• Loading stock data...
Friday, October 31, 2025
Want a chance to win $250 and free FOS gear? Take our quick reader survey. Take the survey here

Division III Athletic Departments Face Colossal Changes Due to COVID-19

  • Departments scramble to figure out the logistical and financial viability of spring sports.
  • Decreased athlete enrollment could have ripple effects across entire universities.
division-iii-athletic-departments-face-covid-changes
Jenna Watson/IndyStar via USA TODAY NETWORK

Stevie Baker-Watson, the athletic director for the Division III department at DePauw University, sits at her kitchen island, wrestling with how COVID-19 could permanently alter the landscape of her department and university. 

Off in the distance, officials from the lucrative Division I Power 5 conferences struggle with how to keep their billion-dollar football machine running, as some conferences postpone seasons and others forge ahead. 

But for different reasons, the impact of COVID-19 on Division III departments like DePauw could be just as colossal — and Division III officials are scrambling to cope with the fallout.

Unlike Power 5 departments, Division III departments don’t stand to lose billions in TV, sponsorship or ticket revenue this fall. But they do face several challenges of their own, from revenue losses caused by decreased enrollment to the question of how to afford the sizable costs of COVID-19 precautions if and when athletics resume. They might be forced to significantly alter their entire universities’ business models as a result.

“College athletics is at a crossroads,” wrote Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athletic Director Erica Jasper in an email.

Division III comprises mostly small private schools scattered across the country, and includes 446 institutions, 44 conferences and close to 200,000 college athletes, according to NCAA data. The vast majority of Division III athletic departments spent the summer postponing and canceling their fall sports seasons, citing health concerns over COVID-19, while Division I departments spent June and July wavering. 

Unlike Division I programs, Division III programs don’t give athletes scholarships, so they actually make money on student-athlete enrollment, said Nicholas Schlereth, a professor of sport management at Coastal Carolina University. 

In fact, universities as a whole “count on their coaches and the institution to recruit student athletes,” because they can drive 25% to 30% of the total enrollment, said Jeff Martinez, the athletic director at the University of Redlands. 

Division III departments also receive stipends from NCAA and conference allocation funding, though these stipends pale in comparison to what some Division I counterparts receive, Schlereth said. A few might grab a little cash from ticket sales or small, local sponsors. 

A Cornhuskers Fan watches a Nebraska football game while wearing a hat shaped like corn on the cob.

College Football Economic Impacts Vary, True Figures Hard to Determine

College football can be an economic driver for the communities that surround…
August 12, 2020

But these departments are leaner than Division I schools. They have fewer operating costs than large Division I schools, with smaller staff and fewer sports — and in DePauw’s case, for example, employee positions are funded by a previously allocated endowment. 

“I would equate Division III to a really big productive high school program,” Schlereth said.

In the immediate financial fallout of COVID-19, Division III athletic departments will actually see a reduction in expenses because putting on non-revenue sports costs more money than it brings in, Baker-Watson said.

But at the same time, the postponements could be devastating for students, because they have to pay for enrollment and don’t receive athletic scholarships, said Jennifer Dubow, the commissioner of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Athletes have to decide if they can afford to stick around for an extra year if they lose the opportunity to play a year of their sport due to COVID-19. Of course, schools could also take a financial hit if large swaths of students decide to transfer or forgo a year of enrollment.

The potentially devastating problems lie in the future, from spring sports onward. When the Division III Presidents Council canceled fall sports championships altogether, the council noted that a reason for the decision was that holding fall championships would be “financially prohibitive.”

That’s not surprising, given that Division III fall sports championships cost more money than they bring in to begin with, according to the NCAA, and that the added costs of COVID-19 precautions are projected to be astronomical. In fact, even most Division I fall championships don’t turn a profit, according to the NCAA, COVID-19 or not.

Adding COVID-19 to the mix probably made it impossible for many Division III departments to afford fall championships. Schlereth estimated that one college football team could have to spend $500,000 to achieve the NCAA’s mandated testing protocols. As a Division III athletic department, “How can I go out and spend half a million dollars on testing just for football alone?” Schlereth said. “That’s a big expense.”

Both Dubow and Baker-Watson stressed that from the spring onward, the mandated COVID-19 precautions are going to drive up costs for Division III athletic departments and cause shorter seasons. “We weren’t buying face shields and gowns” before COVID-19, Baker-Watson said. “We didn’t generate locker rooms to have six feet in between people.”  From having to take multiple buses to purchasing extra hotel rooms, testing, staff PPE and enhanced cleaning, the costs will be sizable. 

And she estimated that these necessary but costly precautions could last for four years, to “let science run its course and give us actual data.”

Of course, the other challenge with overlaying fall sports onto spring sports in Division III schools lies in the dearth of athletic department staff and space. Scheduling these extra games will prove a complicated puzzle, but Dubow said her conference at least is mindful of not overwhelming any given school with too many sports in one day, and already has a “first draft” of sorts out with her conference.

“We think it’s possible,” she said. “Though it’s going to take a lot of fine tuning and finessing.”

But many of the small, private colleges that house Division III athletic departments have faced financial woes before COVID-19 began, said Baker-Watson, because declining enrollment, and thus declining incoming cash flow, has put these higher education institutions in precarious situations.

ncaa-di-fall-championships-canceled

Division I Fall Sports Championships Canceled, Except FBS Football

“Tragically, that’s going to be the case this fall, full stop,” NCAA…
August 13, 2020

DePauw, for example, previously graduated about 600 students per class, but has only graduated about 400 in each of the last two years, Baker-Watson said.

COVID-19 only stands to exacerbate the problem, Martinez said, as high school graduating classes may decline, and those that do graduate may not be able to afford private institutions due to the economic fallout of the virus. 

Without sports, institutions may have to completely reshape their business models because so much of their enrollment depends on athletes who want to play. “If it’s not financially viable, they’re gonna pivot,” Baker-Watson said. “They may pivot to more graduate programs, or they may pivot to more online programs.”

And within athletic departments, some schools may “trim” programs or, conversely, try to enlarge programs with more socially distant or cheap sports, like track and field — though Dubow said she doesn’t anticipate many schools will cut programs. Regardless, sports alterations could cause conference realignments.

One opportunity, however, may lie in capitalizing on Division I athletic departments’ struggles, Schlereth said. So far, major Division I universities like Stanford and UConn have cut non-revenue sports, and more are expected to drop programs due to the economic fallout of season cancellations.

“There might be this trickle down that could occur,” Schlereth said, where athletes whose sports have been cut from Division I programs might be interested in transferring to a Division III program closer to home that still offers their sport. “I think it’s an opportunity for them to grow.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

SEC-Led College Football TV Ratings Are Still Up 4% Through Week 9

The average game audience this season is 1.95 million viewers.

SEC Coaches Kiffin, Smart Question LSU’s Firing of Kelly: ‘Ridiculous’ 

Three SEC teams have fired their football coaches midseason.
Tigers Head Coach Brian Kelly, LSU Tigers take on the Texas A&M Aggies. October 25, 2025; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; at Tiger Stadium. Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.

College Football Coach Buyouts Are Not What They Seem

LSU will likely not have to pay Kelly the $53 million he has left on his contract.

LSU Ends Brian Kelly Era, $53M Buyout Negotiations Underway

The Tigers fell to 5–3 after losing to Texas A&M.

Featured Today

September 21, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell before the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium

NFL Fall Meeting: 7 Big Topics Among Team Owners 

Media, facilities, and labor highlight some of the key areas of concern.
Ohio State Buckeyes running back Isaiah West (32) runs the ball in the second half at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin
October 25, 2025

NIL Has Birthed a Third-Party Cottage Industry—and It’s a Mess

There’s no limit to how much players can make from NIL deals.
Christie's
October 21, 2025

Lou Gehrig’s $4M Jersey and the Exploding Sports Memorabilia Market

An ultra-rare sports collection is about to hit the auction block.
@chef__tezz/Instagram
October 19, 2025

Inside the NFL’s Private Chef Network

Private chefs are the unsung architects of player performance.
Sep 6, 2025; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly looks on against Louisiana Tech Bulldogs during the second half at Tiger Stadium.

The Governor Who Inserted Himself Into a College Football Coaching Search

The governor said he was concerned taxpayers would be left paying Kelly’s buyout.
Oct 4, 2025; Pasadena, California, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) takes hits from UCLA Bruins linebacker Jalen Woods (9) and defensive back Rodrick Pleasant (18) during the fourth quarter at Rose Bowl.
October 30, 2025

Rose Bowl Lawsuit Claims UCLA Tried to Move Games to SoFi Stadium

UCLA has called the Rose Bowl home since the early 1980s.
Florida Gators linebacker Shemar James (6) tackles Georgia Bulldogs tight end Oscar Delp (4) during the first quarter of an NCAA college football matchup Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Florida Gators 34-20.
October 30, 2025

Florida-Georgia Rivalry Hits the Road—Still Nets Almost $10M Payouts

The annual rivalry game in Jacksonville is taking a two-year road trip.
Sponsored

How HOKA is Reimagining the NIL Relationship

TNT Sports is going all-in on college athletics—bringing fans closer and giving brands a powerful new way to connect.
Sponsored

How HOKA is Reimagining the NIL Relationship

TNT Sports is going all-in on college athletics—bringing fans closer and giving brands a powerful new way to connect.
Harold Perkins Jr interception as LSU Tigers take on the Texas A&M Aggies. October 25, 2025; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; at Tiger Stadium. Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.
October 29, 2025

Louisiana Governor Says LSU Athletic Director Will Not Choose Next Football Coach

Jeff Landry has little confidence in Scott Woodward.
Sankey
October 28, 2025

SEC’s Sankey Blasts NCAA Plan to Allow Pro Sports Betting

NCAA athletes can bet on professional sports starting Nov. 1.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks to an audience at Louisiana Tech University on Aug. 25, 2025.
October 28, 2025

Why Louisiana’s Governor Was Involved in the Brian Kelly Firing

Jeff Landry reportedly hosted a meeting at the governor’s mansion Sunday.