Oct. 26—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.

Northwestern, a NCAA Division III member as of 2008, has a robust athletic program offering 18 sports teams and averaging roughly 325 student-athletes each year.

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. Forty-two percent of the total NCAA membership is comprised of Division III schools.

Cureton, a member of the Division III Presidents Advisory Group and Division III Nominating Committee, was joined on the tour by:

• Jack Ohle, President, Gustavus Adolphus College
• Steve Nelson, Athletics Director, University of Wisconsin-Superior
• Dan Dutcher, NCAA Vice President for Division III
• Marie Godwin, Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) chair (represents the UMAC and MIAC leagues on the committee)
• Erik Christianson, the NCAA Director of Public and Media Relations and Northwestern alumnus
• Jennifer Royer, NCAA Associate Director of Public and Media Relations

Learn more about UMAC athletics and the Northwestern College athletics program.