The news that you need to know about non-scholarship college athletics and those that love it.
Send tips to [email protected] and/or via DM. #whyD3

» 🚨 I Don’t Like Mondays. Who remembers the Boomtown Rats? 

» 🗓️ What’s Happening Today. Playing Rules and Officiating committees for water polo and ice hockey meet.

🎸 Daily Bruce. “I’ll see you in my dreams, When all our summers have come to an end. I’ll see you in my dreams, We’ll meet and live and laugh again.” - I’ll See You In My Dreams

D3PLAYBOOK JUST $8/MONTH FOR REST OF SEASON

Join our community. For just $8 per month, you can enjoy D3Playbook every Monday through Friday with all the latest news on DIII, its championships and its stories. Sign up today for the final month of the year.

TOP STORY
1. College Title IX Gender Equity Compliance Is a Failure, Feds Say

by Daniel Libit, Sportico

“A report publicly released Thursday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office confirmed the open secret of federal gender-equity laws related to college athletics: They are systematically violated and essentially unenforced.

The GAO report, unassumingly titled “Education Should Improve its Title IX Enforcement Efforts,” found that during the 2021-22 academic year, 93% of universities had female athletic participation rates lower than their enrollment rate, while 63% of schools had participation-enrollment gaps of 10% or more. Overall, the athletic participation rate for collegiate women was 14% less than their enrollment rate. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination from schools that receive “federal financial assistance.” To date, no school has ever had their funding pulled on account of being Title IX noncompliant, nor been sued by the federal government.

The report also took to task the federal sub-agency responsible for overseeing Title IX compliance — the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights — concluding it has made only limited use of available Title IX data in its oversight purposes and is slow in its monitoring processes. GAO based that conclusion on a review of OCR case management data from 2008 to 2022. Even when schools entered into formal agreements to improve Title IX compliance, OCR routinely dragged its feet to provide feedback.”

» Driving The News. “According to the GAO, mid-sized colleges with between 1,000 and 4,000 students were “somewhat more likely” to have a larger gap in female athletic-enrollment rates. Schools that sponsored football were also a little worse than those that didn’t when it came to athletic gender equity for women. However, in general, NCAA Division I schools were less likely to have a lower athletic participation rate for women compared to those members in smaller NCAA divisions.”

» Quotable. “Most colleges in America are violating Title IX and depriving women of equal opportunities to participate in intercollegiate athletics. The federal government isn’t enforcing the law and making them comply like it should. So this illegal sex discrimination is continuing. If girls and women want it to stop, they have to be willing to stand up, fight, and sue.” - Arthur Bryant, an attorney with the firm Bailey Glasser.

» Read More

TENNIS
2. Meet Me in St. Louis

The national quarterfinalists are set in the 2024 DIII Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships. The Elite Eight begins on Monday, May 20, in St. Louis, Mo.

Quarterfinals (W). #1 Claremont-M-S (24-1) vs. #10 Middlebury (15-5);
#4 Wesleyan CT (20-0) vs. #5 Emory (16-4); #3 Chicago (20-1) vs.
#7 Johns Hopkins (23-4); #2 Pomona-Pitzer (19-5) vs. #6 Washington U. (19-4).

» Updated Bracket

Quarterfinals (M). #2 Chicago (22-1) vs. #11 Denison (21-4); #5 Emory (18-5) vs. #7 Middlebury (19-4); #1 Claremont-M-S (27-3) vs. #6 Tufts (18-6);
#3 Case Western Reserve (27-5) vs. #4 Bowdoin (21-6).

» Updated Bracket

LACROSSE (M)
3. The Great Eight

Eight schools remain in the 2024 NCAA DIII Men’s Lacrosse championship field with third-round games slated for Saturday. St. John Fisher has stunned the DIII lax world, toppling #7 Wesleyan, 15-13, in the opening round and ousting #5 St. Lawrence, 11-10, in the Sweet 16. Other NESCACs flexed their muscle, as Bowdoin upset #2 RPI, 12-5, and #11 Middlebury upended #4 Dickinson, 13-9, to reach the Elite Eight.

National Quarterfinals. #1 Salisbury vs. #16 Washington and Lee;
#8 Tufts vs. St. John Fisher; #6 Christopher Newport at #2 RIT;
#14 Bowdoin vs. #11 Middlebury

» Updated Bracket

LACROSSE (W)
4. It’s Sectionals Weekend

We’re down to the Sweet 16 in the 2024 NCAA DIII women’s lacrosse tournament with just one outcome that could be considered an upset. No. 13 Colby outlasted No. 10 TCNJ, 15-11, on the road to reach the third round.

Sweet 16 Matchups. (at Middlebury) Colorado College vs. #1 Middlebury;
#8 Ithaca vs. #11 Pomona-Pitzer. (at F&M) #12 Roanoke vs. #3 Franklin & Marshall; #4 Tufts vs. Denison. (at Wesleyan) #13 Colby vs. #2 Wesleyan;
#6 Gettysburg vs. #9 William Smith. (at Salisbury) #15 Babson vs. #5 Salisbury; #7 Washington and Lee vs. #21 Christopher Newport.

» Updated Bracket

NCAA
5. Selection Shows

Monday features two more selection shows, along with a press release announcing the field for another sport.

» 🥎 Who’s In (40). Centenary NJ (AEC), Penn State Behrend (AMCC), Coe (A-R-C), East Texas Baptist (ASC), Gettysburg (Centennial), Western New England (CCC), Illinois Wesleyan (CCIW), John Jay (CUNYAC), St. John Fisher (E8), Simmons (GNAC), Transylvania (HCAC), Moravian (Landmark), Eastern Connecticut (LEC), Rochester (Liberty), Eastern (MACC), Lebanon Valley (MACF), Framingham State (MASCAC), Trine (MIAA), Saint Mary’s (MIAC), Grinnell (MWC), Dominican (NACC), DePauw (NCAC), Williams (NESCAC), MIT (NEWMAC), Husson (NAC), Rowan (NJAC), Linfield (NWC), Baldwin Wallace (OAC), Virginia Wesleyan (ODAC), Westminster PA (PAC), Texas Lutheran (SCAC), Redlands (SCIAC), Manhattanville (Skyline), Greenville (SLIAC), New Paltz (SUNYAC), Case Western Reserve (UAA), Penn College (UEC), UW-Superior (UMAC), Pfeiffer (USA South), UW-Whitewater (WIAC).

» ⚾️ Who’s In (39). Immaculata (AEC), Penn State Behrend (AMCC), Coe (A-R-C), Concordia TX (ASC), Johns Hopkins (Centennial), Millikin (CCIW), Endicott (CCC), St. John Fisher (E8), Mitchell (GNAC), Hanover (HCAC), Scranton (Landmark), Ithaca (Liberty), UMass Dartmouth (LEC), Alvernia (MACC), Misericordia (MACF), Bridgewater State (MASCAC), Adrian (MIAA), Beloit (MWC), Bethel (MIAC), Middlebury (NESCAC), Babson (NEWMAC), Ramapo (NJAC), Husson (NAC), Denison (NCAC), Benedictine (NACC), Willamette (NWC), Baldwin Wallace (OAC), Lynchburg (ODAC), Washington & Jefferson (PAC), St. Joseph’s LI (Skyline), Centre (SAA), Pomona-Pitzer (SCIAC), Centenary LA (SCAC), Spalding (SLIAC), New Paltz (SUNYAC), Keystone (UEC), Crown (UMAC), North Carolina Wesleyan (USA South), UW-Whitewater (WIAC).

🥎 Softball. 11 a.m. ET  
⚾️ Baseball. Noon ET
🏌️‍♀️ Golf (W). press release
🚣‍♀️ Rowing (W). Tuesday, 5 p.m. ET

NEWS
6. Lightning Round

» 🗞️ News. “Former Central College football player Greg Ricketts was recently selected to represent Division III student-athletes on the NCAA's Board of Governors, the latest in a long line of leadership positions for Ricketts. The nomination process included 16 candidates before Ricketts was selected. He'll serve a two-year term starting in August.”

» 🏌️‍♂️ Golf (M). Aurora’s Braeden Duncan is the recipient of the 2024 DIII Men’s Golf Elite 90 award.

TRANSACTIONS
7. Comings and Goings

• ALFRED - Adam D’Agostino named director of equestrian/head western coach

• BALDWIN WALLACE - Wayne Schneider retired as head men’s golf coach

• CONCORDIA (Texas) - Nick Mims resigned as head men’s soccer coach

• DEFIANCE - Jake Henderson named head men’s wrestling coach

• KING’S - Kellyo Keane named head swimming coach

• LANCASTER BIBLE - Ryan Carpenter stepped down as head women’s basketball coach

• NORTHLAND - Olaf Kirsten named head women’s soccer coach

1 THING
8. Gen Z’s Wobbly Career Ladder

“More than one-third of 18- to 24-year-olds reported no income through wages or a salary in 2022, Axios' April Rubin writes from a St. Louis Fed report.

That's up from 22% in 1990.

Why it matters: A new generation of workers is dropping out of the workforce before even entering it.

Some find their college degrees don't translate when applying to the skills-based jobs that employers are hiring for.

🚨 About half of workers with a bachelor's degree are underemployed or working jobs that don't require degrees within a year of graduating, according to a Burning Glass report.

📬 Thanks for starting your day with us!

Please invite your friends to sign up for D3Playbook

Copyright © 2024, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved