Dr. Cureton promotes NCAA Division III on media tour
ST. PAUL – Dr. Alan Cureton, president of Northwestern College and chair of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Presidents Council, was one of seven individuals to represent the NCAA on a recent media tour promoting the association’s Division III Identity Initiative. Cureton, a member of the Division III Presidents Advisory Group and Division III Nominating Committee, was joined on the tour by Gustavus Adolphus College president Jack Ohle, University of Wisconsin-Superior Athletics Director Steve Nelson, NCAA Vice President for Division III Dan Dutcher and the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) chair Marie Godwin, who represents the UMAC and MIAC leagues on the committee, Erik Christianson, the NCAA’s Director of Public and Media Relations and a Northwestern College alumnus, along with Jennifer Royer, Associate Director of Public and Media Relations, were also present on the tour.
The media tour is part of an NCAA Division III branding initiative that was launched in the summer of 2010 to bring attention and focus to the positive values of intercollegiate athletics and raising awareness of the unique attributes and compelling stories associated with student-athletes within Division III. Division III student-athletes are actively engaged in their communities, both on and off campus. The Division III philosophy integrates athletics as part of the entire student-athlete experience, allowing opportunities for those individuals to discover their passions, develop into well-rounded individuals and dedicate themselves to achieving their potential. The six most-defining traits of Division III are balance, comprehensive learning, passion, responsibility, sportsmanship and citizenship.
The Midwest is a hotbed for NCAA Division III institutions, with 20 member-colleges and universities in Minnesota, 25 in Wisconsin, 10 in Iowa and one in South Dakota. In those four states alone, there are 25,411 Division III student-athletes. 42 percent of the total NCAA membership is comprised of Division III schools. Seven of this year’s NCAA Woman of the Year nominees, including the UMAC’s nominee in Northland College’s Chelsea Lundgren, are from Division III schools in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The UMAC has been a member conference of the NCAA Division III since the 2008-09 academic year, and will receive automatic berths into eight NCAA Championships throughout the 2010-11 season.