Mission
To foster and support the well-being of division III student-athletes and athletic professionals through the generation, translation and application of research across disciplines.
About
Established in 2020, the Institute for DIII Athlete Well-Being and Athletic Leadership grew out of an informal group of faculty and staff at the State University of New York-College at Cortland who had begun meeting to discuss their work related to NCAA DIII student athletes and athletics staff. The group consisting of an assistant coach and faculty in health, sport management, athletic training, and sports psychology saw the need to create an interdisciplinary collaborative entity to fill the gaps in research, programs, and resources specifically focused on NCAA DIII.
Division III is the largest of the three National Collegiate Athletic Association divisions with 439 member institutions and 43 conferences (NCAA, 2021). In 2020-2021 almost 40% of all student-athletes participated at Division III institutions. According to the NCAA “the Division III experience provides an integrated environment that focuses on academic success while offering competitive athletics and meaningful non-athletics opportunities” to support the development of student-athletes into “well-rounded adults”. Division III programs cannot provide athletics scholarships.