Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Division IV Sports for Midd?

Liebowitz got some huge play today in the New York Times with an article on the future of Division III athletics. Middlebury was featured as one of the "nation's top small colleges" that are in Div III but are considering moving/creating a Div IV. Liebowitz is quoted:

“My coaches have already told me, ‘Forget it, it would be such a negative to be in a sub-division,’ ” said Ronald D. Liebowitz, the president of Middlebury College. “Personally, I doubt students would stop choosing Williams, Amherst or Middlebury because we’re in a Division IV. But I know others feel differently.”

Williams' EphBlog agrees with Liebowitz that creating a lower division to parse out the 420+ colleges in the current Div III would not be a bad thing. This really is a huge issue when it comes to recruitment, alumni, funding, etc. Ultimately, it does come down to University presidents, like Liebs, to decide whether to stay in Div III or go to a possible Div IV. Read the NYTimes article and share your thoughts in the comments...

Update: The NYTimes article has moved up to number 9 on the top 10 most popular articles of the day.

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