An Unlikely Success

 

written by STEVE ULRICH your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III     >> Greetings. It's Tuesday Morning. >> Sixty years ago today, President John F. Kennedy told Congress: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” >> Today's Word Count: 1,136 >> Thanks for reading D3Playbook. Share us with a friend today, won't you? Or let us know what you thought of today's newsletter. Or just say hi! >> Advertise your job opening. Contact us today.   Sign Up for Free: D3Playbook TOP STORY 1.  An Unlikely Success   by Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed "We've all heard the conventional wisdom about this year's admissions class: students will still travel, far, if they get into Harvard or Stanford University. Or the University of California, Berkeley, or the University of Virginia. Or maybe to a college in a hip urban area. But other than those categories, this year of the pandemic is likely to be a tough one for colleges seeking students. St. Norbert College would not seem likely to have a good admissions year. It admits the vast majority of the students who apply. It is located in De Pere, Wis. (a small city near Green Bay), which gets quite cold for much of the year. It has distinctions, of course. It's a liberal arts college, but that hasn't been helping colleges outside the Amherst and Swarthmore-type institutions. It's the only Norbertine institution of higher education in the world, named for Norbert of Xanten, founder of the Norbertine order, born in Germany in 1080. But that's hardly a driver for enrollment. So why does St. Norbert College have 609 people who have committed as freshmen for the fall? St. Norbert had a target of 560, and President Brian J. Bruess said that the college typically isn't hurt by summer melt. In fact, he said he expects St. Norbert to gain as many students as it loses to summer melt, or a few more, meaning it could top its all-time record for a class of 620. Last year, as the pandemic was starting, the freshman class had only 430 students. >> Situational Awareness: "One of the college's goals, given its location in the upper Midwest, is to diversify where students come from. The local and near-local population is declining, especially compared to the South and the West. In last year's class, St. Norbert had 11 states represented. This year, it had 24 states represented. Mark Selin, executive director of enrollment and marketing,  said much of the credit for that success is with sports coaches (28 percent of the student body are athletes). By recruiting in new states, he said, they hope they will create momentum that will help next year and beyond. "We've been trying to expand our base," he said, "and this year we really had opportunities." >> The Key Stat: "In terms of spending on aid, St. Norbert didn't break the bank. Its discount rate is a little below 50 percent, below the national average, and Bruess said it has been stable. And the college has exceeded its goal for net tuition revenue and per-student net tuition revenue goal." >> Quotable: "We really spent more time searching for students, and that paid off," Bruess said. >> Continue Reading   TENNIS 2. The National Semifinals   We are down to the final four teams in both the men's and women's team brackets at the NCAA championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. Women's Quarterfinals Wesleyan d. Washington and Lee, 5-0 Caitlin Goldberg registered a pair of wins at #2 doubles and #6 singles for the Cardinals (9-0) Kenyon d. Mary Washington, 5-2 Victoria Vasquez and Kayla Pukys recorded wins in singles and doubles as the Ladies (11-0) remained unbeaten Tufts d. Sewanee, 5-1 Tilly Rigby and Maggie Dorn posted victories at the top of the singles and doubles ladder for the Jumbos (9-1) Emory d. Southwestern, 5-0 Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico dropped just three games in capturing wins at #1 singles and doubles for the Eagles (8-3) >> Semifinals: Emory 20, Kenyon 10, Wesleyan 2, Tufts 1 >> Tournament Central w/links to live stats and video Men's Quarterfinals Emory d. Brandeis, 5-0 Andrew Esses and Will Wanner dropped just five and four games, respectively, in their singles and doubles matches for the Eagles (8-3) Johns Hopkins d. Williams, 5-4 Trailing 1-5 in the third set, Daniel Ardila pulled out a 7-3 victory in a tiebreaker at #5 singles to put the Blue Jays (10-0) into the final four for the first time Washington (Mo.) d. George Fox, 5-0 Gaurav Singh won 8-2 at #3 doubles and 6-1, 6-0 at #6 singles for the Bears (14-1) Case Western d. Trinity (Texas), 5-1 James Hopper picked up two points with an 8-2 doubles win and a 6-2, 6-0 singles triumph for the Spartans (13-2) >> Semifinals: Emory 17, Washington 8, Case Western 1, Johns Hopkins 1 >> Tournament Central w/links to live stats and video   A MESSAGE FROM BLUEFRAME TECHNOLOGY   The best and most reliable end-to-end live video streaming provider in college athletics is BlueFrame Technology. Join #BlueFrameNation and Stream Like a Pro with special pricing for D3Playbook subscribers! Learn more today!    SOFTBALL 3.  The Bracket The NCAA Division III Softball championship bracket is set with the tournament scheduled for May 27-June 1 in Salem, Va.   Thursday, May 27 - Opening Round DePauw vs. UW-Oshkosh, 11:00 Texas Lutheran vs. Tufts, 1:30 Virginia Wesleyan vs. St. Thomas, Minn., 4:00 Birmingham-Southern vs. Rochester, 6:30 >> Complete Bracket   HONORS 4. NFCA All-Americans   The National Fastpitch Coaches Association has announced its 2021 NCAA Division III All-America team. First Team P-Julie Graf, St. Olaf P-Cami Henry, DePauw P-Kennedy Carruth, Belhaven C-Jessica Goldyn, Virginia Wesleyan 1B-Claire Fountain, George Fox 2B-Sadie Erickson, UW-Eau Claire 3B-Savannah Vargas, George Fox SS-Sarah Reinert, Alvernia OF-Taylor Skraba, Benedictine OF-Kelly Jurden, Texas Lutheran OF-Abby Mace, Salisbury UT/P-Alex Braun, Emory & Henry DP or UT/Non-P-Kenzie Dore, Husson At-Large P-Hanna Hull, Virginia Wesleyan At-Large 1B -Angela Huepel, St. Catherine At-Large SS-Sarah Miller, Case Western At-Large UT/P-Brooke Matyasovsky, Eastern Connecticut At-Large DP or UT/Non-P-Rebecca Snow, Texas Lutheran >> Complete Team   TRANSACTIONS 5. Comings and Goings   BOWDOIN - Andrew Banadda named assistant men's soccer coach CASTLETON - Bill Silengo stepped down as head men's ice hockey coach ITHACA - Waleed Farid named head men's basketball coach MISERICORDIA - Mark Ross resigned as head football coach ROCHESTER - Jayla Myers named assistant women's basketball coach SAINT CATHERINE - Cami Paulson stepped down as head cross country and assistant track and field coach SAGE - Kevin Tarpey named head athletic trainer STOCKTON - Kevin McHugh announced his retirement as executive director of athletics WPI - Kim Cosenza named head field hockey coach   1 THING 6. Now, A Sanitizer Glut Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Above: The hand-sanitizer section in a Target in San Rafael, California. After chronic shortages, retailers now can’t sell the stuff. Sales are down 80% from a year ago, and prices are down 40%, The Wall Street Journal writes (subscription) from NielsenIQ data: After COVID hit, stores “turned to other businesses — including distilleries — that switched their production to make sanitizers for the first time. ... Now, supermarkets are sitting on pallets of them.” “Jeff Kozak, chief executive of Vermont-based WhistlePig Whiskey, who had partnered with a soap company to make and donate sanitizers, said distributors recently asked if his business wanted to buy extra sanitizers and turn them into whiskey.” - courtesy of Axios     Thanks for starting your day with us. Please invite your friends to sign up for D3Playbook   Sign Up for Free: D3Playbook

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