The following message is from UMW’s Faculty Athletic Representative:
Faculty and staff colleagues:
April 8-14 has been proclaimed Division III week by the NCAA. At the University of Mary Washington, we are participating by celebrating our student-athletes this week. A week or so ago you received an invitation to the Spring Jubilee on April 10—four competitions are being held that afternoon (men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, and baseball). We hope to see you there to see a competition or two and enjoy food and prizes.
But we wanted to do more than host a one-day event. Did you know that Division III student-athletes do not receive scholarships? We asked several of our student-athletes to share why they play a DIII sport at the University of Mary Washington. You know these young people—they are in your classes and interact with you in your offices. But they also represent the University of Mary Washington on the fields and courts of play.
Each day this week one of our outstanding student-athletes will share his or her story. Today Carol Dye, an English major and women’s basketball player from Springfield, Virginia, says the following:
The University of Mary Washington (UMW) was an easy choice for me. It felt like a perfect fit from the moment I stepped onto campus for a visit with Coach Deena Applebury. From that time on, no other school could compare to its charm, beauty, academic quality and great women’s basketball team. I knew that the close-knit community of UMW would provide me with an environment to grow as a student, citizen, and athlete. I also realized that a small class size was a good fit for me—I am not a big school person. I wanted to be a “part” of class discussion and have a name, not a number. I also realized that with small classes, professors could develop personal relationships with students and really care about them as individuals. This, of course, was an important component if I played basketball.
And . . . I wanted to play basketball. It didn’t matter to me that it was a DIII school. DIII does not mean that we don’t work as hard. It means that we are more hard working and play for love of the game—not scholarships.
We sweat. We lift. We cry. We cheer. We laugh. We run. We run some more. We succeed. We fail. We try again. We lead, and we lead by example. We love what we do, each and every day. We are DIII athletes at the University of Mary Washington. But more importantly, we are students at the University of Mary Washington.
Thank you, faculty and staff, for supporting the student-athletes who represent UMW! It’s a great day to be an Eagle!
Lynne Richardson
Faculty Athletic Representative
Dean, College of Business
University of Mary Washington
