i Jeffrey L. Engbers Health Exercise and Sports Science This ...

Division III institutions are made up of a substantial amount of student-athletes.
Division III athletes may make up anywhere from one-fifth to close to one-half of the
overall undergraduate enrollment (Emerson et al., 2009; Rasmussen & Rasmussen,
2003). In 2003, the average number of student-athletes was 19% of the undergraduate
enrollment at Division III institutions (Rasmussen & Rasmussen, 2003). According to
Rasmussen and Rasmussen (2003), Division III institutions had an average of 210 male
and 146 female participants with a maximum of 552 men and 426 women at one
institution and a minimum of 45 men and 46 women at another.
The high cost of tuition makes Division III institutions selective in their applicant
pool, yet overall, Division III institutions tend to not be very selective in admissions.
Over 50% of Division III member institutions admitted over 70% of their applicants, and
just 12% admitted fewer than 50% of their applicants (Rasmussen & Rasmussen, 2003).
However, 70% of Division III member institutions reported 75 th percentile SAT Verbal
scores and SAT Math scores (Rasmussen & Rasmussen, 2003). In 2001, 59% of Division
III member institutions charged tuition and fees of $15,000 or more and just 13% charged
tuition and fees of less than $5,000 (Rasmussen & Rasmussen, 2003). Financial aid is
common: 69% of students received institutional grants at an average of $7,173 per person
(Rasmussen & Rasmussen, 2003).
A total of 27 championships (13 men and 14 women) were sponsored by NCAA
Division III in 2008-2009. Despite 27 championships being offered, an average of only
8.6 men’s teams and 8.9 women’s teams are sponsored per Division III institution
(NCAA, 2010a). Rasmussen and Rasmussen (2003) found that highly selective
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