E8 Celebrates Division III Week: April 7-13
NCAA Division III Week is set for April 7-13 across the country. The event is a celebration by member institutions and conferences of the division's unique philosophy that equally values academics, athletics and student-athletes' involvement in a full and rich campus life. This year's celebration takes on more meaning as member schools and conferences also are celebrating Division III's 40th anniversary year.
Division III Week is an opportunity to publicly celebrate and promote the ways in which Division III members have provided a well-rounded collegiate experience not only for approximately 180,000 student-athletes currently playing sports in the NCAA's largest division, but for the hundreds of thousands of their predecessors who have competed since Division III was formed and hosted its first championships during 1973-74.
During NCAA Division III Week, every member institution and conference is encouraged to schedule at least one activity, which celebrates an aspect of the Division III student-athlete experience, from these three categories:
• Academic accomplishment, including activities such as taking time during a game to acknowledge student-athlete academic achievement, or asking teams to select a faculty member to serve as a guest coach for a practice or competition.
• Athletics activity, including conducting events such as a youth sports clinic or competition, or scheduling recognition of school teams' or individuals' athletics accomplishments during a game.
• Community or campus outreach, such as scheduling a community-service activity during the week, or participating in an event involving a local chapter of Special Olympics as part of Division III's partnership with that organization.
Follow all of the DIII Week stories being told across the country by checking out the Twitter hashtag #d3week and if you want to tell a Division III story of your own, use the Twitter hashtag #whyd3!