National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Dec 6, 2010 11:21:59 AM

Division II crowned six national champions Saturday, but I say we had more than 800 winners this week in Louisville. 

That's how many student-athletes competed at this fifth Division II National Championships Festival. Not only did they vie for their ultimate athletic goal, national championships, they also engaged with the Louisville community and studied for their classes (and their fast-approaching finals). 

Our student-athletes know that they are in college to prepare for life and not just to win games. Their dedication shows through as they constantly exhibit the Division II attributes of balance, learning, service, passion, resourcefulness and sportsmanship. They have been especially good at learning, as exhibited through Division II's ever-improving graduation rates. This week, we recognized six of our best with Elite 88 Awards, which are presented to the student-athletes with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the final round of competition. A special mention goes to Kristen Brooks of Shippensburg, the NCAA's first repeat Elite 88 winner.

All of our five National Championships Festivals have been excellent events, but this one more than any other provided the mix that
leads to success: 

A dedicated Division II host institution. 
What a difference this makes. Bellarmine President Joe McGowan was genuinely excited about bringing the Festival to Louisville and to his institution – and it showed. The dedication of his staff, led by Athletics Director Scott Wiegandt, was directly responsible for the success of this Festival.

I suspect that the support of a local institution will become more significant as future sites are awarded. We have tried it with and without, and "with" appears to work much better in terms of promotion and execution. Thanks for President McGowan and all of those at Bellarmine who offered their time so generously.

A vibrant and engaged host city. 
How could you not be impressed with Louisville? It's a beautiful city, which was apparent even through the clouds that we were dealt for most of the week. But more than that, it was a great city for this particular event. The proximity of the downtown hotels made for an easy mix of student-athletes and staff, which is one of the Festival's main goals. Likewise, the relative nearness of the competition
venues greatly contributed to the success of the Festival. Thanks go to Troy Killian, Greg Fante and Karl Schmitt and all of the excellent staff and volunteers from the Louisville Sports Commission.

Excellent facilities. 
Bellarmine's facilities for volleyball and soccer were top-notch, and we also owe a tip of the hat to our Division I friends at the University of Louisville for providing us with a fine stadium for field hockey. The cross country set-up at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park has been refined over time, and that preparation showed through. 

As always, we received great support from the NCAA staff, led by Director of Championships Roberta Page and Assistant Director of Championships Amy Reis. They and other members of the championships staff worked closely with volunteers from the membership to do what they do best: Conduct safe, fair and entertaining athletics competition.

Division II has a unique vision with its Festival approach, and much of the credit goes to NCAA Vice President Mike Racy and Division II Director Terri Steeb.

Thanks to all of you who made this event possible. An announcement of the site for the May 2012 National Championships Festival will be coming soon. I hope you will be able to join us then. 

Kathleen Brasfield is director of athletics at Angelo State University and chair of the Division II Management Council.