Criteria evaluated by NCAA Division III prospects when choosing a college

The purpose of this study was to identify criteria that are most important to incoming freshman football players at the NCAA Division III level when choosing a college. Two hundred and forty-one incoming freshman from eight Division III institutions from a Midwestern state were surveyed. There were four parts to the study: athletic aspects, academic aspects, social aspects, and overall aspects of a university.According to the study, NCAA Division III football players considered the relationship with the coaching staff the most important athletic aspect for selecting a college. The most important academic aspect was the prestige of the university. Socially, the student-athletes were most interested in the size of the school. Academic aspects were found to be the overall most important factor when choosing a college for NCAA Division III freshmen football players.School of Physical EducationThesis (M.A.