Welcome to the first winter-sports version of the Division II National Championships Festival!

After a successful spring-sports debut in 2005, a fall-sports event in 2006 and another spring edition last year, our fourth festival will crown champions in wrestling, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s and women’s indoor track and field this week. In all, more than 1,000 student-athletes will participate in the festivities – our largest collection to date.

The Division II Presidents Council’s advancement of the festival concept five years ago coincided with the division’s broader effort to identify its attributes and activate them strategically at the conference and campus levels. The division boldly identified what makes it unique, and then established policies and initiatives (such as community engagement and game environment) to help institutions and conferences live those attributes.

The festival approach, while not created specifically as part of the division’s branding campaign, certainly has contributed as something uniquely Division II. Our ability to combine championships, celebrate student-athletes’ athletic and academic abilities and provide events that engage the festivals’ host communities has evolved during the same period in which Division II has actively engaged in enhancing and promoting its identity.

The festival provides a powerful platform from which our coaches and student-athletes tell the Division II story. When we stage the festival, we make sure that the public recognizes the balance that exists within Division II. Our membership has been very clear in stating that the student-athlete experience is supposed to be about balancing high-level competition, academic excellence and involvement with community.

As people experience the festival, they’ll see all of those play out. They will see the high-level athletics competition at any venue they walk into. They also will see the spotlight shine on the academic achievements of our athletes and teams, their grade-point averages and graduation rates – that is something we purposefully add to the festival.

People also will see the festival as an event that celebrates Division II with resources that are appropriate for these economic times. All of us are facing budget constraints – including the division as a whole. We are committed to hosting a unique championships experience for our student-athletes, yet in a manner that is fiscally responsible for our membership.

I hear from colleagues and administrators who also tell me that the festival has created a state of mind in which student-athletes set the event as a team goal. They like the years in which there is a festival for their sport because it creates a buzz  Student-athletes embrace it as a place where they are treated specially and receive the recognition they deserve for their achievements.

We have intentionally established a rotation for the festivals so that student-athletes in each sport get the chance to participate in one during their four-year careers. That kind of Olympic-style approach keeps the event fresh and heightens the anticipation for the teams and individuals who advance.

The Division II National Championships Festival is unmatched. To those who are here in Houston this week, take pride in the fact that you have made it to a special event, enjoy your experience with your student-athlete peers – be they teammates or rivals – and most importantly, relish the fact that you chose Division II as a unique platform from which to fulfill your collegiate experience.

Stephen Jordan is chair of the Division II Presidents Council.