I'm not sure I grasp this response.  It looks like the entire message is a quote, but I assume the quoted part is the first sentence (from me) and the rest is the reply.

Let me begin by suggesting Div III is hardly "pure."  I would also suggest that schools who want a big time program will find creative ways to lure the best athletes to their programs (and no, I don't care to elaborate on what I mean by "creative").  But in general, what if there were no Div I, II, III?  What if all there was were conferences and NOBODY issued athletic scholarships?   In such a world, are you so sure that the current Div I schools would always win over the hearts of the student athletes versus the current Div III schools?  Note that some Div I schools are a lot smaller than some Div III schools (e.g., we have 3 times the student enrollment of CC and twice that of Notre Dame, but we are Div III) so size per se isn't an issue.

Hey, its not a realistic possibility - just some idle speculation.

TR
>
> In a message dated 2/6/2002 11:03:41 AM Eastern Standard
> Time, [log in to unmask]
> writes: "> Larry, the answer to the problems of life without
> NCAA is simple:
> > Make college sports what they were originally intended to
> be - amateur.  I
> > am at a Div III school. "  The problem with the so-called
> purity of D3 has
> > resulted in the NESEAC schools (the sub ivies- Williams
> Amherst Colby et
> > al) have all agreed to limit the number of athletic
> recruits- that is
> > athletes who have special lesser admission standards than regular
> > applicants. ie affirmative action for jocks. The fact of
> the matter is that
> > 99% of athletes given the choice of D1 or D3 will always go
> D1. I recommend
> > any of Murray Sperber's books (Beer and Circus) and The
> Game of LIfe by
> > Shulman (interesting anecdote about Williams womes lax
> team). In reality
> > only are club sports (and that isn't so at Penn State)
> purer than thou.
> > When my son was recruited Williams and Middlebury sent as
> many letters and
> > cards as Dartmouth, Notre Dame; Army and Air Force.
>