In an effort to unify Division I members, the Board of Directors has changed the labeling that often keeps them apart.

The presidents at their August 3 meeting in Indianapolis approved a change in terminology to "Football Bowl Subdivision" for the former I-A classification and "NCAA Football Championship Subdivision" for the former I-AA group. The Collegiate Commissioners Association helped develop the new labels.

The presidents believe the new nomenclature, which becomes effective in December, more accurately distinguishes Division I institutions for purposes of governing football, the only sport for which such a distinction is necessary. Members felt the old nomenclature inaccurately "tiered" Division I institutions in all sports, not just football, and produced instances in which media outlets and other entities incorrectly cited institutions as being Division I-AA in basketball or baseball, for example.

Finding labels upon which everyone can agree has been an arduous task at best, but the results seemed to appease the I-AA Board representatives, even though one member admitted that the new labels substituted "one confusing set for another."

But another member pointed out that the primary goal was to find labels that didn’t inappropriately paint all Division I programs with a broad brush. Also, he said, from a practical standpoint, the new labels will be used more within the structure than by external constituents.

One of the distinctions in the new labels that proved difficult for some I-A members to understand was the inclusion of "NCAA" in the new championship subdivision. But the 16-team championship in that subdivision is indeed an NCAA-sponsored event, whereas the postseason bowl structure is not governed by the Association. Others were bothered that "NCAA" could confuse references to the Divisions II and III Football Championships, but the counter there was that the use of "subdivision" in the label clearly identified the group as part of Division I.

In some ways, the entire exercise became an editorial leap of faith. Even the vote to adopt the new labels was relatively close at 8-5 (2 abstentions; 3 not present).

But the overarching message remained: The need to "separate" Division I programs should be limited.

"All Division I institutions, regardless of whether they sponsor football, are in fact and should be referred to as Division I members," said Board Chair and University of Connecticut President Philip Austin. "The only reasons for labeling are the need to distinguish the two football subdivisions for the purpose of governing the sport and to maintain separate statistics. The Board is stressing that the nomenclature reflect the totality of the Division I membership whenever possible and that the subdivision labels be used sparingly. Still, there are instances in which we need to use them, and we feel the new labels are more accurate."

The new nomenclature does not effect the voting structure used in Division I governance matters.