ORLANDO, Florida -- The first Division II National Championships Festival had barely begun before people began to wonder about the second festival.

Division II currently is committed only to conducting a spring festival once every four years. However, assuming that survey results confirm that the May 12-16 inaugural event was as successful as it appeared to be, the Division II Championships Committee may look at a more aggressive timeline.

They will find no lack of potential suitors. Interested representatives from Augusta, Georgia; Cleveland; Denver; and Dominguez Hills, California, attended the event to assess their interest in hosting in subsequent years. John Saboor of the Central Florida Sports Commission said his community also would be interested in hosting again.

Some of the pressure to ramp up the experience is coming from a fan in a high place: NCAA President Myles Brand. He spent two full days at the festival and repeatedly expressed a desire for Division II to use the approach as frequently as possible.

That raises the question of whether Division II can reload to conduct a fall festival two years hence. Some highly preliminary discussions have considered the possibility of conducting a festival that would include men's and women's cross country, field hockey, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball.

At the outset, there is a problem in that the University of West Florida already has agreed to host the 2006 men's and women's soccer championships. A bid also is being considered for the men's and women's cross country championships. Women's volleyball and field hockey are scheduled to be conducted at non-predetermined sites.

"If we're going to do that, then we need to set a date as soon as possible," said Division II Management Council Chair Sue Willey, athletics director at the University of Indianapolis. "I'm not sure that two years is sufficient time. I know we would have to tweak some schedules, and some conference schedules may already be set."

Those are among the issues that will face the Division II Championships Committee when it discusses the festival concept in June. Committee Chair Joan McDermott seemed confident that a festival eventually would be implemented for the fall, but she wasn't prepared to say if the addition would take place two, three or six years from now.

Also, Indianapolis has expressed interest should Division II consider a winter championships festival. The NCAA's hometown is too far north to be a viable fall site, and it cannot host in the spring because of hotel demands associated with the Indianapolis 500. However, it has high-quality facilities available for wrestling, swimming and indoor track (and basketball, should the division choose to include those championships) that would make the city an exceptionally appealing winter choice.

Meanwhile, there was speculation about how Divisions I and III might react to a successful championships festival. While it is too early to tell, indications are that Division II may uniquely own the festival concept for the near term. If so, that is OK with Division II Vice-President Mike Racy.

"We have been looking for ways to distinguish Division II from Divisions I and III, and the festival approach certainly seems to be something that will help us in that regard," he said. "I believe we can create a championships experience for our student-athletes that will be widely recognized for its excellence."

-- David Pickle