I was checking the new recruits in Naismith and I found a huge discrepancy in the amount of recruits for each Division per state.  For example, in ME (Maine) there are 46 total recruits.  12 of them are in DI and the other 34 are in D3. There is not ONE recruit for D2.  Other states have this problem although not quite this extreme. When checking for 4 year recruits, I got this, MD has only 2 out of 77 total in D2 and MA has 15 out of 131 total in D2.

Now I can recruit around this but it is going to make it difficult for D3 teams that use pull downs or drop downs.  And if there are many D2 players  who are going for this limited pool, it will make for some interesting battles.

This is the way it's always been - the number of recruits in a division in a state is tied to the number of schools in that division in that state.  Check the Dakotas or Alaska for DI recruits, for instance.  There's a DI school (Maine-Orono) and a bunch of DIII schools in Maine, so that's where the recruits are.

That makes some D2/D3 jobs cushier than others - I've long maintained that Colorado College is the best job in DIII.  No DIII competition within 500 miles and an entire conference's worth of DII recruits to pull/drop down?  Yes, please.  Though fewer recruits within 70 miles is a hardship compared to schools in Mass or NYC.


That's why, independent of conference strength, the best DIII school locations are in states with tons of DII but few DIII schools.  Or tons of both.  But you don't want to find yourself in an area with no schools in the division just above you.

Thanks for the explanation.  I never thought that Maine would be short of D2 schools but then again, it makes sense.  It might explain why when I am in Arizona, nobody has an education unless it is ASU or UA.  Not much choice of small schools there.

Nice point about Colorado College, cornfused...hadn't noticed that previously, but I usually just grab schools that I feel some sort of personal connection with (or, in the case of Shenandoah in Tark, because I wanted to see just how frustrating I could make the game...)

The flipside, I think Maine-Presque Isle is probably one of the worst D3 recruiting spots. No D2 schools in state and you're often at 200+ miles before an out-of-state recruit shows on your list because ocean and Canada are your two closest neighbors. I think I started a moose at the low post one year. If the other upper New England leagues are stocked with humans, it can be a real challenge (not as bad as I'd imagine the Alaska/Hawaii/Puerto Rico blocs can be at D2, but it's definitely its own unique challenge.

Posted by paland on 12/14/2011 4:58:00 PM (view original):
Thanks for the explanation.  I never thought that Maine would be short of D2 schools but then again, it makes sense.  It might explain why when I am in Arizona, nobody has an education unless it is ASU or UA.  Not much choice of small schools there.

Which is why D2 Grand Canyon's not a bad spot.  Plus, cool name.

Recruiting in ME sucks. Would much rather recruit from AZ as a D3 school, at least you can reach into CA/CO and be within 300 miles. I have Husson in Allen and both PA/NY recruits are well over the 300 miles mark. 

I thought Nebraska Wesleyan was a poor choice for a D3 School but now looking at this there are no D3 schools within much distance and a number of D2 schools for me to pulldown from