the significance of such schools....

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/01/liberal-arts-college-war-higher-ed/685800/?gift=VwONRSVu98S8RoX3SzCvW-6JB9ocN43KrRvRGhcsy9c&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

[DagarmanSpartan]

How about this?

Forbes just published its 2026 list of "The New Ivies."  This is the third year that Forbes has published such a list.

There are 20 total, 10 public and 10 private.

Five of the ten privates are D3 schools: Carnegie-Mellon, Case Western Reserve U., Emory, Washington U-St. Louis, and Tufts.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciapark/2026/04/08/the-new-ivies-20-great-employer-friendly-colleges-embracing-ai/

This year's list puts a premium on schools that embrace AI fully.

[Patrick Coleman]

There was a WSJ article today that stated that it is small, private colleges that are being most affected by declining enrollments and falling revenues.  I suppose that that could disproportionately affect D3, as some here have claimed.

As we have been saying here for literally years.