Division 3 Colleges

There are 442 D3 schools across 34 different states. This means there are more opportunities to play college sports at the NCAA D3 level than any other division level of collegiate sports. While division 3 schools do not offer traditional athletic scholarships, they can often times put together financial aid packages that are equal or more than what you would get with a partial scholarship at other division levels.

School Search Tool

Basic Search

Sport	Baseball Basketball (M) Basketball (W) Cross Country (M) Cross Country (W) Field Hockey (W) Football Golf (M) Golf (W) Gymnastics (M) Gymnastics (W) Ice Hockey (M) Ice Hockey (W) Lacrosse (M) Lacrosse (W) Rowing (W) Soccer (M) Soccer (W) Softball Swimming (M) Swimming (W) Tennis (M) Tennis (W) Track (M) Track (W) Volleyball (M) Volleyball (W) Water Polo (M) Water Polo (W) Wrestling
Division Level
Country	United States
Region	All  Mid-Atlantic  Midwest  Northeast  South  Southwest  West
State (All Selected By Default)	Available States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming		Selected States

 

College Information

College Surrounding	All  Rural Suburb Urban
College Size	All  Large Medium Small
ROTC	All  None Navy Army Air Force
College Type	All  Private Public
Student Population	All 0-5,000 5,000-10,000 10,000-20,000 20,000-30,000 30,000+	Custom From To
International Student Population	All 0-500 500-1,000 1,000+	Custom From To
Fraternities	All 0-10 10-20 20+	Custom From To
Sororities	All 0-10 10-20 20+	Custom From To
School Organizations/Clubs	All 0-50 50-100 100+	Custom From To
Religious Affiliation (All Selected By Default)	Available Religions African Methodist Episcopal African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church American Baptist Assemblies of God Assemblies of God Church Baptist Brethren Church Christ and Missionary Alliance Church Christian Church Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Christian Methodist Episcopal Christian Reformed Church Church of God Church of Nazarene Church of the Brethren Churches of Christ Cumberland Presbyterian Evangelical Covenant Church of America Evangelical Free Church of America Evangelical Lutheran Church Free Methodist Free Will Baptist Church Friends Interdenominational Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church) Lutheran Church in America Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod Mennonite Brethren Church Mennonite Church Missionary Church Inc Moravian Church Multiple Protestant Denominations Nondenominational None Other Protestant Pentecostal Holiness Church Presbyterian Church Protestant Protestant Episcopal Reformed Church in America Reformed Presbyterian Church Roman Catholic Seven Day Adventist Southern Baptist The Presbyterian Church in America United Brethren Church United Church of Christ United Methodist Wesleyan Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod		Selected Religions

 

Academics

Academic Calendar	All  Quarter  Four-One-Four Plan  Semester  Trimester
Un-weighted GPA	All 2.0-2.9 3.0-3.5 3.6-4.0	Custom From To
SAT Average	All 0-1000 1000-1500 1500-2000 2000+	Custom From To
ACT Average	All 0-20 20-25 25-30 30+	Custom From To

 

Major Subject Selections

Majors (All Selected By Default)	Available Majors Accounting Advertising Anthropology Archaeology Architecture Art Art History Astronomy Astrophysics Biochemistry Bioengineering Biology Botany/Plant Biology Business Administration and Management Chemical Engineering Chemistry City/Urban Planning Civil Engineering Communications Computer Science Criminal Justice Drama/Theatre Ecology Economics Education Electrical Engineering Engineering English Environmental Studies Ethnic Studies Film Finance Geography Geology Graphic Design History Hospitality Administration/Management Humanities Industrial Engineering Interior Design International Studies Journalism Kinesiology/Exercise Science Legal Studies Linguistics Marine Biology Marketing Mathematics Mechanical Engineering Music Neuroscience Nutrition/Food Science Philosophy Physics Political Science and Government Pre-Dentistry Pre-Law Pre-Medicine Psychology Radio and Television Religion/Religious Studies Social Sciences Social Work Sociology Sports Management Statistics Theology Visual and Performing Arts Women Studies		Selected Majors

 

  

What is a Typical D3 School Like?

NCAA D3 colleges are smaller private universities and the majority of the schools are in the southern and eastern parts of the US. DIII schools have less practice time than other division levels and put more emphases on achieving athletic and academic success. Many athletes choose to play D3 sports because the smaller schools fit what they are looking for in a college experience and they can focus more attention on their degree.

What College Sports are Like at NCAA D3 Schools?

Many athletes make the assumption that D3 schools are not competitive. They think because they don’t know about the schools or because they are not on television the competition isn’t very good. Many division 3 athletes choose to play D3 because they liked the school more or because they liked the balance of academics and athletics. Often times they have turned down scholarship offers at higher division levels to go to a D3 school.

What to Look for When Considering a D3 College?

Because many of the DIII colleges are private schools an important consideration is cost. Additionally, being smaller schools they don’t always offer a lot of different majors and you will want to make sure the school you are considering has your major. One of the biggest benefits to the NCAA D3 level is the relaxed recruiting rules. Coaches at these schools are allowed to contact you and give you scholarship offers at any point, where as D1 and D2 coaches are restricted in when they can contact athletes.

Getting Recruited by D3 Coaches

Many D3 programs have limited recruiting budgets and rely on online recruiting tools to find and evaluate athletes. Free online profiles allow coaches to search a database for athletes and establish contact with them via email. 90% of coaches say the recruiting process starts online. By having an online profile you can be sure that coaches will be able to make their initial evaluations and begin recruiting you.

Author: David Frank