I was just wondering what separated the divisions of colleges? What are the specific requirements, standards, etc.? How would a school move up or down?
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Money is the big thing. Birmingham Southern found that out in moving from NAIA/D2 dual membership to D1. They ended up realizing how much D1 membership cost (and that was without football) and made the decision to move to D3. In a nutshell:
D1: Must fully fund Mens and Womens basketball, and offer a certain amount of scholarships (used to be 25 male and 25 female equivalents) in other sports.
D2: Less scholarship funding. Not sure on the amounts.
D3: No athletic scholarship funding. Any money to students based on academics and financial need. In terms of numbers, this is the largest NCAA division.
D1: Must fully fund Mens and Womens basketball, and offer a certain amount of scholarships (used to be 25 male and 25 female equivalents) in other sports.
D2: Less scholarship funding. Not sure on the amounts.
D3: No athletic scholarship funding. Any money to students based on academics and financial need. In terms of numbers, this is the largest NCAA division.
The requirements for D1 are listed in Article 20.9 of the D1 manual, and 20.10 of the D2 manual. There are multiple ways of meeting the requirements, but in general, D1 requires a larger athletic program (number of sports offered, number of grants in aid, total dollars, etc.) than a D2 school. For example, if total dollars are used to meet the financial requirement, D1 wants close to 1.1 million dollars, while D2 wants 250 thousand dollars spent on grants-in aid.
The process for transitioning to a different division are also listed in Article 20.
The process for transitioning to a different division are also listed in Article 20.
Talent may be the big thing, follow the trail, the money follows to the talent