A former student at a Division I institution, Zach Lawson learned about some important Division III issues this afternoon.
As you may remember, or not, I graduated from Texas Tech, so with very few exceptions, all of my college experiences as a fan came at the Division I level. For that very reason, I was interested in the discussion that would be going on in today’s session called "The Changing Fan Culture for Division III."
I’ve been one of 15,000 fans at basketball games and a small voice in a football stadium with more than 50,000 people crammed in. You can probably imagine the things I’ve heard and seen; on second thought, you may not want to.
So, while sitting through the session, I had to scale back my perceptions and take a look at these events through some Division III lenses. The voice yelling obscenities that would normally be drowned out by the thousands of louder voices is now very audible. The parent ranting about the calls being made by the officials is very easy to spot.
The panel, consisting of administrators, a SAAC member and a former official, discussed the importance of game management, proactive planning and campus communication.
Del Malloy, athletics director at Salve Regina University, said expectations are made often and stated clearly by his department using the various outlets available to push the message of sportsmanship to student-athletes, coaches and fans. A program that shows true sportsmanship is the one where all three of these entities are working together.
I have always perceived Division III universities to be really tight-knit communities, so I picture a crowd that consists of family and close friends who really know the student-athletes beyond the lines of competition, more so than the fans of most Division I programs. I wonder if the harder goal, if possible, is to turn down the volume Division III fans have for their loved ones playing their hearts out.
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