Division II fortified its championship tradition by conducting its second highly successful National Championships Festival November 15-18 in Pensacola, Florida. The division crowned an NCAA-record six national champions in one day November 18, with Adams State winning the team title in women’s cross country, Abilene Christian in men’s cross country, Bloomsburg in field hockey, Tampa in women’s volleyball, Metropolitan State in women’s soccer and Dowling in men’s soccer.

Championship results are available at www.ncaa.org and at www.ncaasports.com.

The Festival featured opening ceremonies November 15 that had to be moved inside because of heavy weather that rolled through the Pensacola area. Tournament action began November 16 with quarterfinals in volleyball and semifinals in soccer and field hockey. Finals in all six championships were held November 18, followed by closing ceremonies that included academic awards for participating teams with the highest grade-point averages in each sport. Those awards went to Edinboro in men’s and women’s cross country, Lincoln Memorial in men’s soccer, Grand Valley State in women’s soccer, Bentley in field hockey and Ashland in volleyball. A closing fireworks extravaganza put an exclamation mark on the event.

"We saw during the Festival what Division II is all about," said Division II Vice President Mike Racy. "It’s about the student-athlete."

A total of 760 student-athletes participated in the Festival, more than 400 of whom partook in building six Habitat for Humanity homes (see related story).

Division II Presidents Council Chair Charles Ambrose, president of Pfeiffer University, said the Festival approach is a perfect complement to the Council’s branding and strategic-positioning campaign. "The Council has been working for 18 months on building and calling attention to the Division II identity," Ambrose said. "The Festival is everything the Presidents Council had hoped it would be since it bridges high-level academics and athletics and a commitment to community engagement."

Division II held its first Festival in 2004 in Orlando. The second event further convinced Ambrose and others that the Festival is the way of the future for Division II championships.

"When you have coaches, administrators and student-athletes asking to make the Festival an annual event, you know you’re onto something pretty good," Ambrose said.

The third Festival already is scheduled for spring 2008 in Houston. Racy said officials are exploring the idea of a winter festival in 2009 and another fall event in 2010.

NCAA President Myles Brand applauded the Division II leadership, including Ambrose and the Presidents Council, and the Division II Championships Committee, chaired by Barry University Athletics Director Mike Covone, for an event that he called "second to none."

"Division II is not only a great sports division, but they also know how to bring it on the academic side of the house," Brand said. "Through the Festival, Division II is building memories for life for student-athletes — it has become a destination of choice. The Festival is not only special for the student-athletes, but also for the institutions. It gives the schools a chance to shine."

Top five teams: 1. Abilene Christian, 57; 2. Adams St., 70; 3. Western St., 113; 4. Cal St. Chico, 137; 5. Grand Valley St., 168. Top five individuals: 1. Nicodemus Naimadu, Abilene Christian, 29:17.5; 2. Julius Kosgei, Harding, 29:19.9; 3. Scott Bauhs, Cal St. Chico, 29:24.5; 4. Ryan Blood, Lock Haven, 29:27.0; 5. Kim Hogarth, Western St., 29:32.2.

Top five teams: 1. Adams St., 94; 2. Western St., 101; 3. Grand Valley St., 165; 4. Cal St. L.A., 169; 5. Harding, 186. Top five individuals: 1. Esther Komen, Western St., 20:09.4; 2. Nicole Plante, Mass.-Lowell, 20:15.6; 3. Laura Aderman, Grand Valley St., 20:19.6; 4. Rachael Lanzel, Edinboro, 20:28.5; 5. Agnes Kroneraff, Western St., 20: 29.8.

Quarterfinals: Minn. Duluth def. UC San Diego, 32-30, 30-26, 28-30, 30-20; Tampa def. Dowling, 30-23, 30-27, 30-27; North Ala. def. Ashland, 30-25, 32-30, 30-24; West Tex. A&M def. Lock Haven, 30-26, 30-28, 24-30, 30-27. Semifinals: Tampa def. Minn. Duluth, 30-27. 30-17, 21-30, 30-24; North Ala. def. West Tex. A&M, 30-20, 30-19, 30-22. Championship match: Tampa def. North Ala., 30-25, 27-30, 30-21, 30-17.

Semifinals: Grand Valley St. 2, Tampa 0; Metro St. 2, West Chester 1 (2 ot). Championship match: Metro St. 1, Grand Valley St. 0.

Semifinals: Dowling 3, West Fla. 3 (2 ot) (Dowling advances on penalty kicks, 5-4); Fort Lewis 4, Lincoln Memorial 2. Championship match: Dowling 1, Fort Lewis 0.

Semifinals: Bentley 4, Mass.-Lowell 0; Bloomsburg 2, Indiana (Pa.) 0. Championship game: Bloomsburg 1, Bentley 0.