Division I Athletics is not in the cards for Washington University.
Any die-hard sports fan pining for tail-gate parties and Bowl Games had better switch schools or plan a road trip, because it’s no secret that administrators and coaches value our status as a model Division III school over making the ESPN highlights.
“I feel so strongly about this that if you ask me 100 times I’ll say we do it the right way,” said Rich Luenemann, head coach of women’s volleyball. This past Saturday his team finished second in the national championship, nearly adding a 9th Division III title to their history.
“We provide opportunities for excellence in the classroom and on the court,” Luenemann said. “Division I may sound like something better but it’s not.”
The Athletic Department is vocally committed to keeping Wash U a place where all student-athletes can academically embody the term. The school’s loyalty to Division III sports is anchored in this sentiment. Larry Kindbom, head coach of men’s football, thinks students agree and appreciate the absence of special concessions for athletes.
According to Kindbom, this year’s freshman football class more than compares to the academic capabilities of their classmates with an average SAT score of 1430.
“We’re bringing in student athletes that can compete for championships,” Kindbom said. “There are truly no back doors at this place.”
Shutting the back door
These “back doors” that Kindbom and Luenemann see at Division I schools are a main deterrent to changing Wash U’s division. Looking at other high performing academic institutions with Division I sports such as Duke, Northwestern, Stanford and Yale, Kindbom can’t help but lament the admission of athletes who fall below academic standards.
“The shame of it is that everybody at Harvard, Yale and Princeton isn’t going to get into those schools on their own right,” said Kindbom. “I think Washington University feels good that it never put itself in that situation.”
However, the University hasn’t always been Division III.
According to Athletic Director John Schael, in the first half of the 20th century Wash U played “some of the toughest teams around.”
In 1907 the University joined what was then called the Big Six, a conference that became today’s Big Eight. Until the late 1940s, Wash U competed with teams like Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Illinois, Oklahoma State and Kansas.
The University even drew up plans for a towering stadium to be placed where Small Group Housing now stands. But after World War II, this rigorous schedule began to change under the guidance of Chancellor Arthur Holly Compton.
“[Compton] said, ‘If we’re going to have athletics programs, we’re going to have athletics programs where the students meet the same standards as all other students at the institution,'” said Schael.
This meant anchoring Wash U in the standards of Division III with no athletic scholarships and no concessions in academic admission for athletes.
Money, money, money
Aside from the loftier academic concerns, the logistics of a change in division further deters the University from switching levels.
“It’s impossible to change the culture of an institution,” Schael said. “Michigan in Division III will never happen. UCLA in Division III will never happen. Very few institutions at the Division III level have ever made the transition to Division I.”
A switch to Division I would take millions of dollars, he said. The University would have to apply to the NCAA and begin a five-year process of building facilities, establishing athletic scholarships and attracting the fans needed to maintain a Division I program.
Football would be the most expensive to finance. A minimum of 30,000 permanent seats are required for a Division I football stadium, and teams are required to give 85 athletic scholarships.
In addition, the school would need to move all their sports programs to Division I, said Schael. Although it is possible to move some individual programs, this would put them in the murky midland of competing at Division I without having the ability to give athletic scholarships. To receive the full privileges of Division I, a school must move eight men’s and eight women’s teams.
The athletic department would need to grow “autonomous” from the rest of the University, to the point of generating almost all their own revenue, said Schael. Division I teams finance themselves mainly through ticket sales, promotions, merchandise, Bowl Invitations and extensive alumni and friends fundraising.
Schael said this emphasis on moneymaking too often corrupts the spirit behind athletic competition.
“[Division I athletic departments] have their own little fiefdoms,” Schael said. “I think that’s another reason that there are so many difficulties in Division I in terms of the violations. A lot of Division I schools end up on probation because they skirt the rules all the time, coaches are fired because they don’t win and there is a lot of pressure from alumni and sponsors.”
Wash U Athletics operate on their slice of the University budget.
Schael concedes that some Division I programs do bring in large revenues that the University will never experience, but points out that 92% of Division I programs are in the red.
However, they agree that Division I has its benefits. All three men concur that switching divisions would increase name recognition and stimulate greater alumni involvement, with former students flocking back to campus to attend big games. The entertainment value of Division I is colossal, but they made sure to point out that Division III games mean just as much to the players and can be equally thrilling. But, overall, they are adamant that Division III is the best fit for Wash U’s commitment to academic rigor.
“Division III is such a perfect fit for Washington University that I can’t imagine that we’d ever make a change,” Schael said.
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Quick Quotes:
On being a D3 school:
Sam Jacobs, Junior, Men’s Soccer: “We’re highly competitive, but the coach and the team are just one aspect in deciding which school to go to-not the sole factor.”
Ryan Corning, Junior, Baseball Captain: “The athletes here play becasue they love their sports. They play by choice, not because they need to; there really aren’t any ulterior motives or anything like that because they just want to compete.”
Alex Antilla, Junior, Swimming: The benefit is that school is still first. During finals, practices are optional, and I don’t have any problem telling my coach I have a big test coming up. I guess I can find a balance between sports and academics.”
On what it would be like to be a D1 school:
Sam Jacobs: “The level of commitment would be more like a job-that’s not to say we don’t take it seriously.”
Ryan Corning: “It would be difficult for us, as a private university with high academic standards, to get a lot of athletes in here without compromising our standards.”
Alex Antilla: “I really don’t know how to answer that; we’ve beaten D1 teams and we already have a great coach who is capable of recruiting good athletes. But from a fan’s perspective, having a larger program in something like football would be great, with more emphasis and excitement about athletics.”