@nycdad posted:I can see this being good for players at low level D1s who do well in their freshman and/or soph years. If you're one of those players now you go into the portal and you have an options. After next season these same caliber player will have more options.
True, but I hate the idea that being an athlete almost insures you will go to multiple schools. It will be more common than not that you will transfer at some point, either up or down.
@baseballhs posted:True, but I hate the idea that being an athlete almost insures you will go to multiple schools. It will be more common than not that you will transfer at some point, either up or down.
Yes, I told my 2027 that he likely won't be at the same school for 4 years. Which stinks
@Dadof3 posted:Yes, I told my 2027 that he likely won't be at the same school for 4 years. Which stinks
That really depends on what his goals and priorities are.
@Dadof3 posted:Yes, I told my 2027 that he likely won't be at the same school for 4 years. Which stinks
I've told my wife, that our 2024 will either get more money next year or will be pushed out and will need to transfer to a different college; year to year status quo will not be an option for him (or for the coaches).
Son is a true incoming freshman at a private D1 mid major that has been in a regional two years in a row. I'm assuming that more $ for 2025-26 will attract even more (better older) portal players to his school next year. If my son gets on the field this spring, he'll likely stay and should see his athletic $ double for next year; and I can replace my Honda that has 140K miles.
If my son never sees the field this spring, he'll redshirt and I assume he will lose his current $ and roster spot, will need to navigate the portal with thousands of others next summer. If this happens, I would not be surprised if he attends three different D1 schools over the next 4 to 5 yr period. In a couple years, my son will have his turn at being the older, bigger, better boy that might want to try his luck and seek his fortune in the portal.
It gets really complicated. Outside of leaving friendships/girlfriends, there are leases that get broken (most kids at our school sign leases in October for the following year), and lost hours that won’t transfer. Each transfer usually adds a semester to a year to graduation date.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:That really depends on what his goals and priorities are.
I agree. What should happen is that the student part of student athlete will be the focus going forward. As it should have been all along. Everything that is happening will make it harder for any college baseball player that isn’t a star. Maybe the increase in difficulty will get more players/parents off the “D1 or bust” mentality as playing D1 at a competitive program is becoming an unrealistic goal for more and more every day.
When baseball players transfer, we know that they often are moving down in the baseball pecking order. What is not usually mentioned is that the academic reputation of the next school is often not as good as the original school. Using my son's HS teammates as an example, here are academic rankings of their original school and the school they transferred to:
20th to 124th
22nd to 86th
53rd to 67th
68th to unranked
(Used a recent national ranking service as a reference)
@adbono posted:as playing D1 at a competitive program is becoming an unrealistic goal for more and more every day.
But the fact is, there are plenty of uncompetitive D1 programs too. And there may be many more, as schools decide they don't want to provide 34 scholarships. Whether a mindset will develop that is more similar to D3 among those schools (work with who you recruit, prioritize student athletes, don't fill roster with transfers) will be interesting to see.
@K9 posted:When baseball players transfer, we know that they often are moving down in the baseball pecking order. What is not usually mentioned is that the academic reputation of the next school is often not as good as the original school.
Yes, but that's mainly because the top baseball schools tend to be the biggest state flagships or else private schools, all are research universities. Believe it or not, academic programs have something to do with membership in the top conferences. Those schools have more money (and bigger alumni bases) for academics, for sports, for libraries, for everything.
@baseballhs posted:It gets really complicated. Outside of leaving friendships/girlfriends, there are leases that get broken (most kids at our school sign leases in October for the following year), and lost hours that won’t transfer. Each transfer usually adds a semester to a year to graduation date.
My oldest was fortunate when he transferred after his soph year. All his credits transferred and he ended up graduating after 4 years.
If your kid is also getting academic money, they will most likely not get the same money at their new school. Something to consider.
@adbono posted:I agree. What should happen is that the student part of student athlete will be the focus going forward. As it should have been all along. Everything that is happening will make it harder for any college baseball player that isn’t a star. Maybe the increase in difficulty will get more players/parents off the “D1 or bust” mentality as playing D1 at a competitive program is becoming an unrealistic goal for more and more every day.
100% agree for those that aren't stars or draft talent..."as it should have been all along" should be underlined, bolded, and in all caps.
This is a huge issue in my mind. Folks are looking for all the short-term answers from the college coaches....no!! The NCAA is dangling more green, but you have to ignore it. The long-term answer lies within the player and parents and what they want to get out of those 4 (very expensive) years of higher education. You have to understand what it takes to play college baseball at any level and have a realistic recruiting plan before your son does anything. If you don't have a legitimate and realistic plan your son is going to be "hit in the face" with recruiting overreach. Remember the old Mike Tyson saying that "everybody has a plan until they get hit in the face". This is exactly that. If your son has an unrealistic recruiting plan he is going to be "hit in the face", and you will have wasted valuable time and money. Spend the time on the front end to get a plan as close to "right" as possible that meets your son's life goals. Once he is in the middle of recruiting or playing for a college that doesn't meet his long term goals. it is way too late.
JMO, and yes I feel very strongly about this.
@K9 posted:When baseball players transfer, we know that they often are moving down in the baseball pecking order. What is not usually mentioned is that the academic reputation of the next school is often not as good as the original school.
I don't necessarily agree with the above.
There are lots of players transfering for different reasons. Many out there are transfering up instead of down. Many are lateral moves. Many for better competition and better draft opportunities. Many because they are better players than when they first left for college. Many want to be closer to home, boyfriend or girlfriend, or to follow a coach that leaves for a better opportunity. Many times the player and coach don't agree with each other. And many times the player just can ruin it for himself or herself. Or maybe for a better NIL opportunity.
Sometimes it works out for the player, and sometimes it doesn't.
Florida had a player that went into the portal this summer that surprised everyone. The player had 2 years of eligibility left and already a degree. He was married with a baby. He wanted to get drafted but he knew that he needed to be honest about the situation in the exit interview. He also wanted to get an opportunity to earn a grad degree. He went into the portal, he wasn't drafted but he received an offer from a very good program with a new coach who has success at the mid D1 level.
My point here is that transfering is just not always a downgrade but an opportunity to continue what the player started. There is a story behind most tranfers.
It will be interesting to hear how many high school juniors/seniors commit to a D1 this year. Are there many parents on here with 2025s, 2026s?
@Dadof3 posted:It will be interesting to hear how many high school juniors/seniors commit to a D1 this year. Are there many parents on here with 2025s, 2026s?
Perfect Game lists the following
7,516 D1 commits for 2024 (graduates) entering programs in a few weeks
2,132 D1 committs for 2025 (seniors)
307 D1 commits for 2026 (juniors) first contact period to offer coming in 5 days
Am I missing something? If conferences can opt out, could this not be a good thing for mid majors or status quo for them (if they choose to opt out)? All those fringe/ bubble players that were being hoarded by the big boys would still be considered pretty darn talented (by someone) no? So I get the trickle down effect. Also, if actual restrictions are put in place for those that opt in, that had plenty of NIL money to begin with anyway, is this not something of a restriction or nuisance? Has this only shifted "the rich get richer" "down" the proverbial food chain? I could see it being an issue within a conference, esp when there are financial disparities. I can envision some musical chairs with conferences esp at mid major level. Just trying to understand as I run for cover from the sky falling.
When son was in college, if a D1 player didn't like the situation, or the coach told you that he didn't see you in his future plans, you more than likely transfered down or sat a year at another D1. Bummer!
Now everyone is complaining about the transfer portal. Well if no one noticed college baseball is a lot different than it was even a few years ago as is with all college sports.
It's a business. Not just a business but a BIG business. BB coaches have to turn out a good product on the field or they have to look for another opportunity.
Coaches don't offer lots of $$$ to transfers unless they are difference makers. Most of the time it would be for a year or two until drafted or their younger players grow into their roles.
Telling your player they might have to transfer before they get there isn't very encouraging. JMO
My advice to those beginning the process. Pay attention to programs your player is interested in, excel in the classroom. Try to expose them to college baseball close up. Watch rosters, which will give you an idea of how the coach finds success through HS recruits and portal transfers. Not every program is right for every player, so with that, I like the no sit transfer rule.
In this era of college baseball there are really good options for players. Excellent Juco programs, excellent D3, D2 and mid D1 programs. You do not have to attend a top 25 program to get drafted.
And remember if things don't work out, your player has the option to transfer without penalty.
JMO
Post on Twitter today from a guy that has right about a lot of things going on in college baseball:
And I’d love to ask, what if you are a 2026, or 2027
@Dadof3 posted:And I’d love to ask, what if you are a 2026, or 2027
Both those classes will be impacted as well. Understand that as a whole the industry is eliminating a massive number of D1 roster spots. It could be close to 3000. Players that are forced out of D1 programs due to roster reduction will move to other levels of baseball or stop playing. As players move to D2, D3, and NAIA programs it’s going to raise the level of play across the board. Which will make it more difficult (again) for HS grads. I will assume that your son is closer to “a really good HS player” than he is to “a pro prospect that MLB scouts are watching.” If that assumption is correct my advice would be this. Your realistic options are JuCo and D3. Those should be your targets and not your last resort. Try to determine now which of those 2 routes you want to go and start making decisions accordingly. Develop a plan for recruiting and the desired degree should drive that plan. If your son knows what he wants to do in life after he is done playing that can really narrow the focus on the type of degree required. This is especially important to know now if you choose the D3 route. Find schools in your preferred area that offer the preferred degrees (which isn’t always easy) and whittle the list down based on baseball and other factors. Going the JuCo route takes some immediate pressure of off making the decision about a degree but that doesn’t mean all JuCo academics are equal. They are not. When researching JuCos look for academic standards as well as the quality of the baseball program. If you go JuCo assume that it will be a 2 year commitment and that your son will leave with an Associates Degree. Over 80% of college baseball players play in their home state or a bordering state - so that is your immediate geographic target. Start there and work your way out if necessary. JuCo credits usually transfer more efficiently to 4 year schools that are in the same state fyi. But IMO the most important thing to do now is accept the reality that the recruiting game has changed (again), and that those changes have created obstacles for HS players (again) and that being recruited D1 out of HS has just gotten highly unlikely for all but draft interest players. If you can accept that all that is true, and adjust your plan now, you can save a lot of money and a lot of heartache. Decide now between D3 and JuCo and get after it. That’s what I would recommend.
Great and comprehensive. One question to clarify: you don't mention D2 and NAIA, why not? Is it that they play a lot of transfers too? Because unlike D3, they do offer athletic scholarships.
@anotherparent posted:Great and comprehensive. One question to clarify: you don't mention D2 and NAIA, why not? Is it that they play a lot of transfers too? Because unlike D3, they do offer athletic scholarships.
D2 and NAIA have always relied heavily on JuCo transfers. But I expect that to become even more the norm going forward. The average JuCo player is usually much better than the HS players that are not draft caliber. So I expect D2 and NAIA to stock their rosters primarily with transfers even more than in the past - both from JuCo and from D1 programs. Incidentally, I have heard nothing about roster limits in D2, D3, and NAIA. So you can look for the blatant over-recruiting and inflated rosters to move that way too. Fun times for all. This is why I objected to Kendall Rogers referring to what is happening as “the golden age of college baseball.” The additional scholarships allowed in D1 are good for about 15-20% of college baseball. It does not benefit the remainder. It does the opposite.
I have started to see a handful of 2025's post on X that they are de-committing because of the coming roster limit changes.
@ARCEKU21 posted:I have started to see a handful of 2025's post on X that they are de-committing because of the coming roster limit changes.
I have seen that too. You have to wonder whose decision that was. I imagine that the schools had a hand in a lot of cases. I know that a lot of D1s are trying to figure out how to get down to 34 players just considering the number of players currently in their program. If you already have 44, and you need to get down to 34, bringing more players in exacerbates the problem, doesn’t it?!
@adbono posted:Both those classes will be impacted as well. Understand that as a whole the industry is eliminating a massive number of D1 roster spots. It could be close to 3000. Players that are forced out of D1 programs due to roster reduction will move to other levels of baseball or stop playing. As players move to D2, D3, and NAIA programs it’s going to raise the level of play across the board. Which will make it more difficult (again) for HS grads. I will assume that your son is closer to “a really good HS player” than he is to “a pro prospect that MLB scouts are watching.” If that assumption is correct my advice would be this. Your realistic options are JuCo and D3. Those should be your targets and not your last resort. Try to determine now which of those 2 routes you want to go and start making decisions accordingly. Develop a plan for recruiting and the desired degree should drive that plan. If your son knows what he wants to do in life after he is done playing that can really narrow the focus on the type of degree required. This is especially important to know now if you choose the D3 route. Find schools in your preferred area that offer the preferred degrees (which isn’t always easy) and whittle the list down based on baseball and other factors. Going the JuCo route takes some immediate pressure of off making the decision about a degree but that doesn’t mean all JuCo academics are equal. They are not. When researching JuCos look for academic standards as well as the quality of the baseball program. If you go JuCo assume that it will be a 2 year commitment and that your son will leave with an Associates Degree. Over 80% of college baseball players play in their home state or a bordering state - so that is your immediate geographic target. Start there and work your way out if necessary. JuCo credits usually transfer more efficiently to 4 year schools that are in the same state fyi. But IMO the most important thing to do now is accept the reality that the recruiting game has changed (again), and that those changes have created obstacles for HS players (again) and that being recruited D1 out of HS has just gotten highly unlikely for all but draft interest players. If you can accept that all that is true, and adjust your plan now, you can save a lot of money and a lot of heartache. Decide now between D3 and JuCo and get after it. That’s what I would recommend.
Bingo. Yahtzee. This is reality, with very few exceptions....not to mention priceless advice.
@adbono posted:I have seen that too. You have to wonder whose decision that was. I imagine that the schools had a hand in a lot of cases. I know that a lot of D1s are trying to figure out how to get down to 34 players just considering the number of players currently in their program. If you already have 44, and you need to get down to 34, bringing more players in exacerbates the problem, doesn’t it?!
I agree on the last sentence. Which on the flip side, I still see programs committing more 2025's even though they are already have a large recruiting class. Something has to give there eventually.
Is your letter of intent actually a contract or is it really not worth the paper it's written on. I think at best I remember they still need to offer you the money for that year towards tuition (if you are offered a scholarship) but not a spot on the team. Or do I have that wrong.
@HSDad22 posted:Is your letter of intent actually a contract or is it really not worth the paper it's written on. I think at best I remember they still need to offer you the money for that year towards tuition (if you are offered a scholarship) but not a spot on the team. Or do I have that wrong.
it's a contract to provide you with the acedemic aid as per the letter..........however if your player fails to live up to their part of the bargain (as percieved by the coaching staff), your player maybe be quietly asked to "look elsewhere" for a baseball program.
@adbono posted:Both those classes will be impacted as well. Understand that as a whole the industry is eliminating a massive number of D1 roster spots. It could be close to 3000. Players that are forced out of D1 programs due to roster reduction will move to other levels of baseball or stop playing. As players move to D2, D3, and NAIA programs it’s going to raise the level of play across the board. Which will make it more difficult (again) for HS grads. I will assume that your son is closer to “a really good HS player” than he is to “a pro prospect that MLB scouts are watching.” If that assumption is correct my advice would be this. Your realistic options are JuCo and D3. Those should be your targets and not your last resort. Try to determine now which of those 2 routes you want to go and start making decisions accordingly. Develop a plan for recruiting and the desired degree should drive that plan. If your son knows what he wants to do in life after he is done playing that can really narrow the focus on the type of degree required. This is especially important to know now if you choose the D3 route. Find schools in your preferred area that offer the preferred degrees (which isn’t always easy) and whittle the list down based on baseball and other factors. Going the JuCo route takes some immediate pressure of off making the decision about a degree but that doesn’t mean all JuCo academics are equal. They are not. When researching JuCos look for academic standards as well as the quality of the baseball program. If you go JuCo assume that it will be a 2 year commitment and that your son will leave with an Associates Degree. Over 80% of college baseball players play in their home state or a bordering state - so that is your immediate geographic target. Start there and work your way out if necessary. JuCo credits usually transfer more efficiently to 4 year schools that are in the same state fyi. But IMO the most important thing to do now is accept the reality that the recruiting game has changed (again), and that those changes have created obstacles for HS players (again) and that being recruited D1 out of HS has just gotten highly unlikely for all but draft interest players. If you can accept that all that is true, and adjust your plan now, you can save a lot of money and a lot of heartache. Decide now between D3 and JuCo and get after it. That’s what I would recommend.
And what if the juco programs in the surrounding areas aren't very competitive?
Adbono’s last post was excellent. It was honest, quality information. But I’d like to make one adjustment to it. A lot of kids enter college having no clue about a future career or major to get there. Make sure you select a degree that proves you’re intelligent and can do the work. The company that hires you will train you.
I majored in Econ. I had no plans to go into the field. Math and theory was easy for me. When I interviewed with companies in the computer field each one asked if my degree was in the math field. I went into sales and then sales management.
My daughter majored in Forensic Science. It turned out to be a challenging and time demanding degree for a field she never entered. She went to law school. Her undergrad degree only required her to work harder as a prosecutor. When there was a homicide she was called in to advise police how to not eff up the evidence.
My son was the only one who got a degree that matched up with his job. His undergrad degree in Econ sort of did with consulting. His MBA in Business Analytics definitely did. He was hired by a Big 4 consulting firm.
Random thoughts. Please weigh in would love to hear other's thoughts:
- Position players will bear the brunt of the roster decrease vs POs.
- The recruiting stock of two-way players has just gone way up.
- Does anyone know if the 34 limit has been fully agreed upon? I saw some credible info that it might be changed to only include active players.
- This seems like the death knell for the Ivy League to maintain their outlier status as the only non-scholarship D1 league.
@Dadof3 posted:And what if the juco programs in the surrounding areas aren't very competitive?
Then expand the geographic area until you get competitive programs. I’m not sure where you are located but there are competitive JuCos almost everywhere. If you want to shoot me a DM with more details I will respond with anything I know that might be helpful
Do we know if the 34 limit is for the fall as well? I've seen conflicting info.
@nycdad posted:Do we know if the 34 limit is for the fall as well? I've seen conflicting info.
My understanding is that 34 applies to fall as well. Fall of ‘25 will be the beginning
@SpeedDemon posted:Random thoughts. Please weigh in would love to hear other's thoughts:
- Position players will bear the brunt of the roster decrease vs POs.
- The recruiting stock of two-way players has just gone way up.
- Does anyone know if the 34 limit has been fully agreed upon? I saw some credible info that it might be changed to only include active players.
- This seems like the death knell for the Ivy League to maintain their outlier status as the only non-scholarship D1 league.
Lots of doom and gloom on this site...
I don't foresee any change by the Ivy's in the immediate future. Or a lot of the other schools that don't fully-fund 11.7 (and there are many). Use your baseball skills to obtain something you wouldn't have received otherwise--like an Ivy education.
Ivy's give lots of need-based financial aid. For a lot of players that aid was more than the % of the 11.7 you would have received elsewhere. Going forward that player will have to decide what's more important as that gap changes. As stated above, most currently don't and will continue to NOT fully-fund in the future. If you are a player who gets a 100% scholarship offer then go for it! If not you will still be making the same choices. 10% scholarship at mid-major A or financial aid at Ivy B?
There will always be players wanting to participate in a sport at the college level even if there are little to NO scholarships. Not very different from the high school or D3 sports model!
@ABSORBER posted:Lots of doom and gloom on this site...
I don't foresee any change by the Ivy's in the immediate future. Or a lot of the other schools that don't fully-fund 11.7 (and there are many). Use your baseball skills to obtain something you wouldn't have received otherwise--like an Ivy education.
Ivy's give lots of need-based financial aid. For a lot of players that aid was more than the % of the 11.7 you would have received elsewhere. Going forward that player will have to decide what's more important as that gap changes. As stated above, most currently don't and will continue to NOT fully-fund in the future. If you are a player who gets a 100% scholarship offer then go for it! If not you will still be making the same choices. 10% scholarship at mid-major A or financial aid at Ivy B?
There will always be players wanting to participate in a sport at the college level even if there are little to NO scholarships. Not very different from the high school or D3 sports model!
Doom and gloom - ?
It's not that the Ivies don't fully fund their sports teams - the issue is they refuse to offer merit-based scholarships, clinging to the old, discredited "college athletes are amateurs" and "sports are no different from choir" claim.
But you bring up a really good point - it would be interesting if the Ivies said they were open to providing merit-based aid to athletes, but that they haven't allocated any money for athletic scholarships. Unfortunately that is not their argument.
And in this new era, with every D1 league in the country able to offer NIL money, revenue sharing, and full scholarships for every athlete on every roster, the Ivies look more and more like an outlier. Seems very unlikely their stance will continue to hold up, esp as they benefit from participation in D1 championship play.
Appreciate you weighing in.
I really don't understand your insistence that Ivies offer athletic scholarships. They are NOT like Duke, Vandy, Stanford, Northwestern. I've said it before (and gotten dumped on by Ivy parents) Ivies operate baseball (and other sports) just like most other HA schools which are D3: no scholarships, 40-game season, fairly local conference travel, stiffer academic requirements. They belong in D3, and if pushed to it, that would be my guess as to where they would go. And probably they would do very well there.
Regarding IL becoming a D3 program.
There are 133 D1 FCS football teams and that includes IL schools. I think that they prefer it that way....for now.
JMO
@anotherparent posted:I really don't understand your insistence that Ivies offer athletic scholarships. They are NOT like Duke, Vandy, Stanford, Northwestern. I've said it before (and gotten dumped on by Ivy parents) Ivies operate baseball (and other sports) just like most other HA schools which are D3: no scholarships, 40-game season, fairly local conference travel, stiffer academic requirements. They belong in D3, and if pushed to it, that would be my guess as to where they would go. And probably they would do very well there.
Agree! They should be D3 schools. 100%.
But unfortunately right now the league is digging in...enjoying the institutional benefits of D1 while treating athletes like a D3. Just last month a federal judge ruled that a class action against the Ivy League (Kirk etal vs Brown Univ) for collusion can move forward.
Similar "revenue goes to the colleges, costs go to the athletes" behavior is what got the entire NCAA in hot water, resulting in massive legal losses and the changes that are rolling out today: NIL (O'Bannon vs NCAA), no cap to NIL (Allston vs NCAA), revenue sharing, full scholarships and expanded rosters (impending settlement in House vs NCAA).
@infielddad recently provided some nice information about how employment status/healthcare related to on-the-job injuries might be the next shoe to fall.
*****
The Ivy League's outlier status as the only D1 not to offer athletic scholarships won't hold up against this backdrop. Most especially because their argument in favor of the status quo is exactly what was adjudicated at the Supreme Court, with the added kicker that the 8 schools must collude to keep the no-scholarship rule.
Justice Kavanaugh in the Allston case:
"Nowhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate. And under ordinary principles of antitrust law, it is not evident why college sports should be any different."
The NCAA's assertion that amateurism is "the defining feature of college sports" is an "innocuous label" but "they cannot disguise the reality: The NCAA’s business model would be flatly illegal in almost any other industry in America."
"Price-fixing labor is price-fixing labor. And price-fixing labor is ordinarily a textbook antitrust problem because it extinguishes the free market in which individuals can otherwise obtain fair compensation for their work."
The current NCAA model is "suppressing the pay of student athletes who collectively generate billions of dollars in revenues for colleges every year".
I follow this closely because I just find it all very interesting. That's it. I have no skin in the game.
*BTW - if the Ivy League continues to allow the anti-trust claim against them to wind through the courts and it loses, they risk a decision that would require all divisions (D3 included) to offer scholarships.
What are the "institutional benefits" of being D1? They are not exactly raking in ticket sales or tv money. Their prestige doesn't depend on their sports.
People will then make the same argument about literally everything. Want to join the band, you have to come to practice - then you should be paid. It's absurd.
If they blow it for D3s, my guess is a lot of schools will drop all sports down to club sport level. There's no way many of the D3s would be able or willing to offer sports scholarships. If they wanted to, they would be D2 already.
On the other hand, maybe it would end up the other way, and NO school would be ALLOWED to offer athletic scholarships! The whole thing would be technically club sports. Now that would turn things on their head...
@anotherparent posted:What are the "institutional benefits" of being D1? They are not exactly raking in ticket sales or tv money. Their prestige doesn't depend on their sports.
People will then make the same argument about literally everything. Want to join the band, you have to come to practice - then you should be paid. It's absurd.
If they blow it for D3s, my guess is a lot of schools will drop all sports down to club sport level. There's no way many of the D3s would be able or willing to offer sports scholarships. If they wanted to, they would be D2 already.
On the other hand, maybe it would end up the other way, and NO school would be ALLOWED to offer athletic scholarships! The whole thing would be technically club sports. Now that would turn things on their head...
Ha, yeah. It's crazy to think about all the ways these changes could affect things on the field. Feels like a Willy Wonka riverboat ride.
The institutional benefits of D1 are .... money.
In addition to media revenue, schools automatically get some money from the NCAA for being in D1, with the amount varying by conference (small for low-level D1, millions for being in the P4). They get more money for winning their conference and then more for wins in NCAA championship play. (NCAA playoff wins in mens basketball and football pay the most 
)
D1 status also helps them recruit higher-level athletes than what say the NESCAC (similiar HA but D3 conference) is able to attract, which helps the money flow.
The schools also indirectly benefit from being in high-profile D1 - winning sports teams are the #1 driver of donations.
Agree that the Ivies are making way less as D1s than say Alabama (ha) but are they making less than say Canisius, which is also D1 and offers scholarships?
The Ivy League's achilles heel is the fact that none of the 8 schools offer scholarships in any sport. It's clear collusion.
Thanks for engaging with me, I love discussing this stuff.
Sure, and I'm interested for many reasons. However, the majority of the student body (and thus the alumni) are not that interested in sports - may not know any athletes at all. It's a fairly small part of a much bigger institution.
@SpeedDemon posted:In addition to media revenue, schools automatically get some money from the NCAA for being in D1, with the amount varying by conference (small for low-level D1, millions for being in the P4). They get more money for winning their conference and then more for wins in NCAA championship play. (NCAA playoff wins in mens basketball and football pay the most
O.k., sure - but if they didn't have that money, they would survive - just as D3 schools do.
D1 status also helps them recruit higher-level athletes than what say the NESCAC (similiar HA but D3 conference) is able to attract, which helps the money flow.
And again . . . if they were D3, they would attract D3 athletes. So what? They would get the best of the HA athletes, as they do now. They are mainly competing against each other anyway, Yale fans mostly care about beating Harvard. Sure, supporters of the team love it when an Ivy baseball team beats a P5, but I can't think it's that big a deal in the big picture.
@SpeedDemon posted:The schools also indirectly benefit from being in high-profile D1 - winning sports teams are the #1 driver of donations.
I feel sure that this is not true of Ivies. They get money from very successful alumni who want to give back.
