Division III Women's Volleyball - Why Juniors Athletes Should Consider It

Many times when I sit down with high school athletes, they tell me they want to play Division I. When I ask why, most of the time the answer is that it's always been a dream or goal of theirs. When I ask them what about Division I makes it a dream of theirs, I tend not to get a straight answer. There are 2 situations that, in my opinion, warrant an athlete to play Division 1:

1) You are an elite athlete, with an incredible work ethic and passion for the game. You have the talent to get a full-ride scholarship.

2) You are a very good athlete, with an incredible work ethic and passion for the game. You do not have the ability to get a full-ride scholarship, but the coach is interested in having you walk on. Your grades are good enough to get enough scholarships/grants where it is a reasonable investment to attend the university.

2a) You are a very good athlete, with an incredible work ethic and passion for the game. You do not have the ability to get a full-ride scholarship, but the coach is interested in having you walk on. Your parents have more money than they know what to do with, and are more than happy to foot the whole bill to off-set whatever costs you may incur at that school.

(I'm only half-kidding about 2a).

I ask a follow-up question as well:

I think it's good to reach out to the coaches, to apply, to see what they'll offer you. The main thing I want people to do is at least look at a couple Division III schools even if they want to play Division I/II. Not saying this is how it always plays out, but a possible scenario:

You look at Division I/II schools. You find places that you can play at, but no scholarship is available. For two years of college, you look at anywhere from 50-100k of debt.

You look at Division III schools as well. You find a coach that is extremely interested in having you, and they assist you in the application process. Your debt is anywhere from 10-40k.

This is an honest question: Is the dream of playing Division I to you so important that you'd rather be a role player on a low/middle tier team vs. potentially being a pivotal part of a nationally ranked Division III program, while incurring an additional 30-50k in debt?

I'm all for athletes looking for the school that best meet their wants and needs, but also considering that the purpose of college is to build a foundation to set themselves up so that they have the opportunities they wish to have waiting for them upon graduation. The reality is, when people incur substantial amounts of debt, being able to pay off those debts become more of a factor in choosing our careers than doing what we originally wanted to do. It's why you see a lot of people working in industries outside of what their original hopes were.

Getting back to the main topic: Division III Athletics. It's staggering to me how many people write off Division III Athletics without seeing a single match. Many of those "Division I Dreamers" have never actually witnessed a Division III match. The truth of the matter is most high school athletes are not Division I caliber, and Division III can be VERY good volleyball.

The NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament kicks off tomorrow, and in 2014, we're lucky to have most of those matches (6 of the 8 regions are listing the matches - links are below!) streamed. High School Athletes: If you've never seen Division III match before, take a look at the links below and see the quality of ball that Division III offers! Make your decision based on what you see, not what others tell you. There are hundreds of schools with strong programs that offer a quality education that you unlock when you add Division III to your potential list of schools!

Good luck to all the teams playing!

Kenosha Regional (Carthage College) - link

Thursday, Nov. 13 - First Round Matches (Central Time Zone)

12:30 pm - Elmhurst vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater
3:00 pm - Calvin vs. Wisconsin-Oshkosh
5:30 pm - DePauw vs. Chicago
8:00 pm - Carthage vs. Dominican (Ill.)
Live Post Game Press Conferences will follow each match

Friday, Nov. 14 - Second Round Matches
4:30 pm - Match 1 - Second Round
7:00 pm - Match 2 - Second Round
Live Post Game Press Conferences will follow each match

Newport News Regional (Christopher Newport Univ.) - link

(There is a link to Live Video on the Calendar for the below dates)

Friday, Nov. 14 - First Round Matches (Eastern Time Zone)

12:30 pm - SUNY New Paltz vs. Haverford
3:00 pm - Eastern vs. Salem
5:30 pm - Stevenson vs. Richard Stockton
8:00 pm - Christopher Newport vs. Gallaudet

Saturday, Nov. 15 - Second Round Matches
3:30 pm - Match 1 - Second Round
6:00 pm - Match 2 - Second Round

Springfield (OH) Regional (Wittenburg College) - link

Thursday, Nov. 13 - First Round Matches (Eastern Time Zone)

12:25 pm - Juniata vs. Franciscan
2:55 pm - Hope vs. Franklin & Marshall
5:25 pm - Washington & Lee vs. Mount Union
7:55 pm - Wittenburg vs. Cabrini

Friday, Nov. 14 - Second Round Matches
3:25 pm - Match 1 - Second Round
5:55 pm - Match 2 - Second Round

Hoboken Regional (Stevens Institute) - link

Friday, Nov. 14 - First Round Matches (Eastern Time Zone)

12:30 pm - Tufts vs. Springfield
3:00 pm - Clarkson vs. Hunter
5:30 pm - Roger Williams vs. W. Conn St.
8:00 pm - Stevens Inst. vs. Framingham St.

Saturday, Nov. 15 - Second Round Matches
3:30 pm - Match 1 - Second Round
6:00 pm - Match 2 - Second Round

St. Louis Regional (U of Wash. St. Louis) - link

Friday, Nov. 14 - First Round Matches (Central Time Zone)

12:30 pm - Millikin vs. Thomas More
3:00 pm - Emory vs. Webster
5:30 pm - Hendrix vs. Maryville (Tenn.)
8:00 pm - Wash. - St. Louis vs. Bluffton

Saturday, Nov. 15 - Second Round Matches
4:30 pm - Match 1 - Second Round
7:00 pm - Match 2 - Second Round

Williamstown Regional (Williams College) - link (No games currently listed unfortunately)

Friday, Nov. 14 - First Round Matches (Eastern Time Zone)

12:30 pm - MIT vs. Rivier
3:00 pm - Bowdoin vs. Regis
5:30 pm - Babson vs. Colby-Sawyer
8:00 pm - Williams vs. Sage

Saturday, Nov. 15 - Second Round Matches
2:30 pm - Match 1 - Second Round
5:00 pm - Match 2 - Second Round

Thousand Oaks Regional (Cal Lutheran) - link

Friday, Nov. 14 - First Round Matches (Pacific Time Zone)

12:30 pm - Pacific Lutheran vs. Colorado
3:00 pm - Claremont-Mudd Scripps vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor
5:30 pm - Trinity vs. LaVerne
8:00 pm - Cal Lutheran vs. Whitworth

Saturday, Nov. 15 - Second Round Matches
3:30 pm - Match 1 - Second Round
6:00 pm - Match 2 - Second Round

St. Paul Regional (St. Thomas) - link (No games currently listed unfortunately)

Thursday, Nov. 13 - First Round Matches (Central Time Zone)

12:30 pm - Neb. Wesleyan vs. N'Western St. Paul
3:00 pm - Cornell (Iowa) vs. Ausburg
5:30 pm - Wis. Stevens Point vs. Saint Benedict
8:00 pm - St. Thomas (Minn) vs. Coe

Friday, Nov. 14 - Second Round Matches
4:30 pm - Match 1 - Second Round
7:00 pm - Match 2 - Second Round