Around the Nation columns

There's been a lot of talk about pay-per-view coming to Division III athletics broadcasting this season, with the Landmark Conference already on board with FloSports and the NEWMAC coming next. Will Flo's vision of having all D-III sports under one paywall come to fruition? Does it make sense? Ryan Scott talks to multiple conference commissioners about it in Around the Nation.

Isaiah Young has a unique place on campus at Heidelberg University. Not only is he one of the top two scorers for the Student Princes' men's basketball team, he's also working on a triple major and is the student body president. Ryan Scott has more about Young's big role on campus in Around the Nation.

DePauw women's basketball coach Kris Huffman and Scott Coval, coach of the DeSales men, run programs that don't have too much in common other than head coaching longevity, a desire to keep learning the game, and get their teams back in the postseason. Ryan Scott has more.

When you watch 3x3 basketball at the next Olympic games this year, know that it was a pair of Division III teams who helped make it possible. Colorado College and Trinity (Texas) have players who compete in 3x3 on a high level. Ryan Scott has more in the latest Around the Nation.

The nature of the national research institutions in the University Athletic Association leads to a large number of graduate students on campus, and these days, that goes double for the basketball teams. Ryan Scott has more in Around the Nation.

Sonia Raman quite famously went from coaching the MIT women to an assistant coaching job with the Memphis Grizzlies, and the first known instance of a woman as head coach of a D-III men's basketball team took place in the past week. When will there be more? Ryan Scott discusses in Around the Nation.

Dale Wellman at Nebraska Wesleyan and Josh Merkel at Randolph-Macon have more in common than a relatively recent Walnut and Bronze trophy in their case: They both worked for the same head coach: Jeff Neubauer at Eastern Kentucky. Ryan Scott talks to them about that and the philosophies that gave them to carry forward in the newest Around the Nation.

This time of year, lots of numbers used in the regional ranking and NCAA Tournament selection process get thrown around. If you don't know what they mean, well, you're not alone. It's not clear what, if anything, some of the numbers mean. Ryan Scott has more.

Few Division III athletes have a career playing pro basketball awaiting them, even though we profiled a few a few weeks ago. But D-III basketball players go on to do great things: save lives, work for the president, and represent NBA athletes. Ryan Scott has more on a few of these in Around the Nation.

There are five unbeaten teams still remaining as we enter the first weekend of February, and the challenge and pressure mounts while teams try to keep it cool. Ryan Scott talks to all of them in Around the Nation.

Postponements and reschedules have led to some Division III basketball programs getting all backed up and having to play games on a schedule that even NBA players would balk at. Ryan Scott checks in with a couple of teams cramming games in in Around the Nation.

The percentage of Black basketball players at the Division III level is the smallest of all three divisions, but it is around 17% for women's basketball, 32% for men's basketball. So why are Black coaches lagging, at just 10%? Ryan Scott digs into it in Around the Nation.

It seems that nobody embodies that old NCAA slogan, that most of us go pro in something other than sports, than NCAA Division III. But even then, there are dozens of people who played Division III basketball, went pro, and had successful careers. Ryan Scott whittles it down to the 10 best.

If it seems like your team (and everyone else’s) had a longer than usual layoff over the holiday break this year, you’re probably not wrong. So it seems like a good time for a reset. Ryan Scott gets us all caught up.

The showdown between No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan and No. 1 Yeshiva turned heads and brought eyeballs to Division III, and the camaraderie between the two teams showed off the court as well. Ryan Scott has more in Around the Nation.

Some teams came out of the COVID season with big plans, but found them derailed early. For DeSales, Dubuque, Millikin and Tufts, the first month of the season sent them back to the drawing board. Ryan Scott has more in Around the Nation.

The bonus eligibility allotted to student-athletes who competed during the COVID-shortened season of 2020-21 forced a number of Division III basketball players to make decisions about their future. Some have returned this season, but are also juggling new majors, full-time jobs and more. Ryan Scott has the story in Around the Nation.

Every coach had a plan for this season. But the key is what that plan adapted into. Some teams played throughout, some are starting now, some just got practices in and some never even came back to school. Ryan Scott talks to a little of everyone in Around the Nation.

Albion has been through a lot this year as a men's basketball program, as have all Division III teams. But it pales in comparison to what the Britons went through last year. No team might be better prepared for the losses or so eager to celebrate the wins. More in Around the Nation.

We'll never know who would have won the 2020 and 2021 Division III basketball championships, but one thing you can count on is that the Hope women's team would have been favored both times. In Around the Nation, the team and coach reflect on a special group which has been forming since ninth grade.

The East Texas Baptist women are 19-0 and the Trine men are 12-0 themselves. Two teams playing since November, the Tigers and Thunder are keeping it as normal as possible, including winning. Ryan Scott has more in Around the Nation.

Not being able to play is tough. Not being able to play when everyone else in your conference is on the floor -- that's worse. In the latest Around the Nation, Ryan Scott talks to three schools who had long waits to get games in, and one which is still waiting.

University of Dallas assistant coach Matt Grahn gets a great view of games. If you're wondering who the guy is shouting from the balcony, that's him. Ryan Scott tells us why in Around the Nation.

The pandemic has changed things for all sorts of student-athletes who normally would be entering their final season. Leave and pursue the MBA? Take every grad-level class your school offer so you can stick around? They're all possible, as Ryan Scott explores in Around the Nation.

When it comes to the 2020-21 Division III basketball NCAA Tournaments, if they will even happen, there are two types of news. All the good news is that the details of what is planned is fully public, but the bad news is ...

For those who were able to play basketball this fall, Division III opponents were few and far between. But a few schools were able to find Division I opponents -- multiple Division I opponents, and got their mettle tested. Ryan Scott has more in Around the Nation.

When we decided to change the timing of our All-Decade teams, we knew we were leaving some talented and decorated Division III student-athletes out. But we do not forget, even 12-13 years later, the best of the seniors who graduated in 2008 and 2009. It's our All-Gap team.

The women's player of the year race doesn't have any Sydney Mosses or Madison Temples in it. And while we've highlighted a handful of players here, there could be even more in the discussion once all the games are played. Ryan Scott has more.

Muskingum standout Marcus Dempsey has the most interesting backstory, but there are a bunch of Division III men's basketball players climbing the all-time scoring charts right now, and Ryan Scott has more.

Schools trying to enter NCAA Division III don't just get to waltz right in and participate in the NCAA Tournament. They have to go through a multiple-year process. Pfeiffer is one of the schools doing that right now, and talks through the steps with Ryan Scott in Around the Nation.