Hartford is D3 bound...but is that a good thing?

On May 7, the University of Hartford rocked the New England sports world. College sports fans around the country raised eyebrows. Columnists quickly issued responses to the university administration, expressing their disappointment.

Hartford made the rare decision to move its athletics programs from Div. I to Div. III, just two months after the men’s basketball team won the America East Conference and went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

"Intercollegiate athletics has long been an integral part of the University of Hartford student experience and that will not change," Hartford Board of Regents chair David Gordon said. "At the same time, a move to Division III will allow the University to further strengthen the academic, co-curricular, and wellness experience for all students. While we know this decision will disappoint some members of our community, we remain confident that this shift is in the best long-term interests of the institution and all its students."

But the issue is that the students, particularly the student-athletes, do not view the move in that light.

"I can't believe this is even in question after the last four years in our program’s history," guard DJ Mitchell wrote on Twitter last month. "I'm in awe. The president completely discredited what me and many others have sacrificed for the school.”

Since 1984, Hartford has been a member of Div. I athletics, currently fielding 17 programs that compete in the America East conference. That will all change by September 1, 2025, the year the move to Div. III will officially be made.

Let’s get one thing straight. As I have begun covering the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor over the course of this past year, my eyes have been opened to the competitiveness and level of play evident in the D3 ranks. Do not think for a second that Hartford’s move to Div. III will make the Hawks a frontrunner for the D3 national title in each of its sports, especially men’s hoops.

But the majority of the fans, many of whom have likely never been exposed to D3 sports are upset, believing that this will change the culture of athletics at UHart, that their teams will no longer face the same kind of competition, and the athletes coming to the university will slowly diminish in talent level.

UMHB is a perfect example that this will not be the case. In fact, I'd even go as far as to say that the 2021-22 UMHB men's basketball team could contend with, if not beat Hartford's 2021-22 team, which returns almost its entire roster.

But at the end of the day, it is not the talent that has the fans, and student-athletes for that matter, up in arms. D1 is a status symbol in many ways, which is unfortunate because it diminishes the mentality surrounding D3 sports.

At UMHB, and plenty of other D3 schools around the country, the fans embrace the culture of D3. They’ve never seen their teams play on a national channel other than ESPN+, or play eventual national champion Baylor in March Madness. But the Cru have built something special in Div. III and their athletic programs rival that of small D1s. So does their conference.

But for Hartford, it is easy to see the disappointment. A move down does not seem like something to be excited about. Sure, it will save the school money, but likely, at the cost of their athletics programs. Media coverage will likely diminish, as the general public, due to the way the NCAA has elevated D1, does not view D3 as being “as good” as D1. Ticket sales may go down too. And it will change the way coaches recruit, being that athletic scholarships are no longer on the table.

Competitive programs can and will still be built at Hartford, just in a different way.

Here’s the bottom line: From a financial standpoint, the move will be extremely beneficial. But logistically, the move makes zero sense.

For one, Hartford may be forced to compete as an independent for several years, as finding a D3 conference to take them will be much harder than it seems. Most programs prefer to compete against programs similar in size, as they often have comparable budgets which results in a more even playing field. Hartford doesn't fit that. Even with a slimmed down budget, Hartford still has an enrollment of 4,793 students, which would make them the second-largest school in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) next to Tufts University (5,643). The situation occurs with the New England Men’s and Women’s Athletic Conference. MIT has an enrollment of 10,000 and Worcester Polytechnic comes in at just over 5,000, but both of those schools, like Tufts in the NESCAC, have been a member of that conference since its inception. If given the choice, most programs would likely prefer to keep one more school with high enrollment out.

Then consider recruiting. How do the coaches recruit now with the understanding that a move to D3 will happen in four years? College coaches, having nearly wrapped up their class of 2021, have begun work on the recruiting class of 2022. But if a young athlete chooses to go to Hartford from that particular recruiting class, he or she will need to make the decision to either play their senior year with a first-year D3 program, or transfer elsewhere. Athletic scholarships aside, D3 does not have the exposure, the national TV rights, or the status symbol of Div. I, which will result in many prospective recruits feeling reluctant to play their college career at UHart, as this transition gets set to be made in 2025.

Beyond 2022, how do coaches recruit? D3 and D1 players are not all that different in talent, but the way recruiting works is. Hartford’s coaches will be limited in their opportunities to go to tournaments and recruit players alongside the mid-majors it used to compete against, instead needing to look for the overlooked, undeveloped athletes who simply need a year or two more to fully mature. Plus, athletic scholarships will cease after 2023, creating a situation where they have a D3 model but are playing at the D1 level. That is something that is sure to turn more than a couple of prospective recruits off, especially if other D1 offers remain on the table.

There is likely to be a mass exodus of student-athletes following the 2022-2023 school year, due to the cutting back of athletic aid, especially considering Hartford’s 59,249 dollar tuition. In fact, the coaches should just start recruiting athletes who are not reliant on an athletic scholarship in an effort to minimize the losses as the D3 transition takes effect and still keep Hartford competitive for the rest of its time as a D1.

Hartford’s administration made the unpopular decision to move to D3, and right now, it is hard to know if it was the right one. Short-term, it allows for the athletic department to continue going strong, saving 9.2 million per year. But in the long-run, with the “pay-to-play games” against big-time D1 opponents (esp. men’s basketball) limited, TV money nearly eliminated and this idea that D3 can’t compare to D1, Hartford may struggle in its early years as a D3 school.

Only time will tell as to how beneficial this move is.

But then again, maybe Hartford's move can bring attention to the true competitiveness and talent in D3 sports.