NCAA Division III Week is a time where student-athletes can be celebrated for their charitable contributions in the community in addition to their athletic accomplishments. CUNYAC and its member schools will be conducting community outreach events and activities that fall into one of three categories: academic accomplishment, athletic experience, or leadership/community service/campus involvement.
“This is an exciting time every year as we look for ways to highlight the Division III experience,” said CUNYAC’s Taylor Polchinski. “We are happy the NCAA began this initiative just a couple of years ago and hope it continues to grow.”
The third annual Division III Week is set to kick off on Monday, April 7 and will continue through Sunday, April 13. The goal of the NCAA with this initiative is to promote extracurricular, athletic, and academic activities and share the collective effort of Division III institutions on a broad scale to improve Division III awareness.
The best and the brightest student-athletes in the Conference will get to connect with other student-athletes and students who share their same level of devotion to their sport. This week gives student athletes within the conference the time to add even greater depth to their personal stories.
This week is not entirely meant to laud the academic performances of various athletes, but to get colleges and universities to celebrate and discuss other aspects of the student-athlete experience.
Division III week also helps to bridge the gap between the athletes, their peers, faculty and administrators. Due to the important nature of this event, schools usually have to report their activities to the NCAA. The importance of this event signifies the need to foster community engagement amongst the NCAA as a whole.
This weeklong event also helps to shape the identity of the Division among its various conferences. Division unity among the entire conference is essential to the survival of the Division, schools and athletes overall.
