Future of Division III

[CarollFan]

I don't know if this is same article mentioned in WSJ but this one is not behind a paywall.

https://nypost.com/2026/08/03/us-news/alarming-number-of-small-us-colleges-are-struggling-and-misusing-donations-to-stay-open/

[y_jack_lok]

^^^It's basically a very condensed version of the WSJ article. The NY Post journalist appears to have read the WSJ article and written a shorter version. Questionable journalistic standards at work there.

[Ron Boerger]

^^^It's basically a very condensed version of the WSJ article. The NY Post journalist appears to have read the WSJ article and written a shorter version. Questionable journalistic standards at work there.

Well, we *are* talking about the Post, not exactly known for its journalistic (or any other kind of) integrity.

[jmcozenlaw]

Valley Forge students have teachout opportunities at Messiah, Eastern, and Southeastern, though the details of each differ (Messiah will match UVF net tuition costs, Southeastern offers only a 25% discount, etc.).

I don't know why it's not listed, but Lancaster Bible College also has the teachout opportunity with UVF as well. Sneaky good men's hoops teams over the years!

[jmcozenlaw]

I've always known there were a lot of D3 schools in the Northeast, but the number in some states is eye-popping.  I thought growing up in Virginia we had a lot (20), but NY and PA both have 60 and MA has 39. That's 37% of all D3 schools.

Those 3 states have more schools than the following 12 states, combined: VA, WV, KY, OH, IN, MI, IL, MO, MD, IA, WI, and MN (150 total).

The comment about being in the 3rd inning and going into extras hits a little different after looking at the numbers...


EDIT to add context to D2:  NY, PA and MA have 37 total schools.  22 of those are in PA alone.
302 D2 schools and the Southeast has over a third of those at 123 (if your definition of Southeast mirrors the SEC plus VA and NC...)

The D2 schools in PA (most in the PSAC) bought some time with playing a shell game of sorts over the past 12-24 months, but for a handful of them, the grim reaper is also approaching their doorsteps. I have a lot of friends who coach football and men's basketball in the PSAC and to a person, they are starting to get a little worried. I thought the closings of the private schools, along with their tuition and fee advantage would help them, and it has on the fringes, but the cliff of college aged students now and looking out into the near, mid and far term, might doom as many as half of them. Scary times indeed!

[jmcozenlaw]

^^^It's basically a very condensed version of the WSJ article. The NY Post journalist appears to have read the WSJ article and written a shorter version. Questionable journalistic standards at work there.

Well, we *are* talking about the Post, not exactly known for its journalistic (or any other kind of) integrity.

Sort of like the New York Times? .  New York, New York, big city of dreams, but everything in New York ain't always what it seems.......especially these days, or not. Let's grab some free groceries for our opening game tailgate

[Ron Boerger]

The Chicago Tribune reported earlier this week that Illinois Tech has declared a "financial exigency", laying off ~160 faculty and staff to address what the story calls "financial instability" at the school.  There's no public announcment of this issue that I could find on the school's website.  According to the story, enrollment at the school decreased by over a thousand from Fall 2024 to Fall 2025, declining from 8,838 to 7,502.  The school has recorded losses three of the last four years, with 2025's nearly $10M loss (on revenues of nearly $450M) a significant improvement from losses totalling nearly $85M in the years 2022 and 2023. 

Given the school's remaining resources, it is seemingly not in imminent danger of closure.

[IC798891]

Article is paywalled, but my immediate thought is that a drop that big had to be planned, because I there's no way that unexpectedly missing your yield by a few percentage points would cause a decrease like that of 1,300.

[Ron Boerger]

I installed a Chrome extension "AdBlock Detector Bypass" that apparently gets me around their firewall (though it often has to be disabled for some other sites to work properly).  It also deals pretty well with those damned Admiral blocks, the only thing I've found that does. 

As far as the enrollment drop, you're probably right, because it was their master's and not undergrad enrollment that declined.  The former went from 4,160 -> 2,873 while the latter increased slightly, from 2,813 -> 2,909.  Details:  Fall 2024 Fall 2025 (not blocked).

[IC798891]

Yeah, that sounds like an intentional cutting of 1/3 of your programs.

My guess is that the cost of the professors vs the money brought in by the students is drastically different at the grad level, especially a masters'. My thought is that not only are the masters students there for fewer years (thus bringing in less money) but that the professors are less likely to be the adjunct/lecturer/visiting types, and you need to pay them more.

[WUPHF]

As far as the enrollment drop, you're probably right, because it was their master's and not undergrad enrollment that declined.  The former went from 4,160 -> 2,873 while the latter increased slightly, from 2,813 -> 2,909.  Details:  Fall 2024 Fall 2025 (not blocked). 

The market for Indian international students went from boom to bust, seemingly overnight...

[CarollFan]

As far as the enrollment drop, you're probably right, because it was their master's and not undergrad enrollment that declined.  The former went from 4,160 -> 2,873 while the latter increased slightly, from 2,813 -> 2,909.  Details:  Fall 2024 Fall 2025 (not blocked). 

The market for Indian international students went from boom to bust, seemingly overnight...

Yes, according to this article 40% of IIT students were international. They also call out cuts to research funding.

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/illinois-institute-of-technology-layoffs/