Historically, Division III (D-III) has occupied a unique place within National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA): Student-athletes could not receive athletic scholarships, and athletics were intended to complement, rather than dominate, the college experience.
As a former D-III soccer player, I chose my program over other opportunities because I knew I would not be playing professional soccer and I wanted that balance, as well as the chance to study abroad and receive a world-class education. However, in the wake of the implementation of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals in college athletics, this balance has started to change.
Because the NCAA’s NIL rules were implemented at the tail-end of my collegiate career, I witnessed the creation of an NIL collective at my institution and watched teammates begin to sign endorsement deals. No one I knew was signing multi-million-dollar deals, or even thousand-dollar deals, as has been reported with D-I athletes, but they were still receiving compensation connected to their status as a student-athlete.
Opportunities continue to exist for these athletes, and we are already seeing D-III schools and programs seek out compensation for their otherwise unpaid athletes. Now, as NIL opportunities become increasingly common at the D-III level, an important question emerges: How can D-III athletics embrace athlete compensation without losing its longstanding non-scholarship ethos?
Introducing NIL deals to D-I and D-III athletes
In 2021, the NCAA approved an NIL policy that allows players to capitalize on their name, image and likeness. Since then, several legislators have proposed legislation to codify these rights. There has been intense debate surrounding the details of these proposals, but their core is the same: to enshrine athletes’ NIL rights in law.
The conversation surrounding student-athlete compensation has been primarily focused on D-I schools; however, NIL rights apply to athletes at all institutions. This means that D-III schools must now grapple with athlete compensation within their athletic programs. Will the balance of academic rigor and competitive athletics start to lean more towards athletics?
I think the answer, from my own observations, lies within the local community.
My teammates typically signed NIL deals with local businesses, like a neighborhood ice cream shop or a family-owned physical therapy clinic, rather than national corporations. While some D-III athletes have secured partnerships with major brands such as Reebok or Powerade, those deals appear to be exceptions rather than the norm.
In fact, Front Office Sports has reported that NIL opportunities for many athletes are most viable at the local level, where businesses can directly leverage an athlete’s connection to the surrounding community. This dynamic is especially pronounced in D-III, where athletic programs are often deeply embedded in the towns and regions they serve.
D-III sports and the communities that support them
Throughout my collegiate career, our soccer program maintained strong ties to the local community. We hosted youth camps, volunteered at community events, partnered with local businesses and regularly brought visitors into town for games and tournaments. These activities generated economic benefits for local restaurants and retailers, while also strengthening relationships between the college and the surrounding community.
NIL agreements can build upon these existing relationships. A local business that sponsors an athlete is not simply purchasing advertising; it is investing in a recognizable member of the community who can help strengthen local engagement. In my own experience, teammates who signed NIL agreements often introduced family members, friends and visiting fans to the businesses that supported them.
This community-centered model may ultimately be what allows D-III to embrace NIL while preserving its identity. The NCAA identifies maintaining a regional focus as a core principle of D-III athletics, and D-III conferences remain far more geographically concentrated than their D-I counterparts.
NIL arrangements rooted in local relationships reinforce this regional character rather than undermine it. They allow student-athletes to earn compensation while remaining connected to the broader educational and civic mission of their institutions. Because these opportunities are generally tied to community engagement rather than large-scale commercial contracts, they are less likely to transform athletics into the primary focus of the D-III student-athlete experience.
If NIL continues to develop through these community-based partnerships, it may not erode the D-III model at all. Instead, it could reinforce the very values that have long defined D-III athletics.
Annalise Weedman is a former Division III athlete.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How D-III athletes, programs can navigate the NCAA NIL era | Opinion
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