Division 3 Graduate Student Eligibility

Dwight,

 

I read that differently.  I read they want to ease the restrictions and give D3 athletes more options which is a no-brainer IMHO. 

fenwaysouth is correct.  The current rule for Division III is that an athlete can't participate as a graduate student unless they are participating for the same school from which they received their undergrad degree. 

 

Even if this rule is changed, it still may be difficult for some Division III athletes to compete as grad students if they've already participated in their sport during their first four years of enrollment.  That's because Division III uses a "season of participation" rule rather than "seasons of competition."  If a Division III athlete has practiced with their team throughout four seasons of enrollment, they won't have eligibility left for Division III, even if they've never played, because they will have used their four "seasons of participation." 

Hi guys,

 

As mentioned in my previous posts, I actually currently attend a large D1 school and played on the club team (NCBA) for the last two years. I never was an NCAA athlete at this school, nor have I ever attempted to be one. After speaking with a compliance officer at my school, I was told I'd have one full year (two semesters) of remaining eligibility at a Division II institution, upon from when I graduate from my school this upcoming December. Division III follows the same eligibility timeline as D2, but D3 have grad student restrictions (I want to enroll as a graduate student). And as D2 and D3 doesn't have a strict clock as D1 does, I will be able to enroll any year and still have that year of eligibility remaining. The compliance officer at my school told me I never actually used a "season of completion," but I did exhaust semesters of eligibility just by being a full time student. Even if it mattered, I only played on the club team for two years. So I don't think seasons of completion would be an issue for me.

 

So, as some of you know, I was trying to find a place to play for my last full year of eligibility, and right now, I'm only eligible for D2. I would be eligible for D3 if they ease this restriction. Johns Hopkins, Emory, Case Western are much much much better academic options than Central Northwest Panhandle Cherokee Oklahoma State (made up name obviously, but my point is D3 > D2 in academics). And I really, really do not mind that D3 does not offer any athletic scholarships. I'd rather just purely compete for a roster spot with all else being equal.

Johns Hopkins, Emory and Case Western may be better academic options. From a baseball standpoint they would be very challenging options for a graduate student with one year of eligibility who didn't play as an undergrad. These are top notch D3 baseball programs.

 

You may want to select a college that has strong academics and not so strong of a baseball team. The coaching staff has to get an immediate first impression that you can help the team right now. You won't be selected for one year just to be on a roster just because you're better than some of the players who could be around longer and develop. D3s also tend to over recruit meaning the best programs have a lot of competition for playing time even though they are D3s. Many of the heavily recruited players at top D3s could play D1 ball.

 

Get your best education and let the baseball chips fall where they may at this point in your academic career.

RJM,

 

As we have discussed this before, I'm fully aware that my window of opportunity is a little bit limited because of my one year of eligibility, I never disagreed with you, but that still won't stop be from trying. I merely used Hopkins, Case Western (my dad's alma matter, lol), as just examples. I don't think I'm even smart enough to get into those schools anyways. I just posted this to see if anyone knew if the rules regarding D3 grad student eligibility will change anytime soon, as at least now it is being discussed. With this restriction being lifted, this may give me a few more opportunities than I probably have right now. Maybe not Emory, UW-Whitewater status, but I know I'm good enough for some D3 school.  

Dwight - I'm curious on one point please.  Since you've never spent time as an NCAA athlete, I'm wondering how you've used up any eligibility at all at this point? I thought I understood in your above posts that simply being an enrolled college student counts towards eligibility at the D3 level... Is that accurate? This wasn't the case back in my (distant) D3 days, or at least my alma mater didn't enforce it if it was. Pretty sure Varsity participation began the clock ticking. So just curious on this point (Maybe Rick could clarify this as well). Many thanks.

 

BTW - Emory, Case Western, Johns Hopkins? Are you honestly suggesting that these schools are all graduate school options for you as a student!? But meanwhile you are weighing D2 institution graduate options based on baseball? Things that make me go hmmm...

Solent, a student has 5 calendar years to compete in an NCAA sport once he/she becomes a full time student, and within that 5 years has 4 years of eligibility to participate in a Varsity sport. There are some exceptions for injury, etc. Rick will have the exact language. 

I was told that it didn't matter. NCAA rules eligibility is based on how long you were in school as a full time student, despite whether or not you participated in NCAA athletics. Clock starts ticking the moment you enroll as a full time student. For D1 it's a continuous clock, for D2 or D3, it is based on semesters and they're more flexible if you take a break from school or only attend as a part-time student.

 

Once again, I used Hopkins just as an example. I really don't think I'm smart enough to get into Hopkins, University of Chicago, MIT, etc. I'm just saying, that if NCAA changes their rulings on D3 grad student eligibility, it will just be better for me as I'll have more options at that point. That is all. 

Thanks BOF. I had no clue... thought it had to do with first season as a rostered player.

As I understand Dwight's situation, there are a couple of issues involved here.  One is that for D2, D3, or NAIA, he's allowed up to 10 semesters of full-time enrollment in which to compete in college athletics.  I believe he has two semesters remaining based on an earlier post.

 

Also, I think I recall that the school where he's competed on the club team, also sponsors a D1 varsity baseball team.  In that case, he's used two seasons of eligibility by playing on the club team.  So, it appears that he has two seasons of eligibility available, and two semesters of enrollment before he reaches his 10-semester limit.

Maybe I read your post wrong above Dwight.  Anyway, lots of great D2 and D3 schools out there for sure... best of luck with your search.

Soylent Green,

 

Thanks. 

 

For everyone else,

 

Sorry about the tangent, but for my original question, would anyone know if they are going to change the D3 grad student ruling and when? Or if it's even likely to change at all? For those who know, why are D3 rules different than D2? Is it likely to change anytime soon, like within a year or two? Or is this something that will just be discussed once and never to be discussed again? And this may seem like a stupid question, but is there anything I can do myself, to appeal to NCAA to change their rulings?

Haha, well, to answer my own question (and hopefully for anyone that may be talking a similar path as me), talked to a few NCAA D3 compliance officers at various schools and they told me they might vote on this issue in the AD convention in January, 2015. It's definitely been in discussion, and hope someday soon they can find an optimistic solution. Hope they change the rules eventually, fingers crossed!   

http://www.ncaa.org/about/reso...ns-graduate-students

Herses a link about the discussion.

 

This was the link I started this thread with lol.