D3Playbook: Hard Choices

D3Playbook
APRIL 6, 2020 | 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. Hard Choices

by Paul N. Friga, Chronicle of Higher Education

"College and university leaders are working overtime to take care of their students and faculty and staff members amid the greatest crisis ever facing higher education. As the coronavirus pandemic spreads more widely across the country, most institutions are thoughtfully considering their situations, conducting scenario planning, and developing strategies accordingly.

A survey of presidents conducted in late March reveals that 70 percent expect revenue decreases of 10 percent or more on their campuses. As a result, a large majority are freezing hiring, and more than half expect to lay off staff and implement furloughs. Perhaps just as importantly, nearly all presidents say they expect to examine their processes and make changes to how people do their work, academically and administratively.

While the majority of respondents, 64 percent, are optimistic that the coronavirus will generally resolve over the summer and that campuses will return to normalcy in the fall, 36 percent of the presidents think that serious disruption awaits us come September. One president went so far as to suggest that he anticipates his campus remaining in virtual-instruction mode for all of fiscal 2021."

>> Situational Awareness: "The vast majority of presidents, 84 percent, anticipate a drop in enrollments, both for new and returning students, a development that is particularly worrisome for small private colleges already strained by their dependence on tuition and lack of endowment funds. Even a 10-percent drop in enrollment can be enough to set off dramatic cash shortages at some colleges."

>> The Big Picture: "My biggest concern, given drops in enrollments and financial resources, is whether or not we will even be able to open again in the fall," lamented one leader of a small private college.

>> Reality Check: How will universities make up for such potential significant losses of resources? First, they could increase revenues through increasing enrollments and research grants or spending more of their endowments, which 27 percent of the presidents plan to do. The other option is to cut expenses — both administrative and academic.

Be Smart: Expect hiring freezes, layoffs and furloughs.

>> Go Deeper

>> Join a virtual discussion on Wednesday at 2 p.m. EDT on what colleges should NOT do.

2. #WatchD3

Now more than ever with more and more of us remain under "stay-at-home" orders, people are turning to streaming video for entertainment. One needs to look no further than "The Tiger King" to know what we are talking about.

Sports fans from around the country are rewatching vintage baseball, basketball and football contests, bringing back fond memories of great games and performances.

It's time for us to bring what Division III has to offer to the masses.

>> Reality Check: Yes, it's not Duke-Kentucky basketball in 1992 or Texas-USC football in 2006 - what is? But we can showcase what is best about collegiate sports - that is, competitive athletics involving non-scholarship students. And as the scholarship model worries about the possibility of a fall without football, DIII may become more and more of an option for prospective students.

>> Salute: To those who are making games available since Friday (and apologies to those missed): @CentralDutch @MountUnionFB @LCPioneers @CUWFalcons @IWUBasketball @stoutbluedevils @oleathletics @GCC_Wolverines @BabsonAthletics @wabashathletics @GoMustangSports

>> What's Next: We will continue to feature great games of the past and salute schools that are doing the same. Our only request ... let's get the #WatchD3 hashtag going. This will enable everyone who wants to watch great DIII competition to easily find it in one place.

>> Previous Replays
3/26: 2019 Men's and Women's Tennis Individual Finals
3/30: 2019 MIH Final: Norwich vs. UW-Stevens Point
3/31: 2019 FHK Final - Franklin & Marshall vs. Middlebury
4/1: 2016 MSOC Final - Calvin vs. Tufts
4/2: 2014 WBB Final - FDU-Florham vs. Whitman
4/3: 2016 MLX Final - Salisbury vs. Tufts
4/4: 2018 WLX Final - Gettysburg vs. Middlebury

Bonus Double Features
4/4: 2019 NCAA Football 2nd Round (North Central vs. Mount Union)
https://boxcast.tv/view/football-mount-union-vs-north-central-779240
4/5: 2019 MBB (#2 Saint John's vs. #4 St. Thomas)
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/tommiesports/portal.htm?eventId=559055&streamType=video

Today's Feature
2019 Men's and Women's XC Championship
https://www.ncaa.com/video/cross-country-women/2019-11-26/diii-womens-cross-country-championship-recap

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3. Regional Rules Seminars

As a reminder the May and June 2020 NCAA Regional Rules Seminars will be conducted remotely. NCAA staff is working through logistics related to this decision including details on an updated schedule of sessions, alternative delivery methods and opportunities to remain engaged with NCAA staff. All updated information will be shared on the Regional Rules Seminars webpage and LSDBi as soon as possible.

Please note that Regional Rules Seminar registration and any hotel reservations booked through the registration system will be cancelled on the registrants behalf by the Shorts Travel Management staff and registrants will receive a cancellation email by the end of next week. Any vendors and nonmembers who paid registration fees will be fully refunded. If you have any immediate questions regarding this announcement, please reach out to regionalrules@ncaa.org. Thank you for your patience. We will share additional information as soon as it becomes available.

4. DIII Week

The NCAA Division III team has decided to continue to conduct Division III Week during April 13-19, in an appropriate format. Division III Week will provide an opportunity for all individuals associated with a Division III institution or conference to unite and recognize the powerful impact of athletics and student-athletes on the campus and surrounding community as a chance to help carry us through this challenging time.

Join the social media dialogue and tell us #whyd3 was the right choice for you or the life lessons learned from being a Division III student-athlete that go beyond the sport itself. The Division III Week Communications Kit serves as a planning guide, and further information about Division III Week is available online.

Please let the DIII staff know, in advance, all planned Division III Week activities, either by submitting information through the online form, or sending it to d3identity@ncaa.org. If you have questions, please contact Adam Skaggs.

5. Comings and Goings

Maureen Sias promoted to assistant athletic director at Fontbonne.
Cenzie Rushton named assistant women's basketball coach at Ohio Northern.
Bryan Mathews named assistant men's basketball coach at Bridgewater.
Tim Madsen resigned as head men's ice hockey coach at St. Scholastica.

6. 1 TP Thing

"Around the world, in countries afflicted with the coronavirus, stores are sold out of toilet paper. There have been shortages in Hong Kong, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. And we all know who to blame: hoarders and panic-buyers.

Well, not so fast.

Story after story explains the toilet paper outages as a sort of fluke of consumer irrationality. Unlike hand sanitizer, N95 masks, or hospital ventilators, they note, toilet paper serves no special function in a pandemic. Toilet paper manufacturers are cranking out the same supply as always. And it’s not like people are using the bathroom more often, right?"

>> Yes, But: "People actually do need to buy significantly more toilet paper during the pandemic — not because they’re making more trips to the bathroom, but because they’re making more of them at home."

>> Good bathroom reading

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