The Start of Something Big

 

PRESENTED BY CHI ALPHA SIGMA "recognizing college student-athletes who excel both on and off the field of competition." D3Playbook AUGUST 26, 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.   >> Good Thursday Morning!   >> Today's Word Count: 1,347. Easy to read. Easy to digest. Get ready for the weekend. >> Thanks for reading D3Playbook. Please recommend us to a friend or co-worker. Or share with your staff and bring them up-to-speed on what's happening in DIII.   Subscribe to d3Playbook 1.  The Start of Something Big Photo: by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images by Dan Wetzel, Yahoo Sports "The NBA constructed a bubble to keep the coronavirus out. It couldn’t do anything about real life though. Now, in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the entire NBA playoffs are teetering as players are rising up by sitting down, refusing to serve as society's entertainment while they feel threatened, hopeless and angry. They aren’t going to shut up, and for now they aren’t even going to dribble. At least not while emotions are raw, the opportunity is rare, and the belief they can do so much more than just be basketball players is at hand." Is this what ends the playoffs, a fight against police brutality and for social justice doing what a pandemic couldn’t?  Maybe. It’s all on the brink right now, as unprecedented as it is unpredictable." >> Why It Matters: "Now the players are saying they will sacrifice plenty to do what they can to force reform, to force a country that has for too long accepted that this is just part of life to confront the issue. Money. Fame. A championship they’ve worked and dreamed a lifetime to achieve. And, yes, plenty of backlash from a segment of society that will not see them as heroes and will most certainly try to marginalize them." >> What's Next: "The Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball also refused to play Wednesday, causing their game against Cincinnati to be postponed. On Tuesday, the NFL’s Detroit Lions, after what was called an “emotional” and “heavy” meeting with players and coaches, decided to call off practice to bring attention to the issue. They wondered out loud if this would cause a snowball." And the WBNA canceled its games on Wednesday. >> Worth Noting: "The training has to change in the police force. The unions have to be taken down in the police force. My dad was a cop. I believe in good cops. We're not trying to defund the police and take all their money away. We're trying to get them to protect us, just like they protect everybody else.” - Doc Rivers, Los Angeles Clippers coach  >> An Important Read >> Go Deeper on leading discussions on race with DIII commissioners Portia Hoeg and Patrick Summers   2.  Put in the Blender by Holden Thorp, Chronicle of Higher Education   "It always starts with Harvard. In July, when the esteemed university wisely announced that it would move all classes online for the fall semester to limit the spread of Covid-19, President Trump lashed out: “I think it’s an easy way out,” he said, “and I think they ought to be ashamed of themselves.” Harvard didn’t care. But Trump’s comments reverberated through red America, and soon thereafter, public and private universities in red states started announcing plans for their students to return. Those campus administrators were in a tough spot. After my years in administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Washington University in St. Louis (one red-state public, one red-state private), I know how conflicted they were. The students said they wanted their campuses reopened. The faculty was cautious. The college towns initially wanted everyone to return to drive the economy, but then pulled back. Republican-appointed trustees and titans of industry were insistent that the universities reopen. Blue-state institutions gradually started announcing a virtual semester. Trump tweeted incessantly that schools and colleges needed to reopen, and then started insisting on resuming college football, of all things. For the red-state football colleges, there was no way out — the lifeblood of these institutions flows through the gridiron. Among some of us veteran administrators, this upheaval is known as “being put in the blender.” >> Why It Matters: "Although the colleges that reopened made efforts to make their campuses safer, they lamented that they could not stop the viral spread that originated in fraternities and sororities and from other forms of socializing. As campuses shut down, that has led to an awkward situation. Isn’t social culture part of the experience that colleges celebrate (and sell)? Doesn’t that make blaming the students ring hollow?" >> The Bottom Line: "Colleges may want to blame student partying for not allowing them to reopen successfully, but they have forfeited the moral authority to do so. They try to stop it when it gets out of hand, but they embrace it when it’s to their advantage." >> The Final Word: "Every college is now confronting the problems arising from the synergistic relationship between “bad” student behavior and the financial welfare of the institution." >> Go Deeper   3.  Decade's Best   D3baseball.com has announced its All-Decade team. Three teams and honorable mentions were assembled from the list of All-Americans, All-Region and record setting players who played at least two years in the decade. Following the blueprint in compiling the previous All-Decade team, eighty-two players were selected for the 2010's All-Decade team. First Team C-Bruce Maxwell, Birmingham-Southern 1B-Jamie Lackner, Wooster 2B-Tanner Nishioka, Pomona-Pitzer SS-Sam Dexter, Southern Maine 3B-Toby Welk, Penn State Berks OF-Taylor Kohlway, UW-La Crosse OF-Bret Williams, Penn State Harrisburg OF-Jeremy Wolf, Trinity, Texas DH-Cal Aldridge, UW-Whitewater U-Greg Van Sickler, Shenandoah P-Chris Haddeland, Linfield P-Brian Rauh, Chapman P-Tommy Bergjans, Haverford P-Tommy Parsons, Adrian P-Blake Stevens, Birmingham-Southern RP-Kevin Becker-Menditto, Alvernia RP-Andy Lowe, Heidelberg RP-Andrew Richards, Southern Maine Coach-Joe Brown, Cortland   4.  Data Download Colleges With the Best 6-Year Graduation Rates, 2018 4-Year Public Institutions College of New Jersey (85.8%) Merchant Marine (84.3%) SUNY Geneseo (80.9%) St. Mary's, Md. (80.0%) SUNY New Paltz (76.5%) SUNY Oneonta (75.9%) 4-Year Private Institutions Williams (95.4%) Washington and Lee (94.9%) Bowdoin (94.9%) Washington, Mo. (94.9%) Swarthmore (94.4%) Chicago (94.2%) MIT (94.2%) Pomona (93.7%) Amherst (93.3%) Claremont McKenna (93.1%) source: Chronicle of Higher Education   SPONSORED MESSAGE Would you like to sponsor this newsletter? Would you like to advertise an open position in your department for a head coach or administrator? Contact d3playbook@gmail.com to get your job opening in front of decision-makers in small-college athletics.   Subscribe to d3Playbook 5.  Conference Call Today we begin continue our look at Division III conferences, going from youngest to oldest.  Conference: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Commissioner: Jeff Ligney Headquarters: Milwaukee, Wis. Website: NACCsports.org Founded: 2006 Formed as Northern Athletics Conference. Changed name in 2013. Charter Members (11): Alverno, Aurora, Benedictine, Concordia Chicago, Concordia Wisconsin, Dominican, Edgewood, Lakeland, Marian, Rockford, Wisconsin Lutheran. Other Members (2): Milwaukee School of Engineering (2007), Illinois Tech (2018). Associates (3): Eureka (FB), Mount Mary (WXC), St. Norbert (GOLF, MVB). Oldest: Rockford (1847) Largest: Aurora (3,577) Smallest: Lakeland (778) Longest Trip: 180 miles (Aurora to Marian)  Championship Sports: 21 Top Team Moment: Benedictine finished second in the 2016 men's basketball chmpionship. >> Tomorrow: Landmark Conference sources: Google Maps, EADA   6.  Comings and Goings   BALDWIN WALLACE - Ben Bockhoven named assistant cross country and track and field coach DICKINSON - Jessica Rini named assistant women's basketball coach DOMINICAN - Antonio Rivas named head women's basketball coach ELIZABETHTOWN - Chris Perzinski stepped down as head men's lacrosse coach HEARTLAND COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE - Postponed all conference related contests and competitions for fall 2020 JOHN CARROLL - Tanner Barton named head swimming and diving coach LASELL - Todd Montana stepped down as assistant athletic director and head women's basketball coach MARYMOUNT - Reni Moshos named graduate assistant swimming coach NEW ENGLAND COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE - Announced that Lakeland has joined the conference as an associate member in esports NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN - Adrian Moore named assistant men's basketball coach RANDOLPH-MACON - Jason Engle named assistant athletic trainer ST. OLAF - Ben Russell named assistant men's ice hockey coach WHITWORTH - Christine Mabile named assistant swimming coach   7.  1 Hurricane Thing   "With an 36-mile diameter eyewall and 150 mph sustained winds, an air parcel in the eyewall makes a full lap around the eye in 45 minutes." - Brian McNoldy, Senior Research Associate at Univ. of Miami's Rosenstiel School Prayers for all in the path of this monster. Be safe!   Subscribe to d3Playbook

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