Previewing DII National Championships Festival in Orlando

The Division II National Championships Festival begins this week in Orlando, Florida, where six spring championships will be conducted through May 25. This marks Orlando's second time hosting the Division II Festival. It also hosted the inaugural event in 2004.  

Hosted by Rollins and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission, the festival is designed to enhance the student-athlete experience, create more awareness and exposure for Division II sports and increase attendance by having multiple championships in one location. Each festival features opening and closing ceremonies, social opportunities for student-athletes and community engagement events. Student-athletes are housed in centrally located hotels, allowing for an athlete village atmosphere.

Below is an overview of this year's event, along with some of its history. 

Festival by the numbers

6 — The festival will feature championships in six sports: men's and women's golf, women's lacrosse, softball and men's and women's tennis. Six winners of the Elite 90 award, given to the student-athlete in each sport with the highest GPA at NCAA championship finals sites, and six winners of the Team GPA award, given to the team in each sport with the highest cumulative GPA at the festival, also will be named. 

13 — The 2024 festival marks the 13th such event since the inaugural event in 2004 in Orlando. It will be the second spring festival in Orlando. The festival rotates among fall, winter and spring sports.

46 — As part of Division II's 50th anniversary celebration, winners of a commemorative scholarship will be announced on ncaa.org and on-site during opening ceremonies at the festival. Scholarships of a little over $1,000 will be awarded to 46 student-athletes. Through this initiative, $50,000 in total scholarship funds will be distributed for use during the 2024-25 academic year.

82 — The number of teams that will travel to Orlando seeking an NCAA championship. When broken down by sport, this comes out to 16 teams for men's and women's tennis (32 total), 18 teams for women's golf, 20 teams for men's golf, four teams for women's lacrosse and eight teams for softball.

800 — Approximately 800 student-athletes will compete at the festival. A few hundred other school representatives, including support staff, will experience the event as part of each team's allotted travel party.

Festival highlights

In addition to the trophies on the line, student-athletes will get the rare chance to mingle with peers in different sports from across the country. 

Below are a few additional highlights of the festival:

Opening and closing ceremonies: Teams will gather Monday at Mango's Tropical Cafe for opening ceremonies. Closing ceremonies will be Saturday at the Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs' Royal Palm Ballroom.

Student-athlete lounges: Converted ballrooms at festival hotels will serve as dedicated areas for student-athletes to socialize and relax. The lounges will feature video gaming stations, televisions and games. Separate areas will be dedicated for use by student-athletes looking for a quiet place to study. 

Community engagement: Student-athletes will participate in a variety of community engagement opportunities, a core component of NCAA Division II championships, throughout their time in Orlando. 

Venues                                               

Competitions will be held at these locations:

• Men's and women's golf — Orange County National Golf Center, Winter Garden. Men: Crooked Cat course. Women: Panther Lake course.
• Women's lacrosse — Showalter Field, Winter Park.
• Softball — Boombah Soldiers Creek Park, Longwood. 
• Men's and women's tennis — Sanlando Park, Altamonte Springs.

Links and more

To learn more about the festival, visit ncaa.com/d2festival. For results, follow Division II on X (@NCAADII) and Instagram (@ncaadii), as well as the sport-specific ncaa.com pages below: 

• Men's golf.
• Women's golf.
• Women's lacrosse.
• Softball.
• Men's tennis.