There's No Such Thing As "The Division I Level"

You may have said it yourself. If not, no doubt you've heard someone else say it: "He can play at the DI level."

Here's the thing: it's too vague and doesn't mean anything. It's kind of like saying, "my college roommate could cook." Based on that, would you want to have dinner in our dorm? (Here's a hint: run for cover.)

Here's a example. In this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament, UConn beat Chattanooga 103-47. Both teams are DI. Based on that result, how do you define "the DI level?"

The obvious response is, "Yeah, but Chattanooga is better than any DII or DIII team." Is that necessarily true? Findlay University won the NCAA DII basketball championship this year after a hard fought overtime. Could they play with Chattanooga? I haven't seen either team, but I'd be willing to guess that it would be a pretty competitive game.

It turns out that the competitiveness across divisions is actually fiercer in sports that don't generate big-time cash for universities. So while basketball illustrates the point here, it's actually the weakest example. In soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, baseball, softball, and so on, the parity between divisions is pretty high.

To be fair, the best DI teams will almost always have the highest concentration of top players. But the lower tier DI teams are in a constant recruiting battle with top DII and DIII teams. A great example is Kai Kasiguran, who played for Messiah, a DIII soccer powerhouse. Kai was national player of the year in 2007 and led Messiah to three national titles. I think he could have played at just about every college.

Wearing "DI blinders" actually makes recruiting more complicated. Instead of judging a college on its merits, focusing on the DI label alone overlooks the reality of being a college student on that campus. To the extent it's possible, try to remove division from your assessment of a college. Instead focus on figuring out whether the true nature of that school -- in terms of academics, social factors, and athletics -- is right for you.

- Joe Trost