The DIII Identity: A Cause for Celebration

FROSTBURG, MD –  “My favorite part of Division III week is seeing all of the different sports teams compete together and celebrate the Division III lifestyle,” mentioned Molly Biggers, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) president.

Division III week began Monday, April 1 and finished Sunday, April 7. Frostburg State student-athletes competed in a variety of activities in participation with the NCAA Division III week celebration.

Introduced in 2010 through NCAA Division III’s Identity Initiative, DIII week celebrates the student-athlete experience that competing in division offers, combining rigorous academics and competitive athletics. Biggers emphasized, “DIII week is time to celebrate all of the Division III athletes who do not always get the credit they deserve.”

Frostburg’s SAAC planned and executed the celebration. SAAC is an NCAA initiative where a committee of student-athletes provides insight on the student-athlete experience. The primary functions of SAAC are to enhance communication between the student-athletes and athletics administration and “promote a positive student-athlete image on a campus.”

Student-athletes from both FSU’s men and women sports teams competed in an integrative celebratory experience. Student-athletes competed for their sport in hopes of earning the most points at the end of the week to win CAC Division III sweatshirts.

Division III week began with the Bobcat Brawl on Monday, April 1st in Bobcat Arena. Student-athletes took part in a multitude of physical challenges. The night started off with the relay in which each Bobcat sport created a team comprised of four athletes that were timed running through an obstacle course. The course began with the first athlete spinning seven times before taking off jumping over hurdles, zig-zagging through cones, and going through an over-under obstacle before sprinting back to tag the next teammate. Each sport’s relay team raced once and was timed. Two males and two females from each team then competed in a limbo contest. Following the limbo, two male student-athletes and two female student-athletes from each team competed in the cookie challenge in which a teammate first placed a cookie on their teammates’ forehead. The teammate was then tasked with moving their face in an attempt get the cookie into their mouth. The teams of two had to complete three stations in order to win. Next, both the men’s and women’s teams sent one individual to compete in a hula hoop contest. Initially, the student-athlete was required to hula hoop in its simplest form before being asked to partake in challenges, like hula hooping on one foot and later spinning without dropping the hoop. The student-athlete who hula hooped the longest won. The final event of the night was the chandelier challenge. Again, one student-athlete represented each team in an attempt to build the highest standing tower with paper plates and plastic cups in a minute. Once the minute was up, the tower had to remain standing for three seconds. In all competitions, the male teams competed against each other, and the female teams competed against each other. Holly Van Wie, a senior on the women’s track and field team, said the brawl is her favorite part of DIII week, specifically mentioning that the “obstacle course is so much fun.”

The week-long event continued with Trivia Night on Tuesday, April 2nd. The student-athletes competed with their team and were tasked with testing their knowledge across a variety of topics. The night opened with sports trivia. Teams had to know things like who was the baseball player to have his number retired. The next category was music, where the teams had to fill in the missing lyrics of popular songs, like Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings.” Teams’ movies and television knowledge was tested with a series of questions. The night then transitioned into teams’ knowledge of Maryland, where they needed to know the state fish, state song, and other information about the state. Teams concluded the night with trivia of Frostburg State sports knowledge, where they needed to know the winningest pitcher in FSU’s softball’s history among other facts.

On Wednesday, April 3rd, teams participated in a media day and scavenger hunt. The media day took place in front of the Rock Wall in the Cordts P.E. Center. Student-athletes had their moment in the spotlight as they were in front of the camera giving their best Bobcat roar, the reason they chose Frostburg, and their favorite DIII week event. In the scavenger hunt portion of the day, teams were tasked with taking ten pictures – for example, a jumping picture, a funny group picture in front of the clock tower, and a picture with an AT. Teams were also tasked with finding and photographing ten items – a golf ball, dice, protractor, deck of cards, salt and pepper, receipt from the Lane University Center, ping pong ball, American flag, fish, and a famous person’s signature. Mitch Meckley, a first-year on the men’s lacrosse team, enjoyed the scavenger hunt as he “felt like that is when the team came together to complete the task at hand.”

The Bobcat Bath followed on Thursday, April 4th as Frostburg sports teams took to the pool deck. First-year women’s soccer player Kori Striano enjoyed the Bath, mentioning, “it was fun to watch all the sports teams in the pool and do events they typically don’t do.” The event began with student-athletes helping their teammates float atop kickboards. Four student-athletes from each team took part in a relay event in which the first had on a t-shirt and swam to the next to then exchange the t-shirt. Similarly, four student-athletes from each team competed in a relay where they paddled in a tube and exchanged it with a teammate. Another event had one student-athlete from each team in a tube in the pool with three others reeling them in and pulling them onto the deck. A link relay ensued as one student-athlete began swimming to then be joined by a second, then a third, and finally a fourth to complete the relay. Just as the Bobcat Brawl, men’s teams competed against each other, and women’s teams competed against each other.

DIII week took a break on Friday, April 5th with an off day. It continued on Saturday, April 6th as teams earned extra points for attending home games and supporting their fellow Bobcats.

The celebration finished on Sunday, April 7 with a picnic in Bobcat Stadium. Teams competed in a Tug-O-War contest and a dodgeball tournament. Frostburg sports teams turned in their team banners and  soda can tabs for additional points.

The winner of Division III week will be announced at the sports banquet in May.