Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Phone: (502)852-5752; Fax: (502)852-6222
 
Maybe Mike or some other NC$$ expert can tell us whether or not schools can
play down. A comment on an earlier post asked why couldn't Kent play Div II or
III hockey. It is my understanding that the primary difference between I, II
and III is the number of scholarships and scholarship sports offered and
football is a key sport. At the Div I level the following is approx:
 
I = about 16 scholarship sports w about 90+ football scholarships
 
IA = 14 + about 90 football
 
IAA = 12 w fewer football scholarships
 
IAAA = 12 w no football
 
Div I hockey = 18 scholarships and III = 0; II = ?.
 
The fixed costs of hockey with 0 to a few scholarships would still be high and
if you can play down, I doubt that you could compete in a lower division nat'l
tourney. It was my impression that you could compete up but not down although
I don't know whether or not there are rules against it.