The Difference Between Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3

What is the difference between Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3 athletics? In this video, I go through the rules for each division of collegiate athletics.
Blog article: blog.prepscholar.com/what-are...
Website: www.etg.today/
Patreon: / embracethegrind
In the "Who is" series, I go through the backstories of up and coming collegiate and professional athletes.
Instagram: @embracethegrindtoday
Music: Nick Marrotta Instagram: @nicktheguitarguy810
Saidbysed: Sangria
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS

[@codieroper3335]

D-1 professional camera crew D-2 schools camera crew D-3 somebody’s cell phone

[@appygirl913]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 So true!

[@michaellathanjr.4578]

#Facts Definitely About Screen Time For NFL Scouts

[@abelaldrich967]

I know right lol

[@thekingzay6931]

P5 has professionals g5 no way has them

[@jordanmc9015]

No, the injured players are the film crew. lol

[@SWW72]

D-III athletes are true student athletes.

[@chrisd6287]

No doubt . . Most fbs schools have "servants" tending to players every need. Lol

[@rsnordhagen]

This is so true. Some of these colleges are football programs with english classes on the side.

[@theleftuprightatsoldierfield]

As a D3 athlete myself I can definitely attest to this. It’s not nearly as much of a commitment as D1 athletics but you get absolutely zero sympathy from professors. There’s no money in D3 sports and pretty much no one’s going pro, so you’re there for school first and are expected to set your priorities that way

[@MikeBNumba6]

@@theleftuprightatsoldierfield the commitment part is true. If you have a test or lab, usually the d3 program will allow you to miss practice for it. But, that doesn't mean it wasn't a lot of hard work. We still had practice or conditioning in the morning, film study in the afternoon and practice after classes. The day is usually over by then, unless a coach wants you to have study hall or something in the evening.

[@MikeBNumba6]

@@theleftuprightatsoldierfield yea i was agreeing with you. Just expanded on your comment just in case people unfamiliar would think being a D3 athlete is easy. It's not. Most either quit or simply leave the team for a variety of reasons after their freshman years.

[@GaryMillerCreative]

I played D3 Linebacker and a good bud played D1 at the same time at the same position. Football IQ, Knowledge, Etc could be same but Skill, Speed, and Size are the biggest difference. I saw a lot of guys go from D3/D2 to being great coaches at the D1 level. One of our Running backs coaches is a highly sought after Offensive Coordinator now

[@Nathen_Official_YT]

who is the rb?

[@user-ik8pi6td2i]

D3 is also pay to play, with more free time to participate in other things. But also at much smaller schools.

[@wrobinson1702]

Good analysis. I was a D3 strong safety(many moons ago) Our O-line averaged about 210lbs. We had one guy who went to the NFL-a TE who was the biggest guy on the team at 6'4", 240lbs.

[@rickhall8119]

Everyone knows D1 athletes get hooked up when it comes to academics. That's part of why they have higher graduation rates.

[@markfrank5937]

BS. I never got hooked up for ANY classes. Stop believing rumors. 😒...

[@mindyourbusiness1934]

D2 schools as well you'd be surprised

[@notreallytate4217]

@@markfrank5937 They totally do lol

[@austinkurmay8646]

As a Current d1 football player trust me we don’t

[@bunkydamonkey1225]

@@austinkurmay8646 ahh yes I’d expect a d1 athlete to have their name be “Asian Kidd”

[@bigstyx]

My daughter attended a D2 school where she ran track and field most of her competition was D1 schools because there were fewer D2 schools in the area. So her competition was mostly D1 she was also two time American first team. In high school she was ranked 75th in the country for high school hurdlers 300 m and 100 m and could’ve attended numerous D1 schools but went for the education working now as a doctor.

[@kevinthomas7526]

Bravo!!! I think a degree is individual tho. I mean you got Pro athletes who are doctors, n lawyers etc. I can’t say an education at a D3 is better. (your daughter still had to go to med school, which probably wasn’t were she was an undergrad athlete) No matter what level, the main purpose is to get an education. If you want an education you will get it if not you won’t.

[@bigstyx]

@@kevinthomas7526 your right but I think it helped her get though school with less distractions from the pressure of a D1 athletic program . With her Academic and Athletic scholarships it paid for her primary college education. We found it rare to get a full ride in women’s track in a D1 school. PS she’s actually a anesthetist.

[@julliusblackwell6239]

Congrats on your daughter all American achievement.

[@josh8837]

You just wanted to randomly flex that? 😂

[@douglasshortridge4343]

Congratulations 🎊. With practice, training, traveling, and competing in meets I'm sure it was hard on her to study for her classes.

[@voltrondefofunv5708]

One difference is D2and D3 can beat illinois football on any given day

[@bigboy9661]

But Nebraska can't

[@Yaahboi52]

Lmaooo

[@legogandalf5453]

Prolly Arizona as well

[@Kylorenz710]

Everybody has off days , just ask Michigan 🙄 just that most schools laughing at Nebraska dont come close to the storrid history or effect Nebraska has had on cfb over the last 50 years. Nobody stays on top of the mountain forever Nebraska was there for along time, thats why the haters are coming out of the wood works they remember how it once was

[@bigboy9661]

@@Kylorenz710 Nebraska has been more of an off decade lol. you're the only one talking about their history in this. We're laughing about them because they've been bad for years now. The Scott frost era has been a disaster. We're not gonna hold off criticism of Nebraska just cuz they were good in the years before we were even alive. Tbh ppl like this who coddle Nebraska and ignore their on-field performance in favor of discussing their decades in the past glory are part of the reason y'all still suck. Y'all should be demanding changes in the program for how unacceptable the last decade plus has been

[@thomastexwilson7323]

I root for Division 2 Slippery Rock where I played linebacker for 3 years

[@ChrisBChronisterJr92]

Yoooo I route for them too. I’m from PA! Saw they had a solid season 2 years ago before the stupid pandemic.

[@shemhenrichsen32]

I wouldn’t mind if they offered me 😂

[@mrpiccaso6517]

Everyone from my high school ends up going to slippery rock i swear at least 50% of them

[@RobertDouglasLW]

The first year that I attended Florida Atlantic (FAU) was the first season for the football program. Slippery Rock was one of our very first opponents.

[@thomastexwilson7323]

@@ChrisBChronisterJr92 absolutely. I go back and talk to the team Coach Lutz is a great guy. Roland should be playing pro. His stats were better than Joe burrows

[@RGrant2504]

D1: generally the most athletic; the most potential for professional ball; pretty much every famous athlete youve heard of came from a D1 school; skill gap is very wide comparing the elite to lower level D1; a lottttttt of overrated high school players that get cut or never see playing time D2: mostly underrated in general; high level D2 and low level D1 very equivalent; very wide skill gap overall with a clusterfuck of skill level; some genuinely good players/hidden talents that went under the scouting radar or found their potential in college; some professional potential; D1 players who got cut for bad grades, etc and want playing time; some players so bad youre not sure how they even made a high school team; a lottt of cocky players who say they couldve gone D1 D3: like third place on the podium, theyre just happy to play their sport and compete collegiately; some true hidden talents that went under the radar; some truly bad players as well that look like they just picked up the sport; high level D3 and lower level D2 teams very equivalent in skill and depth

[@coreyarnouts4980]

Good breakdown

[@Grokushagh]

I do remember a few years ago that my states D1 FBS school was beaten handily but a school that my D2 Alma Mater outscored by about 50.

[@inokerogoyawa]

Skill wise especially in basketball, alot of D2 or D3 teams have better shooters than a lot of D1’s team just cuz of the nature of gameplay….Since they don’t have these big athletic guys for the most part, they shoot long range shots at a HIGH volume efficiently

[@jmilli5564]

Biggest difference between D1 and D2 football is the OLine/Dline. It’s hard to find big athletic linemen, so D1s scoop them up. There’s a lot more good athletes who fall through the cracks in the skill positions.

[@curtiswilson1345]

I know a lot of pro players that played d3

[@zxmoore1]

Thanks for this video. I've coached in Division 1 and Division 2 for many years and glad to hear someone speak about the differences. Just know though, for any future aspiring college athletes, go to where's best for you no matter the Division. You'll be there for 3-6 years of your college career but the memories you'll have will be with you for the rest of your life. So pick the school, coach, and team that you love. I've seen so many athletes pick the wrong school and it's heartbreaking. Good Luck to everyone currently attending college for athletics and those who have future aspirations of collegiate sports.

[@LagunaShirogane]

Id love to go to Michigan State but given how expensive it is, id have to settle for a smaller school like Valdosta State here in Georgia since its my current state residence and Im only 33 years old. MSU is my team when it comes to college sports and has become the identity i didnt have when i was younger in high school trying to find my own identity when it came to college sports. While everyone around me rooted for UGA, University of Tennessee Knoxville, USC (South Carolina), Alabama, or Clemson...I didnt have much of an identity except leaned on teams my friends or family rooted for (which was UGA or UTK (University of Tennessee)). Now in my older age, i favor MSU highly because its a team i found myself to be a fan of truly and not because i was pushed towards it through friends and family. Through wins or losses, I root for Michigan State and not jumping on a bandwagon like some people do.

[@upbeatproductions7614]

@@LagunaShirogane Michigan State is a great choice. They have a beautiful campus and great academics. And sports are always a popular thing of course.

[@Wreckhouse69]

Cz can Zc

[@Wreckhouse69]

Aaaassaassssasaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@cherophobic3263]

I know this is totally unrelated but I wanted to ask if exercise science major students get to work with athletes on campus? Thanks

[@chrisd6287]

That was a lot of info . . I think having a break down on screen while you explained the differences would be helpful. Also, a breakdown of fbs vs fcs would be a cool topic to go over. Thanks for this vid man!

[@SuperSirianRigel]

Ha ha. Trying to keep it all rattling around in your head without visual aids... lol.

[@Psiber_Syn]

@@SuperSirianRigel Don't belittle him as Chris has a good point and I was thinking the same thing while watching the vid. Many KZbin channels do this as it's more interesting to watch than cut and paste old college football videos while reading off a script.

[@SuperSirianRigel]

@@Psiber_Syn What??? I wasn't belittling anyone. I'm pretty sure I was agreeing. Because it was a lot to keep track of in your head without visual aids. lol. Yeah, pretty sure I was agreeing with the dude.

[@kevinthomas7526]

The Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, is the highest level of collegiate football in the nation. The conferences are ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC American Athletic, USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and SunBelt. FBS conferences are known as Power 5’s, ( ACC, BIG10, Pac12, BIG12, SEC) or P5, and Group of 5 or G5’s (AAC,USA,MAC,MW, SB) The P5’s, n Independent Notre Dame (there are 7 Indy‘ schools UMass, UConn, Liberty, Army, BYU, n New Mexico State) may breakaway from NCAA, n do their own thing. The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football. FCS, comprises 14 conferences: the Big Sky, Big South, CAA, Independent, Ivy, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Pioneer, Southern, Southland and SWAC conferences.

[@cb750k1974]

I agree. Should have integrated some graphics to read instead of just reading a script with football to watch.

[@domottens]

I'm a UW-Whitewater grad and loved seeing my team highlighted for D3!!

[@jaraegp]

Coach Nelson is now my coach idk if you know him but he was a coach there for a while

[@tombosley3048]

Im a broncos fan, hadnt heard of the school till we drafted Quin Menierz

[@user-tb2wz1tr8y]

Same. Good to see. Too bad they stunk while I was an undergrad

[@rlh5870]

Go Warhawks! Class of 1974 graduate

[@coyotelong4349]

In terms of D1 in football it truly gets confusing, because within D1 you have FCS and FBS; within FBS you have the distinction between the Power 5 and Group of 5 conferences

[@andyatkins1]

I watched my Alma Mater, Appalachian State, go from the FCS to FBS between 2013 and 2015. The size and speed difference is no joke! The historic win over Michigan in 2007 was a total fluke (albeit an AWESOME memory!). Love my Mountaineers through thick and thin!

[@Jamesthevampire7172]

How was the win against Michigan in 2007 a fluke.

[@andyatkins1]

@@Jamesthevampire7172 If you look at the size and speed of the guys on each school’s rosters, their weight room stats, play experience, and just sheer stamina, I have no doubt that Michigan was twice App’s numbers. On that day in 2007, though, the Wolverines were unprepared (maybe lazy?), and my Mountaineers came hungry. It was simply a perfect storm scenario, a fluke.

[@Jamesthevampire7172]

@@andyatkins1 oh ok and another thing Michigan just didn’t expect the kind of game that app State played

[@lx95020]

There is no such thing as a fluke. Any team can win so long as every player executes his play....... Be proud of that win...as it was won not given to AS.

[@David-nu6kw]

That was one of the best football games ever! Michigan would probably win 99/100 but it doesn't matter. Appalachian State was the best team at the big house that day. Forever.

[@mrnick1823]

I played at one of the best passing offense D2 schools in ncaa history. I played with all Americans, guys who got chances in the nfl, and guys who transferred from big D-1, schools. I played with a linebacker from USC and he said the only difference between D-1, and D2 is how much money your school has and how many people you play in front of.

[@tsherman393]

It's heartbreaking sometimes

[@StefDjordjevic33]

I played Division 2 football at a PSAC school and we had a bunch of guys who could have played D-1 ball. In fact we had a really good OL who was 6’5, 320lbs who came to us from a high school where he played on 4 straight state championship teams. Never made any sense to me why he didn’t get recruited by Penn State, Pitt, etc..

[@Hotep982]

Politics that's why he's not from the south, midwest, or west coast they don't usually pay attention to O linemen unless they attended school in those regions

[@truantmale]

a lot of it can be preference. i dont know him, but maybe he wasnt as passionate about football as a lot of other people and just wanted to play for fun instead of having the need to compete and punish himself to make d1

[@wdeagles05]

Must have been pretty good if you played in the PSAC! What school did you play for??

[@StefDjordjevic33]

@@wdeagles05 Ship

[@chriscooper2751]

My favorite div 2 school is West Florida, as I live an hour away from it and both my mom and aunt are grads from it. Proud to be a fan of the defending champs. For div 1 im a die hard Auburn fan, as both my grandparents graduated from Auburn. War Eagle and Go Argos!!!

[@sullyfilms5105]

Screw Auburn but Go Argos

[@andrewrowzee5411]

Go Argos! Roll Tide!😂

[@dopeboi13yearsago9]

i play football for minnesota state, hopefully we meet again sometime 🤣🐬

[@Detriment44]

Go argos. Just graduated there with my bachelors. Going to Florida state now for my masters

[@zaynes5094]

@@Detriment44 Why? I don't ever get why people would want to go to such expensive schools unless they have ability to do that. If I were to get a scholarship to DI school for anything sports-wise I'd take it, but if I were given a chance at a partial scholarship for DIII, I wouldn't hesitate for that either.

[@wdeagles05]

As a D3 athlete it really is tough. We have so much limitation and little help at my uni I feel as though it’s high school part two with a little bit better academics and better sports that’s all

[@derricklanders1921]

I noticed that you chose to emphasize sports over academics in your comment...tells me a lot.

[@wdeagles05]

@@derricklanders1921 Buddy what you talking about I said little to nothing about academics and sports. If you're trying to say I care about sports more than education you can tell my 3.8 GPA that as well.

[@derricklanders1921]

@@wdeagles05 #1 What was your major? #2 You and others like you are at times merely anecdotal. #3 I assume that you understand sentence structure, syntax and everything that goes along with the formation of a coherent paragraph - "intent" and "messaging" matter - so I'm taking your comment at face value.

[@wdeagles05]

@@derricklanders1921 cyber security and you still don’t seem to see that my comment was about the entire univeristy itself and not just sports. Plus I’m still in school

[@derricklanders1921]

@@wdeagles05 What I am questioning is your statement that the academics are according to you "...a little bit better than High School...", please elaborate.

[@ChandrianCards76]

Also, important to note that some use D3 as a jumping-off point. While the majority stayed at the school, I played with guys that went on to play at South Florida (D1), South Alabama (D1), and a slew of D2 schools after 1-2 years of D3 ball.

[@paulduffy2524]

Good point, I live in northern Pennsylvania, we have a d3 school Lackawanna college that springs kids to d1 quie often. We also have bloomsburg, east stroudsburg both d2 that I have rarely hear of any kids going to a d1 school.

[@jordanlaramore5430]

My favorite schools: D1- University of Florida, Go Gators! D2- West Florida (I'm currently a student there) Go Argos!! D3- Sorry I don't know any 😅

[@kayscritic]

just say whitewater

[@aaronnichols9444]

Great video Gold and Blue dude! Love the clear, concise, and extremely expedient delivery of content. Two thumbs up!

[@brendenfriers9668]

I’m at a D3 school in Texas playing Lacrosse and we travel a good amount we will be going to Georgia, Alabama, Maryland and Pennsylvania and we play home games against. Teams from Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts

[@jonathanbliss7846]

U play for Soutwestern ? I’m a a d3 school in NY playing Lacrosse but I’m from Texas

[@Theguy5117]

GO BUCCS BRENDON!!! YALL BEAT COLORADO COLLEGE THIS YEAR

[@bradcampbell2609]

I’ve played at the D-1 level and D-3 Level. The biggest difference is in the recruitment process

[@ayohonchotv7573]

Explain

[@ID0XX]

@@ayohonchotv7573 D3 schools will recruit 60 kids with 160 players on a roster. They simply can’t say no. D1 schools knows who they want and how much people on the team they want on a twam

[@ID0XX]

Team

[@ID0XX]

@@MyaseliaGolden D2 is a lot like D1 in terms of roster size.

[@MyaseliaGolden]

@@ID0XX I’ve heard D2 recruiting is more lenient.. why is that?

[@Harry_Paratesties]

My school just went from D1 to FCS. Very informative video!

[@julliusblackwell6239]

Which school

[@markg999]

FCS is division 1 though.

[@Harry_Paratesties]

@@markg999 in name only

[@tugginalong]

Thanks- I have been curious about this for a while and you explained it well.

[@froggy5935]

Played D1 football for my first 2 years at a program that didn't win a lot. Transferred to a winning D3 school for my last 2 years. The D3 experience was much better. Winning is addictive. Losing sucks.

[@gopherfan118]

I wish the Jackrabbits had the fan base to move to the FBS levels, but the jacks for some reason can't constantly fill the seats in a brand new stadium. Their home opener this year only got 15,000 fans. It took 4 years before they finally sold out their stadium thanks to college GameDay.

[@UltimaOmega]

I was at that game! It probably didn't help that they were playing against a D2 team. I've always wondered why they can't seem to get bigger crowds. About the only games they've filled the facility is playing against NDSU. But usually they average probably 10,000-15,000. I'm surprised NDSU doesn't move up to FBS, it sounds like they usually fill 18,000 seat FargoDome. Heck, they would probably have to find a way to expand it.

[@wayde9892]

@@UltimaOmega even if you avg 15k avg a year doesn't mean you move up. University of Montana avgs over 22k a year and has done so for decades. They just don't want to move up like Boise st did decades ago

[@williammerkel1410]

@@UltimaOmega NDSU's main issue is geography, the nearest FBS schools are Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State, and Nebraska, and the nearest G5 is Northern Illinois, followed by Wyoming, Colorado State and Air Force, etc. The MAC would be a terrible place to go, C-USA isn't any better, the Mountain West is too far away and spread out so no drivable games, and the American is also too spread out. And I absolutely guarantee that the FBS doesn't have anything to offer that compares to 3 weeks of partying in/around the Dome in December, a mid/lower level bowl game that is only half full with a dead atmosphere is not appealing.

[@abakella]

As a UC Santa Cruz student, I was surprised to hear my school brought up out of nowhere at 1:18

[@JordanRunge14]

My team is the Wisconsin Badgers. So i appreciated the extended B-roll clips

[@lukeedwards2692]

Great video. I've always been a huge Notre Dame fan but i graduated from Western New England University which is a D3 school. I think a cool video to do would be the differences in how the divisions rank their programs and name a national champion. I don't think that many people are aware of the play off structure of the other divisions and how they may be the model for how the CFP is shaped moving forward.

[@Malik860x]

D3 take their 27 conference champs and 5 high ranked or high bid teams and player them in the playoffs based on SOS and record D2 is more harder to under stand as they pick teams with the best records from each region to play in their playoffs as they don’t have automatic bids

[@tygrkhat4087]

My school is probably one of the larger schools in D-III, Buffalo State; with a student population just over 9,000. At one time, all the schools in the SUNY system were only allowed to be at the D-III level. The only D-I schools in the SUNY system are Buffalo, Binghamton, Albany and Stony Brook. Buffalo is D-I FBS, Albany and Stony Brook are D-I FCS, and Binghamton doesn't sponser football.

[@SugaShane_]

my boy play at buff state

[@chrislyons5576]

Aye I play at buff state

[@SugaShane_]

@@chrislyons5576 you prolly know my friend

[@ryandelaine4282]

@@chrislyons5576 then you know we beat u guys week 1 👀

[@chrislyons5576]

@@ryandelaine4282 oh ok

[@Jamessmith-xk3fh]

I'm glad I found this because I've never thought about this either because I went to college at a D-1 school that has had a few NFL players especially Bobby Hebert

[@rolyrod69]

Hell ya!! I’ve been hoping for an explanation on this topic!!

[@powerofk]

There’s also a caveat - a school can be in different divisions in different sports. I did my undergrad over 20 years ago at Michigan Tech. Michigan Tech is a D2 school in most sports, but is D1 in ice hockey (and possibly Nordic skiing as well, but unsure about that), which makes sense given that it’s located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The main rival, Northern Michigan University, is also mostly D2 yet D1 in ice hockey.

[@livifan45]

That's because Ice Hockey doesn't have a Division 2 (Don't know why tbh) so Schools at that level with Hockey programs go D1 or D3 for that sport only.

[@andrewscheel2586]

I’m a fan of Auburn, Northern Iowa and the state of Iowa as a whole

[@fernandoalarcon8534]

Penn State, since I am an alum. But I enjoy watching college football. No matter the level.

[@Blktxdom2004]

I’m going to add one (actually two) Division III school with a team that is impressive…but RARELY can get past Mount Union. I’m going to list UW-Whitewater (Warhawks) and the Screaming Eagles of UW-La Crosse. UW-L hasn’t been in the football playoffs since the 1990’s. The Warhawks have been to the Stagg Bowl roughly 5x…just not consecutively. (Do cite me if I am wrong.)

[@alecerdmann8505]

Mt. Union has been to the Stagg Bowl 21 times and won 13 titles. UW-Whitewater has been to the Stagg Bowl 10 times and won 6. Mt. Union was Whitewater’s opponent in 9 of those 10 appearances, including 7 in a row from 2005-2011 and 9 in 10 years as they played each other again in 2013 and 2014. It was part of Mt. Union’s 11 consecutive Stagg Bowl appearances, as they beat St. Thomas (MN) in 2012 and 2015. This meant the primary color of every Stagg Bowl participant from 2005-2015 was purple. The highest all-time winning percentage among schools participating in D3 is St. John’s (MN) at .717 (653-251-24). They have won 4 National Championships (2 NAIA, 2 NCAA D3) and were coached for over 50 years by John Gagliardi, who has more wins than any other college football coach in all divisions (489-138-11). St. John’s and Whitewater usually jockey for highest average D3 attendance every year. Whitewater has the record for largest on-campus crowd at 17,535 vs. UW-Oshkosh in 2016. St. John’s has numbers 2-5 for games vs. St. Thomas, the highest being 17,327 in 2015. The highest off-campus attendance was Ithaca vs. Cortland at MetLife Stadium in a 150th anniversary of college football celebration that drew 45,161. Second was the 2017 St. Thomas-St. John’s game that drew 37,355 to Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins. Third was the 2019 St. Thomas-St. John’s game that drew 19,508 to Allianz Field, home of Minnesota United FC.

[@Blktxdom2004]

@@alecerdmann8505 - Thank you for your steady research. I have not taken the time to look into this and other information. IF I didn't mentioned this previously, I attended UW-La Crosse in the 1990s before graduating from Upper Iowa University in 2016. Academic issues forced me to leave UW-La Crosse in 1993 and I took the LONG ROAD to get my Master's Degree. (Associate in Applied Sciences at Western Wisconsin Technical College in 2000; Bachelors at UIU in 2015/16; and a Master's in 2020 from Colorado Technical University.) Going from a Division III to a Division II was a STEP UP...and a surprise. I am a Marine and Gulf War veteran, and would have excelled at either football or baseball...if I had kept my academic issues in check.

[@kayscritic]

UWW just won their 38th conference championship today

[@bradcronin8352]

I'm still disappointed that the Johnnie/Tommie game that was going to be held at US Bank was canceled! I was at the Target Field & Allianz games. St John's thumped St Thomas in their last two matchups!

[@Phateagle262]

Root for Wisconsin and Notre Dame in FBS, Whitewater in D3 (attended the latter). As someone who watched Mount Union outright crush UWW the first time they met, that we became as good as Mount just 5-6 years later is still crazy to me.

[@ethanhall6613]

You’ve got an interesting game next Saturday

[@joemazzarella5731]

D3 -Hobart College FCS - Colgate Favorite Game: Williams v. Amherst

[@SES4L]

I played for Williams. Those games are unforgettable!

[@ashevillespartan]

Great video man. Thanks for the watch. I coached youth league and used to coach HS. Useful knowledge-

[@katepuddings2]

I've always been a huge fan of my local division 3 college basketball team and I enjoy it a lot more than attending larger school's games because there's more of an emphasis on community and participation as well as succeeding on and off the court. It's more volunteer based and they even ran a summer camp each year which I attended for 4 years. Funny enough though, one of our local div 3 basketball opponents Union are division 1 in Hockey and won the national championship a few years back which was neat.

[@bigdaddy111058]

If you're Mt Union, you recruit third string FBS players to play. This give you an unfair size and ability level.

[@liltay0312]

Wasn’t enough to get past us. Go Cards. NCC

[@GamingBeFly]

Don’t you have anything better to do than get mad at a school for doing a good job recruiting?

[@outwardpanicjoe8950]

Ayy Marietta is in the same conference as them.

[@coltonrhodes882]

I was recruited to Mt Union! And we do it because we can

[@joeylawn36111]

@@outwardpanicjoe8950 At least Marietta isn't as bad off as Wilmington....

[@joshmellott1986]

I’d like to see videos explaining the different sports penalties, especially if they’re controversial like targeting and holding

[@nickhowser7262]

Definitely do one on NAIA. I played D-2 NAIA playing 1-2 D1 NAIA schools a year.

[@matthewmacaulay271]

Let's see a NAIA video

[@paidtourist6563]

God no

[@justinklinck6575]

That's like watching 3A highschool.

[@isaiahharris1998]

NAIA & HBCUs & Juco Football.

[@vernonhooks9161]

It’s still college ball

[@justinklinck6575]

@@vernonhooks9161 yeah, crappy college ball.

[@kingryan69]

Div 1- the most size speed ratio at every position. athletic big men are hard to find so schools take risks to find them div 2 mostly undersized or late bloomers, some stellar athletes but always with at least one caveat. div 3- actual students who play their sport as a hobbym with the odd stellar late bloomer type.

[@kingryan69]

@@Theguy5117 how so it seems pretty accurate to me.

[@kingryan69]

@@Theguy5117 you were a student athlete who played your sport , you didnt get paid or get monetary compensation, hence "hobby"

[@kingryan69]

@@Theguy5117 read the entirety of what I wrote, there are kids who play a sport intensely but just dont have the talent/size/athleticism to play at the next level, the percentage of athletes who go D1 is tiny compared to how many play high school ball, there is nothing wrong with continuing to play at the d3 level or even Naia, but the overall levels of talent are exactly what I wrote.

[@ynbfill2270]

@@kingryan69u think people who go d3 could transfer to d1 if they didn’t have any d1s offers out of high school and that’s their goal? (D1 interest but no offers)

[@kingryan69]

They would have to have some serious talent and size /speed@@ynbfill2270

[@l_pete_l6501]

A big difference is how scholarships are distributed. In the NCAA there are head count sports such as FBS football and Div.1 Basketball. Head count sports have a regulated number of scholarships that must be distributed to that exact number of players, meaning each player must get a full ride. An example is, an NCAA FBS football team is allowed 85 scholarships per year for 85 athletes. These can's be divided among more players. Then you have what's called equivalency sports, which means the available scholarship money for each team can be divided among players. Examples are, FCS football teams have 63 scholarships and Div. II football teams have 36 scholarships which can be divided to multiple players per scholarship. Each sport has it's limits with scholarship distribution being a primary difference between NCAA divisions.

[@TheSloppyjoejr]

Loved that Wisconsin footage.

[@TheSloppyjoejr]

And Wisconsin-Whitewater

[@ramofusang390]

Schools I Follow: Division I- Boise State (Football) Syracuse & University at Albany. Division II- Assumption University (Worcester, MA). Division III: Morrsiville State (Football) (NY) and SUNY Cobleskill (My Alma Mater)

[@andersongray9820]

Fun little fact from a college cross country runner, in Football the difference in skill level for each division is very substantial, however it barely even matters in Cross Country, to the point where one year, the division II National Champions would have finished 5th in division I.

[@Macabre124]

Just write your statement without the played out meme preface " fun little fact"

[@andersongray9820]

@@Macabre124 didn’t even know it was a meme to be honest

[@Macabre124]

I went to Div III school before transferring to UGA (Div 1) and boy what a difference in skill for football. Very substantial difference as you pointed out but In other sports like Cross country as you pointed, even Div III can compete with Div III honestly ...especially from what I've seen

[@andersongray9820]

@@Macabre124 absolutely, the best US 800 runner, Nick Simmons was a D III athlete, the man can run a 1:45 800 and was on the Olympic team! Imagine star NFL players being from a D III program, it just doesn’t happen!

[@braves5696]

Thanks for showing the University of West Florida. Our school will be D1 soon

[@gmotionz9681]

I had to turn my volume all the way to hear this man

[@thoughtyouwerewokenospeedlimit]

i started in D3 at UAB then FCS before I left the school. That was 1995. Good players at all levels.

[@qw3rtypd4ng3r]

The difference between FBS and FCS is that North Dakota State could beat the bottom half of any FBS conference any given Saturday

[@jaymesonbell8040]

D1 I cheer on a lot of teams. Clemson, LSU, Alabama, and Syracuse (not in that order) but for D2 I cheer on wingate university and for D3 I cheer on SUNY Cortland.

[@joeyricefried9621]

Bandwagon fan.

[@nathansunday3979]

GO CUSE

[@zaynes5094]

@@nathansunday3979 I'm a SUNY New Paltz grad, and we've got a few natty's for basically every sport we've done since the 60s and our last coming in 2019 in volleyball, on the men's side. I actually got to talk to someone, a girl friend of mine, was on the women's lacrosse team (they weren't very good unfortunately), but individually they were all very athletic and good. It's just as a team they weren't the most disciplined. Almost 20 assists in her last season for her. And she told me that after class one day, since I asked that I was curious how it worked, she said that even before classes, her day started with a 3-mile warmup run with a few others on the team. Then after that they'd go their own ways and go to class, during practice, they'd be running sprints and practicing their half-court plays, and those practices could run from 40 minutes to 2 hours and 40. Then, they'd be done and she'd go and work part-time as the school's radio co-host with another person. She explained she only got a partial scholarship, and some didn't even get partial scholarships until their sophomore year, but she was lucky because hers came as a merits-based scholarship, where they would pay through the scholarship for half the tuition and all of the room-and-board for her, and 8 others on the team, so the rest of them. All 16 of them in total. That meant the others who weren't on scholarships yet, usually were freshman, and they had to take out student loans (I'm just learning how much of vultures these student loan collecting agencies can be) because they'd not get their scholarship awarded until senior year. So, a lot of them would get part-time jobs on-campus doing something and that would help pay anything they could.

[@jamesbashaw5831]

I love the UW-Whitewater footage!

[@gtaquizmaster]

Thanks for making this video ! I go for Michigan Wolverines !!

[@stevegarcia9098]

as a narration, too much info to remember. there has to be a chart with columns/rows somewhere showing the differences.

[@langstongash9302]

As a former division 3 athlete myself, there is definitely a difference between D1 and D3. I will say though, I think it shocks some people how competitive D3 can be. It’s not exactly a cake walk to become a national champion even on the division 3 level

[@zaynes5094]

Definitely agreed. My DIII school I went to is very highly rated in NY state so we have a high standard just to get in to the school. My grades weren't good enough to get in from HS, so I went to community college for two years and then there, and I was always going to get in because I had a 3.2 and 2.85 was the requirement for what I was trying to get in for (English was the degree, Fiction Writing was my concentration, and Literature was my minor, I broke it up so it would be easier to follow than the combo Creative Writing and Literature, and it was) . Our school were champions in baseball, Basketball, volleyball, swimming, and even Cross country running we were solid, but I talked to quite a few athletes I had in classes, asking them if they were going pro, and they all looked at me like I was crazy, saying, "I'm not nearly that level, I really just got to this level and got the partial scholarship because I knew I would need it to help pay for schooling."

[@spccantonment]

I route for West Florida and I'm glad my school is on the D2 backround on the pic of this vid

[@gg-lj2ho]

thank you for letting ppl know that div 3 is just as good as the big 10.M my son played since he's 7 ,then 17 yrs later He is a coach at White water Wis warhawks,we are 13 ,0 .I love college fb ,white water warhawks produce ,and strive,their coaches are some of the best ,My son for the love of the game played,2 yrs ago after his graduation,Beau was offered a coaching job .

[@paralysissucks1142]

I loved the content, I hope you have it in your blog, but at least for me, the speed the content given needed to be slowed, to allow the examples to be comprehended

[@cgomc323]

UW-Whitewater is DOMINANT at the d3 level in football. i'd actually like to see them play against some teams in higher divisions sometime. i feel like they could hold their own against mid-major d1 or d2 schools.

[@m00t53]

Lmao no. D2 school maybe but there is no D3 school who could beat any D1 school. It's simply a different level of competition entirely. The coaching is different, the style of play is different and the talent gap is enormous. I don't care how good you think that D3 program is or how bad that D1 program is. It's like asking the same question of "can Alabama beat X horrible NFL team?" The answer is no. D1 is D1 for a reason and it isn't just money.

[@cgomc323]

@@m00t53 I disagree. If you were to take a school like Wisconsin-Whitewater or Mount Union, I think they could compete against lower-level FCS schools. Wisconsin-Whitewater and Mount Union essentially own Division 3 football; one of those two teams has been in the National Championship 17 times of the past 20 years and they have faced each other 9 times. As a result of their dominance, they bring in high-major and mid-major Division 1 transfers every year. I think they could compete against teams like Bucknell, Lehigh or teams on a similar level to those two. I'm not saying they'll blow those teams out, I'm not even saying they'll beat them for that matter, but I feel like those dominant teams at the Division 3 level could compete with lower-level Division One programs.

[@m00t53]

@@cgomc323 The recruiting is entirely different, the coaching is entirely different, and the bar for making the roster is entirely different. D3 teams might have D1 transfers here and there, but a team is the sum of all of its parts. The floor and ceiling are much lower for D3 than they are for D1.

[@cgomc323]

​@@m00t53 Yes, all of that applies, D1 sports are higher profile and have higher standards. Regardless, I believe that the absolute floor of D1 athletic competition is not that far off of the ceiling of Divisions 2 and 3. I'm not saying that a Division 2 or 3 school could walk in and beat or even compete with a bad high-major program like Illinois or Florida State, that'd just be wrong. I'm talking low-level, FCS D1 competition or most D2 competition in general. Not every D1 athlete at every D1 school in the country has NFL level talent or could even be the best player at a D2 or D3 school. I truly believe that the absolute peak of D3 football, like Mount Union or Whitewater, could compete with the majority of D2 programs and the worst of D1. We'll just have to agree to disagree here.

[@m00t53]

@@cgomc323 I see what you're saying but I still think it's highly debatable just looking at what the FCS has done so far this season. There has been a relatively high number of FCS wins over FBS teams this season and not all of those FCS teams have even been that good relative to their own leagues. I think the gap is wider than people realize between D1 and the lower leagues and it's only getting wider.

[@coachlincolnraiders3827]

Remember that a good, connection-building, morals-based college coach who is planning the practice they also attend is a rare gift!

[@ms.melissa1384]

I went to a Division 2 school, Valdosta State University (Go Blazers). We have won 4 Nattys since 2004 and one of them was when I was there. We were also featured on ESPN when I was there for a silly summer contest called Title Town which Valdosta won.

[@bonnyd.5334]

D-III football: the equivalent of good High School Football--with HS look and feel. All the athletes are there because they truly love the game. Free to attend. Lots of alum, some locals. Let's go Tufts, Let's go BLUE! D-II football: One step up from D-III. D-1 FCS: Semi-pro football... what you would see in the XFL D-I FBS: The equivalent of AAA baseball. The players are professionals.

[@rp2822]

Go Cru!! 2021 National Champs!! D3 University of Mary Hardin Baylor

[@Rysofly]

Great Video!!!!! And yes make the other video sir

[@77izmyr]

I played at a D2 school that is now in the MEC (used to be NAIA when I played). I was 6'4 320lb OT and I was smaller than the rest of the tackles on the team.

[@Blktxdom2004]

I graduated from Upper Iowa University in Fayette, IA. This is a Division II school...and the ONLY Division II school in Iowa. FEATHERS UP!!!

[@jdunc3789]

Sounds like a school you'd randomly think of for a ncaa football 14 team builder then find out the school already exists🤣

[@Blktxdom2004]

@@jdunc3789 - the Peacocks of Upper Iowa University are a small, yet SCRAPPY team. We don’t have the amenities for Division I…nevertheless, one of the sports programs has managed a winning season or got to the playoffs/tournament. In short: We are NOT Bishop Sycamore!

[@alansalgado2740]

It’s just the money. It’s not a big deal In basketball. The March madness is the great equalizer. It shows you that just cause you’re D1, you are not guaranteed to win.

[@wcyouknow]

Everyone in march madness is D1 though.

[@cuhgaming4943]

UWF is only a few miles from my house, so I go for them. I also root for McNeese State. My favorite NFL players as a Broncos fan, Diontae Spencer, went there. My sister is also getting her nursing degree there.

[@whodat879]

Cool I also live in pensacola

[@TheLoneWolf-wu8lp]

I live in Nebraska, so the colleges I root for are basically the local teams, Nebraska, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, and Missouri.

[@zachariahhayes7237]

For me , I root for Oregon at FBS, Richmond or JMU at FCS, VSU or Shepard at D2, and Shenandoah, Linden, and Randolph-Macon at D3

[@profligatepassages]

Hell yea another shepherd fan here, I actually went there and we came 1 game from winning the national Champs in 2015 for D2. Good times

[@RIPJimmyA7X]

Not gonna lie, rooting for JMU and Richmond both is a little odd considering how much they hate each other lol

[@julliusblackwell6239]

You my friend are a true football fan.

[@brandonjanesz4788]

Good afternoon...nice breakdown of the Divisions of ball...I played D3 ball in college with no regrets...I was recruited by smaller D1 schools and several D2 schools...I chose the school I attended for many reasons other than football...many of teammates did the same...we were upper level D3 school making the NCAA tournament 2 of my 4 years (which was very difficult at the time because the field was only 16 teams getting an invite and we were independent without a conference). I'll tell you this...I played with and against many D3 athletes that could easliy have played at higher levels...many think D3 ball is not competitive or that anyone can play...people with this attitude never played the game or did not excel in highschool ball...The top 25 in D3 can put a beating on may D2 & D1 schools. The Stagg Bowl is on Friday night in Canton, OH at the Hall of Fame Tom Benson stadium...I would ask all to give the game a watch so you can see the level of talent on the field and make your opinion...Cheers to all who play...it's the best sport in the world.

[@ryankasch5561]

Grew up rooting for University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, and went to Wheaton College. Luckily for me Wheaton has the same colors (and wins most sporting events) so most everything I had with the orange and blue fits both

[@OriginalChick]

Do a video on ALL OF THEM!

[@isaiahharris3185]

Can you do a list of QBs in the first round of the draft.

[@joeylawn36111]

Division 3 has the most blowouts and scores exceeding 60 points. Interesting: Aurora U's football team, a D3 school, in the past 3 weeks of competition, has scored exactly 70 points in each game - what are the odds of that? Also, their head coach is Don Beebe, who was a WR for the Bills.

[@smokin19861]

Beebe won a SB ring with the Packers also.

[@Heavywall70]

@@smokin19861and he chased down Leon Lett I’ll never forget that.

[@cadensauerbrey9005]

Mount Union Purple Raiders all day. Best D3 team in the nation and one of the best perennial football programs over all divisions. Also, really cool to watch.

[@scottyrall9452]

I’ve been an Oklahoma Sooner fan since I was a kid I also cheer for Sam Houston because that’s where I graduated from

[@michaelmack1035]

I'm a Michigan fan. One of my favorite team names is Marshall called The Thundering Herd.

[@jacobgentry2317]

They’re d1 fbs

[@ThePadi94]

There is no better team than the Irish in the Midwest!

[@RGrant2504]

Nice! Ive spent a lot of time in Huntington, Marshalls a pretty cool school. Check out the movie We are Marshall!

[@katies2199]

Small critique- I think putting the numbers on screen like in a presentation format would have made it easier to follow. Comparing the three by the requirements and stats

[@donfacciobene9057]

Im a UF Grad ….. GO Gators Thanks for your content, very informative

[@EricJamesJansen]

Are you from Wisconsin? Showed a lot of Badgers and Whitewater love!

[@bellzo5]

Yea can you do a video on the other leagues naia and any other one. And maybe hbcu in the future and my team is C L E M S O N 🐅

[@isaiahharris3185]

#NAIA #HBCU

[@ronniethomas7925]

I root for Indiana D1, D1AA Southern Illinois, D2 Uindy, D3 Anderson University (my alma mater), and NAIA St. Francis (IN)

[@dewayneking8917]

U from Indiana

[@ronniethomas7925]

@@dewayneking8917 Yes I am

[@robertpollard4571]

Franklin College is best

[@mynamelildarryl71]

Salukis, stand up!

[@ronniethomas7925]

@@robertpollard4571 Franklin had an awesome coach in Coach L. I have a lot of respect for him. I was a GA a few years back, and he spent a lot of time with me before a game just talking ball and about life.

[@andrewingram2520]

I play d-III tennis, what a time to be alive

[@thetk9145]

I can promise you I know many kids who played sports that were not that good and went onto d3 programs. In fact my back up rb at my school just started at our local d3 uni on both sides this past week as a jr😂 a lot of people can play past highschool it's just a massive commitment

[@joelaux8408]

Division one concentrates on athleticism. Division III concentrates on academics. Division to concentrate on neither😊

[@taylordunekacke5784]

You must have gone to a division "to" college.

[@Villainoulsy]

@@taylordunekacke5784 😭😭

[@jenniferbongiovanni4219]

@@taylordunekacke5784 violation

[@MyaseliaGolden]

So basically D2 doesn’t care?

[@brandonkemp6510]

I root for the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor!!!

[@kingdiamondscream]

Miami but I graduated from univ of montana. Saw the cane glory years and saw Montana play a semifinal game

[@JayTheHelmetGuy]

Not sure if anyone's brought it up already but some schools are exceptions and might be in one division for one sport and another for the rest. E.g. Minnesota has two D1 schools (one at the time this was uploaded) but SIX D1 hockey programs

[@cadenmsmith6723]

Texas A&M babyyyy Gig ‘em 👍🏻

[@Golf8802]

Woop!!!!!

[@jayhuey5188]

There is a big difference between FBS and FCS. Every FCS conference has a big brother conference

[@ImEvilDoug]

Let’s go Thomas More 💪🏻💪🏻

[@johnnynephrite6147]

Put simply, when you play D1 you fly in a place to other cities to play games. In D2, you take the charter bus. While in D3, you take the 115 to Broadway, then transfer to the 206 to North County, then hop a freight car going west out of town, camp out with some hobos, then hitchhike to your destination.

[@paidtourist6563]

Bro that West Florida QB is a fucking STUD!!!!

[@Trench52]

He went to my high school

[@crypticfuzion1413]

He honestly shoulda been division 1

[@paidtourist6563]

@@crypticfuzion1413 easily

[@elitrey7209]

@@crypticfuzion1413 Top D2 schools have D1 talent. It's common to see D2 schools beat lower D1 schools.

[@Thomas_Varnell]

@@elitrey7209 gonna piggy back off your comment and point out how just last week we saw West Florida beat McNeese. Always cool imo to see a D2 school beat a D1

[@aaronaaron4155]

Actually there are 4 divisions. D3 D2 D1 And then Alabama and Clemson.

[@kurma9575]

Clemson? Might want to rethink that

[@aaronaaron4155]

Yeah maybe not this year

[@kevinthomas7526]

Power 5’s are really thinking of becoming another division of college altogether tho.

[@cisium1184]

I root for Ole Miss in D1-FBS, New Hampshire in D1-FCS, and Wesleyan University in D3. Ole Miss and Wesleyan are alma maters; UNH is located in my hometown. I didn't play college football, but I did ski at Wesleyan.

[@stevendawson9723]

A D2 player could fill any D1 slot with the right coaching and equipment to support growth