A comprehensive survey of the public and key Division II constituents indicates that the general population is not familiar with the division but that various components of the membership — especially student-athletes — are strong advocates.

The Web-based survey, conducted this spring, is an important element in Division II’s strategic-positioning initiative that is designed to sharpen Division II’s identity and bolster support for its programs.

The good news from the survey was that student-athletes, especially females, enthusiastically support the division. More than 75 percent of the respondents rated their Division II experience as "excellent" or " very good," and nine in 10 said they would recommend Division II to prospects.

The bad news was that only one-third of respondents from the general public said they were familiar with Division II while about 40 percent said they were outright unfamiliar with the division. Even fewer people appear to understand how many divisions make up the Association, suggesting that the public has little understanding of college athletics beyond Division I.

"In a way, this confirms what many of us have long suspected," said Division II Vice President Mike Racy. "Thousands of administrators, coaches and student-athletes strongly believe that Division II is right for them for many good, practical reasons, but people on the outside think of college athletics only in terms of the largest programs."

Even though the survey contains some discouraging news, the good news seems more important since it appears to demonstrate that Division II is succeeding in its attempts to create a well-balanced academic, athletics and social experience for participating student-athletes. That, in turn, suggests advocacy potential.

"There is a clear opportunity to utilize student-athletes in helping develop and carry the message of the Division II experience," said the report, authored by media researcher Jeff Jacobs. "An endorsement from those who have first-hand experience with Division II athletics carries a legitimate and powerful message with other audiences."

The survey also showed that coaches care about Division II. They made up 41.9 percent of the institutional respondents, and Jacobs said the level of their response alone indicated their interest in helping build stronger public support for Division II athletics programs.

One other key finding: Nearly half of the public respondents indicated they had never attended a Division II sporting event, with most of the remainder saying they attended only special events. While that result is disappointing, it is not necessarily surprising. However, when asked why they did not attend, the most common reason was a lack of awareness — not knowing what events what occurring or when they were occurring.

Not sure if there are Div. II events in my area. 37

There are no Div. II events in my area. 28

Not sure of Div. II event dates and times (not published locally). 20

No interest in Div. II teams/events. 18

Attend other sports events. 14

Other 8

"This is actually encouraging because it seems to show that people might attend Division II events if we could devise better ways of promoting them," Racy said. He said meeting that challenge will be one of the main tasks for the new Community Advisory Group, a membership task force charged with identifying ways to elevate local awareness of Division II athletics programs (see related story, page 16).