The even playing field means no athletic scholarships..  One of the constant gripes we read is that the Ivy League schools can't give scholarships and that their high adnmissions standards also preclude them from competing for a number of good players.  Both of which are to some extent true.  But then we get these holier than thou statements like the purported academic rating proposed.
 
D-1 hockey does allow scholarships and schools vary widely in the quality of student in their student-athletes.  But many schools that are ranked lower academically do have excellent students on their hockey teams even though they may not be in the Ivy League.  The hockey ratings should, however, be determined on the ice not in some mystical balancing of SAT scores and other supposed measures of intellectual ability.
 
A good but broader question (that can be debated endlesssly) is whether big-time college sports like football and basketball have gotten out of hand (we probably do know the answer to that).  As to less competitive I only meant in the sense that most D-3 hockey players do not view hockey as their life, are not on hockey scholarships and do not expect to play hockey after college.  I love D-3 hockey and think that D-3 sports are the epitome of what college sports should be--for students who are playing for the fun of it and for whom it is merely part of their college experience.  And, the hockey is very good and very competitive on the ice.
 
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