🏖 Hello, Summer. We transition to our summer publishing schedule of twice a week - Mondays and Thursdays.

🗞 What You Need to Know. Financial Problems Continue to Grow Among DIII Institutions. Expanded Video Review Proposed In Men’s Lacrosse. DIII Schedule at NACDA Convention.

🎲 What’s Happening Today. NACDA begins today at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Viva Las Vegas. Bruce Springsteen

Just how bad is the financial situation among Division III institutions?

More than 18 percent of colleges and universities in the NCAA’s largest division had losses in net income in each of the last three years in a review of 990s by D3Playbook.

Fifty-eight institutions reported more expenses than income in the publicly-listed tax filings by non-profit private institutions. State-affiliated institutions are not included in this review. On the flip side, 87 institutions reported a plus-ledger on each of their last three available IRS filings.

When reviewing the last filings, 157 DIII institutions had greater expenses than revenues, while 161 had a positive ledger.

Three Straight Years of Losses (58). Albion, Albright, Alverno, Averett, Baldwin Wallace, Benedictine, Brandeis, Bridgewater, Buena Vista, Cedar Crest, Centenary NJ, Central, Centre, Clark, Connecticut College, Curry, Dean, Drew, Elizabethtown, Elmira, Eureka, Ferrum, Gallaudet, Hanover, Hartford, Hartwick, Hilbert, Hiram, Illinois College, Keystone, King’s, Lyon, Marietta, Marymount, Neumann, Nichols, North Carolina Wesleyan, North Central MN, North Park, Pacific Lutheran, Piedmont, Puget Sound, Sarah Lawrence, Scranton, Simpson, Springfield, St. Lawrence, Texas Lutheran, U. of Dallas, Utica, Webster, Wentworth, Whittier, Widener, Willamette, Wilmington, Wittenberg, WPI.

10 Largest Combined Total Losses Over Last Three Filings. Chicago ($339M), Brandeis ($109M), Willamette ($87M), Illinois Tech ($83M), Sewanee ($71M), Webster ($65M), Clark ($61M), Hartford ($52M), Albright ($47.3M), Lyon ($47.0M)

10 Largest Deficits In Last Filing. Chicago (-$359M), Washington U. (-$354M), Brandeis (-$43M), Johnson & Wales-Providence (-$42M), Suffolk (-$36M), Yeshiva (-$33M), Lyon (-$27M), Albright (-$22.7M), Catholic (-$22.5M), Whittier (-$22.1M).

Athletic Expenses 7%+ of Total Expenses (19). Huntingdon (19.48%), Southern Virginia (16.20%), Schreiner (13.82%), Eureka (10.14%), Greensboro (9.74%), Central (9.74%), Brevard (9.35%), East Texas Baptist (9.05%), Centenary LA (9.03%), Thomas (8.98%), Marian (8.53%), Loras (8.27%), Blackburn (8.17%), Piedmont (8.01%), McMurry (7.89%), Crown (7.85%), Howard Payne (7.53%), Wartburg (7.46%), Hilbert (7.44%).

» Interested in the Data Set? Paid subscribers to D3Playbook can receive the entire data set by emailing me at [email protected]. Thank you for your support.

sources: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer; EADA

“Expanding video review in men's lacrosse for coach's challenges and officials was proposed this week.

The Division I Men's Lacrosse Rules Subcommittee and the Division II and III Rules Committee, which both met this week, made the recommendations.

All rules changes must be approved by the Division II and III Playing Rules Oversight Panel (July 22) and the Division I Men's Lacrosse Oversight Committee (July 27) before they become official.”

» Driving The News. Under the coach's challenge, a request could be made to initiate a review of a goal that could be negated for the following violations:

(1) Offsides; (2) Too many players on the field; (3) To see whether a player in possession of the ball stepped on a boundary line (the midline and restraining lines).

» Game Ball Color. “For all three divisions, the committees recommended that the standard game balls should be fluorescent green or yellow by the 2026-27 academic year. That would become a requirement by the 2027-28 academic year.”

» Overtime Changes. “Until the winning goal is scored, overtime would be played in 15-minute periods. All timeout and video challenge rules would remain unchanged.”

Here is a listing of panels for DIII attendees at the 2026 NACDA Convention in Las Vegas.

Monday
8:00: NADIIIAA Business Session / State of the Association
9:00: Don’t Leave AI on the Bench: Put Your Most Versatile Teammate to Work
10:00: I Count Too: Mental Performance & Resilience for Athletic Administrators and Staff
1:00: NADIIIAA: Inside the Issues: An Open Forum
2:15: NADIIIAA: State of Division III (Fireside Chat)
3:00: Revenue Reimagined: New Opportunities for Athletic Departments of All Sizes

Tuesday
9:00: Unscripted: Leading with Purpose, Clarity, and Courage
10:00: From Every Corner of College Sports: Hot Topics with Multi-Division Leaders
11:00: State of the Game: A Presidential Leadership Conversation

» Softball. “The Division II and Division III Softball Rules Committee is seeking applicants for the NCAA softball secretary-rules editor position. This role serves as the national interpreter for NCAA softball playing rules throughout the year. The selected candidate will shadow the current secretary-rules editor during the 2026–27 academic year, with the official term beginning Sept. 1, 2027. The job description is available on NCAA Market.

» Golf (M). “Junior Jonathan McEwen of the Washington and Lee University men's golf team has been named the recipient of the 2026 NCAA Division III Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday for the second consecutive season.”

☕ Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved