The Coming Enrollment Storm

D3Playbook SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 | written by Steve Ulrich your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III

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1. The Coming Enrollment Storm   (Chronicle of Higher Education) - "Up and down the selectivity ladder, especially among private colleges, yield models had been invalidated by a sea change in student college-choice behavior. After the May 1 deadline for candidates to accept or reject admissions offers, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) provides colleges the option to post a “still open for business” status alerting potential applicants that there’s still time to submit an application. For classes entering between 2014 and 2016, the average number of colleges that would consider postdeadline applications over that three-year span was 436. For the past three years? The average was 554 — a 27-percent increase. This is my summer of 2019 takeaway: Higher education has fully entered a new structural reality. You’d be naïve to believe that most colleges will be able to ride out this unexpected wave as we have previous swells." >> Quotable: "Even more alarming is the perception among a growing number of young people today that, with escalating college costs and diminishing payoffs in terms of guaranteed career opportunities, a postsecondary education simply may not be worth the huge investment." - Jack Maguire, Boston College Magazine, 1976 >> Be Smart: "Those who saw modest high-school graduation dips by 2020 as surmountable must now absorb the statistical reality: Things are only going to get worse." - Bill Conley, Bucknell >> Be Smart II: "Disruption is here to stay. Campus leaders cannot change the wind direction, but they can trim the institutional sails." >> Go Deeper: Read More from The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription)

2. California Lawmakers Vote to Undo NCAA Amateurism (New York Times) California State Senator Nancy Skinner had heard enough about a multibillion-dollar enterprise dependent of amateur athletes. "Rather than being the bystander going, 'Gosh this is so unfair, how do these people get away with this?', I'm like, 'Hey, if I'm in the Senate, can the state do something about it?'" She is about to find out. Skinner, who wrote the Fair Pay to Play Act along with a fellow Democrat, saw her bill clear the State Assembly by a vote of 72-0. A version of the bill had already cleared the Senate. If Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the bill, the measure goes into effect Jan. 1, 2023. This bill is the latest tussle in a longstanding debate about the commercial spoils of N.C.A.A. amateurism, a model that has largely survived court challenges even as it has been whittled at the margins. >> Point: "(Pac-12 commissioner Larry) Scott and other leaders in college sports — including the N.C.A.A. president, Mark Emmert, in a letter to California legislators this summer — paint a doomsday scenario for the state’s athletic teams if the bill becomes law. They say that colleges in California could be prohibited from competing for N.C.A.A. championships because they would have an unfair recruiting advantage — being able to lure athletes with the possibility of cashing in on anything from jersey sales to sponsorship deals." >> CounterPoint: When asked to table the bill to allow the NCAA to complete a working group report, Skinner replied, "Been there, done that. You had your opportunity." >> Be Smart: Skinner believes that an athlete should be treated like any other student with a marketable skill. An engineering undergraduate who creates a robot and a music student with a chance to work as a club D.J. would have no limits on what they could earn for their efforts, except what others were willing to pay. >> Worth Your Time

3. Fireworks at Kent State II As you know, Saturday's field hockey match between Maine and Temple was stopped prior to the second overtime due to a decision by the Kent State athletic administration to prepare for pre-game football fireworks. Kent State’s Athletic Director Joel Nielson released a statement apologizing to the University of Maine and Temple University on behalf of the Kent State University Athletic Department.  “In hindsight, a different decision should have been made to ultimately ensure the game reached its conclusion. We hold ourselves to a very high standard, and in this situation, we failed,” the statement reads in part.  “I realize that my statement does not undo the negative impact on the student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans who deserve to see their teams compete in a full contest. Also, we let down the field hockey community and its supporters as a whole.” The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) released a statement asking Kent State to “do some soul searching and take responsibility for the lack of judgment and poor-decision making.”  “The optics and the messaging to every field hockey program and to every field hockey player are that while they matter, they don't matter more than pre-game football festivities,” the statement reads. “We see this as a terrible message being communicated to female student-athletes in this year of 2019. This decision was extremely damaging not only for the participating athletes, their coaches, and their families but for all female student-athletes.”  >> Read More from the NFHCA

4. National Athletes of the Week Cross Country (W) Evie Bultemeyer, Trine The junior from Fort Wayne, Ind., captured the individual title at the Calvin Knight Invitational, outlasting 199 runners in a time of 21:29.0. Her time set a school record for the 6K distance. Cross Country (M) Nate Romberger, Messiah The junior from Lewisberry, Pa., finished first at the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen Invitational, hitting the tape eight seconds ahead of the runner-up in the 8K race.

5.  Comings and Goings   Danielle Percival named assistant AD of communications at Piedmont. Liz Slupinski named head softball coach at Cobleskill. George White named head softball coach at Neumann.

6.  1 Pup Thing   Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images Above, Leonardo the corgi wears a shark-fin life jacket while playing in the Thunder Bay Wave Pool at the Bow Wow Beach Doggie Day at Water World in Federal Heights, Colorado. Below, behold watersliding dogs: Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images