Looking on a website for choosing colleges. Under the sport tab, they let you pick between levels. I’m unclear on the distinction between an intercollegiate team, and say, D-I team.
D1 is the largest classification - think state schools, Notre Dame, USC, etc. D2 schools are smaller and don’t field as many teams but still offer athletic scholarships. Think regional schools like Alabama-Huntsville or Minnesota-Duluth. D3 schools don’t offer athletic scholarships but still field teams. D3 and NAIA schools aren’t allowed to offer athletic scholarships and tend to play other schools in a very small region, often just in their own state.
Some schools will be classified as D2 or D3, but field a team in a D1 sport, usually in a smaller sport (skiing, hockey.) Denver University and Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbanks are D2 schools but play D1 in those two sports.
I understand the divisional distinctions. Am unsure on intercollegiate designation’s meaning.
Sports at colleges vary by the institution and within the institution. Intercollegiate athletics can include any competitive sport played between institutions at any level, but are generally formal teams supported by the school (as opposed to club or intramural teams).
Not sure then, but it might mean club-level sports like Ultijmate Frisbee or (at a lot of schools) lacrosse. Ultimate Frisbee is really big, with major colleges travelling long distances to play. There is a national championship that draws big crowds and teams from all over the country.
I asked Jeeves right after posting the OP, a Yahoo answers (yeah, bad cite) basically said it’s a distinction w/o a difference. IOW what blkshp said.
Well, there is a stark difference between the two terms. D-I sports are all intercollegiate sports, but they are only a subsection.
Sorry, but my use of D-I is confusing you all. I only meant the difference between intercollegiate, & any division.
No, it’s you who are confused. Divisions are not something separate from intercollegiate sports; they are part of intercollegiate sports. They are the organizing principle under which high-level intercollegiate sports are conducted, to ensure that schools play primarily other schools with similar resources and commitment to athletics.
Intercollegiate sports include three divisions of NCAA competition, other divisions within various lesser associations like the NJCAA and NAIA, and less organized competition held outside of association auspices. For example at my alma mater, hockey was a “club sport” with no scholarships, but a single varsity team that played other non-hockey-scholarship midwestern universities. Some schools, however, play hockey within the NCAA.
So, the final answer to my question seems to be,“The terms are redundant,”?
Not really redundant. All DI sports are intercollegiate but not all intercollegiate sports are DI.
No, one is part of the other. Can you give us a link to the web site that started this confusion?
“Intercollegiate” is an adjective describing contests between schools.
The NCAA is one specific body that some, but not all, colleges belong to, and which governs intercollegiate sports among its members. Division I is part of the NCAA.
Other bodies which govern intercollegiate sports include the NAIA and others.
Your question is akin the difference between “an internal combustion engine car” and a Chevy Impala.
OK, now I understand your confusion. The choices read:
Div I | Div II | Div III | Intercollegiate | Intramural | Club
“Intercollegiate” is short for “association-sponsored”, and includes all three of the NCAA divisions to the left, as well as the lesser associations like the NJCAA.
So you can say, “I want to go to a college that has a football team”, and click “Intercollegiate”, and this will include everything from College of DuPage (which plays in the NJCAA) to the University of Alabama.
Or you can say, “I want a Division I football team”, and that would include Alabama but not College of DuPage, nor either of the two lower NCAA divisions.
The site classifies “club” as beneath and outside of “intercollegiate”, which is a little misleading, because clubs do in fact play intercollegiate sports. In my example, according to the site, the University of Illinois has a club hockey team, but not an “intercollegiate” team. But the U of I hockey team wears school uniforms and exists to play other colleges.
Finally we have intramurals, which are definitely not intercollegiate and at a lower level of organization. Anybody can play intramurals, but you typically have to be pretty skilled to make your university’s club teams.
The menu is not a model of clarity. I hope this explanation helps.
That DOES make sense Freddy! Thanx. The site used to be worse, BTW.
N.B. there’s still a wide variety Div-I schools – the Ivy and Patriot Leagues are Division I, but there’s little chance of teams from either of those schools being competitive against someone from the Big 10.
I believe club teams aren’t sponsored by the school – they may be authorized to call themselves an official school team and wear a uniform with the school’s insignia, but they have to raise their own funds for equipment, transportation, salary for staff (if any), etc.
–Cliffy
Club teams are like other clubs in a school – like, say, the Young Republicans. They are given some money by the school, but not a lot. If there are uniforms, either the players buy their own, or they use old uniforms from people who no longer play. Travel is often in the players’ own vehicles. There’s no official paid coaches, though there usually is an advisor who is unpaid.
Club teams play other colleges in the vicinity. There are no leagues or championships. And, of course, nothing resembling an athletic scholarship.
You’re right that there are no scholarships or established leagues, but there are national championships and they are a big deal. I mentioned the Ultimate Frisbee Championships earlier - the tournament is here in Boulder next month and will draw thousands of spectators. Almost all schools have club sports for sports like soccer and baseball, and the players are just below D1 and D2 level. Here’s a link to the National Club Baseball Association- they actually do have regional conferences. Their World Series is in Georgia.
NAIA schools are allowed to give athletic scholarships, although these are rarely if ever the “full rides” equal to those given by Division I powerhouses.
The University of Denver (commonly known as DU) is a D1 school. Its basketball teams (among others) have been in the Sun Belt Conference for the last several years, but the Western Athletic Conference will become Denver’s primary league for the 2012-13 season.