Festival highlights Division II titles

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — Six Division II NCAA titles will be decided over the next few days in a national championship festival complete with opening and closing ceremonies and Olympic-style villages.

This is the first time postseason participants from different sports have been brought to one site by the NCAA, which usually holds championship events around the country. If the festival goes well, it could be scheduled every four years.

“This is a test, and we’ve made no commitments beyond this year,” said Mike Racy, the NCAA’s vice president for Division II. “But I think, so far, it’s been very successful, and our expectations have been surpassed.”

There’s also the possibility of Division I schools embracing the format, as well as holding festivals for the fall and winter seasons.

Full competition began Thursday in softball, women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s golf, and men’s and women’s tennis. The last of the titles will be decided Sunday.

It was four years ago that former NCAA president Cedric Dempsey came up with the idea of a festival, Racy said. The goal was more exposure for the schools and their athletes while providing a unique experience.

To that end, the venues and lodging are located close to one another in the Orlando suburb of Altamonte Springs, promoting “cross-pollination,” Racy said. Also, the hotels have lounges for the athletes stocked with video games and foosball tables.

At Wednesday night’s opening ceremonies, held at Universal Orlando’s Hard Rock Live, the 72 teams were introduced, and two-time softball Olympic gold medalist Dot Richardson delivered the keynote address before a concert by the rock band Collective Soul.

“Our coach said she was told a few years ago, if you ever were going to qualify (for the championships) ‘04 was the year,” Northern Kentucky pitcher Sarah Newland said.

Northern Kentucky athletic director Jane Meier noted that holding championships in the same area allows a school’s students and staffers to cheer on athletes competing in different sports — in her case, men’s and women’s golf plus softball.

Also, there’s some money to be saved.

“From a travel standpoint, it means not having to fly (teams) to three different parts of the country,” said Meier, who is heading up a traveling party of about 30.

There’s money to be earned, as well.

John Saboor, executive director of the Central Florida Sports Foundation, estimates that the festival will bring $3 million in direct spending to the region.

A Division I festival is a possibility, Racy said, but only in some sports. While golf and tennis might be easy to relocate, it’s safe to say Omaha, Neb., wouldn’t easily surrender the College World Series.

“It probably will be easier for Division III to move in this direction than Division I,” Racy said.