rooster
Sophomore Member
Posts: 246
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Post by rooster on Oct 11, 2023 8:08:03 GMT -6
Coaches,
You are going to pursue a head coaching position at the NCAA Division 3 level. What are non-negotiables that would you need in order to take the job? Anyting else on a wish-list that would be necessary to take the job? Thanks!
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Post by olcoach53 on Oct 11, 2023 8:39:07 GMT -6
Lots!
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Post by veerwego on Oct 12, 2023 9:15:23 GMT -6
I would love to see some of the answers from guys who have coached at that level or close to it. I have only coached in HS, so this made me realize I have no idea what Div III program is like. I would assume a Mt. Union is way different than many other programs and there is disparity just like HS or Div 1.
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Post by blb on Oct 12, 2023 10:14:58 GMT -6
rooster I don't want to discourage you but I will tell you my experience. In addition to being a successful HS head coach I coached several years as a D-II (went to national Semi-Finals) and D-III assistant. I applied for two D-III head jobs. One had a long history of losing, the other a "start-up." Didn't get an interview at either. Maybe it was just me. You won't know until you try. I would say the Number One thing you would need to be able to tell an Interview Committee is your recruiting plan. And depending on type of college, location, entrance requirements, financial aid, etc. - that can vary widely from school to school.
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Post by M4 on Oct 12, 2023 10:49:45 GMT -6
I have been coaching at the JUCO level for a while. I'd want to know about
any financial aid you have the power to extend (is there anything you yourself can offer out or does it need to go thru admissions etc)
any admissions issues (some schools have weird processes)
any opportunities for admissions for guys "on the cusp" (i.e. can you slide a few studs thru the admission process)
assistant stipend budget (how much, can you hire)
fundraising (can you do it and keep the money)
who's your boss (who do you report to directly, who will fire you?)
Facility stuff (can you do upgrades on your own or does it need to go thru for approval etc)
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CoachK
Sophomore Member
Posts: 185 
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Post by CoachK on Oct 12, 2023 11:10:10 GMT -6
Financial aid/admission is the big one. It depends on where in the country you are, but the biggest thing about lower level ball is who the school lets you recruit.
For example, my first job was a D3 that cost 60k a year. We were ten minutes from Stanford and cost more than they did. The admin cut us no breaks on admission or tuition assistance. Obviously, we were not great. We were like 10-12 over my two years and that was probably near the ceiling. They never won more than 2 games a year after that before shutting down the program.
Mt. Union, on the other hand, has so many players that they not only have a full junior varsity squad, they have a full junior varsity staff. The Ohio/Wisconsin D3s are public schools that are cheap to go to and punch way above their weight because of it.
So you have them have to work together to find the profile of kid they want, and the kid that wants to go there, and see if that fits the vision of the kid you want. I loved coaching D3 ball, aside from the no-pads spring practices, because I was under no illusion we were ever going to beat anyone real and I got to hang out with 90 dudes that just loved playing so much they took any opportunity to do it. But if you're doing it to be nationally competitive, it is very much an oligarchy in that way and the biggest barrier will be tuition and admission.
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Post by 19delta on Oct 12, 2023 17:43:04 GMT -6
The spectrum between the haves and the have-nots in D3 is astounding, more so that at any other level of college football. Take a look at the scoring margin that schools like North Central College (Naperville, Illinois) have been putting up this year. Eye popping. Another Illinois D3, Aurora University, just won a game 91-0 last weekend!  St. John's in Minnesota has almost 200 players on the roster every year. There should probably be 2 or 3 subdivisions just made up of D3 schools due to the wide range of competition. So yeah...you need to do your homework and make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. What are the school's expectations? What resources are they going to commit to you? How important is football to the schools you are going to be playing against? Unless I was retired, I would not be leaving a safe gig in public education to take a D3 job. |
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Post by jstoss24 on Oct 14, 2023 16:29:44 GMT -6
This will be long, but hopefully coherent, because I have a lot of thoughts on the topic from my time at the D3 level. I would have 3ish questions going into an interview at a D3 school:
1a. How strict are the academic standards?
1b. How flexible are they letting in athletes?
1c. How helpful are they with financial aid packages?
2. What is my assistant coach salary pool?
3. What are your expectations for this program?
Everyone else has talked about the importance of 1a-1c, so I won't talk much more about that.
As far as Qestion 2 is concerned, My last year coaching D3 ball in 2020-21, we had 11 coaches on staff:
HC/OC/QB
DC/DB - Full-time, $30,000/year + benefits
TE/RC - Full-time, $25,000/year + benefits
LB/STC - Part-time, $7,000/year + housing, no benefits, had to work another on-campus job
RB/DFO - Part-time, $7,000/year + housing, no benefits, had to work another on-campus job
OL - Part-time, $7,000/year + housing, no benefits, had to work another on-campus job
DL - Part-time, $4,000/year, no housing, no benefits, worked at Lowe's in the mornings
TE - Volunteer, worked at Wal-Mart
Defensive GA (DL) - unpaid, housing, some meals, and grad classes paid for
Offensive GA (WR) - unpaid, housing, some meals, and grad classes paid for
S&C - Volunteer, retired D1 S&C coach, just wanted to help out
5 of us left by the end of the year, 3 more left by the end of the next year. Only the HC and the 2 volunteers are still there. We were very underfunded, even compared to most other D3s, but I give you all this to show how hard it is to retain a staff, which makes it hard to develop and retain players.
The 3rd question would be to determine if my expectations for the program are in line with the administration's expectations for the program. If they said they want to win national championships, I would thank them for their time and end the interview right there because 90% of D3 schools don't have a prayer of coming close to that level. If they say they want to be competitive in games and recruit and retain student-athletes, I would consider that, because I believe in the D3 model. Your priorities may be different.
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St. John's in Minnesota has almost 200 players on the roster every year. There should probably be 2 or 3 subdivisions just made up of D3 schools due to the wide range of competition.