The Small American College

D3Playbook DECEMBER 3, 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.

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1.  The Small American College Are demographics destiny, or will colleges with a niche and stalwart financial discipline find a way through? "If you typed “Bennington College” into Google last month, an ominous question would pop up in the “People also ask” section, just beneath a link to the college’s website: “Is Bennington College closing?” It’s not. Either the algorithms underlying Google or the humans using the search engine were confused. Bennington College was merely caught up in an association with Southern Vermont College, a nearby institution that closed at the end of May after struggling for years to stay afloat. Bennington, which has a national reputation and famous alumni, would seem to be the sort of place that has little to worry about. And yet in Vermont — at the leading edge of a decline in students that is looming in other parts of the Northeast, the Midwest, and parts of the South — no institution can be too comfortable." The Chronicle of Higher Education offers lessons from Bennington and Vermont's experience. >> Situational Awareness: The shakeouts in Vermont and the rest of the country will play out the way they usually do in other industries: The institutions with a name and other material advantages will pull ahead and leave others behind. >> Reality Check: Of particular importance in Vermont, a land of tiny, experimental institutions: What does this moment portend for the future of the small American college? >> Be Smart: But a niche will get a college only so far. Green Mountain College, which had consistently been rated the “greenest” college in the country, had an enviable niche that did not translate into financial sustainability. The college was sunk by debt, an inability to raise money from alumni, and internal strife. “As someone who based her whole life off of an amazing experience at an institution, and then seeing that institution crumble, it makes you question all of your choices,” she says. “Like all of the things you based your life on, maybe they’re not sustainable. Maybe they’re not the right way to go.” - Tatiana Abatemarco, Green Mountain alumnae Worth Your Time ($)

2.  Not a Sibling Rivalry It was a memorable weekend in Lancaster, Pa., for the Nicholas family. Senior Michaela, 21, plays field hockey for Franklin & Marshall. Junior Erin, 20, does the same at Middlebury College. The Diplomats and Panthers met in the NCAA Division III championship final on Nov. 23. Middlebury scored late to defeat F&M, 1-0, for its third consecutive NCAA title. Erin, the 2018 national Player of the Year, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Michaela, a team captain for the Diplomats, did not see action. >> What They're Saying: "I wanted my team to win but I also wanted Erin to have a great game. If I lose, at least you're winning." - Michaela. >> What They're Saying II: "She has made me a better athlete because she pushes me." - Erin. >> Why It Matters: "Our parents are very big on all of us making very smart and healthy decisions," Erin said, explaining they stress being committed to academics and athletics but to also building "strong relationships with friends and maintaining bonds." >> Read More, courtesy of Nancy Haggerty, Rockland/Westchester Journal News

3.  Giving Tuesday Most Americans have donated their time and their money to social causes and charities in the last year, according to an Axios-SurveyMonkey poll on philanthropy that breaks down the most popular charitable giving causes. The bottom line: Education tops the list of causes Americans have supported, followed by human services and health — but they give less to the arts and international affairs. The big picture: Education is the top cause for both millennials (46%) and Gen X (42%). Gen Z supports health causes most (47%), while Boomers support religion (41%) more than other causes. International affairs ranks last in giving for all age groups, with only 6% of Americans saying that they’ve donated to related causes in the last 12 months.

SPONSORED MESSAGE Searching for talent for your athletic department? Need assistance with a departmental review or a strategic plan? Time to refresh your conference's policies and procedures? ASC is dedicated to small colleges and is committed to providing solutions for your concerns. Contact Kurt Patberg (kpatberg.asc@gmail.com), Kim Fierke (kim.fierke.asc@gmail.com) or Steve Ulrich (steveulrich.asc@gmail.com) to see how ASC can help your organization.

4. Polls  Ice Hockey (M) - USCHO UW-Eau Claire (8-0-1) Norwich (8-1) Hobart (6-1-1) Trinity (7-0) Geneseo (7-2-1) Adrian (6-1-1) Salve Regina (8-1) (tie) Utica (5-1-2) (tie) Augsburg (6-2) U. of New England (7-2) 11-15: MSOE, Oswego, UW-Stevens Point (tie), Williams (tie), New England College. >> Hello: New England College >> Bye-Bye: Curry. >> Looking Ahead: #3 Hobart at #15 NEC (12/6); #13 Williams at Amherst (12/7) NEC sophomore Nikita Pintusov leads the country with 14 goals in nine games. Ice Hockey (W) - USCHO Plattsburgh (8-1) Middlebury (4-0-2) Norwich (7-1) Gustavus Adolphus (7-0) UW-Eau Claire (8-1-1) Adrian (7-1-1) UW-River Falls (6-2-1) Elmira (5-2) Hamline (4-3-1) St. Thomas (5-2-3) >> Looking Ahead: Aurora at #6 Adrian (12/7 and 12/8) Elmira junior GK Elizabeth Hanson has turned away all 55 shots on goal this season for a perfect 0.00 goal-against average and 1.000 save percentage.

5. Polls   Basketball (W) - D3hoops.com Amherst (3-0) Tufts (5-0) Scranton (5-0) Bowdoin (6-0) Hope (7-0) St. Thomas MN (5-0) Mary Hardin-Baylor (4-1) Wartburg (4-1) DeSales (5-0) DePauw (6-1) 11-15: George Fox, Whitman, UW-La Crosse, Marymount, Trinity TX. 16-20: Transylvania, Messiah, Loras, UW-Platteville, Baldwin Wallace. 21-25: Wheaton IL, Augsburg, Illinois Wesleyan, Chicago, Claremont-M-S. >> Hello: Claremont-M-S >> Bye-Bye: Guilford >> Looking Forward To: #3 Scranton at #9 DeSales (12/3). The Bulldogs have the nation's second-longest home win streak (23). >> Also Watching: Adrian at #5 Hope (12/4); #12 Whitman at #7 Mary Hardin-Baylor (12/7). Basketball (M) - D3hoops.com Swarthmore (6-0) Emory (7-0) Wittenberg (3-0) Middlebury (7-0) St. Thomas MN (5-1) Nebraska Wesleyan (7-1) Nichols (5-0) Marietta (4-0) Randolph-Macon (7-0) Washington U. (6-1) 11-15: UW-Platteville, Saint John's, UW-Oshkosh, Amherst, Johns Hopkins. 16-20: Guilford, Elmhurst, CNU, North Central IL, Whitworth. 21-25: Carthage, WPI, UW-La Crosse, Augustana, Oswego State. >> Greetings: Elmhurst, Carthage, UW-La Crosse, Oswego. >> Adios: Wooster, Augsburg, Whitman, Wabash. >> Home Cooking: Plattsburgh State has the longest home win streak in the country at 28 games. Pomona-Pitzer (22) and Swarthmore (18) are next. >> Looking Ahead: Tufts at #22 WPI (12/3); #19 North Central at #21 Carthage (12/4); Hope at #11 UW-Platteville (12/6); #18 CNU at #9 Randolph-Macon (12/7).

6.  Comings and Goings    Michelle Manning resigned as athletic director at Carthage to accept senior associate AD position at Bucknell. Sonny Travis resigned as athletic director at Coe. Ryan Norman named head women's golf coach at Nebraska Wesleyan. Lee Steinbrook named head women's tennis coach at Nebraska Wesleyan. Josh Bannon named assistant strength and conditioning coach at Trinity (Conn.).

7.  1 Cold Thing   Tourists photograph penguins in Antarctica. Photo: Visual China Group via Getty Images "The swimsuit-clad tourists leap into the icy water, gasping at the shock, and startling a gaggle of penguins," Agence France-Presse reports from Antarctica. "They are spectators at the end of the world, luxury visitors experiencing a vulnerable ecosystem close-up. And their very presence might accelerate its demise." Why it matters: "The Antarctic peninsula is one of the regions on Earth that is warming the fastest ... three times faster than the global average." "Every year you can observe and record the melting of glaciers, the disappearance of sea ice," said Marcelo Leppe, director of the Chilean Antarctic Institute. Antarctica is "like the heart of the Earth," he added — it expands and contracts like a heart beating. "Cruise ships have roamed the region for around 50 years, but their numbers only started to increase from 1990, as Soviet ice-breakers found new purposes in the post-Cold War era," per AFP. "78,500 people are expected to visit the region between November and March." "That's a 40-percent increase from last year, due in part to short visits by a few new cruise ships carrying more than 500 passengers, too many to disembark under [tour operators'] regulations."

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