The number of students at colleges and universities throughout the country continues to decline at a substantial rate. One group that has been affected dramatically by this increasingly competitive marketplace is small private institutions. Many of these institutions are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division III. The gradually changing student demographics, worsening economic conditions and ever-changing technological advances have greatly impacted who, how, why, when and where students are recruited at small, private colleges participating in NCAA Division III athletics. Athletic affiliation of small, private colleges indicates the reputation and brand strength of the institution to attract students, resources and revenue. Despite the added expense of creating or adding athletics programs, many campus leaders have implemented athletic programs in attempt to gain an advantage in the recruitment of student-athletes to help meet enrollment goals at their tuition driven institutions. The problem is that enrollment-driven, tuition-dependent, small, private institutions participating in NCAA Division III athletics continue to face rising costs, burgeoning debt and falling credit ratings each year making it more and more difficult for campus leaders to justify encouraging and supporting athletics on their campuses. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to gain insight and understanding into the facilitators of enrollment at small private NCAA Division III institutions in the Midwest in order to determine the cost-benefit of intercollegiate athletics programs within a ten-year period. A purposive sampling strategy was used to ensure that the 11 most relevant NCAA Division III institutions in the Midwest that experienced enrollment growths from the academic years from 2005 to 2014 were studied as well as those who saw declines in order to maximize variation. Findings revealed that although there is evidence and acceptance of using athletics as facilitators of enrollment at small, private NCAA Division III institutions in the Midwest, formalized enrollment management strategies using athletics as facilitators is not a guiding philosophy and practice for most academic institutions. The findings indicated a gap between operationally and structurally defining enrollment management and the formalized structure supporting it. Results also indicated that participants recognized current challenges of determining if athletics was appropriate to use as an enrollment management strategy. The primary factors included the number of athletics programs, coaching model dynamics, roster sizes, mission, vision, culture and operational support surrounding its implementation and the ROI or cost-benefit involved in this investment. Future research may be expanded to implement specific standards, processes and procedures which could help campus leaders combat the many enrollment management challenges, understand the current challenges of determining if athletics is appropriate to use as an enrollment strategy, and help determine what impacts and how much athletics affects non-student-athletes' decisions to attended and remain at an institution. The significance of future research into the insight and clarification of factors impacting the use of athletics as facilitators of enrollment will help expand the knowledge about using athletics as facilitators of enrollment in the field of education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]