What do you get when you combine hundreds of academically minded and athletically gifted student-athletes, a week of top-flight championship competition, first-class facilities and a polished spirit of camaraderie, all in an Olympic-style atmosphere?
You get the Division II National Championships Festival, which has become a sparkling gem in the Association’s jewelry box.
Division II, which only a few years ago wasn’t even certain about its identity, now claims the National Championships Festival among the many innovations that support the division’s strategic-positioning platform. The third festival this May in Houston had it all: six team champions crowned in five days of competition, interactive events for participants and fans, and opening and closing ceremonies to celebrate student-athlete academic and athletics achievement.
As exciting and entertaining as the festivals are from a competition standpoint, they do something perhaps even more important that has become a symbol of Division II stewardship – they engage the community. From Habitat for Humanity builds to youth clinics that emphasize physical fitness and life skills for hundreds of local school children, Division II festivals leave the host city a better place.
Such community engagement and collaborative energy is what we have come to expect from a division whose presidents and chancellors have made it their mission to tear down the ivy-covered walls that once separated campuses from their surrounding communities. Using athletics as the front porch, the Division II festivals are national examples of the community engagement regularly occurring on Division II campuses across the country.
It has been inspiring to watch Division II re-invent itself during the past five years. Led by visionary presidents and dedicated staff, Division II is no longer the middle child in the NCAA family. Its identity is strong and its direction strategic. The theme of “I Chose Division II” is resonating proudly throughout the Division II membership since it is based on student-athlete input and places student-athletes at the center of attention – and rightly so.
The next Division II National Championships Festival – the first winter-sports version – will be this coming March, also in Houston. The division has established a rotation in which festivals will be conducted in three of every four years (one per season) so that each class of student-athletes has a chance to reach what has quickly come to be regarded as the pinnacle of Division II championship competition.
Congratulations, Division II! Your National Championships Festivals are another diamond in the NCAA’s championship collection.
– Myles Brand, NCAA President