While the first Division II Leadership Action Academy was designed to ramp participating student-athletes onto the leadership highway, the result of the inaugural event was more of a two-way street.

The February 21-23 event in Indianapolis featured the traditional structure of leadership seminars, including topic-driven breakout sessions and various team-building exercises. But the overarching theme involved constructing a better Division II identity, and in that regard, the 90 student-athletes and administrators who participated in the academy provided the division with leadership of their own.

Early on, the discussion took the same path as many other discussions involving the Division II identity -- contrasting Division II favorably with the Division I model. However, an administrator challenged the student-athletes to consider the issue more constructively: "Why do we measure ourselves against Division I?," she asked. "If we keep measuring ourselves against Division I, we will never find ourselves. I was the third child of seven, and I always felt as though my brothers and sisters got all of the attention. I finally decided I was just going to be me, and that worked for me."

The student-athletes and administrators ultimately met that challenge, teaming together to provide a unique perspective on what Division II's super-ego should include. The biggest elements involved "reality," "family" and "balance."

"Reality" was demonstrated a number of ways -- from travel restrictions brought about by modest budgets to the common misconceptions that student-athletes are pampered.

"Somebody told me, 'You're an athlete, you get everything you want,' " said one student-athlete. "Well, no, I don't get everything I want. I work hard for what I get."

While the participants believed they do represent the real world, the Division II attribute they appeared to value most was that of "family."

"I love that the volleyball team is my family," said a student-athlete. "I know the players on the football and basketball teams. I know the people we're playing, and I know the people in my classes."

Another participant said he valued the fact that his president knew his name, his hometown and what position he plays.

In summary, the student-athletes appear to give Division II good grades for providing a nurturing environment where the athletics experience is important but clearly secondary to educational objectives.

The chair and vice-chair of the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee both praised the event, although both also said that they would like to see more focus at future academies on developing the leadership skills of the individual student-athletes.

"The response of the student-athletes was good," said SAAC Chair Brianna Williams, a former basketball player at Mount Olive College, "but Saturday was a long day. I think it would benefit from more breaks and shorter sessions."

Williams also was concerned that the overall topic -- the Division II identity -- might have led the participants down a few negative paths, such as budget issues or the media's lack of regard for Division II. "Maybe we should spend more time on what we're good at," she said.

Ben Giess from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, vice-chair of the Division II SAAC, said he thought the discussion about the Division II identity was important. However, he would have preferred that more attention be devoted to enhancing the individual leadership skills of the participants.

Mike Racy, Division II chief of staff, said that event organizers will be sensitive to student-athlete reaction as they plan future events.

"We want this to be a leadership opportunity in all ways," he said. "Certainly we want to develop the leadership skills of the participants and we want them to carry those skills back to their campuses.

"But we also want to treat the participants as full partners in shaping Division II. That is one of the principal benefits that can result from conducting these sessions on a division-specific basis.

"In general, it was an excellent start. We will make some adjustments and produce an even better program when we do it again this September for another set of student-athletes in Atlanta."