Few individuals understand what it takes to build an empire in the realm of NCAA Division II athletics better than Grand Valley State University Director of Athletics Tim Selgo.

Selgo won eight consecutive Learfield Sports Directors’ Cups from 2003 to 2011 and is once again guiding GVSU to the top of the 2013-2014 standings after a triumphant fall season, which saw the program pile up 437 points by capturing two national titles and four top-three finishes.

It all starts with recruiting, and elite student athletes continue to make Allendale their new home.

“The academic reputation of GVSU is the top selling point we have,” Selgo said. “The second thing is our campuses. I’ve talked to numerous recruits; they say when they visited our campus they knew. It’s safe, and the downtown and Allendale campuses are state-of-the-art facilities. Quality academics and facilities help recruiting.”

The sales pitch begins with academics and facilities, but the winning tradition — along with the opportunity to win a national championship — is what coaches use to seal the deal.

The broad-based program has a winner’s attitude that seems to exist across all 20 varsity sports, and if the Directors’ Cup is an accurate depiction of overall success, then it’s fair to say the institution is currently second to none.

Grand Canyon University, which claimed the most recent pair of Directors’ Cups, now competes at the Division I level, which means GVSU has finished ahead of all active Division II teams for an entire decade.

“It still comes down to the coaches selling themselves and the (program),” Selgo said. “In Division II, we are dealing with partial scholarships. We have to sell ourselves because sometimes we don’t have enough scholarship money and we have to beat other schools with less — and we have.”

The rich are getting richer from a talent standpoint, and the coaches have a lot to do with it.

Cross country and track and field head coach Jerry Baltes and women’s soccer head coach Dave DiIanni, for example, have combined to win ten national titles since 2009.

“The one thing we really sell is that our student athletes get better,” Baltes said. “With running, you can see it firsthand. We just sell the total package. They have a chance to win an NCAA championship, earn a degree and have a great experience with the great facilities and team environment we have.”

He has certainly done his fair share of winning for the program, as evidenced by his 11 national coach of the year awards between cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. His programs additionally set the bar in the GLIAC on an annual basis.

He said another asset to GVSU Athletics is the ongoing encouragement that exists between each of its varsity sports and the degree of depth each team has.

“Part of it is we have great support all the way up and down, starting with the administration,” Baltes said. “Our assistant coaches and student athletes do a great job and have great depth. When someone graduates or gets hurt, others can step in and pick up where they left off.”

Perhaps no individual can explain the waiting game better than senior goalkeeper Abbey Miller of the women’s soccer team, who played in just seven total games in her first three seasons.

Miller watched from the sideline as two-time NSCAA All-America first team honoree Chelsea Parise played her way to a distinguished Laker career stockpiled with accolades.

“She led them to back-to-back national championships and was a great person to be behind and learn a lot from,” Miller said. “I just went to practice every day and learned from her, which was a huge help in re-learning the things from high school. Everyone kept saying to wait my turn and I would have my opportunity to get a starting spot.”

She made the most of her opportunity this fall by earning a ring of her own to go with the second lowest Division II goals against average in a single season (0.16).

Similar success stories are commonplace for many Lakers who are willing to wait their turn in order to have a chance at achieving greatness, and It seems many more will carry the torch with Selgo at the helm.

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 14 sports — seven women’s and seven men’s.