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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Division II leaders ready to scale second summit
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By Gary T. Brown
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
Two years ago, about 140 Division II chancellors and presidents converged on the East Coast to talk about the future direction for a division that at the time was looking to nail down its identity.
Now about 140 Division II chancellors and presidents are headed to the West Coast to celebrate their accomplishments and talk about a brighter future.
The second Division II Presidents and Chancellors Summit June 22-23 in San Diego will include many of the same leaders who participated in the 2005 summit in Orlando, but how they feel about their division has changed since then, due in large part to what the historic first session led to:
“Division II’s identity crisis is over,” said Charles Ambrose, president at Pfeiffer University and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. “We’ve gone from having our presidents and chancellors being told what Division II is not to having them define what Division II is. We’ve come from playing defense in 2005 to playing offense in 2007.”
Ambrose said the last eight months have been critical in building to the San Diego summit. The National Championships Festival hosted by the University of West Florida crowned a record six team champions in one day and provided an in-person and in-action illustration of the Division II attributes identified in the strategic-positioning platform.
Then at the January Convention, Division II delegates adopted historic legislation that instituted a community-engagement concept that suspends normal recruiting and student-athlete benefit rules when institutions conduct community-engagement activities. A subsequent community-engagement workshop in April helped conferences understand how to activate the community concept, including an interactive Web site (diicommunity.org) that offers resources and ideas.
“We’ve certainly begun getting tools into the hands of conference and campus leaders,” Ambrose said. “As the surge in momentum continues toward San Diego, our expectation is to get presidents and chancellors to understand the relevant utility and value of these tools that were the result of their good work two years ago.”
The summit will feature 18 speakers and presenters, including Ambrose, NCAA President Myles Brand, CSTV Executive Vice President Tim Pernetti and sports-leisure consultant Rich Luker. Fourteen Division II presidents and chancellors also are scheduled to be on the dais.
Panels include updates on activities since the 2005 summit, the CSTV partnership, the community-engagement initiative and activation of the strategic-positioning platform, as well as open forums on the future and next steps, including membership challenges and opportunities.
“We hope presidents and chancellors will walk away from this year’s summit with a great deal of satisfaction in progress made since the 2005 summit, a sense of pride in being part of these important Division II initiatives, and a commitment to be engaged on new initiatives that are identified as part of the 2007 summit,” said Division II Vice President Mike Racy.
Ambrose agreed, emphasizing the need to stimulate a sense of challenge.
“There will be some deliverables and some direct benefits to members, such as the community-engagement materials and the results of the financial study,” he said. “But there also is the challenge of taking those tools and being creative and innovative in effecting change. When we commit ourselves to aligning what Division II is with the positioning platform, it’s exciting to speculate about the future.”
The summer meeting agenda includes a focus on the benefits of Division II membership classification and an update from the Executive Committee’s membership working group. In addition, an update on the discussion about regionalization for championship selection will be provided.
Council members also will discuss Convention items, including possible modifications to the Division II philosophy statement (to incorporate the strategic-positioning platform) and a recommendation from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to require Division II schools to conduct life-skills programs.
The meeting is expected to adjourn at noon. Division II officials have reserved Friday afternoon for presidents to attend conference meetings. The Presidents and Chancellors Summit will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Charles Ambrose, president, Pfeiffer University, and chair of the Division II Presidents Council
Myles Brand, president, NCAA
Tom Bryant, president, Pittsburg State University
Charles Dunn, president, Henderson State University
Margaret Mary Fitzpatrick, president, St. Thomas Aquinas College
Debbie Ford, vice president for student affairs, University of West Florida
Antoine Garibaldi, president, Gannon University
George Hagerty, president, Franklin Pierce College
Rich Luker, chief strategy officer, Relay Events and Sports Marketing
Jack Keating, chancellor, University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Doug Kristensen, chancellor, University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kathryn A. Martin, chancellor, University of Minnesota Duluth
Eddie Moore Jr., president, Virginia State University and vice chair of the Division II Presidents Council
Karen W. Morse, president, Western Washington University
Rob Oliver, president, Augustana College (South Dakota)
Tim Pernetti, executive vice president for content, CSTV
Beverley Pitts, president, University of Indianapolis
Bill Scoggins, president, Colorado School of Mines
Now about 140 Division II chancellors and presidents are headed to the West Coast to celebrate their accomplishments and talk about a brighter future.
The second Division II Presidents and Chancellors Summit June 22-23 in San Diego will include many of the same leaders who participated in the 2005 summit in Orlando, but how they feel about their division has changed since then, due in large part to what the historic first session led to:
- Development of a comprehensive strategic-positioning platform that identifies Division II’s unique attributes and characteristics.
- Creation of a visual identity campaign that ties hexagon imagery to the six key Division II attributes of learning, balance, passion, sportsmanship, resourcefulness and service; and a slogan (“I Chose Division II”) that identifies Division II as a thoughtful destination.
- Enhancement of the Division II National Championships Festival, the most recent of which was staged November 16-19, 2006, in Pensacola, Florida.
- Provision of a toolkit and “online store” that allow schools to activate and co-brand the creative application of Division II’s strategic position through signage, posters, field stencils, print ads and more.
- Implementation of a community-engagement initiative anchored to the strategic-positioning platform that encourages Division II athletics programs to partner with their institutions to become the “town square” of their communities.
- Development of research that quantifies the financial benefits of the partial-grant model of athletics aid in Division II.
“Division II’s identity crisis is over,” said Charles Ambrose, president at Pfeiffer University and chair of the Division II Presidents Council. “We’ve gone from having our presidents and chancellors being told what Division II is not to having them define what Division II is. We’ve come from playing defense in 2005 to playing offense in 2007.”
Ambrose said the last eight months have been critical in building to the San Diego summit. The National Championships Festival hosted by the University of West Florida crowned a record six team champions in one day and provided an in-person and in-action illustration of the Division II attributes identified in the strategic-positioning platform.
Then at the January Convention, Division II delegates adopted historic legislation that instituted a community-engagement concept that suspends normal recruiting and student-athlete benefit rules when institutions conduct community-engagement activities. A subsequent community-engagement workshop in April helped conferences understand how to activate the community concept, including an interactive Web site (diicommunity.org) that offers resources and ideas.
“We’ve certainly begun getting tools into the hands of conference and campus leaders,” Ambrose said. “As the surge in momentum continues toward San Diego, our expectation is to get presidents and chancellors to understand the relevant utility and value of these tools that were the result of their good work two years ago.”
The summit will feature 18 speakers and presenters, including Ambrose, NCAA President Myles Brand, CSTV Executive Vice President Tim Pernetti and sports-leisure consultant Rich Luker. Fourteen Division II presidents and chancellors also are scheduled to be on the dais.
Panels include updates on activities since the 2005 summit, the CSTV partnership, the community-engagement initiative and activation of the strategic-positioning platform, as well as open forums on the future and next steps, including membership challenges and opportunities.
“We hope presidents and chancellors will walk away from this year’s summit with a great deal of satisfaction in progress made since the 2005 summit, a sense of pride in being part of these important Division II initiatives, and a commitment to be engaged on new initiatives that are identified as part of the 2007 summit,” said Division II Vice President Mike Racy.
Ambrose agreed, emphasizing the need to stimulate a sense of challenge.
“There will be some deliverables and some direct benefits to members, such as the community-engagement materials and the results of the financial study,” he said. “But there also is the challenge of taking those tools and being creative and innovative in effecting change. When we commit ourselves to aligning what Division II is with the positioning platform, it’s exciting to speculate about the future.”
Presidents Council to meet in conjunction with summit
With the high concentration of chancellors and presidents in San Diego, Division II is modifying its summer governance schedule by moving the Presidents Council meeting regularly slated for August to June 22, the day before the summit. That means the Council will not meet in person August 9, though the group has scheduled a 90-minute teleconference that day to address any unfinished business from the June 22 session.
The summer meeting agenda includes a focus on the benefits of Division II membership classification and an update from the Executive Committee’s membership working group. In addition, an update on the discussion about regionalization for championship selection will be provided.
Council members also will discuss Convention items, including possible modifications to the Division II philosophy statement (to incorporate the strategic-positioning platform) and a recommendation from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to require Division II schools to conduct life-skills programs.
The meeting is expected to adjourn at noon. Division II officials have reserved Friday afternoon for presidents to attend conference meetings. The Presidents and Chancellors Summit will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Summit speakers
Speakers scheduled for the second Division II Presidents and Chancellors Summit June 22-23 in San Diego:
Charles Ambrose, president, Pfeiffer University, and chair of the Division II Presidents Council
Myles Brand, president, NCAA
Tom Bryant, president, Pittsburg State University
Charles Dunn, president, Henderson State University
Margaret Mary Fitzpatrick, president, St. Thomas Aquinas College
Debbie Ford, vice president for student affairs, University of West Florida
Antoine Garibaldi, president, Gannon University
George Hagerty, president, Franklin Pierce College
Rich Luker, chief strategy officer, Relay Events and Sports Marketing
Jack Keating, chancellor, University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Doug Kristensen, chancellor, University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kathryn A. Martin, chancellor, University of Minnesota Duluth
Eddie Moore Jr., president, Virginia State University and vice chair of the Division II Presidents Council
Karen W. Morse, president, Western Washington University
Rob Oliver, president, Augustana College (South Dakota)
Tim Pernetti, executive vice president for content, CSTV
Beverley Pitts, president, University of Indianapolis
Bill Scoggins, president, Colorado School of Mines
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