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Division II hits mark with their new "brand" - Apr 30, 2009 | 8:56:49
posted by: Ryan Powell
I had the privilege of being a guest speaker at the recent Division II Community Engagement Conference in Philadelphia in April. I rightly call it a "privilege" because I am not part of the inner-sanctum at the NCAA. I'm an outsider, and it was an honor for me to be invited to speak in front of so many great athletics directors who had gathered for one specific purpose: Create a better brand for Division II athletics. Why does Division II need a "better brand"? I have a few opinions, mainly from the perspective of recruiting high school student-athletes: Division II is not easily defined. No definition, no story. No story, and it's hard for anyone - especially a 17 or 18-year old kid - to buy in to what's special about the Division II experience. Division II is the place "tweener" athletes have traditionally settled for. By "tweener" I mean athletes that weren't quite good enough athletically for a Division I scholarship, and not academically or financially ready to consider a Division III school. So, for years now, Division II has often been the place where those student-athletes went to continue their athletics careers. Division II has misconceptions they consistently fight against. Misconceptions that I have heard in the past include the thinking that scholarship money is unavailable, sports are not taken seriously, Division II schools aren't good academic schools ... and the list goes on. Comfortably camping out at one of the back tables before and after my involvement in the conference, I observed passionate athletics directors and industry experts talk about how the new Division II theme - "I Chose Division II" - was being used to better brand institutions around the country. There were lots of examples of how different ideas worked at institutions, ideas from other really sharp experts and outsiders, and there was a general feeling the mission the entire conference was trying to achieve; namely, a brand and a strategy that will help them better compete for fans, money and recruits. Based on my experience, here's why I think they're on the right track: They are building their brand around "positive action". The theme of "I Chose Division II" is action oriented. You either choose the Division II ideal, or you don't. And in the case of their branding theme, it's a positive action-oriented idea ... the concept of choosing to be at a Division II program, not settling for a Division II program. The institutions are unified. Where else in the NCAA has a large segment of members aligned their interests in one forward motion with the intent to improve the whole group? I can't name one. At this conference, you had athletics directors sharing ideas and strategies with their competitors openly and enthusiastically. They can tell a better story. It's natural to read the new branding theme of Division II and ask, "Why did you choose Division II?" That allows coaches and athletics departments to create wonderful story lines for their recruits and community about the positive benefits of the Division II experience for the student-athletes. It also allows those departments to dispel the misconceptions that I outlined earlier that are prevalent in the minds of today's high school prospect and their generally uninformed parents. That's a crucial piece to the Division II puzzle that needs to be addressed within every Division II athletics department in the country, because many won't get the chance to sell their benefits if they don't first overcome their prospect's misconceptions. The next challenge for Division II is to take the broad themes and branding initiatives developed over the past two years and customize them to tell effective stories at each individual institution. If they can do that, this powerful brand message will begin to resonate with those that are actively looking for the reason to "choose" Division II athletics. Can Division II programs compete for Division I and Division III athletic prospects on a regular basis? Yes, if the right story is told. Can they persuade those athletes to choose Division II over D1 and D3 schools? Without a doubt...I've seen it happen. The more organized, more unified, and more focused Division II institutions become the more the rest of college sports is going to have to compete with those institutions for athletics dollars and good recruits. The sleeping Division II giant is waking up, and the rest of the college sports landscape is going to have to take notice. 
CommentsIt was a great conference, and the talk you gave Dan was right on the mark. I'm looking forward to hearing more from you. Thanks for your help and advice. Dan, Thanks for writing. I found one line in particular very interesting: What is the Division II ideal? I understand the mantra is that they chose Division II, but I'm wondering if there's an expression of what they chose. For example, I read the interview in the NCAA Champion Magazine with the West Texas A&M president, and everything he describes as being good about Division II can also be applied to Division III. So what's both unique and good, what's the ideal? What can Division II promote about itself that's different than Division III can promote? First off, that's a great article. I wasn't at the D2 conference but I heard that this was one of the best parts of it, according to our AD who was there. The D2 "ideal" in my opinion is a high level of athletics that can compete with Division I programs but yet retain some of the positive traits of the student-centered Division III experience. Basically, we're trying to build the best of both worlds, at least at our university. Great topic! We'd love to hear more about division 2 related ideas. The Division II ideal seems to be "it's someplace I might be able to get some money just to play sports" (as opposed to being someplace where you have to compete academically/financially to get funds). Given the way D2 is shrinking I can understand the need for a branding campaign, but it seems odd to position it as "we're like D3 only better" or "we're sorta like D1 except we're not gonna give you a free ride." I think you really have to question the mission of a Division if it needs to compare itself to other Divisions in order to define itself. It should be able to state it's purpose on its own without needing to put it against something else. How Division II does that is a tough question to answer. I wanted to weigh-in with a few thoughts on all these great comments that were left by the readers of the DoubleAZone blog. I think the reason D2 compares and contrasts itself to both Division I and Division III is that those two divisions, for whatever reason, have done a better job of defining their "mission" over the past decade. Division II, until recently, hadn't done so. I don't know if it's fair to criticize them for doing so now; Mike Racy, the Division II VP, has identified a weakness and is now undertaking a multi-year effort to re-define the D2 story. I could understand criticism of doing nothing, but criticism for facing the problem head on? That doesn't make sense to me. Having witnessed the talks and strategy session first hand, I was impressed by the clarity of what the D2 AD's see as the division's mission and what steps are needed to get there. Will they be able to successfully redefine Division II's brand? Only time will tell. However, all of the NCAA should be rooting for them. The Division II niche is very much needed, in my opinion. Dan -- and that mission was what? Dan, I agree with you opinions on Division II sports. I feel, as a student, that there are misconceptions about what DII sports have to offer. The competition is comparable with DI, but there is more passion for the game. The DII experience is about an extracurricular activity, instead of having the national attention and huge fan base of a Division I program. But the sky is the limit for DII sports, once they achieve more recognition they will see the sky. I agree that Division II institutions can compete with Division I for top of the line athletes. I have experienced it personally while working with a Division II Football team. Many Division I caliber athletes have chosen to come play here in Division II. Though they do not get as much media attention, the scouts are still present at practice on a regular basis. As Division II begins to grow and become more recognized, I believe you will see more athletes going to compete at the next level. Post a Comment |
  
I'm happy to say that I have Mr. Brand's signature on my diploma from IU. Thoughts and prayers to his family.
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