The NCAA learned its most recent lesson in nomenclature when it learned its first lesson in branding three years ago.

Prompted by the bundled-rights agreement with CBS Sports and ESPN in 2002, NCAA officials developed "unique attributes" to identify what the Association stands for beyond the Men's Final Four brand that television had given the Association during previous decades.

"After the bundled-rights agreement was signed, television networks and corporate America essentially indicated they were going to define the NCAA if the NCAA didn't define itself," said Dennis Cryder, NCAA senior vice-president for branding and communications. "In other words, CBS, ESPN and corporate America expected the NCAA to invest in itself as a brand in order to maintain and enhance the value of the NCAA assets purchased by these 'investors.' They aren't paying $6 billion merely to be 'associated with' the NCAA, as was the case in sports marketing during the 1970s and 1980s."

Television already had created a one-dimensional NCAA image over time with the Men's Final Four, and more recently with the Women's Final Four. Beyond those championship events, the general public (and even the NCAA membership to an extent) had only a vague idea of other NCAA attributes.

The NCAA went looking for those attributes through qualitative and quantitative consumer research. Jeff Jacobs, brand strategist at San Francisco-based Landor and Associates, said the research revealed several findings, mostly negative. At that time, most people associated the NCAA only with men's basketball and football. There was no awareness of the purpose, role, process or the authority of the NCAA.

The second finding, Jacobs said, was that the NCAA brand generally was perceived as negative because of the Association's function of placing schools on probation or administering other disciplinary actions. People also believed the NCAA was about big business and was intent on making money only for the benefit of the NCAA.

"People weren't realizing that 94 cents of every dollar goes back to the membership. They think 'the NCAA' keeps that money. Those are pretty negative perceptions," Jacobs said. In that way, Jacobs noted, the NCAA wasn't differentiated from professional sports. "Though the NCAA represents amateur sports, the brand was being lumped together with all other sports brands," he said.

Finding the right words

So, if the NCAA was going to stand for something, what should it stand for? Jacobs led a team that developed attributes to support the higher ideal of the student-athlete as the centerpiece of the NCAA brand.

From an original group of about 60 words and phrases, Jacobs and his team settled on six unique attributes that defined "the essence" of the NCAA: fair play, character, learning, balance, spirit and community.

Perhaps "fair play" is the best example of how nomenclature may make a difference in public perception. Though one of the NCAA's primary functions is to regulate through the enforcement of rules and policies, how that function is labeled makes a difference. Say "enforcement" to people, Jacobs said, and they will think of traffic police, which is what the research identified as the NCAA's primary image.

"We all understand that we need traffic police in our lives," Jacobs said. "If we didn't have them, there would be accidents, fatalities, all kinds of messy problems. But instead of the traffic police being a positive, we all avoid them and get mad when we get pulled over.

"It's the same with the NCAA. Instead of people saying, 'I'm glad the NCAA is there to make sure student-athletes all have the exact same set of standards and responsibilities,' people say, 'Oh, they put my college on probation.'

"So instead of standing for rules and regulations, you stand for fair play, equity and honesty. The baseball player from Oregon goes through the same thing as the baseball player from Temple -- he can practice so many hours, he has eligibility requirements and the two teams have the same maximum number of playing opportunities."

Similarly, Jacobs said, "character" should define the essence of the student-athlete experience. Participation in athletics builds their character through discipline and commitment. "In that way, there are lessons to be learned for student-athletes through the rest of their lives," Jacobs said. "Character isn't necessarily reflected by who scored last night's wining goal."

Connecting with NCAA mission

The choice of attributes is key, said the NCAA's Melissa Caito, because the words have to connote the right image to more than just internal constituents. For example, the membership might consider "higher education" to be an obvious attribute that represents what the Association is about, but what does "higher education" mean to the general public?

"At the time, the research indicated that people weren't connecting the NCAA with higher education at all," said Caito, NCAA director of brand management. "But most people can identify with 'learning' because it connotes more than books, classes and exams. Learning is life experience. People are able to connect with 'learning' more than they are 'higher education.' "

The attributes are being communicated through various platforms. Most NCAA event signage and publications include the "balance line" that depicts the integration of the student-athlete experience. Similarly, the 30-second television spots during NCAA championships support character, learning and balance through the student-athlete voice.

The NCAA also has partnered with Varsity Brands to leverage its relationship with collegiate spirit leaders to promote positive fan behavior, fair play and sportsmanship. Connections with youth sports programs such as Youth Education through Sports (YES) and the Division II affiliation with the Make-A-Wish Foundation are examples of the NCAA's role in the community, another identified attribute.

"In the end, the NCAA brand should stand for who you're helping or promoting, which is the student-athlete," Jacobs said. "If you stand for the value of how intercollegiate athletics integrates with education and learning, that's a platform people will not attack.

"What they will attack is if you simply make money and you merely perform a regulatory function. So don't stand only for the Final Fours, don't stand only for sports excitement like the NBA does -- don't stand for the athlete, stand for the student-athlete."