Andrew ODellWhen it comes to Division III athletics, there are two schools of thought. There are those who are skeptical about the caliber of the athletics at a D-III school. On the flipside, you have the people who know that D-III athletes play not to collect as many accolades as possible, but simply for the love of the game.
While there are numerous differences between Division I and D-III sports, the biggest difference is that D-III schools do not offer student-athletes athletic scholarships. This might lead you to conclude that Washington University attracts few talented athletes-an assumption that could not be further from the truth. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the D-III philosophy is simple: to place the “highest priority on the overall quality of the educational experience” and to “seek to establish and maintain an environment in which a student-athlete’s athletic activities are conducted as an integral part of the student-athlete’s educational experience.” I can honestly say that the University’s attendance at sporting events may both be lower than at a D-I school, but the spirit and excitement are just as large.
Take my freshman year for example. March Madness 2000 was well under way and the University’s women’s basketball team found itself in the Final Four in search of the third of what would be four consecutive national championships. About a week before, campus administrators sent out a mass e-mail to all students inviting anyone who wanted to cheer on the Bears in person to sign up for an all-expenses paid trip to Danbury, Connecticut, the obscure location of the 2000 D-III Final Four. Being a die-hard sports fan, and never passing up on the chance to attend sporting events for free, I quickly jumped at the opportunity.
We were scheduled to leave Thursday evening and return three days later on Sunday afternoon. Disregarding my need to study for my chemistry exam that would follow on Monday, I and about forty students boarded the coach bus and 20 uncomfortable hours later arrived at our hotel. We attended the semi-final games that evening and watched as the Bears positioned themselves to claim yet another national title.
On Saturday evening, with a 79-33 win in the championship game over Southern Maine, the Bears posted what few NCAA teams in any division have done: back-to-back undefeated national championship seasons. This, of course, was followed by a party back at the hotel for the entire University entourage. Unfortunately, in order for the traveling fans to get back to St. Louis by Sunday evening, we all had to excuse ourselves around 1 a.m. to board the coach bus for yet another 20 hour return trip. While some might consider this act an extreme gesture of school spirit, this experience is by far one of my fondest college memories. I couldn’t tell you what I got on my chemistry exam that Monday, but I will always remember cheering on my fellow classmates and friends in Danbury, Connecticut that March weekend.
D-I might have the size and media attention, but there is something to be said for sports at any level. We might not have the following of a Notre Dame vs. University of Southern Cal matchup, but on the Hilltop we do have an “intense rivalry” with our across-the-street foes of Fontbonne University.
The biggest advantage to going to a D-III school is the ability to befriend these athletes that go out and compete on behalf of all of us. They are not celebrities focusing on where they will go in the professional draft; they, too, are students first and foremost. Over the course of your freshmen year, I encourage you to get to know the football player in your chemistry lecture or the swimmer in your writing and argumentation class; then go out and show your school spirit and support your friends and fellow classmates. Take it from experience: you won’t regret it.