BENEFITS OF DIVISION II MEMBERSHIP

Division II offers the following membership benefits:

• Charges only $900 per year for annual NCAA membership dues.
   
• Annual distribution of enhancement funds to Division II institutions for general operating expenses (totaled approximately $8,500 per school in 2004-05).
   
• Annual distribution of enhancement funds to Division II conferences for general operating expenses (averaged approximately $150,000 per conference in 2004-05).
   
• Annual distribution of grant money to Division II conferences for conference and member school strategic initiatives (totaled approximately $105,000 per conference in 2004-05).
   
• Cover transportation and provide daily per diem for coaches and student-athletes participating in Division II national championships (totaled approximately $10,000,000 in 2004-05).
   
• Provide Division II training and programming in compliance, rules-education, professional development, student-athlete leadership, etc. (totaled approximately $750,000 in 2004-05).
   
• Provide Division II Degree-Completion Scholarships for Division II student-athletes (totaled approximately $400,000 in 2004-05).
   
• National television (CBS, CSTV, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) coverage for 10 Division II men’s and women’s national championships playoffs.
   
• Provide grants to institutions and conferences to hire full-time athletics administrators or coaches in Division II (distributed approximately $1,000,000 in 2004-05).
   
• In addition, membership access to Association-wide funded initiatives or programs, such as:  1) Initial-Eligibility Clearinghouse; 2) New Amateur Status Clearinghouse (2006-07); 3) National Awards (e.g., NCAA Woman of the Year); 4) National Scholarships (e.g., Walter Byers Scholarship, Postgraduate Scholarships); 5) National office staff support from approximately 350 persons.

The following commitments set forth in the Division II philosophy statement directly impact Division II colleges and universities in the following ways.

• The division’s “academics first” philosophy and research-based Division II initial- and continuing-eligibility standards result in Division II student-athletes consistently graduating 8 to 15 percentage points higher than the total student body.
   
• The division’s budgeting philosophy to prioritize expenses that enhance the championships experience has benefited Division II student-athletes.  For example, Division II has some of the Association’s biggest championships brackets and, as a result, Division II has the best access ratio to national championships competition among the three NCAA divisions.  This fiscal philosophy also has given the division an opportunity to be innovative by hosting the Association’s first National Championships Festival last spring that resulted in a $3,000,000 economic impact for the city of Orlando.
   
• The division’s regionalization philosophy for championships selection emphasizes local competition for regular-season competition.  The result is reduced travel expenses for regular-season competition and limited missed-class time for student-athletes.
   
• The division’s commitments to deregulation, integration of the athletics department to the institution’s oversight and control, emphasis on the development of student-athletes as leaders and the division’s commitment to academic excellence all support the NCAA’s mission:  “We are preparing student-athletes to be professional in something other than sports.”