Pilot program allows some Division III athletes to compete for schools they no longer attend

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De PERE, Wis. (AP) — Cora Anderson and Madison DeCleene spent their first two years at Division III St. Norbert College believing their academic pursuits would force them to end their athletic careers earlier than they wanted.

An NCAA pilot program gave them another chance to keep competing.

The program allows D-III athletes to continue playing at schools they no longer attend under certain conditions. Anderson and DeCleene remain on the track and field team for St. Norbert – where they spent their first two years – even though they now attend nearby Bellin College. The two schools are located about 10 miles apart outside Green Bay, Wisconsin.

“Now I’m able to achieve my full potential by pursuing both my academic goals and my athletic career as well,” said DeCleene, who also runs cross country for St. Norbert. “Before, it was thought that you could only choose one. Now I can do both.”

DeCleene and Anderson are taking part in an academic partnership that enabled them to spend two years at St. Norbert before heading to Bellin to study nursing. Bellin doesn’t have varsity sports, which made the two athletes elgible for the pilot program; a formal academic agreement between the two schools is also required.

Jim Troha, chair of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council, said the program tries to address changes in higher education.

“It recognizes existing academic programs and provides flexibility to expand participation opportunities for our student-athletes," Troha said in April. “The council also wants to be exceedingly clear: We have only approved a pilot program. We will assess this program over the course of this next year and decide its future.”

Anderson and DeCleene are two of only three athletes nationwide currently in the program, whose participation requires NCAA approval on an individual basis. The opportunity surprised both athletes.

DeCleene and Anderson participated in their teams’ postseason senior activities as sophomores last year because they assumed they wouldn’t be able to continue competing once they transferred. They joined St. Norbert seniors in giving speeches at the postseason banquet, where they also received banners typically given to seniors.

Anderson remembers St. Norbert track coach Don Augustine pulling her aside when she was thanking him for all he’d done for her the last two years.

“He said, ‘You know, there might be a way for you to continue competing,’" Anderson said. “I was taken aback by it because this whole time I had come to the acceptance that I wasn’t going to be able to.”

DeCleene got a similar message.

“I immediately went into the next room and I just started happy-crying to all my teammates,” DeCleene said. “I immediately called my parents and I was like, ‘I can run.’ I was just so excited. I had a grin on my face the rest of the day. I just couldn’t stop smiling.”

The transfer portal has changed everything about building rosters in college sports, with name, image and likeness compensation also playing a huge role in Division I. Earlier this year, Albany men's basketball coach Dwayne Killings informally floated the idea of players coming to his program for seasoning before going back to their schools better prepared to compete at a higher level.

DeCleene and Anderson are now pioneers in an unusual experiment, attending classes on one campus while participating in practices and meets at another school.

“Athletically, it’s a little bit of a challenge,” St. Norbert assistant athletic director for compliance Mike Wallerich said. “You have to be flexible with your schedules. The coaches, too, not just the athletes.”

DeCleene said she runs on her own for an average of about 5-6 miles two days each week during cross country season to make up for St. Norbert team practices she’s unable to attend due to her coursework at Bellin.

The situation is trickier for Anderson, who competes in field events. She doesn’t have the equipment or land at home to practice throwing a javelin or discus. Anderson noted that she can practice her footwork on her own when she can’t throw.

Anderson said the opportunity to continue playing sports remains well worth it even the schedule juggling.

“One of the things that really pushed me through high school was being a four-sport athlete,” Anderson said. “I’m very blessed to be able to continue competing throughout college. Even if it’s not as much as I thought it would be because I can’t make every practice, it’s still very nice to get the opportunity to continue.”

Scheduling make this pilot program more feasible for athletes in some sports than others.

“For soccer practice or basketball or football practice, you can’t really do multiple days a week where you’re on your own,” Augustine said. “I think it’s going to benefit some of the individual sports. If you get a golfer or a tennis player or track and field or cross country athletes, some of those sports are going to see a little bit of a bump maybe more than some of the team sports.”

While the NCAA has emphasized this is only a test of this program, DeCleene says she’d like to see it become more widespread. She wants more athletes to have this chance.

“It truly is the best of both worlds,” DeCleene said. “Up until this point, it was thought you could only pursue your academic career or your athletic goals. Now this program is proof you are able to wear both hats and grow and flourish in both areas, to experience your full potential without any limits essentially.”

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