D3Playbook: Tommies Still on Agenda

D3Playbook
APRIL 2, 2020 | written by STEVE ULRICH
your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III

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1. Tommies Still On Agenda

by Randy Johnson, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"The coronavirus outbreak has canceled college sports events through the spring season but isn’t expected to delay St. Thomas’ quest to move from Division III to D-I.

The NCAA Division I Council still is scheduled to meet April 23-24, with St. Thomas’ proposed move on the agenda. Summit League Commissioner Tom Douple, who has invited the Tommies into his conference, said Tuesday the timeline hasn’t changed.

St. Thomas wants to move directly to Division I, bypassing the standard five-year transition period in Division II. The school received an invitation last fall to join the Summit League. Douple said after a January meeting of the NCAA’s Strategic Vision and Planning Committee that he was “very optimistic” the NCAA would create a way for St. Thomas to move from Division III to Division I. The NCAA is considering allowing any qualified school to move directly from D-III to D-I, a rule change that would need to be approved by the Division I Council.

>> What's Next: “We remain hopeful and optimistic during the April council meeting that it’s going to provide us some guidance and answers for the future,” Douple said by phone from the Summit League offices in Sioux Falls, S.D. “(St. Thomas is) a great fit for our membership … It’s in our footprint, and they’re a great school academically. They’ve done a fantastic job of putting themselves in the position to be considered for Division I.”

>> Read More

2. How to Recruit, When You Can't Recruit

by Joe Tuscano, Observer-Reporter

"It’s an interesting dilemma.

How do you recruit high school athletes from the spring sports if they don’t have a spring sports season?

That’s what college coaches and recruiters are trying to figure out all across the country after the coronavirus threatens to shut down all spring activities, including baseball, softball and track.

Every coach has a different way of handling recruiting, many of them depending on their assistant coaches to do much of the legwork and computer work required.

The interesting part is there is no one way to handle it."

>> Situational Awareness: "If the PIAA eliminates the high school spring sports season, it won’t affect the baseball team at Washington & Jefferson College as much as it might another program. That’s because head coach Jeff Mountain has done a lot of his recruiting already. He really dives into it during the summer months, when camps and tournaments are held."

>> Quotable: "If this stretches out into the summer, we might have to depend more on the high school coaches and the summer coaches who are familiar with our program. We might have to recruit them blindly.”

>> Go Deeper

3. #WatchD3

Now, more than ever, America is turning to streaming video for quality content to get it through this time of crisis.

And, as Division III members, we should do our part to ensure that the ole' U-S-A gets to watch quality content.

So here are our featured games of the week.

Monday: 2019 Men's Ice Hockey Final: (Norwich vs. UW-Stevens Point)
Tuesday: 2019 NCAA Field Hockey Final (F&M vs. Middlebury)
Wednesday: 2016 NCAA Men's Soccer Final (Tufts vs. Calvin)
Thursday: 2014 Women's Basketball Final (FDU-Florham vs. Whitman)
Friday: 2016 Men's Lacrosse Final (Salisbury vs. Tufts)

D3Playbook encourages you to unlock the vault on your outstanding #WatchD3 games, just like @RowanAthletics, @GoMustangSports, and @sncathletics to name a few.

>> Be Smart: Now more than ever, DIII needs to show what it is all about.

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4. Calendar

Tentative, of course.

April 13-15 - Wrestling Rules Committee
April 15-16 - Committee on Women's Athletics
April 15-16 - Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee
April 18-19 - Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
April 20-21 - Management Council
April 28-29 - Presidents Council

5. Comings and Goings