Many D3 college programs have a JV team, so why don’t all levels?
Cornerstone University sophomore Sam Koetsier is guarded by Calvin University’s Quintin Sall during a junior varsity game last season. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Sam Koetsier loves to play basketball.
But the Cornerstone University sophomore wasn’t good enough to get recruited when he was playing at Unity Christian High School.
So when Koetsier enrolled at Cornerstone - an NAIA program in Grand Rapids - he tried out for the Golden Eagles junior varsity team.
“It’s so much fun,” Koetsier said. “We have a brotherhood on our JV team here at Cornerstone. We all hang out when we aren’t playing or practicing. It’s a privilege to play at the college level.”
Most NCAA Division III and NAIA basketball programs in Michigan have JV teams. But its almost non-existent at the Division II and Division I levels.
“Part of it is the resources,” said Calvin University coach Bill Sall. “For instance, up in northern Michigan (where Sall coached at Northern Michigan University), having a JV team, the travel back and forth would be enormous. When I was at Ferris State, we talked about doing it. Because I thought it would be a great opportunity.”
Sall is in his fifth year at Calvin University and likes having a JV program for the first time in his career.
“You give a bunch of guys a chance to play,” Sall said. “It’s a great developmental tool. We’ve got guys on our varsity that played a year of JV. And that year of game experience helped. As a school and a conference, we’ve made a commitment to keep JV going. I think it’s great. I don’t know why other schools don’t.”
Calvin University’s Austin Buckley puts up a shot during a junior varsity game last season. Buckley, a Byron Center native, had a 40-point game last season and was called up for a few games on the varsity team for the Knights. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
Ryan Klingler, the JV coach at Hope College, said having a JV program benefits the players and the school.
“We’ve had guys play JV that are contributing at the varsity level now,” Klingler said. “There’s an opportunity. (Hope sophomore) Gabe Quillan got to spend some extra time on JV getting some game experience when he got here. And his game expanded. Another great thing is you can bring in some guys (on JV). Its a great way for them to get to be a part of the program and still play the game they love.”
Drew Zuidema played four years at Spring Arbor and now he’s a referee in West Michigan. He said there are benefits to having JV.
“Reffing JV, the biggest difference is the speed and strength,” Zuidema said. “On JV, they know how to play, but the next level with varsity, they get know the system, and they are stronger for it. JV is a good thing at D3. They coach like its a varsity game. College is a huge jump from high school. Some guys start out with JV and you don’t think much about them. Then a year later they are on the main team killing it.”
Ryan Krombeen, the head coach at Grace Christian University, said financially it can be tough to run a JV team. But they can make it work.
“Grace does a nice job,” Krombeen said. “We play 24 games a year (on JV). Most years we play 12 or 13 guys. The cost is in the travel, the salary, the uniforms and the refs. The JV team doesn’t usually get new uniforms. They get the varsity team’s old ones. We had to raise money to get shooting shorts and to travel out of state.”
Hope College freshman Tyson Mann is guarded by Calvin University’s Luke VanEssen during a JV game this past season. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
Financially, having players come to the school just to play JV basketball brings in another 15 students who have to pay full tuition.
“Talking about the Division III model, from the school’s standpoint, we’ve got a total on our rosters of 29 guys,” Sall said. “So the school loves that because it is a boost in the enrollment.”
Klingler knows the school loves it. But he said Hope tries not to recruit players who are only there to play on the JV team.
“The tuition part is a benefit to the school,” he said. “The cost of having a JV team makes up for the tuition part. At Hope, a lot of the kids we’re bringing in, at the JV level the students aren’t picking Hope just for the basketball part. They see that it’s a great place to make the transition from high school to college. There’s a balance there. It’s good for the school to bring in those kids. We try to make sure they aren’t picking the kids just for the basketball.”
Koetsier, who was one of the top players on the Cornerstone JV team, understands the school benefits from having a JV team.
“It benefits the school, because they get more kids to go to their schools,” he said. “But it allows kids to play, that otherwise wouldn’t be able to in college. It also provides a fun atmosphere for the fans and students to come watch.”
But there are some disadvantages, Koetsier said.
“The respect level isn’t as high, but its still an opportunity to play the game at the next level,” he said. “Sometimes we don’t get to practice or play as much as we’d like or we have to practice at 9 p.m. But we don’t mind that much because we enjoy playing.”
Cornerstone University sophomore Luke Gruppen is guarded by Calvin University’s Quincy Winkle during a JV game this season. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
So who do JV teams play? Well, other JV programs. But they also have games against Michigan community colleges.
“Some teams are always good,” Krombeen said. “Like Muskegon CC. We beat GRCC and Lake Michigan College. It’s a fun opportunity that we can compete with teams like that who have varsity talent.”
Why don’t more programs above the D3 level take advantage of having a JV team?
“If you go way, way back,” Sall said. “You see when UCLA was really good when they had guys like Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton, they had to play a year of JV because. Because the freshmen couldn’t play on varsity in those days.”
North Carolina was one of the only Division I programs that didn’t ditch its freshman/JV team from back in the day.
According to a 2020 article by the Chicago Tribune: “Only a handful of Division I universities have a JV team.
The JV team at North Carolina began as a freshman team, at a time when scholarship freshmen were not allowed to play during their first year in college under NCAA rules. That changed in 1972, but North Carolina coach Dean Smith kept the JV team in place to give regular students a chance to be around North Carolina basketball while also letting potential walk-ons learn the varsity system.”
Tiffin University, a Division II program in Ohio, formed a JV program a few years ago. The Dragons play community colleges and JV teams from D3 programs.
So maybe it the a start of a new trend.
For more JV photos, click here and search for a player’s name.
