Importance of a College Education

D3Playbook DECEMBER 31, 2019 | written by STEVE ULRICH your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III Our goal is to keep you - the influencers in DIII athletics - apprised of what's happening around Division III - the games, polls, news, happenings, awards, calendar of events, and much more. We hope you enjoy d3Playbook and that you'll share this with your friends, colleagues and co-workers.

Happy Last Day of the Decade. Goodbye 10s. Welcome 20s! >> Thanks for reading D3Playbook. Please invite your staff and colleagues to sign up below. >> Today's Word Count: 812 (just under 4 minutes). Brief, concise, smart.

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1.  The Importance of a College Education "About half of U.S. adults (51%) now consider a college education to be "very important," down from 70% in 2013. Over the same period, the percentages rating college as "fairly important" and "not too important" have both increased, to 36% and 13%, respectively. Perceptions that a college education is very important have declined in the U.S. among all age groups since 2013, but the drop has been especially pronounced -- 33 percentage points -- among adults aged 18 to 29. As a result, younger adults are now less likely than middle-aged adults and seniors to consider college as very important, whereas the different age groups held similar perceptions in 2013. Currently, slight majorities of adults aged 30 to 49 (51%), 50 to 64 (55%), and 65 and older (55%) say a college education is very important, compared with less than half of 18- to 29-year-olds (41%)." >> Of Note: Consistent with what Gallup found in 2013, women today are more likely than men to report a college education is very important (57% vs. 45%, respectively), although the figures are down among both groups. >> Sides of the Aisle: Less than half of Republicans (41%) say a college education is very important -- significantly lower than the percentages of Democrats (62%) and independents (50%) saying the same. >> The Bottom Line: Extensive research still indicates a college degree leads to a higher-paying job, increased job security and healthier behaviors. Unfortunately, if a college education continues to feel out of reach for many and its value or political neutrality/integrity is questioned, fewer may take advantage of this unique and transformative experience. Read More with lots of good data from Gallup

2.  About Last Night Not a good night to be a top-25 men's basketball team, according to D3hoops.com. No. 21 Guilford (9-2) upset No. 2 Emory, 70-69, on a running three-pointer at the buzzer by Jaylen Gore. Take a look at the final hectic seconds. Eastern Connecticut (4-5) toppled No. 12 Babson, 77-76. The Warriors trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half before rallying. Seth Thomas led ECSU with 20. Stevens knocked off No. 13 Johns Hopkins, 72-65, in JHU coach Josh Loeffler's return to Hoboken. Nor on the women's side ... Austin College handed No. 5 Mary Hardin-Baylor a 70-61 defeat. The 'Roos led start-to-finish and were led by Reagan Chiaverini with 16. Emerson's Kate Foultz went 4-for-4 at the line in OT to lift the Lions past No. 12 Messiah, 63-61.  Becky Raeder scored a game-high 21 points as No. 19 UW-Whitewater edged No. 17 St. Thomas, 75-69. Elsewhere in the men's game ... Sam Majekodunmi poured in a career-high 44 points as Albright defeated Cabrini, 92-76. On the mat ... No. 3 Augsburg crowned five champions to win the team title at the Citrus Invitational. No. 15 NYU was second, followed by No. 7 Baldwin Wallace. Auggie 133 Victor Gliva posted a 6-1 semifinal decision over Ferrum's Levi Engleman in a showdown between the top two wrestlers in DIII. Gliva won the weight class and could assume the #1 spot in the next ranking.

3.  Best of the Decade We continue our "Best of the Decade" series with a look at the champions, runners-up and top four finishers in indoor track and field. Champions: UW-Oshkosh (3), Wartburg (2), Baldwin Wallace, UMass-Boston, UW-La Crosse, Washington U., Williams. Runner-Up: UW-Oshkosh (3), Illinois College, Illinois Wesleyan, Ithaca, UW-La Crosse, Wartburg, Washington U., Williams. Top Four Finishes: UW-Oshkosh (6), Wartburg (5), Washington U. (5), Williams (3), Illinois Wesleyan (3), UW-La Crosse (3), George Fox (2), Methodist (2), MIT (2), UW-Eau Claire (2), Baldwin Wallace, Chicago, Illinois College, Ithaca, Loras, UMass-Boston, Nebraska Wesleyan, Ohio Northern, St. Lawrence, Stevens, Wheaton, Mass. Champions: North Central (5), UW-La Crosse (3), UW-Eau Claire (2), Mount Union. Runner-Up: UW-Eau Claire (2), UW-La Crosse (2), Central, Mount Union, North Central, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Whitewater. Top Four Finishes: UW-La Crosse (8), UW-Eau Claire (7), North Central (6), UW-Oshkosh (5), Mount Union (3), UW-Whitewater (3), UW-Stevens Point (2), Central, Monmouth, Rowan, St. Olaf, UW-Stout, Wartburg. Tomorrow: Outdoor Track and Field

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4. Unbeaten    Who are the remaining teams with unblemished records heading into the final day of the decade? WBB (10) Albright (12-0), Austin (9-0), Bethel (10-0), Bowdoin (10-0), Edgewood (10-0), Hope (12-0), Smith (11-0), Tufts (10-0), Widener (11-0), Williams (10-0). MBB (7) Colby (9-0), Middlebury (10-0), Randolph-Macon (11-0), St. Thomas TX (10-0), Swarthmore (9-0), UW-La Crosse (10-0), Wittenberg (10-0). WIH (3) Colby (6-0-1), Middlebury (5-0-2), U. of New England (7-0-1).

5.  #whyD3

6.  Sports Not much more to say here. Happy New Year! sports... pic.twitter.com/HXLpHQnzgl — Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) December 28, 2019

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