Around the Nation columns

  • Making a name in D-I
    February 14, 2025
    It's been easier than ever for Division III players to find their way to Division I college basketball, and whether it's transferring for one final year or after one Division III year, plenty of people have gotten a shot. Ryan Scott hears and tells their stories in Around the Nation.
  • It's a wide world in Division III
    January 28, 2025
    The more-than-400 schools in Division III represent a wide range of institutions, and that is true even when just looking at teams getting Top 25 votes. Ryan Scott found himself on the road this past weekend and reflects on that big gulf in Around the Nation.
  • When your alma mater closes down
    January 21, 2025
    The current situation in higher education only makes it more likely that more of us will go through what Ryan Scott did this past year when his Division III college closed.
  • Welcome to January! Here's what you missed
    January 07, 2025
    For those of you out of the loop or those who’ve struggled to keep up with nearly 900 teams, and men’s and women’s races in 40-plus conferences through the first eight weeks of the Division III basketball season, here’s your new year’s primer.
  • Portal leads teams to Transfer Town
    November 26, 2024
    High school seniors don't always know what they want, and even though the time of widespread extra eligibility from COVID is going away soon, transferring probably won't. And for two D-III programs, attracting transfers is the plan. Ryan Scott has more in Around the Nation.
  • What a day it was
    November 12, 2024
    From a 12:01 a.m. tipoff to announcerless games to a late-night buzzer beater that the camera operator missed, the opening 24 hours of Division III basketball had a little bit of everything, and only one person had the fortitude to sit through it all. Ryan Scott has more in Around the Nation.
  • Ready for a second chance
    November 06, 2024
    There were high hopes for the Gustavus Adolphus women's basketball team and the UW-Platteville men entering the NCAA Tournament last season, but both fell a little short of the prize. They are ready to put all that behind them, however, as we get ready for the 2024-25 season. Ryan Scott has more in Around the Nation.
  • Is D-III ready to go with the Flo?
    February 08, 2024
    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.
  • Getting it all done
    January 17, 2024
    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.
  • 31 years and counting
    January 10, 2024
    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.
  • D3'ers pick up 3x3
    January 02, 2024
    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.
  • Grad transfers make their way to UAA
    November 20, 2023
    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.
  • Women coaching men's basketball: Why not?
    January 23, 2023
    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.
  • D3 champs come from same coaching tree
    December 07, 2022
    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.
  • NCAA Tournament: Inside the numbers
    February 17, 2022
    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.
  • Something other than sports
    February 10, 2022
    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.
  • Still running the table
    February 04, 2022
    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.
  • Cramming them in
    January 26, 2022
    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.
  • It's not just hiring, it's opportunity
    January 20, 2022
    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.
  • Going pro: 10 from D3 who starred
    January 11, 2022
    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.
  • Welcome back!
    January 06, 2022
    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.
  • Oh, what a night!
    December 31, 2021
    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.
  • Early-season learnings
    December 08, 2021
    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.
  • Back for an extra year
    December 01, 2021
    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.
  • Making the best of it
    March 12, 2021
    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.
  • Playing for the little victories
    March 02, 2021
    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.
  • Hope seniors robbed twice of chance at destiny
    February 23, 2021
    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.
  • A sense of normalcy? They're trying
    February 16, 2021
    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.
  • Playing the waiting game
    February 08, 2021
    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.
  • Coaching remotely: A view from the rafters
    February 02, 2021
    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.
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