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New DIII identity videos include customizable versions

By Jack Copeland
NCAA.org

A new generation of Division III videos based on the “Discover/Develop/Dedicate” language of the division’s identity initiative is now available online, and versions that can be customized for school or conference use will be available for use later this month.

The videos feature student-athletes discussing how, in addition to competing in intercollegiate athletics “for the love of the game,” they have benefited from the opportunity provided by Division III schools to discover their potential and develop their passions through full participation in campus life, and ultimately to dedicate themselves to success as citizens and leaders in society.

Seven videos exploring those themes – including a 3:40-length video that was shown to Division III delegates at last month’s NCAA Convention in Indianapolis – now are viewable on the NCAA Division III YouTube channel, where they also can be linked to institutional and conference websites.

Schools and conferences also soon will be able to download more than 50 different versions of the videos, including customizable versions (which will permit insertion of institutional images and messages) and closed-captioned and subtitled versions.

The videos are cut in lengths suitable for use as public-service announcements in game broadcasts or webcasts (30 seconds long); as “featurettes” for use on institutional or conference websites (60 seconds long); or for public presentations about the Division III experience (the 3:40-minute version).

They were produced for Division III by Innovative, Inc., which also created Division III’s first videos released in 2010.

All of the new videos – as well as a “customization tool kit” including materials for use in adapting the customizable videos to school or conference use – will be downloadable from an NCAA-managed website. Directors of athletics and sports information directors soon will receive an email providing an online link for accessing those videos, as well as password information.

All versions of the videos explore the “Discover/Develop/Dedicate” themes, as follows:

• Discover:  Portraying how student-athletes can compete in competitive athletics and still discover the full spectrum of campus life.
• Develop: Illustrating how Division III offers the opportunity to develop beyond athletics by giving student-athletes time to commit to other passions.
• Dedicate: Showing student-athletes playing for the love of the game and dedicating themselves to being the best – and demonstrating that most receive some form of non-athletics scholarship or grant from the institutions where they enroll.

“Much like our (two-year-old) inaugural video, the new set seeks to tell our story through the voices of student-athletes, who explain how they have ‘discovered’ what they could achieve at our Division III institutions, how they have ‘developed’ their passions not only for sports but for life, and how our schools enable them to ‘dedicate’ themselves to this experience,” Hope College President James Bultman, who recently completed his term as Division III Presidents Council chair, told delegates who viewed the new video in Indianapolis.

The ability to customize videos is another response to member schools and conferences’ request for promotional materials enabling “co-branding” of Division III-produced materials with their own institutional and conference logos and relevant messages. Other such materials, ranging from signage to T-shirts, currently are available through Division III’s purchasing website, where institutions and conferences are receiving a $500 credit through August 31, 2012, for purchases.

The customizable videos can be used for purposes ranging from portraying Division III’s unique approach to intercollegiate athletics as practiced at a specific school, to the promotion of specific upcoming events – including the inaugural Division III Week observance scheduled in April.

Most of the downloadable videos will be available both in QuickTime (.mov) and Windows Media (.wmv) versions, and the customizable videos include “keyable” QuickTime versions that give editors some flexibility in altering the length of videos and use of graphics. The customization tool kit includes the various motion and identification graphics that appear in the finished version, as well as examples of how some of those graphics may be used.

Seven recent or current student-athletes are featured in the videos:

• Kenton Alston, a criminal justice major and basketball student-athlete at Penn State University, Harrisburg.
• Tucker Glass, a graduate student in history-adolescent education and lacrosse student-athlete at Plattsburgh State University of New York and member of the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
• Austin Griffin, a biochemistry major and tennis student-athlete at Kenyon College.
• Bianca Patel, a chemistry, psychology and pre-medicine major and tennis student-athlete at Case Western Reserve University.
• Cayleb Paulino, a recent graduate who majored in health and physical education and was a soccer student-athlete at Wilmington College (Ohio), and who serves as a member of the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
• Brittany Petrella, a recent graduate who majored in public relations and advertising and was a cross country student-athlete at Rowan University, and who currently serves as chair of the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
• Lizzy Sunderhaus, a genetic engineering/forensic science major and basketball student-athlete at Cedar Crest College.

Questions about the new videos or any other identity initiative programs and resources may be directed to Jack Copeland at jcopeland@ncaa.org.

Jack Copeland is a consultant with the Division III identity initiative.