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NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Jun 16, 2010 9:18:56 AM

The first Division II Presidents and Chancellors Summit in Orlando in 2005 featured a slick package of imagery designed to distinguish Division II from other membership classifications.

It was not, however, the launch of the "I Chose Division II" theme that will be omnipresent at the 2010 Summit, which will be conducted June 18-19 in Indianapolis. At least not directly.

Does anybody remember "Bring Your A Game"?

That was the theme for the 2005 Summit, and though it may be little remembered now, the effort played an important role in pushing Division II toward building a stronger self-image.

"Bring Your A Game" was built on a concept of balance. The central design component was a balanced capital "A" that provided the fulcrum of the word "Balance."

"The ‘balance' concept was to connote the connection between academics and athletics in Division II," said Minnesota Duluth Chancellor Kathryn Martin, who chaired the Presidents Council at the time.

The presidents were so taken with the effort that some assumed, and hoped, that the imagery would be used from that moment forward as the foundation of a Division II identity campaign.

The only problem was that it didn't work well for that purpose. The leap from an iconic "A" to "Division II" was too big, and using the word "Balance" alone didn't really suggest Division II. So, while the "balance" approach was an effective tool within the context of the Summit, Division II had to make a fresh start in addressing its identity problem.

This time, Division II got the sequence right.

Over the next year, Martin and then Pfeiffer President Charles Ambrose led the development of a strategic-positioning initiative, which was followed later by a series of visual elements.

The creation of the platform was difficult and, at times, somewhat painful. After all, it required almost 300 higher educational institutions to agree upon the principles that bonded them together.  But after countless meetings and sidebar conversations, a strategic-positioning platform was completed in mid-2006.

The two key parts were a Division II positioning statement and six unique Division II attributes.

Among other things, the positioning statement (titled "Life in the Balance") stated: "The emphasis for the student-athlete experience in Division II is a comprehensive program of learning and development in a personal setting."

The six attributes reflected six overall NCAA brand attributes. The Division II attributes were balance, learning, passion, resourcefulness, service and sportsmanship.

Ambrose said the effect was transformative, with the benefits ranging from public acceptance to a better defined membership to stronger financial justification. The platform was so successful that the philosophy statement in the Manual was subsequently altered to reflect its contents.

"Part of the reason for changing from defense to offense for the division was to mitigate migration out," Ambrose said. "Here we are today with a membership process that's using the platform to make certain that we discern the alignment between institutional mission and membership in Division II. There is a much more deliberate engagement with institutions seeking membership that are willing to commit to live out those distinctions. It's 180 degrees from where we were in 2005."

Once the platform was in place, Division II filled the engine with high-octane fuel: the community-engagement and game-environment initiatives. The first was based on the belief that Division II institutions could become stronger faster by building broad alliances within their communities. The game-environment initiative was a promise to create an atmosphere at Division II athletics events that reflected the values of Division II.

In the meantime, Division II built on its nascent championships festival concept, living out its philosophy through a unique event that included tones of all six attributes.

With everything added up, Division II membership suddenly meant something. Marks were developed that came to stand for the principles behind the Division II platform.

The "I Chose Division II" tagline has served the division well. The words conveyed that administrators, coaches and student-athletes most often chose to affiliate with Division II institutions because of benefits such as smaller campuses, more traditional student experiences or high teacher-student ratios. The accompanying hexagon provided a readily recognizable icon that reflected the six Division II attributes.

Ambrose said the effort has been well worth the effort, and he is grateful to the late NCAA President Myles Brand for taking a chance on Division II. Nowadays, fans and friends of the division see the slogans and symbols everywhere on Division II campuses, from athletics facilities to T-shirts to the backs of personal computers.

"The greatest appreciation was for Myles encouraging Division II to step out and claim its identity," he said, "because the risk obviously was that divisional distinctiveness would potentially dilute the overall identity of the Association. But he saw a much bigger vision by which a really strong Division II identity made for a stronger overall value for the Association."

In fact, it was a Grade A approach.