Meeting of the Minds

D3Playbook SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 | written by Steve Ulrich your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III

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1. Meeting of the Minds The Division III Commissioners Association fall meeting begins today in Las Vegas. The group's September meeting has become the focus of the commissioners' professional development. Items on the agenda include an update on the officiating initiative taken on by the DIIICA, a review of regional realignment, scheduling requirements for AQ conferences, committee updates and a possible strategic plan for the organization. >> Situational Awareness: The DIIICA meets three times per year - January at the NCAA Convention, June usually in conjunction with a Regional Rules Seminar, and in September. >> DYK: There are more than 40 conferences in Division III. >> Be Smart: The focal point of the Division III Commissioners Association is for the membership to learn together and share with each other. Division III commissioners are unique in what they do and need each other in order to grow. In order to achieve this goal, the Association works closely with affiliated organizations such as the NCAA, NACDA, NADIIIAA, NACWAA, and the Division III Independents as well. The blending of those groups creates a national synergy that allows all memberships to work in concert to improve communications and ultimately, service student-athletes.

2. Conference Shuffle Continues   Division III conferences continue to make moves to bolster their membership and add automatic qualification opportunities for their sports. On Monday, the Atlantic East Conference offered associate membership to St. Mary's (Md.) in field hockey, bringing the Conference's membership in the sport to seven. Also that day, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference added Lesley University to the fold as a men's tennis affiliate, bringing the GNAC's total to eight schools for the 2019-20 season. In May, the New Jersey Athletic Conference added SUNY Oneonta, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-La Crosse and Wisconsin-Whitewater as affiliate members in men's tennis.. >> What They're Saying: "We are excited to welcome St. Mary's to the Atlantic East Conference as the first-ever affiliate member. The partnership will help to strengthen field hockey in our conference and enhance the student-athlete experience." - Jessica Huntley, commissioner >> What They're Saying II: "St. Mary's College of Maryland looks forward to partnering with our colleagues in the Atlantic East Conference. "We believe this is a great fit and a tremendous opportunity for our field hockey program." - Scott Devine, director of athletics >> What They're Saying III: “We are excited to welcome our new affiliate member programs and to provide them with the opportunity to be a part of our conference. This is a unique situation in which we are taking a group of like programs, some of which have not had the opportunity to compete in a conference for many years, and giving them a league home." - Terry Small, commissioner, New Jersey Athletic Conference >> Between the Lines: Look for more possible movement by the remaining members of the Capital Athletic Conference - St. Mary's, Christopher Newport, Mary Washington, Salisbury, and Southern Virginia. >> Be Smart: One of the major topics on the agenda is what constitutes "bona fide" conference play and how conference champions receive AQs..

3. Cuts at Edgewood Edgewood College in Wisconsin will remove some faculty positions in order to reach a 13-to-one student-to-faculty ratio, according to Channel 3000. The college's deficit doubled over the summer when its incoming class ended up being smaller than expected. Interim president Mary Ellen Gevelinger told Channel 3000 that within one to two years, the college plans on bringing their student-to-faculty ratio to 15 to one. Gevelinger is unsure at this time how many faculty positions will need to be cut. The current student to faculty ratio at Edgewood is 10 to one. A plan for the cuts will be presented to the Board of Trustees during their Nov. 15 meeting, and faculty will be notified after that. Additionally, the college is considering dropping or merging some of its less popular majors. Over the past five years, enrollment has shrunk by 30 percent. Edgewood has just under 450 faculty and staff and enrolled around 1,600 students for the 2016-17 year. - courtesy of Inside Higher Education

4. Polls   Soccer (M) - United Soccer Coaches Tufts SUNY Oneonta Johns Hopkins Amherst John Carroll Chicago (tie) Washington and Lee (tie) Hardin-Simmons Loras SUNY Cortland 11. Calvin, 12. Capital, 13. Franklin & Marshall, 14. Mary Washington, 15. Connecticut College, 16. Stevens, 17. Rowan, 18. North Park, 19. Luther, 20. Puget Sound, 21. Ithaca, 22. Penn State-Behrend, 23. Augsburg, 24. Texas-Dallas, 25. Brandeis. >> Moving Up: Washington and Lee (+8), Loras (+7), Mary Washington (+6). >> Moving Down: Augsburg (-14), North Park (-8). >> Hello: Hardin-Simmons, Rowan, Texas-Dallas. >> Bye-Bye: Oglethorpe, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Claremont-M-S. Soccer (W) - United Soccer Coaches William Smith Messiah Middlebury Christopher Newport Wheaton, Ill. Johns Hopkins Amherst St. Thomas Washington-St. Louis College of New Jersey T11. Pomona-Pitzer, T11. Williams, 13. Case Western Reserve, 14. Centre, 15. New York U., 16. Swarthmore, 17. MIT, 18. Lynchburg, 19. Arcadia, 20. Chicago, 21. Claremont-M-S, 22. Wartburg, 23. Trinity, Texas, 24. Otterbein, 25. Springfield. >> Moving Up: Case Western (+9), Swarthmore (+8), Centre (+6) >> Moving Down: Trinity, TX (-12), Williams (-10), Otteberin (-9) >> Hello: Arcadia, Claremont-M-S, Springfield >> Bye-Bye: Misericordia, Loras, Trinity, Conn. Field Hockey - NFHCA Middlebury Rowan Tufts Salisbury College of New Jersey Vassar Bowdoin Johns Hopkins Franklin & Marshall Montclair State 11. Ursinus, 12. Messiah, 13. Christopher Newport, 14. Williams, 15. Bates, 16. Rochester, 17. Trinity, 18. Centre, 19. Babson, 20. Colby. >> Moving Up: Bowdoin, F&M, Ursinus, Williams (+2) >> Moving Down: Messiah (-5) >> Hello: Bates, Centre, Colby >> Bye-Bye: Amherst, Hamilton, Endicott. Volleyball - AVCA Calvin Emory Claremont-M-S Johnson & Wales, R.I. Berry Chicago Juniata Saint Benedict Trinity, Texas Carthage 11. Colorado College, 12. Carnegie Mellon, 13. UW-Eau Claire, 14. UW-Whitewater, 15. Wesleyan, Conn., T-16. Augsburg, T-16. Ohio Northern, 18. St. Thomas, 19. Wittenberg, 20. Hope, 21. Babson, 22. Transylvania, 23. Clarkson, 24. Ithaca, 25. Heidelberg. >> Moving Up: Carthage (+9), Saint Benedict (+4) >> Moving Down: Hope (-7), Wittenberg (-5), Colorado College (-4), UW-Eau Claire (-4) >> Hello: Transylvania, Heidelberg >> Bye-Bye: Pacific Lutheran, Mary Hardin-Baylor

5.  Comings ...    Leah Swanson named interim head women's basketball coach at Plymouth State. Liz Martin named head women's lacrosse coach at Neumann. Claude Shields has been named associate athletic director at William Peace. Nicole Barringer has been named assistant athletic director at William Peace. Ozzy Peralta has been named director of athletic communications at William Peace. Jonathan DeAndrade named assistant director of athletics at Wesleyan (Conn.). USA South added women's golf as the conference's 18th championship sport. The Atlantic East Conference added St. Mary's (Md.) as an affiliate member in field hockey beginning in 2020. Lesley will join the Great Northeast Athletic Conference for the 2019-20 season in men's tennis. John Kelly named head esports coach at Delaware Valley.

6.  1 Coffee Thing   No more instant: Picky employees are increasingly driving companies to offer high-end coffee, with demand causing firms to go "a bit more niche and independent," the Financial Times reports. The big picture: "Dedicated coffee-makers ... are one example of the caffeinated offerings that some companies deploy to keep their employees productive, happy — and in the building." "Employees .. will make their voices heard if they’re not happy with this coffee," Glassdoor's Jo Cresswell told FT. Each floor of Goldman Sachs’ City of London headquarters has a coffee bar, including one that serves single-origin coffee. Landlords like WeWork brag up their "micro-roasted coffee bar," a major departure from the days of the instant variety. The bottom line: For happy employees, dump the instant and get the good stuff. - courtesy of Axios

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