Factors Influencing College Selection by NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Players

Abstract

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III basketball, coaches are often faced with the challenge of stretching resources to successfully recruit players who will represent the institution without the benefit of athletic scholarships. Having a better grasp of the factors that influence the college selection of NCAA Division III players might assist these coaches in more efficiently maximizing their resources. The purposes of this study were to (a) examine specific factors which influence why DIII basketball players made their choice to attend a particular school, (b) determine if there were differences based upon the type of school attended, and (c) examine whether there were categorical factors that differed on the basis of a players recruitment, year in school, race/ethnicity, playing status, or financial aid status. Using the revised Influential Factors Survey for Student Athletes (IFSSA-R; Pauline, 2010), 503 DIII men’s basketball players were surveyed. Participant responses indicated that ‘career opportunities’ was the most vital item affecting college selection. With regard to the five categorical factors (academic, athletic, coaching staff, financial aid, and social atmosphere) academic factors were also found to be important. Analyses revealed significant (p < .05) differences as determined by type of school for the athletic, academic, and financial aid subscales. Results of the study will provide useful information for DIII men’s basketball coaches and college administrators throughout various points in the recruiting and college selection process. 
 Keywords: coaching, recruiting, basketball, NCAA Division III, college selection

What It Means to “Win” in Small College Athletics: Strategic Contingency Theory and Alternative Success

“…For some of the more straightforward statistics, consider the following about Division III: 445 Division III institutions, 80% of Division III institutions are private, 20% of Division III institutions are public, and student-athletes comprise, on average, 25% of the student body (ranges from two to more than 67%). Moreover, Division III athletics has the greatest variation in types of enrollments in comparison to Division I and Division II as there are small private institutions with fewer than 1,000 students, larger regional public institutions, and even national private research institutions with upwards of 25,000 undergraduate students ("Division III facts and figures," 2021; Nichols et al, 2020).…”

“…NCAA Division III athletics is often under-researched, which is notable given that Division III institutions, on average, have a higher percentage of student-athletes than their Division I and Division II brethren (Kerschner & Allan, 2021;Willner, 2019;Zvosec et al, 2021a). Because there are not athletic scholarships at Division III institutions, the types of financial aid packages, the timeline of such packages, and the admissions processes and timelines of each institution can create a Division III recruiting process that is can be murkier logistically than at the Division I level (Bandré, 2011;Nichols et al, 2020;Schaeperkoetter et al, 2015).…”

“…Division III athletics departments, in general, have fewer coaches, smaller budgets, less commercial attention, and lack of traditional sport-related revenue streams (e.g., broadcasting rights deals, corporate sponsorships, ticket sales) than higher levels of NCAA athletics and professionalized sport and wins and losses do not necessarily have the same financial impact (Covell at el., 2013;Katz et al, 2021;Nichols et al, 2020;Schaeperkoetter et al, 2015;Paule-Koba & Farr, 2013;Zvosec et al, 2021a;Zvosec et al, 2021b;Zullo, 2021).…”

“…The on-campus experience as it relates to the role of athletics on Division III campuses is likely far different for both student-athletes and the general student body relative to Division I institutions (Katz et al, 2021). Even though the athletics experience at Division III institutions may not generate as much fan interest or revenue streams as Division I institutions, Division III athletics can still add institutional value in a variety of ways (e.g., Covell et al, 2013;Katz et al, 2021;Nichols et al, 2020;Schaeperkoetter et al, 2015;Zvosec et al, 2021a;Zvosec et al, 2021b). Understanding how "value added" manifests itself is particularly important as insti-tutions work to develop their own definitions of athletics success (Katz et al, 2015;Katz et al, 2021;Nichols et al, 2020;Nixon et al, 2021;Zvosec et al, 2021a;Zvosec et al, 2021b).…”

“…Several studies have explored factors impacting college choice for Division III student-athletes and contextualized success by detailing the role of winning as a primary measure of success for coaches and for prospective student-athletes in their college choice processes (Covell et al, 2013;Nichols et al, 2020;Nixon et al, 2021). In noting the challenges Division III coaches face in comparison to Division I coaches when recruiting -e.g., lack of athletics scholarships, fewer full-time coaches, smaller budgets -Nichols and colleagues (2020) detailed the role of recruiting efficiently in order to bring in talented basketball players.…”