The Track/Cross Country Running Recruiting Thread, '18

Sam-I-Am
Sun, 06 Aug 2017 19:13:47 +0000

@bgbg4us asked “question: why are there so many kids on some D3 teams compared to D1?”

Since there are no scholarships in D3, many D3 schools are able to keep large teams in some sports, though not all the kids will travel to away competitions. Many schools do this in part to fill seats in the classroom (with largely full pay students) and probably to increase yield through ED, the application process many athletes are encouraged to use.

On the flip side, I have noticed 35 or more athletes on the team sideline at Northwestern (D1) women’s home soccer games. I know many won’t get any playing time in matches and won’t travel to away meets. So why are so many allowed on the sideline? I imagine part of it is the coach’s philosophy, though I also suspect that the school is glad to have so many engaged student athletes, many of whom will be full pay. I think there will be firmer cuts at D1 state schools where budgets may be tighter and filling classroom seats is not as much of a concern.