Roberta Page, former director of intercollegiate athletics at Shippensburg, begins her new duties Wednesday as a director of championships at the NCAA national office.

Page was hired by the NCAA championships group after serving as AD at Shippensburg since June 2003. Among championships in all divisions that Page will oversee are those in track and field, swimming and diving, gymnastics, and tennis. She also will serve as the primary liaison to the Division II Championships Committee.

Page brings plenty of championship-administration experience to the table after coordinating many NCAA postseason events on her own campus and helping with various Division II championships as a member of the governance structure.

Page talked with The NCAA News about the importance of NCAA championships for student-athletes, what it takes to stage them well and how the Association’s governance structure plays a key role in providing a valuable experience for participants.

NCAA News: You’ve had plenty of experience hosting championships, both on your own campus and as a member of Division II governance groups in charge of the Division II National Championships Festival. What are the most special aspects of NCAA championships − in any division?

Roberta Page: As an athletics director, I’ve always encouraged my staff to run our regular-season games like they were a championship. We always tried to make sure our venues were prepared to the best of our abilities. We always included as much work staff so that visitors, officials and community members felt like we really cared about what we were doing. We tried to treat everyone with respect, whether it’s a championship or not.

Everyone realizes that the NCAA championship is the pinnacle of what we play for, so you always want to make it an “ah ha” type of experience for student-athletes. Not everyone gets to a championship in their experience as a student-athlete. Perhaps that championship experience is the first time they walk onto your campus, and you want them feel like they are participating in the most important game of their lives. You want that first impression to be an experience they’re going to remember.

NCAA News: What do you hear most from the student-athletes who participate in NCAA championships? What do they like about the experience in particular?

Page: They particularly love the new marketing and signage that the NCAA has coordinated. There’s nothing better than going into a stadium and seeing that someone has gone to great lengths to welcome you – whether through huge banners welcoming them to the hotel or to opening ceremonies or to signage at the stadium itself. Student-athletes respect that someone has taken the time to personalize that once-in-a-lifetime event for them.

Similarly, at the Division II Festival, the opening and closing ceremonies are awesome for student-athletes, just because they don’t get to do that at all championships. They appreciate that Olympic atmosphere we have tried to stage; that makes it unique and special for them.

And also, kids are kids. They love going to the hotels, spending time with other student-athletes, hanging out in the hospitality rooms with their peers. They like knowing that people care about their experiences beyond just the competition – the social aspect and camaraderie. They like the community engagement as well, such as Habitat for Humanity or interacting with senior citizens or staging YES clinics. They appreciate the idea of the whole student-athlete being reflected in that championship experience. It makes them understand that they need to do what they can to get the most out of this experience, since they might not get back to a championship again.

NCAA News: Your experience as an athletics director, your accomplishments in event management and your service in the governance structure (former DII Management Council chair) make you well qualified for your new duties as a member of the national office championships team. How will the insights you have gained “in the trenches” contribute to your new job?

Page: Anyone in my athletics director shoes knows you often have to function in a crunch situation. When it comes to championships, you have to have your house in order even before you submit a proposal to host an event because we have so much else going on at our campuses, and we know the world doesn’t stop just because we’re hosting a championship event.

I understand what ADs on campuses are going through, especially in schools that don’t have all the amenities and resources that other institutions have. For example, say it has rained all night and you have an event the next day. Well, that event isn’t going to happen unless you have a great relationship with your grounds crew who will stay up late and get out there with sump pumps and sweep the water off the turf. Many of us have had to join in and get our hands dirty and help out. You have to be organized to deal with these crunch situations because when you’re hosting, sometimes you have people on your campus the very next day after selections – and you better be ready.

So you have to have great working relationships with folks on your campus. And I feel confident that because I’ve had those kinds of relationships with the people at Shippensburg, I’ll have the same kinds of relationships with the championships managers that I’ll get to work with at the NCAA national office.

NCAA News: What have been your favorite experiences at Shippensburg? In other words, what will you miss about being involved directly at the campus level?

Page: I’ll miss the daily interaction with student-athletes. As is the situation at a lot of other campuses, student-athletes are in and out of my office all day long, and most of the time we’re interacting and laughing about things going on in their lives. Times have changed over the years, so they keep me grounded with what is going on in life. We wouldn’t have jobs if it weren’t for them; we certainly wouldn’t have interesting jobs if it weren’t for them, so that daily interaction is something I’ll miss. But I’m excited about interacting with another group of administrators who share that passion for enhancing the student-athlete experience.

NCAA News: You’ve also been very active in NCAA governance as a member of several committees. The way the NCAA conducts its operations through a vast committee structure may be one of the most unique aspects of the Association. How has the committee structure been so successful from a championships-administration standpoint?

Page: The NCAA and its governance structure see the whole picture. I have been fortunate over the years to be involved with great people who want to do the best they can for student-athletes. I have been blessed to serve on the Management Council and see what is involved in athletics administration. I have been able to spend a lot of time – whether in meetings, socially or on the phone – with key NCAA staff members who have taught me so much about what it’s like to be a contributing NCAA member. You don’t do that every day if you don’t have a passion for it.

Ever since I decided to pursue this opportunity, (I’ve discovered) it’s interesting to hear the perception people have locally of what the NCAA is. They think of the NCAA national office as their White House. I hear from people who say, “Hey, Roberta, I was watching the softball super regionals and I saw the big blue NCAA logo.” Well, they’ve seen that NCAA logo hundreds of times before, but they don’t notice it until they know someone who’s going to work for the national office. It’s an honor to think about working with the passionate individuals there. I’m excited to learn – to take the career in a new path for the student-athletes.