National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2010
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DIII takes its message to the media
Jun 8, 2010 10:06:44 AM |
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By Gary Brown The NCAA News
While that's remarkable in itself, it's what Yuot did afterward that elevates the story for Harris. Yuot, a Sudanese native who received an NCAA Inspiration Award in 2005 after surviving an escape from his war-torn country as one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," gathered the many honors he earned from the marathon and caught a bus back to campus, clasping the trophies against his sweaty uniform. He peeled off the labels that identified him as the sixth-place finisher (and first-place Philadelphian) and carted the trophies to a store to have them recast as awards for his coach and various executives at Widener – including President Harris – in appreciation for what those people had done for him as a student and as an athlete. "Here is a guy who is unheralded – not many know his story – but that's the kind of story you often find in Division III," Harris said. "When you work in the kind of environment we do, those kind of uncommon achievements are surprisingly common at our campuses." Harris, chair of the Division III Presidents Council, recounted Yuot's story in front of about two dozen representatives of Indiana-based Division III institutions and several media members June 4 in Indianapolis during the first stop of a "media tour" to highlight the Division III strategic-positioning platform. Harris also cited the co-valedictorians of Widener's 2008 graduating class, the salutatorian in 2009 and the student body president in 2010 – all of whom were varsity student-athletes – as examples of the integration of athletics and academics at Division III institutions. Other stories followed from meeting participants, such as the DePauw softball student-athlete who on an internship with the New York City fire department was among the first people on the scene January 15, 2009, when pilot Chesley Sullenberger heroically landed a US Airways plane in the Hudson River… …And of Wabash football student-athlete Brock Graham, who instead of spending spring break at Padre Island took 20 teammates on a missionary trip to Botswana… …And of four Baldwin-Wallace soccer student-athletes, who turned a simple idea into a mega-success in Haiti earthquake relief efforts – part of the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's challenge to campus and conference SAACs to match a Division III gift of $100,000. "Those are the kinds of stories that knock you over," said Jim Lefko, sports editor at the Indianapolis Star. "That kind of specific angle resonates even with people who don't have a vested interest in DePauw or Widener or Wabash or whatever school. These people just appreciate a good story when they hear one. It doesn't matter what school the athlete is with – many don't even know where DePauw is, and that doesn't matter." Lefko and others media members there told the Division III schools to keep sending those kinds of story ideas to the major markets, even if not all of them draw coverage. NCAA Interim President Jim Isch agreed, saying that while the NCAA has more than 1,000 institutional members, the media is most likely to follow a set of 60 Division I schools. But the real NCAA story isn't always in Division I. "Division III composes more than 42 percent of our membership, and yet I know for some of the folks in the media, you don't have as much information about the wonderful things going on at those institutions," Isch said. "Division III members have athletics budgets on average of less than $2 million, but they sponsor an average of 17 sports. They certainly value participation in intercollegiate athletics as it relates to the overall development of the student." The Division III story While those individual tales provided examples to meeting participants of how to strengthen relationships with their local media and further promote student-athletes, members also focused on the broader Division III story and how to relate the strategic-positioning platform to a wider audience. Division III Vice President Dan Dutcher urged the representatives from the Division III schools to implement the national platform locally. In telling the day-to-day story of student-athlete accomplishments, relate it back to the platform as to how student-athletes "develop," "discover" and "dedicate" themselves to becoming productive citizens and leaders, Dutcher said. Division III student-athletes are encouraged to pursue their interests and passions – to "discover" themselves – beyond the classroom and fields of play, Dutcher said, which is why the platform emphasizes "proportion" as an attribute. Division III institutions also promote an environment that allows student-athletes to "develop" into well-rounded adults. Widener President Harris noted how many Division III student-athletes are encouraged to study abroad, just as their student-body counterparts – an opportunity that might not be readily afforded to student-athletes receiving an athletics scholarship. Finally, Division III student-athletes "dedicate" themselves to achieving their full potential, just as the rest of the student body does. Wabash Athletics Director Tom Bambrey said the Division III story is one that gives prospective college students another option when making their college choice. "Our platform helps prospects and their parents better understand what Division III is so that they can weight options when making a college choice," he said. It also helps them understand the context of athletics as part of an integrated college experience. Dutcher recalled a March 2008 series in The New York Times that quoted athletes who said they didn't enjoy their college experience as much as they could have, in part because of the demands their athletics participation placed on them, even in non-revenue sports. "But this is not about comparing Division III to Divisions I and II," Dutcher said about the platform. "This is about giving Division III institutions the tools they need to better articulate what Division III is all about so that current and prospective student-athletes can make informed decisions to achieve the most out of their college experience." Dutcher said more stops are planned with the Division III "media tour," including one in Washington, D.C., and perhaps others in the New England area and the upper Midwest. "Now that Division III better understands what its story is, it is time to tell it more broadly and more aggressively," he said.
Meeting participants Presidents
Commissioners
Athletics directors
Senior woman administrators
Faculty athletics representatives
Sports information directors
Student-athletes
Media representatives
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One of Widener University President Jim Harris' favorite stories is about star runner Macharia Yuot's brush with fame in 2006. Just one day after winning his first NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship (after finishing second the two previous years), Yuot placed sixth in the Philadelphia Marathon.