D1 and D3, what's D2?

This is perfect. Thank you.

Speaking as someone who has competed D1, and coached in all 3 divisions, it really doesn't matter what division you are, just matters if you like the school, the coach, and the opportunities they provide.

If you can go somewhere that allows you to become the best athlete you can be, then I say thats a great thing.

However I will say that the extra attention and care that you'll get at a D2 or D3 school is something that should not be ignored. In D1 you're treated like a part of the business and if you don't perform you'll lose that scholarship. D2 and D3 care more about developing the athlete and the person.

D2 is the unloved middle child of the NCAA, but at least they're not D3.

RF wrote:

chupacabra wrote:

There was an a m a z i n g D3 running betches thread a few years that maybe somebody wants to resurrect.

It's been deleted from letsrun but still exists here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20120415152104/https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=4342305

In my opinion, it's the most overrated of the often mentioned letsrun thread. Definitely not "a m a z i n g" at least.

D3 girls drinking hard and training hard - Thread still exists

lets be real wrote:

However I will say that the extra attention and care that you'll get at a D2 or D3 school is something that should not be ignored. In D1 you're treated like a part of the business and if you don't perform you'll lose that scholarship. D2 and D3 care more about developing the athlete and the person.

I'm sorry your D1 experience was that terrible but let me correct the record.

If you're the worst kid on your roster - D1 or D2 or D3 - you're going to get treated worse than any stud on any team. But the idea that D1 coaches and programs automatically don't care about individual athletes is absurd. I know D3 coaches that treat walk ons worse than I could ever imagine treating my worst kids (I coach D1). I consider my program to be extremely concerned with personal and athletic development. And I know many programs at the top of D1 that have a similar family atmosphere.

As for losing your scholarship because you don't perform - I can count the amount of programs on my hands that I know try to pull that stuff. 95% of D1 programs don't try to circumvent the NCAA rules regarding scholarship reductions. Yes, some do. But if you do your research and choose a college thoughtfully, you won't have that issue in D1.

I know everyone on LetsRun is a P5 alum and All American/Nationals Qualifier but we have to stop pretending like D1 is only the Pac12, Big10, Big12, ACC, SEC, there are HUNDREDS of other programs in D1 that are, day-to-day, indistinguishable from good D2 or D3 programs. That is to say, you couldn't show up to practice, watch what goes on, and pick the division. And I think this goes for many P5 programs too, maybe not the perennial powers, but many of the back half of those conferences operate extremely similarly too.

Flagpole wrote:

As a general statement, D2 schools aren't as good academically as most D1 and D3 schools. Also, there are a LOT of religious schools in the D2 bunch, so that's a pro or con depending on your view.

You can find decent academic D2 schools though. Off the top of my head if I had to pick three they would be Flagler College (beautiful setting), Gannon University, and Findlay University.

Findlay is a trade school. Flagler is a finishing school for dumb rich girls. Gannon I don't know about.

Westside wrote:

Most big state schools and prestigious private schools are D1. Are allowed 12.6 mens/18 womens scholarships.

Aka bitch privilege.

D1onstreetD3insheets wrote:

[quote]Midwest XC wrote:

(I literally can't think of any other D2 school that is well known) ...

I feel like you can't even count Adams State, Chico, and Grand Valley State as D2 schools anymore because they are just so much better than everyone else.

Um, Colorado Mines won DII cross country, so there's a school you literally couldn't think of. Adams, Chico and Grand Valley, were 2nd, 4th, and 6th, respectively. Alaska Anchorage also deserves a mention for being 3rd, it's not as deep as DI, but it's still competitive through the top 5-10 teams on any given year.