Good Division III Schools for Running

26mi235 wrote:

ClaremontMC is hard enough to get into, Pomona is really tough, and hardly anyone on this board could get into Harvey Mudd; not even all of those that get into MIT or CalTech can.

I ran with the Pomona-Pitzer team when I was in Grad school in the 70s. They had a consistently good program, and appear to still have a good one. The smog is a pain, but it is actually getting steadily better over time; besides, the school year does not cover most of the smoggy time of year (it takes the summer heat). I ran many, many miles in the foothills and at what was called Puddingstone.

Also, Occidential (Oxy) has a fabulous track/XC history and is a very good school further into the LA area. Oxy probably has a better T&F history than any DIII school in the country.

I can concur with everything said above. If you really want to go to the 5c's and can't get into those 3, check out Scripps or Pitzer. The smog isn't nearly as detrimental as running in 5 degree weather would be, so it's really a matter of deciding what you prefer.

And I don't think any D3 school in the nation can boast even half as many Olympic qualifiers, and none can even come close to the number of World Record and NCAA (not division III) record holders that Oxy has had.

Really, ask yourself what's more important, if it's athletics while still having good academics, go to North Central. If it's athletics without academics at all, go to a state school that's instate and cheap like a UW or Keene. If it's academics before athletics, go to one of the 5C's or MIT, or UChicago, or NYU, or Williams.

I'm not going to be one of those guys that tries to push you to go to one university or another. The truth is that even though all these people are telling you how good their University is in academics, when you are going to get a job after college most employers won't have a clue where your college is or how it ranks in the nation. All they care is that you are competent in what you are being hired to do and that you have a piece of paper saying B.A. or B.S. I guess what I am trying to say is that you are going to get a quality education at practically every DIII school because the focus is academics first and athletes second. What you should be looking for is how that school will fit your personality, the location, if it has your major, etc. Going to a college because letsrun posters are ranting and raving about is stupid, it is like going to college solely because your girlfriend is going there.

As far as wanting to know what schools have good running programs, just check out the past NCAA track and cross country meets. That should give you an idea of who is pretty good. Trust yourself not these letsrun posters that are just trying to talk up there college to recruit you.

Any of the SCAC schools are worth checking out. Sewanee, Rhodes, DePauw, and Rose-Hulman are comparable to most of the schools mentioned, academically. The rest of the schools are highly ranked as well. Hendrix might have the second smartest coach in America.

WK has the best take though. A D3 experience is truly a unique gift. Your best bet is to review the academic strengths of schools in your area of interest. Then you can review past results, facilities, and other facts about the program. You'll find that many top notch programs have an impressive academic reputation. From personal experience (without taking the time to look them up) I like the UAA, SCAC, Tufts' conference, Carlton's conference's for academics. Competitively, without regard to academics you have to look at the Wisconsin schools, CCIW, and UAA.

Again, just my opinion. Consult your guidance counselor and coach for more assistance.