This is under the “entertainment and leisure” aspect of Cafe Society. Every now and then an athlete pops into view (I’m most familiar with this in the NFL, but I’m sure it’s elsewhere too) who came from a so-called “small school.” In the NFL this usually means NCAA Div. 1-AA, schools like Youngstown State or Appalachian State.
But what about athletes from REALLY small schools, the ones that don’t even give athletic scholarships? I know there have been NFL players from those schools, though I’m not aware of any who became superstars. But I’m not limiting this to just the NFL. I realize the adjective “greatest” is pretty imprecise, but I’m looking to learn by casting a wide net. What athlete accomplished the most after college who competed at the Div. III level, in any sport?
Ken Anderson. Four-time pro-bowl quarterback in the NFL, from Augustana College, which played Division III when he was there.
I’ll need to do some research for Division 3… but there are several NFL Hall of Fame caliber NFL players from Division 2 schools- Darrell Green and Gene Upshaw, for instance, both went to Texas A & I (now known as Texas A & M at Kingsville).
And stellar running backs Mercury Morris and Duane Thomas went to West Texas State (now West Texas A & M University).
I’l ldo a little searching abd get back to you.
You can find a list of members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame arranged by college at the link below:
The guys who went to D-III schools all went a long time ago and there was no D-III at the time.
Ken Anderson, who was a very good QB for the Bengals, went to Augustana, although I don’t think D-III existed at the time.
In baseball, there are quite a few good players who went to D-III schools, but baseball players don’t all get scholarships anyway even at D-I schools.
Milton College of Wisconsin closed down some years ago, but they were a very small school, weren’t they? Were they Division III? Dave Krieg, a very good quarterback for the Seahawks, played at Milton College.
Your right in that there was no D-III at the time – The term wasn’t used until after he graduated, but Augustana was in the equivalent “college” division, and its football program has been in Division III once Division III was first establish. He’s a strong candidate for the best.
There’s also Pat Leahy. He played 18 seasons as a placekicker for the New York Jets and attended Saint Louis University, which didn’t even have a varsity football team when he attended (just a club team).
There may be other placekickers who fit the bill. Garo Yepremian, for instance, did not play varsity football (he was ineligible), but did attend a Division I school.
Towson State USED to be a division 3, and they produced some very good football players. Among them, the Giants all-purpose running back/kick returner Dave Meggett and punter Sean Landeta.
A few others: Punter Matt Turk went to Division III school Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Yankees 3rd baseman Scott Brosius played at Division III Linfield College, and later became their baseball coach.
Glenn Beckert, a longtime All-Star 2nd baseman for the Cubs, went to Allegheny College.
Widener College in Pennsylvania gave us Billy “White Shoes” Johnson of the Houston Oilers and All-Pro center Joe Fields of the Jets.
The Buffalo Bills great tight end Pete Metzelaars went to Wabash College.
Didn’t Terry Porter, guard for the Trailblazers come from a Div. III school in Wisconsin?
When did the NCAA formalize D-III, D-II and D-IAA? I was at U. of Rochester in 1977 and we were D-III at the time, so I know it is earlier than that. I’m lazy today, and in the middle of a game, so I don’t want to look it up, and I know BobT or someone will know off the top of their head. 
It was first named “Division III” in 1973, but was called “College Division” before that. I see references to “College Division” dating back to 1959.
Scottie Pippen of Chicago Bulls fame played for Central Arkansas which was an NAIA school at the time.
Jethro Pugh who was a mainstay of the Dallas Cowboys Doomsday Defense of the 60s-70s attended Elizabeth City State Teachers College in North Carolina.
Brian Westbrook came to the Eagles from Villanova. Not “one of the best” yet, but may one day make his mark on the record books…
Jim Thorpe comes to mind. From Carlisle University named the gratest athlete of the first half of the 20th century
Dennis Rodman attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University which is a NAIA school.
There is a guy who recently graduated from Western Michigan ( ?) as a QB (won something like three championships) who is going through the scout looksy right now.
Can’t remember his name, but it was a good article to read about the Little Guys and determination. If he makes it, he would be one to watch.
I believe London Fletcher-Baker was a Division III man. And of course Andre Reed went to Division II Kutztown State
It’s not Western Michigan. That’s a Division I school in the Mid-American Conference. The MAC produces a lot of good players for the NFL, most recently Ben Roethlisberger, who played at Miami U.
Shirley, I believe you are thinking of Cullen Finnerty of Division II Grand Valley State University, which is located in Michigan.
Andrew Rock (400m sprinter) attended UW - Lacrosse, a D3 school, where he was several times an All-American. He got silver at the most recent World Track and Field and Championships (and I believe has an Olympic Gold through the 4x400m relay).
Uhh… nope. WMU is 1-A, just in a small conference (the MAC). And, they’ve never won a championship of any sort. You may be thinking of Grand Valley State.