Larry:
You seem to have three points in your post, all of which are misinformed:
1) the D3 schools in question did not "cherry pick" since at the time they
decided to go D1 (in hockey, soccer, lacrosse, etc.) in 1965, when the
divisions were established, Division 1 athletics was not nearly the cash cow
it is today.  As others have stated, each and everyone of these schools
chose D1 status in a particular sport because of tradition - CC hosted the
original NCAA's, Clarkson, St. Lawrence and RPI were among the leaders in
the sport in the 50's and 60's and, of course, Johns Hopkins defines college
lacrosse.
2) if the proposal passes, the affected schools do not have to jump to D1,
most can easily go to D2 if they choose and retain scholarships.  Charlie
Shub made this point a couple of weeks ago.  Which makes your point about
RPI having to jump to the Patriot league or Colgate suing the Ivies moot
3) your speculation that D1 women's sports would be exempt because of PC is
also wrong since, e.g. JHU women's lacrosse would be affected, as would
Hartwick and SUNY-Oneonta soccer.

One other point.  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I heard about
the pompous pronouncements from the president of Middlebury on this issue.
Schools like Middlebury, Williams, Mt. Union may not give scholarships, but
no one can say with a straight face that they don't recruit a certain type
of "student".

A son of a friend is a junior at Wentworth, which has risen quickly in the
D3 hockey ranks over the past few years.  Over the weekend, he told me that
just about every player who has come into the school is either from Ontario
or British Columbia and are already 20 or 21 when they enroll.  Now, before
Larry jumps all over me, let me say that the fact that they are from Canada
and are of drinking age is irrelevant to me.  To me the main point is that
the there are schools that are strictyl D3  who are just, if not more,
impure than those who would suffer if this nonsensical proposal passed.

Greg Ambrose

> From: [log in to unmask]
> Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Mon, 1 Sep 2003 22:17:56 EDT
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: D3 proposal - 2 worlds of college sports
>
> I have watched with curiosity at the outrage of the D3 fans with the proposal
> put forth by their own division 3 representatives.  It is no surprise that
> the NCAA sees these schools as cherry picking a sport while the other schools
> have the "burden" of fielding D1 teams in other sports. Apparently they want
> the
> Division 1 programs separate from D3 to purify the stables so to speak.
>
> It is going to happen and then the affected schools will have to make a
> decision to go D1. RPI would be a natural for the patriot league. As to the
> other
> schools I just do not know. There are non-scholarship 1AA football leagues
> (the
> level of play is one step below 1AA scholarship programs and a step above D3
> football). The challenge is probably hoops and putting together a decent
> program will require scholarships and I guess the Canton, NY area may require
> a
> real recruiting genius. It would seem that schools will have to make a
> decision
> and then move on.
>
> It would seem that someone should sue the Ivys as a restraint on trade
> (Colgate would be a good candidate) for not opening up the conference. Just
> some
> food for thought. I wonder if the same schools (D3) that field D1 women will
> also
> have to exclude those teams or will the PC police exempt them?