ORLANDO, Florida -- A consistent note that sounded throughout the June 24-26 Division II Chancellors and Presidents Summit pertained to what Division II calls itself.

In some ways, the conversation was a familiar one, focusing on how the Association's Division I, II and III nomenclature sets up a hierarchy that especially disadvantages Division II (see "Naming Rites" in the April 25 issue of The NCAA News). What made this discussion different was the imagery that was created specifically for the summit.

The design, developed by Dean Johnson Design of Indianapolis, worked from the word "Balance." The theme stressed Division II's commitment to academic and athletics balance while also using the vertical "balance line" that has been made familiar through the overall NCAA promotional campaign. Additional graphic treatment was applied to the "A" in the middle of "Balance," which led to the overall theme of the summit: "Bring Your 'A' Game."

Several CEOs spoke to the effectiveness of the presentation and suggested that the division should build on the theme.

State University of West Georgia President Beheruz Sethna, who has a marketing background, said that Division II must strongly consider another name and said that "Division A" would be a good alternative. "Names send messages," Sethna said, "and II has only one message -- that it's inferior to I."

NCAA President Myles Brand encouraged an examination of another name for the division, saying that there "is nothing magical" about the current nomenclature.

Still, a number of presidents -- while professing no fondness for the current name -- said that the division's success or failure will be determined more by whether it lives its mission than by how it is known. ESPN executive Burke Magnus said his company experienced similar issues when it created ESPN2 but eventually chose to stick with the name, deciding that a change would cause a bigger problem than the name itself. John Semeraro and Marian Broderick, the chair and vice-chair of the Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, both said that Division II student-athletes wear their current description proudly and advised against change.

Division II Vice-President Mike Racy said that the enthusiasm produced by the design work was one of the most important takeaways from the summit.

"It's too early to say whether the Association will support a new name for Division II," Racy said. "But I was highly encouraged by how the presidents supported the balance concept. This is something that we will take forward for use in a number of ways.