The movement to subdivide Division III or create a Division IV was halted after Division III members' survey responses reflected a lack of interest, according to an article in the
NCAA News.
Division III's anticipated growth, projected to be to 480 overall members by 2020, prompted a small group of Division III institutions to call for breaking the division in two. However, the movement apparently failed to draw enough interest.
The full survey results will be announced April 9. However, the preliminary results were, according to the
NCAA News piece, "consistent with the level of opposition that was expressed during an NCAA Convention discussion of the working group's proposal."
The debate has featured a great deal of rhetoric, but lacked solid proposals. Southwestern University president Jake Schrumm wrote in a newspaper editorial in January: "Those of us who espouse the concept of Division III got here first, and this division was created for us. If some in our division can't abide by the structured guidelines demanded by a scholar-athlete, then they should leave Division III and be comfortable in a newly created Division IV."
The Capital Athletic Conference put a statement out in February asking the Division IV faction for details. "The Capital Athletic Conference asks that those who desire change come forward and help us understand your vision. Provide the membership an opportunity to decide its future from a position of intellectual strength rather than from assumptions and possible miscommunication. The landscape we develop for our future student-athletes deserves much thoughtful and honest consideration of the facts and issues."
Division III went through a reform process at the 2004 NCAA Convention which eliminated the so-called routine redshirt, aimed at bringing the increasingly diverse population of D-III schools closer together.
A new division or subgrouping would have needed 150 overall members in order to be viable, according to the NCAA's initial research. The NCAA's research identified more than 10 conferences which would be candidates to join a division with more restrictions, including, surprisingly, the WIAC.