Future of Division III

[MCScots2013]

I'm sure it makes the old timers happy with annual games with Centre and Sewanee--lesser degree Rhodes.  Only thing that would make it better would be if E&H stayed D3 and could be an annual non-conference game. Carson-Newman, in the SAC with E&H now, is the other school that was an annual game back in the day.  Just over an hour away from each other.

As far as the SAA is concerned, I like it. Seems like a forever home (I hope).  So much conference membership changes in the Region over the last 15-20 years.  We were USA South for a while--Greensboro, NC Wesleyan, Methodist are the only ones left in the conference from back when I was in school (Averett, Ferrum, CNU, Shenandoah and Maryville being the rest of the 8 football schools).

[scottiedoug]

I hope the SAA affiliation for Maryville does not become a financial miscalculation...it is a long way to Texas and recruiting against well-heeled schools is hard....but I do think the school profiles are more similar than they have been since Maryville left the ODAC. Still, much of the SAA is wealthier than MC. And then there is FloSports to annoy us.

[MCScots2013]

I think we're most similar to Millsaps and Oglethorpe in the SAA.  Millsaps' endowment is tracking nearly identical to Maryville's ($100-110M) and revenues and expenses are similar as well. Oglethorpe's endowment is half of Maryville's.  I'm not saying that makes one better than the other, but I wouldn't think that Maryville's "wealth" is prohibitive to SAA success.  But, yeah, fair point about travel costs going out to San Antone a couple times a year.

Constant point of discussion on this thread: demographics are constraining enrollment (duh.).  Where we have an advantage is the fact Tennessee is growing and most MC students are in-state.  From 2020-2025, Tennessee's population grew almost 6% and over 22% of the population is under 18 years old (Census data).  I didn't go to high school in TN, but I think there are state grants for students to attend in-state private colleges.  That is naturally beneficial for MC as Tennessee--especially East Tennessee--grows.

A good time for a plug for the Alexander Institute.  If still on schedule, groundbreaking is slated for the Fall and then take 18 months to complete.  This will help get people on campus. Looking forward for all on the board to stop by on their vacations to the Smokies.  You'll literally drive past the entrance on US 321 in a couple years.

[y_jack_lok]

I think we're most similar to Millsaps and Oglethorpe in the SAA.  Millsaps' endowment is tracking nearly identical to Maryville's ($100-110M) and revenues and expenses are similar as well. Oglethorpe's endowment is half of Maryville's.  I'm not saying that makes one better than the other, but I wouldn't think that Maryville's "wealth" is prohibitive to SAA success.  But, yeah, fair point about travel costs going out to San Antone a couple times a year.

Constant point of discussion on this thread: demographics are constraining enrollment (duh.).  Where we have an advantage is the fact Tennessee is growing and most MC students are in-state.  From 2020-2025, Tennessee's population grew almost 6% and over 22% of the population is under 18 years old (Census data).  I didn't go to high school in TN, but I think there are state grants for students to attend in-state private colleges.  That is naturally beneficial for MC as Tennessee--especially East Tennessee--grows.

A good time for a plug for the Alexander Institute.  If still on schedule, groundbreaking is slated for the Fall and then take 18 months to complete.  This will help get people on campus. Looking forward for all on the board to stop by on their vacations to the Smokies.  You'll literally drive past the entrance on US 321 in a couple years.

All of this suggests to me that the notion of MC adding Greek life to enhance enrollment seems unnecessary.

[MCScots2013]

I think we're most similar to Millsaps and Oglethorpe in the SAA.  Millsaps' endowment is tracking nearly identical to Maryville's ($100-110M) and revenues and expenses are similar as well. Oglethorpe's endowment is half of Maryville's.  I'm not saying that makes one better than the other, but I wouldn't think that Maryville's "wealth" is prohibitive to SAA success.  But, yeah, fair point about travel costs going out to San Antone a couple times a year.

Constant point of discussion on this thread: demographics are constraining enrollment (duh.).  Where we have an advantage is the fact Tennessee is growing and most MC students are in-state.  From 2020-2025, Tennessee's population grew almost 6% and over 22% of the population is under 18 years old (Census data).  I didn't go to high school in TN, but I think there are state grants for students to attend in-state private colleges.  That is naturally beneficial for MC as Tennessee--especially East Tennessee--grows.

A good time for a plug for the Alexander Institute.  If still on schedule, groundbreaking is slated for the Fall and then take 18 months to complete.  This will help get people on campus. Looking forward for all on the board to stop by on their vacations to the Smokies.  You'll literally drive past the entrance on US 321 in a couple years.

All of this suggests to me that the notion of MC adding Greek life to enhance enrollment seems unnecessary.

I would agree.  Seems like an unnecessary hassle. 

[WUPHF]

Another interview on the future of Division III that is worth a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccc6k0GgcVg

[GusD]

A review of Form 990s, the annual return that tax-exempt organizations must submit to the IRS, reveals that more than 18% of D3 schools had losses in net income in each of the last three years.

In filings by private institutions, 58 schools reported more expenses than income for each of the 3 years. Conversely, 87 schools reported plus income on each of their last three filings. State-affiliated institutions were not included in this review.

Three Straight Years of Losses. Albion, Albright, Alverno, Averett, Baldwin Wallace, Benedictine, Brandeis, Bridgewater, Buena Vista, Cedar Crest, Centenary NJ, Central IA, Centre, Clark, Connecticut College, Curry, Dean, Drew, Elizabethtown, Elmira, Eureka, Ferrum, Gallaudet, Hanover, Hartford, Hartwick, Hilbert, Hiram, Illinois College, Keystone, King's, Lyon, Marietta, Marymount, Newmann, Nichols, North Carolina Wesleyan, North Central MN, North Park, Pacific Lutheran, Piedmont, Puget Sound, Sarah Lawrence, Scranton, Simpson, Springfield, St. Lawrence, Texas Lutheran, U of Dallas, Utica, Webster, Wentworth, Whittier, Widener, Willamette, Wilmington, Wittenberg, and WPI.

10 Largest Combined Total Losses Over Last Three Filings. Chicago – 339M, Brandeis– 109M, Willamette– 87M, Illinois Tech – 83M, Sewanee– 71M, Webster – 65M, Clark – 61M, Hartford – 52M, Albright – 47.3M, and Lyon– 47M.

10 Largest Deficits In Last Filing Alone. Chicago-359M, Washington U – 354M, Brandeis– 43M, Johnson & Wales-Providence – 42M, Suffolk – 36M, Yeshiva– 33M, Lyon– 27M, Albright– 22.7M, Catholic– 22.5M, and Whittier – 22.1

[GusD]

I think we're most similar to Millsaps and Oglethorpe in the SAA.  Millsaps' endowment is tracking nearly identical to Maryville's ($100-110M) and revenues and expenses are similar as well. Oglethorpe's endowment is half of Maryville's.  I'm not saying that makes one better than the other, but I wouldn't think that Maryville's "wealth" is prohibitive to SAA success.  But, yeah, fair point about travel costs going out to San Antone a couple times a year.

Constant point of discussion on this thread: demographics are constraining enrollment (duh.).  Where we have an advantage is the fact Tennessee is growing and most MC students are in-state.  From 2020-2025, Tennessee's population grew almost 6% and over 22% of the population is under 18 years old (Census data).  I didn't go to high school in TN, but I think there are state grants for students to attend in-state private colleges.  That is naturally beneficial for MC as Tennessee--especially East Tennessee--grows.

A good time for a plug for the Alexander Institute.  If still on schedule, groundbreaking is slated for the Fall and then take 18 months to complete.  This will help get people on campus. Looking forward for all on the board to stop by on their vacations to the Smokies.  You'll literally drive past the entrance on US 321 in a couple years.

All of this suggests to me that the notion of MC adding Greek life to enhance enrollment seems unnecessary.

I would agree.  Seems like an unnecessary hassle. 

I imagine there are exceptions meaning there may be relatively few D3 schools where adding Greek Life would enhance enrollment, but I seriously doubt doing so would make more than a negligible different in enrollment figures at the vast majority of institutions. By and large what the kids want is a closer association with fellow team members rather than with a group of individuals they may be friendly with but don't enjoy the brotherhood and camaraderie they derive from being teammates with. Undeniably, they want to reside in a "house." But not necessarily in a fraternity/sorority house. After being free of the two or three year dorm residency requirement (during which they've hung with each other) the Valhalla is to obtain an off campus house which is most often shared with team members. There's the "basketball house," the "football house," the "volleyball house," and so on. This is applicable to both sexes. And frequently, while your top tier of friends is your teammates, your 2nd tier is usually members of other athletic teams—- as in the soccer house guys are going to the party at girls tennis house tonight. Another let's say "advantage" is fraternity and sorority houses are almost always subject to Residence Life rules like no alcohol or only x number of people in a room at a time, just like the dorms. But there are no such limitations at the off campus houses, whether the residents are or are not members of athletic teams. So I've really never heard much, if any, talk about weather a school has a Greek system as being a factor in kids choice of school. Several years ago, I think the situation may have been different and whether a school had a Greek system could well have played a bigger role in the choice of school. Such was the case with me.

[WUPHF]

A review of Form 990s, the annual return that tax-exempt organizations must submit to the IRS, reveals that more than 18% of D3 schools had losses in net income in each of the last three years.

This story was discussed two or three weeks ago if you want to go back and look.

[WUPHF]

By and large what the kids want is a closer association with fellow team members rather than with a group of individuals they may be friendly with but don't enjoy the brotherhood and camaraderie they derive from being teammates with. [...]

So I've really never heard much, if any, talk about weather a school has a Greek system as being a factor in kids choice of school.

If you were to ask Maryville, I would expect them to say that the Greek life idea was about recruiting students more generally, particularly non-athletes.

Also, I think they would say the calculus is more nuanced than being able to say hey we have Greek life, but instead, it is about bolstering the student experience overall.

Enrollment is shorthand for recruitment and retention.  Do not discount the latter.

[GusD]

By and large what the kids want is a closer association with fellow team members rather than with a group of individuals they may be friendly with but don't enjoy the brotherhood and camaraderie they derive from being teammates with. [...]

So I've really never heard much, if any, talk about weather a school has a Greek system as being a factor in kids choice of school.

If you were to ask Maryville, I would expect them to say that the Greek life idea was about recruiting students more generally, particularly non-athletes.

Also, I think they would say the calculus is more nuanced than being able to say hey we have Greek life, but instead, it is about bolstering the student experience overall.

Enrollment is shorthand for recruitment and retention.  Do not discount the latter.

At most schools today, certainly not all, "the student experience overall" doesn't really depend that much on whether the school has a Greek system in place. I think many more kids today have a more independent nature than in years past. Mucho Años ago when I was in school, Greek life was often a much bigger deal. Fraternities and sororities were the major portion of the social fabric of my school. If you were a resident student and weren't a Greek, you were often looked at as somewhat of a nerd. That's who the dorms were for if you weren't a freshman who lived in the dorm because it was required. Commuter students generally got a pass, but even a fair number of them were members of one of the Greek houses.
Today, about 11 to 16% of college students belong to a fraternity or sorority. In contrast, during the peak of Greek life in the 60s and 70s up to 30 to 40% of undergraduate were members.