DIII runners: Any regrets about not running DI?

Former D3 guy here. Ran 4:1x and 9:1x in high school, decided to go to a good d3 program for academics. Due to bad luck and some circumstances out of anyone's control, was injured a lot in college. I feel like a cutthroat d1 program would have had me 'move on' at some point, but perhaps because there was no $$ involved the coaches at my school always supported me unconditionally, both as a runner and a person. No regrets at all.

DI versus DIII wrote:

A buddy and I are having a debate about this.

If a Nick Symmonds (Willamette) or Will Lear (Pomona) had run DI would they have had better pro running careers?

More recently Annie Richards at DIII Ohio Northern made the USATF finals in the 800m. Would she be a better runner had she gone to Texas A&M, Oregon or Stanford?

Depending on the runner and the coach the opposite may be true.

Nope. Would have been a scrub in a second rate D1 program. Instead, great team atmosphere, lots of time for normal college stuff (drinking and a semester abroad), and a chance to develop slowly as a runner. There were a few meets each year to run with the D1 guys and so I knew where I swam in the big ocean of NCAA competition (your place at all comers meets roughly predicted your place at D3 nationals).

Yes

Ran against lots of d1 runners and beat most of them too.

Scholarship would have helped.

Plus d3 runners I ran with were too concerned about their frats beers and precious Wall Street careers.

P$ssies!

DI versus DIII wrote:

correction ..... Emily Richards at Ohio Northern

Her coach at Northern is way better than alot of DI coaches so I doubt she cares DI or DIII.

bangarang wrote:

Hell no. I went to a small liberal arts school which has a great science program as well as a good XC program. I trained hard, raced hard, partied a LOT and did well in classes. I got into med school and am just finishing up my medical training now. I look back on my college running experience with a lot of fond memories. I ran 25 min for 8k and 14:45 for 5k. Could I have ran faster if I had focused more on the "details" of running? absolutely. I was never going to be a sub 14 or sub 29 guy however. Getting drunk and partying was not good for recovery, but it sure was a lot of fun.

The above was me in the 1970's. I had HS friends who took DI scholarship money to run. One was a failure and miserable. I was injured for outdoor track my last two years, but had four great XC seasons.

I only regret the partying was so good, I should have focused on training a bit more. Maybe I would have had better PRs, but DIII was a fine way to attend college and have fun running. I still run and race 40 years later. No burn out.

DIII. Qualified for track nats more often than I missed and came home AA a few times. Would have made the d1 regional meet most of those years outdoor. Have siblings and a cousin that competed at the d1 level and I had a far better experience. They ended up hurt/hating the sport. My hunch is that if I had tried to go d1 I wouldn’t have progressed as quickly as I did and I would’ve spent my time running against DIII guys anyways because I wouldn’t have made the travel squad. Definitely wouldn’t have done well at a bigger school. Feel like being at a smaller school held me accountable to actually learning something instead of drinking/networking my way to a job.

DI versus DIII wrote:

You are exactly who I want to talk to.

If you had gone to an Ivy or Stanford would you have achieved what you wanted to athletically and in your career?

Are you happy with your career? Did your DIII undergraduate degree lead you down a different career path than if you had attended your DI state university?

Olympics and a solid career path. Where do you go for that? :-) Are these limited choices or can you go to North Dakota?

A solid career path has more to do with what you study than where you go.

Also consider, some evidence suggest rating top 10% at an average school sets a person up better than being average at a Ivy type school.

You seem to have some lofty athletic goals. While good athletes come out of every division, the best athletes run Division I for a reason. It is far more competitive and a lot of good athletes get chewed up by the system, but at any halfway decent program you will have better funding, travel opportunities and support as well as more dedicated teammates and an emphasis will be placed on athletic success.

Bud, if you went to MIT, your argument is valid. But if we're talking about Wash U here — people think that's a community college. It's not on par with the Ivies and Stanford.

University of Washington St. Louis Satellite campus is a respectable institution!

I was a d3 guy and have a lot of regrets from my college days, but division was not one of them. If anything, I wish I had avoided the urge to overtrain. I was a solid high school runner (9:30's) who became a solid college athletes (8:40's/15:00's/31:20's), but most of these times were from my sophomore year and then I spent a lot of time injured.

I've been coaching for a few years and what I tell kids is what I truly feel...pick a program, not a division. Your odds of being the best on your team, in your conference, in your region, and in the nation are pretty slim. Odds are really, really high you're going to be pushed. Pick the school that fits you academically, athletically, and culturally. There are truly very few D2 or D3 guys who can blame a lack of competition as a hindrance to improvement.

Currently running for a competitive D3 program and I am extremely happy that I chose D3 over D1. We've gone to competitive XC meets and have beaten D1 program. and I have been given the opportunity to develop instead of being turned away like I would have been at D1 program. One of the D1 programs that I was looking at never even responded to my emails asking about walking on, and after my freshman year XC season, I would have been in their top 5. D3 gave me chances to race and I believe that if you're a decent HS runner (4:25, 9:30) its in your best interest to run at a D3 school.

+1

As others have said, it all depends on the program and what you want to get out of college. But here are some factors to think about:

Scholarships: D1 has them, albeit very few for distance runners and you're always at risk of having a scholarship reduced or taken away based on performance. D3 schools usually discount tuition heavily and have other forms of merit scholarship aid.

Competition: Unlike other sports, there are a lot of opportunities to run against athletes from other divisions, both in track and cross.

Coaching: Especially at Power 5 schools, coaches can be under a lot of pressure to score points at conference and nationals and will recruit/coach accordingly. Division II/III coaches are under much less pressure, so the good ones can take the long view toward athlete development.

Ego: Honestly I think a lot of the decision is tied up with saying that you're a D1 athlete or that you're running for a name-brand school. Way more people have heard of, say, Penn State than Amherst. Drop the ego and take the time find the place that fits your interests and aspirations (and ability to pay).

Alternatives: If a D1 school is the best option due affordability or the programs they offer, check and see if they have a non-NCAA running or triathlon club. Viable alternative to collegiate competition.

My perspective: I was a mediocre D3 runner (conference champ in a very slow conference), worked briefly for a Power 5 athletic department, and have taught at a Power 5 research university for the last six years. I wanted the small-college experience and had a good and well-rounded time, never ran anywhere close to my potential (my fault) but still am close to my coach and still running, slowly. I loved my experience in D3. I've taught a number of runners in my program; they've generally had a good experience (middle-of-the-road XC team) but I wouldn't trade mine for theirs.

No

Ran DIII and it was the best decision I ever made. The Coach was an amazing influence on me and focused on making steady improvements through 4 years. Ran a PR every year and ended up with several All-Americans. Now I have a good job and a fantastic group of friends from college.

Someone who knows wrote:

Harambe wrote:

So this is...

WashU, Rice, Carnegie Mellon?

Narrows it down

Rice is D1.

Johns Hopkins would fit the mold.

UChicago?

This question sounds good. But as a parent who has just sent his child off to college (an NAIA school). It really comes down to the best fit for you. My daughter would do great in any level, but the best school for her future career is an NAIA school (which still dished out a hefty scholarship for her). I got turned down by several DI schools and ended up running DII. I loved beating the runners from those schools when I would face them. Even though I had a vengeful purpose in those situations, ultimately I think I was the runner I was, due the environment I was in....which best suited the type of runner and student I was.

Don't regret D3 one bit... yea woulda been nice to get a full ride somewhere else but our school had something special with the team, and we trained just as hard as any other d1-2 team.... The year we were NCAA champs we would have placed top 15 in D1 and top 5 in D2 per our results at big invys. That was more special to me upsetting the D1 kids!