A Whole New World: Analyzing The Impacts of House vs. NCAA on Division II/III
Over the past month, we’ve witnessed some of the greatest swimming in NCAA history. From personal bests to record swims to great team performances, March has encapsulated the greatness college swimming has to offer. But within this excitement, a massive damper looms over the sport at the collegiate level.
As Swimming World has documented over the past year, the court case House vs. NCAA is set to affect many of the top swim programs. The latest impact of the case has been a sea of roster cuts, with each program only allowed a maximum of 30 participants for the 2025-26 season (22 in the SEC). These cuts have already led to a scramble across Division I swimming, as athletes look to ensure a place on a roster.
But how will these changes affect the other divisions of college swimming? Could Division II and Division III swimming grow under these new restrictions? Or will they be similarly negatively affected by these measures? Three of the top coaches across Division II and Division III weighed in on a potential new landscape of college swimming.
Status Check
The biggest driver behind the House vs. NCAA case is obviously NIL and the money behind it. But as a whole, all three coaches agreed NIL has made no impact upon their top programs, setting them apart from the Division I schools.
“It hasn’t changed how we speak to athletes or pursue recruits,” said coach Ben Hewitt of Nova Southeastern University. “Nor have our athletes really been able to take advantage.”
Because of the lack of NIL money, it’s likely that Division II/III schools won’t have to deal with the same limitations on roster spots as the Division I coaches must. Coach Brian Reynolds of Drury University pointed to the stability which the Division II/III route could offer.
“There’s a lot of kids in position to be a walk-on at a D-I school, now on the fringe,” Reynolds said. “We could provide another option for them.”
According to Hewitt, it seems these schools and programs are already being explored more than ever.
“We’ve been way busier than we normally are this time of year,” Hewitt noted. “The market has been flooded with kids reaching out in advance (of a potential lost roster spot).
There could be an influx of talent that these teams have never seen before, but Hewitt indicates that coaching staffs must “be diligent in finding the right fit.”
Coach Gregg Parini of Denison University agreed, citing that his program would need to proceed with care.
“We need to make sure the student-athlete fits us athletically, socially, and athletically,” Parini said. “That’s always first priority.”
There’s also the factor of financial opportunities. Scholarships are less abundant at the D-II level, and nonexistent at the Division III level. Tuition is often more expensive at the D-III level, where smaller liberal arts schools often cost more than larger universities.
“The financial decision definitely can make this level a more unique fit,” said Parini.
Death of the High School Recruit?
With the transfer portal now expecting a bigger boom, we could be looking at a much different recruiting landscape. Parini referenced a conversation with an SEC assistant, explaining that they “might never have the time to develop the young athlete, due to a focus on the transfer portal.” Division I schools, beyond top-tier recruits, could focus on transfers more than ever. It felt fair to ask whether this would be the same at the Division II/III level.
“Absolutely not,” said Hewitt, referencing the “culture” valued by coaches at all levels. “If you can bring in a strong freshman class, they can grow and set the tone for four years. That’s more important than anything.”
Parini agreed, stating: “Coaching has become more transactional than ever before. It’s very sad. We want to be able to see kids grow.”
At the Division II/III level, it seems an emphasis will remain on developing 18-year-olds, and helping them flourish into better swimmers and people.
Competitiveness
As high school athletes make their college decisions, Division II/III coaches can emphasize the development of athletes over the years. Annually, the D-II and D-III championship meets are getting faster, making the competitiveness of these levels attractive to potential recruits.
“We’ve shown swimmers can improve and develop at this level and within our program,” said Reynolds, whose program recently captured the D-II men’s title. “We’ve lost great programs in Division II over these last couple of years, and yet we keep getting faster.”
The results speak for themselves. A whopping 11 Division II records were set at the NCAA Championships this year, while 10 records were topped at the Division III NCAA Champs. With more talent potentially flowing through, both divisions should only continue to grow, furthering their attractiveness.
As we’ve seen over the past few weeks, the fallout from House vs. NCAA has just begun. Recently, St. Francis University made the decision to drop from Division I to Division III. The future is truly unpredictable. But the coaches emphasized one thing: more swimmers should be considering Division II and Division III as an option.
“There’s an opportunity for some really great competitive swimming with some great programs,” Reynolds said. “I’ve seen a lot of swimmers who could be really great performers at this level, if they took the option.”
In the wake of uncertain circumstances, opportunity lies. Will swimmers take it? We’ll have to wait to find out.
It’s important for anyone considering a D3 school to learn how much the tuition will actually be for you, not what the sticker price is. Most D3 liberal arts schools list their tuition, room and board well in excess of $50,000. But, they also offer a number of scholarships, plus need based programs, that reduces that number to something manageable. Most also provide opportunities for students to have on campus jobs that are not onerous, which help students out as well. At the college one of my sons attended, every student received at least $20,000 on scholarships. It also essentially guarantees you will graduate in four years so you aren’t paying a fifth year of tuition either.