What is the coolest thing about being a d1 student athlete?

Not much. How is it much different than DII or NAIA or even some DIII programs?

I was shocked at how little most (not all). of my teammates cared about school and just wanted to run. The didn't belong at the school and it is not fun to be at a place where most people are far more skilled than you are. I couldn't believe the subjects some of team took (one involved learning how to keep a checkbook). Since I later became an academic, I thought the whole athletics things just hurt the University-at least 500 "athlete students" were enrolled out of 13,000. undergrads Not enough to kill the school, but it created an intellectual ghetto of sorts.

Since I came from a broken home, it was my coach who made the difference. He understood me and acted a a quasi-parent. I knew we didn't train enough and everything was out of a Fred Wilt book, but I really liked the guy (my uber talented teammate, later world class, feared NCAAs because he knew that our low miles did not help if they were heats).. Never cut anyone's scholarship as long as they tried. The 2:30 800m scholarship women would drive me nuts, but they held up their end of the bargain-stay in school and be a loyal teammate.

1) per diem. I remember getting on the van heading to our first away cross country meet and the trainer handed me an envelope with cash. My first thought was that it was illegal. Those envelopes got pretty fat when we went on our fall break trips.

2) racing against (actually, well behind) olympians.

3) I loved when school was out in early May but conference wasn’t until the end of May so we had nothing to do but practice and hang out without dealing with classes. It was like being a really slow professional runner.

Swag + chicks

Being able to run at a top D1 school and see how you stack up against some of the best runners in the nation. Found out that I was a very good runner but definitely not elite. Did get a good education though. Don't have a super model wife or a $250K a year job. I know, a lot less than what the average LRC makes.

Priority class registration

Free tutoring

Travel

Attention

Instant friend group

..and i wasn't even good.

realTalkin wrote:

Priority class registration

Free tutoring

Travel

Attention

Instant friend group

..and i wasn't even good.

add in some free hoodies and gear and this list is gold

For contrast, Here are cool things about being a non-scholarship NAIA athlete.

Free laundry. If you can fit it on the pin it will get washed in hot water with jockstraps and smelly jerseys, and tumbled dry at temps so high as to kill any life.

Food per diem. Something like $20 for a day trip. Pocket it after making a few extra sandwiches at the cafeteria.

Intelligent team mates. Those that could not cut it academically dropped out, transferred.

Shared experiences. Classes, assignments, budgeting and other things such as life aside from running.

Studying at meets. Taking books and such. Reading while in the van, Meeting others behind the bleachers for group study ins.

Free shoes. We got ~$100 per year credit so you could buy one pair of shoes, any brand or style you wanted.

Pre season XC camp. Camping at the ranch of the brother of the coach in UT.

Equal competition. Not running against many scholarship athletes or foreign ringers. You had a chance in almost every race.

Education. You were paying for it so you had to make it count.

Earning it. No pampering, special favors, or big perks. Satisfaction of knowing you worked hard to gain anything you had.

I don’t see much difference between the D1 and non D1 experience.

Star wrote:

I don’t see much difference between the D1 and non D1 experience.

I was at a fairly big school, so didn't feel like HS at all.

A HS teammate went DIII and had an experience like an extended HS.

He preferred that, and I preferred the large school experience.

I took racing more seriously than he did once leaving HS.

He was focused on getting good grades in a field where he could expect a career, and using his free ride to leave school debt free. Yes, he got a free ride, even though some others have tried to point out that DIII did't give free rides. Whatever. He had a very good career.