A couple of years ago, Division II Presbyterian College had the football game of its life, and the Blue Hose didn’t even win. In fact, they weren’t even close.

After losing to perennial Division I-AA power Furman University, 52-7, ESPN reported the score incorrectly on its BottomLine, telling fans across the country that Presbyterian had scored a monumental upset, 14-7.

While Presbyterian Athletics Director Bee Carlton had to deflect the nonstop congratulatory calls that came his way, he says there’s no question the mishap on the sports ticker provided the institution with significantly more publicity than it was used to receiving.

“The impact (of being on the BottomLine) is difficult to quantify, but there’s concrete evidence that there’s an impact, at least in the perception of those people who follow sports carefully,” Carlton said.

The BottomLine, along with other sports tickers, reports scores at the bottom of the television screen 24 hours a day. Traditionally, tickers report Division I scores and stay away from Division II institutions like Presbyterian.

Many Division II schools crave the type of publicity the BottomLine can provide, and some institutions, like Presbyterian, are making the jump to Division I in part because they want to receive more attention.

“There are a few who have stated that one of the reasons they’re leaving the division is because their alumni and boosters are interested in seeing their school listed on the BottomLine,” said Mike Racy, Division II vice president. “It’s always frustrating when schools leave Division II, and it’s especially frustrating if the reasons are something as simple as our schools not being on the ticker.”

ESPN launched its first version of the BottomLine in 1985, providing viewers with updates during prime-time programming twice an hour. In 1996, the network introduced a continuous ticker on ESPN2, providing constant scores and news updates. Currently, ESPN runs the BottomLine nonstop on its ESPNEWS and ESPN Classic stations, as well as on ESPN2.

Vince Doria, ESPN’s senior vice president and director of news, says the network’s intent has always been to provide a service to its viewers, and he’s astounded that institutions put so much stock in the product.

“We think the BottomLine is a terrific service for our viewers, but it surprises me that it would be a motivation for schools to go to Division I,” Doria said. “If that’s the case, it’s flattering, but it wouldn’t affect our decision of whether to add Division II scores.”

Who makes the cut

On Saturdays in the fall, ESPN puts Division I-A top-25 scores in every rotation of the BottomLine. The remainder of the scores, from both Division I-A and I-AA institutions, appear less frequently. Each score remains on the screen for between six and 10 seconds, depending on the amount of information and stats the ticker displays.

“If there are another 50 or 60 scores, we’ll put them in segments of 10 or 15 scores each rotation. It’s an arbitrary decision that was made on where we gauge the most interest is,” Doria said.

Some Division II institutions have a difficult time understanding why ESPN doesn’t use its real estate to report the scores of its top programs, many of which would compete on or above par with many of the Division I-AA institutions that make the rotation — especially the I-AA nonscholarship programs.

“One of the things that’s frustrating to Division II schools is to see the kind of exposure Division I-AA programs get because of the BottomLine,” said Karen Morris, president of Western Washington University. “The quality of many of our programs is commensurate with I-AA. It devalues Division II to not have more exposure.”

Morris proposes that ESPN could provide a rotation of selective Divisions II and III scores. Such exposure, she says, would make a difference for her institution and others in similar positions.

“I’m not sure people remember the score, but just the exposure of the name,” Morris said. “I could name a number of schools I’m acquainted with because of the BottomLine, and I have no idea whether they won or lost. The exposure of the name, people knowing you exist, can turn you into a viable entity.”

Racy commiserates with the Division II membership.

“Many of our Division II schools are frustrated with ESPN’s assessment that the only schools worthy of reporting are Division I,” Racy said. “When you start to see football scores  from Division I-AA nonscholarship programs, it does cause Division II schools that have great programs to be frustrated.”

Division II programs aren’t likely to find themselves on the BottomLine any time soon. Doria says the network doesn’t have plans to expand its score coverage any further, mostly because more viewers are interested in the scores only of the higher-profile programs.

“If we were to add Division II scores, it would simply lengthen the rotations. Our feeling right now is that there isn’t enough interest in those scores to justify it,” Doria said. “We understand that those schools have many alumni interested in seeing the scores, but we just don’t feel that the trade-off of how many people interested in those scores justifies adding them.

“We’d be forcing viewers to wait longer to see scores we think are of more interest. We assess this all the time in terms of what we’re putting on there and not putting on there.”

The bottom line in decision-making

Division II programs that make the jump up to Division I often find themselves on the negative side of the scoreboard, raising the question of whether all publicity is good publicity.

Presbyterian’s Carlton, whose school has announced its intent to move to Division I, understands that the wins might not come early and often, but he and the program are prepared for the long haul.

“We don’t want to go up (on the ticker) and be on the losing side of the score, but just being there week in and week out really makes a difference in the minds of the alumni and other young people we’re trying to attract to the school,” Carlton said. “It’s a long-term proposition, not an overnight thing.”

While Carlton and Morris acknowledge the importance of publicity generated by intercollegiate athletics, others don’t buy the premise that appearing on a sports ticker has that much to do with the greater goals of higher education.

Kay Schallenkamp, president of Emporia State University, wouldn’t object to inclusion on the BottomLine, but she doesn’t put much stock in the publicity it creates.

“We would like to have more exposure, but having our name on the BottomLine isn’t necessarily the kind of exposure I would seek,” Schallenkamp said. “When I see the institutions on the ticker and they’re losing, I don’t see that as a positive reflection for their institution. In terms of marketing, we know that familiarity breeds favorability, but there’s also the need to be successful.”

Instead of focusing on how to get Divisions II and III scores on sports tickers, Greg Shaheen, NCAA vice president of Division I men’s basketball and championship strategies, is leading an effort to gain more meaningful exposure for all member institutions.

“Getting your name in front of more people and having an opportunity to tell your story has been a focus for some time,” Shaheen said. “We’re exploring and activating various technologies so that more games and championship rounds are being seen. These options exist, among others, that afford the opportunity to tell your story in full form.”

Division II has poured significant resources into producing championships for national television and will continue to use technology to promote its student-athletes.

“We’ve gone from producing four championship games three years ago to almost 25 next year,” Racy said. “Giving our student-athletes exposure on national television is where we put our focus. My guess is that most Division II programs realize that their score not being on the BottomLine isn’t a reflection on their program or the type of experience that student-athletes are having at their institution.”

While Division II continues to focus on expanding its media presence, the debate about the value of appearing on sports tickers remains. Clearly, some schools use it as a reason for moving to Division I.

“People just don’t know about us. If our score and name were in the paper more often, we believe more folks would know about us and would be more apt to consider us as an alternative as a school for both students and student-athletes,” Carlton said.

Presbyterian already had set the wheels in motion for its move to Division I before Carlton received all that attention for the misrepresented victory over Furman, but that doesn’t mean the athletics director would be pleased if ESPN decided to cease reporting scores from I-AA institutions.

“We would be disappointed, but it wouldn’t make us reconsider and say that it was the wrong decision. Our board of directors made that decision on a number of factors, not solely on the ESPN BottomLine,” Carlton said.

Although ESPN anticipated that its sports ticker would provide a service to its viewers, the network didn’t count on causing institutions to begin jockeying for position on the bottom of the television screen.

“The BottomLine implies a national presence, especially if it’s on a nationally broadcast event,” said John Keating, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, Parkside. “It basically tells everybody who’s interested that you are a university and are capable of making the news. That’s the critical element.”

But schools have to decide if the presence they garner from inclusion on the sports ticker is how they would prefer to build their institution’s reputation.

While Keating believes there is value in appearing on the BottomLine, he warns that Division II must take pride in its identity.

“Division II isn’t ever going to be Division I, and if we always try and creep toward it and mime it, I think we make a mistake,” Keating said.