Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members are composing an open letter to presidents and athletics directors about the importance of staying in Division II.

The SAAC worked on the letter during its November 18-20 meeting in San Antonio. The goal is to inform institutions about other factors to consider while contemplating a move from Division II to Division I.

The project stems from last summer's Division II Chancellors and Presidents Summit at which Division II SAAC Chair John Semeraro and Vice Chair Marian Broderick joined 140 presidents and chancellors in discussing Division II membership and identity issues.

"We're adamant about making a statement that as Division II student-athletes, we are proud of where we stand in the NCAA," Broderick said. "We're not ashamed to say we're Division II. With this open letter, we hope to formulate a position and say this is what we think, and we want you to know. We want you to be aware when you make decisions, that it affects us directly. We're the ones who represent your institution in Division II athletics. We want our feelings known before those decisions are made."

Broderick said from the committee's point of view, student-athlete well-being is not considered enough when institutions weigh the pros and cons of changing division affiliation. She said in fact that in many cases, student-athlete experiences are compromised when Division II institutions move to Division I, because resources sometimes are funneled into one or two programs in an attempt to be successful rather than  across the board.

"Our main point will be our experiences," Broderick said. "When institutions go from being successful Division II programs to being barely mediocre Division I programs, it's hardest on the student-athletes. They go from being on a championship team to being on a team winning fewer than half of its games. Sometimes it's worse than that. It's not worth it just to wear the Division I label."

Broderick, a volleyball student-athlete at Missouri Western State University, said while a Division II football program may be competitive in Division I-AA, other sports such as volleyball, golf and tennis are left behind.

"There is no Division I-AA volleyball," she said. "When you go to Division I, you're playing against the top programs in the nation. Student-athletes are probably unhappy because they are put in a position to be unsuccessful, which is not something we support. That's the strongest statement we want to make through this letter."

Sportsmanship banners

Another initiative for SAAC involved sending out sportsmanship banners to every Division II institution during the spring semester. SAAC wants the banners to be displayed during contests at all venues.

Each banner says, "As Division II student-athletes, we commit to sportsmanship and ethical conduct, demonstrating fair play, responsibility and respect. We invite you to support this effort."

"This is a step in the right direction from a sportsmanship perspective," SAAC Chair Semeraro said. "We felt, as student-athletes, it was time for us to take a stand. We realize we can't control what goes on in the stands, but we can control our character on the field. Hopefully, this will be instilled in the minds of the spectators."

SAAC members also began preparing for a presentation that will occur during the educational sessions on January 8 at the NCAA Convention.

Instead of conducting the usual year-in-review format, SAAC will try to be more interactive with administrators.

"We will talk about future initiatives like the best practices for recruiting student-athletes and have a chalk-talk session about the student-athlete's ability to effect change on campus," said Semeraro, a graduate student studying sports administration at Ohio University.

The presentation also will stress the importance of administrators interacting with their campus SAACs.