there is a myth that has existed for years regarding NCAA Division III colleges and their ability to award athletic scholarships.

there are many people who believe that a high school athlete who "signs" with a DIII school is getting a full ride. this is simply not true. it is true that DIII student-athletes receive some form of merit or need-based financial aid, but they would get that whether or not they played a sport.

I DO NOT INTEND TO DEMEAN OR DEGRADE DIII ATHLETICS. I'M SURE IT'S A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR MOST OF THOSE WHO CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE. my point is that there are a lot of high school students (and parents) who do not realize that they will not get a scholarship to play football at north central, for example. and, far too often, kids wind up swimming in student loan debt because they decided to try to keep their athletic career alive for just a year or two.

Yup. So many travel players go there thinking it’s big time. Perpetual disappointment. My son played up an age bracket so the majority of his team went D3. A bunch of crap programs.

some of the smaller schools will definitely offer you some great academic scholarships in an effort to get you to attend and continue your sports career.

They may not award athletic scholarships per se. But if you're an athlete of some ability + have the requisite academics plenty of DIII schools offer 80%+ scholarships. I kinda thought that was the point of attending a smaller Division III school: ends up being the same price or cheaper than your local in-state uni but greater opportunity to participate in extracurriculars + smaller classes/more individual academic attention.

You can also get those scholarships on academics alone. But, yeah, D-III schools aren't likely to help you out if you're only bringing athletics to the table.

Another benefit is that sports might get you into a lower division school that is academically superior at which you might otherwise have no shot. This includes places with big academic names but small athletic credentials like U of C. I've always admired how Loyola Academy has annually gotten football players into Ivies. I personally knew of 4 from my age group, none of whom were going but for football.

Use them and let them use you.

Another benefit is that sports might get you into a lower division school that is academically superior at which you might otherwise have no shot. This includes places with big academic names but small athletic credentials like U of C. I've always admired how Loyola Academy has annually gotten football players into Ivies. I personally knew of 4 from my age group, none of whom were going but for football.

Use them and let them use you.

Our oldest son had no interest in playing football at Princeton, or Carnegie Mellon when They called

Did you kick his ass? I woulda gave him one swift kick for each of my genes he carried.

Just kidding. However, I went through this years back when Trump University wanted me to come out there to bowl. Woulda cost me about 8 grand a year. I wanted to continue blowing more than anything, but moving back East just wasn't in the cards.

I wanted to continue blowing more than anything, but moving back East just wasn't in the cards.

That's an unfortunate typo tommy. I wasn't entirely sure of your intentions and figured it's similar to my phone posting style.

Typo?? That's my style. Not the blowing (or not so much the blowing), but the pretending I'm an illiterate jackass.

There really is no good reason to be a DIII athlete unless you happen to choose a school that is DIII and you want to participate in it like you would a club sport.

That isn't to disrespect the small school experience but if you would otherwise choose a different school but are going to a lower choice because they give you a chance to play a sport in front of crowds smaller than an average high school then you shouldn't.