Mar 23, 2010 9:37:07 AM

Videos depicting the unique student-athlete experience identified in Division III's new strategic-positioning platform are now available for members to download.

Two revised versions of the video that debuted at the Convention – a full five-minute version and a 30-second option – are available to access and download in multiple formats.

The videos will reside temporarily on the NCAA championships promotion Web site until the Division III identity activation Web site is launched later this spring. To access and download the videos, users must enter the user name "ncaa" and password "membership."

Click here to review the five-minute version and here for the 30-second spot.

The videos employ the "three D's" that are integral to the platform's positioning statement – discover, develop and dedicate – and feature various speakers describing the Division III student-athlete experience in their own words, over images portraying academic, athletics and co-curricular activities.

"Since the launch of the platform in January, Presidents Council members have heard from colleagues across Division III about how excited they are with the values we have articulated and what the platform will mean for the division in the years ahead," said Widener's James Harris, who chairs the Division III Presidents Council. "People are excited about not only educating and engaging the Division III membership but also about prompting the public to recognize the many strengths of our division. Our videos help us do just that."

The final cut of the video incorporates suggestions made during its unveiling at a January 15 Issues Forum during the Convention, Harris said.

In a memorandum to Division III members, Harris reiterated how the video and other visual branding elements of the division's strategic-positioning platform support the goals of communicating Division III's identity.

"The purpose, among other things, is to more precisely define Division III and articulate its distinctive values," Harris said. "It is important to speak with one consistent and unified voice and recognize the power and persuasion that will come as a result."

Harris also noted how the branding campaign educates and engages the Division III membership about how to apply it at the conference and campus levels.

To that end, the Division III Presidents Council approved an allocation of $1,000 annually during the next two years to every member institution and conference, for use in obtaining materials such as signs and banners that would help activate the initiative at the local level.

Harris said there's more to come as far as activating the platform.

"Initial activation will occur at spring championships and on the NCAA Web site," he said. "But this is just the beginning of an ongoing strategy."

For more on the Division III identity initiative, click here.