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From the College Athletics edition of September 7, 2026

Public-sector association guidanceMixedUndated source

Division II survey provides an adoption baseline and implementation constraints

NCAA Research and Division II governance · Collegiate athletics · United States; Division II member institutions

Publisher
2025 Division II Membership Survey: Comprehensive Findings
Original publication
May 2025; exact day not established
Source retrieved
2026-09-08
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What happened

Nineteen percent of 216 responding athletics directors reported departmental AI use; lack of technical expertise was selected by 79% of 39 respondents in the adopter challenges item.

Why it matters

Historical evidence newly filling the archive's smaller-program gap, not a September 2026 adoption estimate.

Evidence and measured results

Online survey invited 304 institutions; overall N=2,234 across roles. AI item denominators differ. Fieldwork ran January–February 2025, with a presidents/chancellors extension into March. No causal comparison or measured AI savings.

Limitations and uncertainty

Self-report and nonresponse limitations; adoption percentages concern director responses, not all staff or all NCAA institutions. The source's rounded yes/no percentages sum to 101%. No raw data reanalysis.

Put this evidence to work

Lighthouse Advisory interpretation, grounded in this source. Enriched 2026-09-08; this does not change the original publication date. Labels below come from the analysis itself.

Sales

Role takeaway

Use the historical survey to ask about implementation capacity, not to forecast a school's buying intent. Engage an athletics director, communications staff, IT and finance. Ask who supports current tools, which outputs require correction, and whether an approved use inventory exists. A bounded readiness assessment plus one communications-workflow pilot could test whether assistance reduces rework. The value hypothesis is a sustainable service within available staff capacity. Do not translate reported adoption or perceived barriers into guaranteed savings, current market share or demand at a named institution.

Pre-sales engineering

Role takeaway

Fit is an existing, supportable workflow using approved institutional services. Inventory identity controls, publishing interfaces and data access; keep draft generation distinct from public posting. Prerequisites are representative content, baseline quality criteria and named support staff. A proof of value should measure total effort including corrections and support, with source checks for every externally visible factual statement. Test blocked uploads of disallowed information and rollback behavior. No survey result selects a cloud, on-premises or hybrid design, and no model accuracy benchmark is provided.

Delivery

Role takeaway

An athletics operations lead should own scope and adoption, with communications and IT supplying editorial and technical skills. Establish a baseline, pilot one task, train staff with realistic errors and document escalation. Dependencies include protected staff time and access to approved tools. Review scope at launch and after a fixed pilot period. Proposed acceptance criteria include correct completion of critical review tasks, a named primary and backup owner, and measured total effort without reduced output quality. Resistance or support burden should trigger redesign, not pressure to increase usage.

Implementation considerations

Lighthouse Advisory interpretation across the operating dimensions a public-sector buyer must settle before this evidence becomes a design. Each note answers the question under its heading for this specific source.

Architecture and integration

What must connect, and where does the AI sit in the workflow?

Prioritize supported integrations and manageable operations over bespoke models.

Governance

Who approves, reviews and stays accountable for outcomes?

Validate departmental inventory locally before scaling access.

Security and privacy

What data, permissions and controls need testing?

An adoption response does not establish safe handling; review data classes before permitting uploads.

Accessibility and workforce

Who is affected, and what skills or accommodations follow?

Pair accessible training with observed task competence, not attendance alone.

Procurement

What should contracts, pricing and exit terms secure?

Cost staff support and maintenance alongside subscriptions.

Operating model

Which teams own the service once it runs?

Establish a help route and backup owner for each pilot.

Publication history

  1. 2026-09-07College Athletics · Issue 023 resources
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Stable resource ID: ncaa-division-ii-ai-adoption-survey-2025