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Postseason Updates…
➤ Wisconsin-Oshkosh women’s volleyball takes home the first national title in program history, with a win over La Verne. (link)
➤ WashU women’s soccer goes back-to-back with a 2-1 national championship game win over Emory. (link)
➤ Tufts men’s soccer won its fifth national title with an overtime win over Trinity (TX) that saw the Jumbos score the latest goal in DIII title game history with four seconds left to send the game to OT. (link)
➤ Check out the third-round matchups in the football bracket after this weekend’s games. (link)

Empire 8 Executive Director Chuck Mitrano is the inaugural guest on the league’s Upon Further Review podcast to discuss a number of topics, including membership, with Mitrano stating the conference is comfortable at 12. On the E8’s legislative positions ahead of the 2026 NCAA Convention, Mitrano notes the time is right for the proposal to permit students to practice and not be charged with a season of eligibility: “I just believe that people are seeing things differently given how much the landscape has changed in the past three years. If you look again at how Division I and Division II have had so many pro-student-athlete adjustments to their standards and to their experience in general, you go back and you think that, ‘Wow, three years ago when this was initially up, none of those things had even happened yet, and it still had the support of all of those committees.’ So now, it should just be blatantly obvious to our leadership and to our institutions that times are changing and change is hard. I totally get that, but this is not the hill we should be dying on.” Mitrano believes now is the time to get the division’s perspective on this topic as higher education also changes, with the average student taking 5.1 years to complete their four-year undergraduate degree, per IPEDS. On the pushback to this proposal, Mitrano states if DIII treats its student-athletes like all students, schools don’t push students out of clubs or degree programs after just four years and calls the idea of coaches abusing this rule a “scare tactic,” as the proposal does not provide a fifth season of competition. On the multi-bid AQ proposal: “I think that could just be an unhealthy thing for the landscape because I think you'll see conferences trying to become mega and you're going to have a lot of moving pieces that are going to – it is just going to cause a lot of distress to the landscape in Division III.” More. (link) 

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have introduced the Helping Undergraduate Students Thrive with Long-Term Earnings (HUSTLE) Act, per Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos, who notes via the legislation, college athletes would get the opportunity to put up to $35K in unused NIL account funds into “tax-advantaged investment accounts for student athletes, require trustees to provide financial education, and establish regulations to prevent abuse.” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, who endorsed the act, remarks: “The HUSTLE Act represents a constructive approach by establishing tax-advantaged NIL investment accounts that encourage financial education, long-term savings, and responsible management of earnings. We appreciate Congress’s sustained bipartisan commitment to developing national, consistent standards that support student-athletes and enhance their opportunities in this rapidly changing environment." (link)

President Donald Trump posted a cryptic message on Truth Social yesterday, expressing concern for the future of college sports: “College Sports is in $BIG trouble, just like I said it would be. A judge, with no knowledge or experience, ruled and, rather than fighting, the sports reps FOLDED. Can’t do that.” Trump did not identify the judge or the situation to which he was referring, but the post comes exactly six months following Judge Claudia Wilken’s approval of the House settlement. (link)

Of note from the world of DI, Athletes.org has published its first collective bargaining agreement framework that outlines clear terms between student-athletes and a governing body, comparisons to pro sports and the benefits for all parties. The four-year proposal would include a revenue share template agreement, “school-specific revenue-sharing percentage based on pro rata revenue per sport,” a five-year max on eligibility, a removal of third-party NIL limitations and more. Oklahoma (DI) AD Joe Castiglione: “We are facing a pivotal moment and must embrace the inevitable change. In order to do that successfully, we need to have all parties at the table to forge a path to a future with clear enforceable rules, alignment with our educational academy and a durable framework that appropriately shares both the investment and growth of our entire enterprise in a stable and sustainable way. Undoubtedly, it’s a complicated road to travel and new ideas will always oblige scrutiny and criticism. We can’t let that deter us. Athletes.org’s CBA draft may not be perfect today, but it’s one of the first concrete blueprints I’ve seen which integrates the athlete’s side of this paradigm shift. It includes the student-athlete’s very necessary perspective around their rights and realities but it also identifies pathways for a wider athlete ecosystem of general participation and Olympic hopefuls. There’s more work to do but efforts like this move the conversation from abstract talking points to workable solutions.” More. (link, link, link - full framework)

Texas Lutheran cut the ribbon on the new nearly 10K-square-foot Verne Lundquist Student Athletic Center this weekend. The new space includes locker rooms, a wright room and a visitor center showcasing the alumnus’ memorabilia. (link)

It’s Personnel…
➤ Wilkes President Greg Cant will retire in August 2026. (link)
➤ Howard Payne hires Eastern Illinois (DI) Asst. AD for Athletic Marketing & Fan Engagement Elliott Hansing as its new Deputy AD. (link)

We offer our deepest condolences to the LeTourneau community following the passing of men’s soccer student-athlete Henry Shore. (link)

Deal Digest…
➤ CCNY signs a partnership with Athlete’s Thread to provide customized NIL merchandise. (link)
➤ Anna Maria has joined the MASCAC’s conference-wide licensing deal with Nexus Licensing Group. (link)

Coaches.wire…
➤ Beloit Women’s Soccer HC John Baillie resigns after two seasons leading the Buccaneers. (link)
➤ Lynchburg names Liberty (DI) club HC Joshua Knapp as its new Men’s Volleyball HC. (link)
➤ Spalding Women’s Volleyball HC Taryn Glass is no longer leading the Golden Eagles. (link)
➤ Twenty-two different sports have at least one coaching staff change in this morning’s edition of Coaches.wire. (link)

The S&P Global Ratings has presented a negative outlook for U.S. nonprofit colleges in 2026, with analysts noting institutions “will struggle to navigate through mounting operating pressures and uncertainty that will require budgetary and programmatic adjustments.” According to Higher Ed Dive’s Ben Unglesbee, the credit ratings agency pointed to federal policy changes, enrollment competition, rising costs and financial disruption from new revenue-sharing arrangements with college athletes as the major factors behind the negative forecast. Unglesbee: “Last year around this time, S&P analysts split their outlook for the sector in 2025, leaning negative for ‘highly regional, less-selective institutions that lack financial flexibility’ but positive for larger colleges with ready demand and ample resources. However, the Trump administration has since waged a painful campaign against many of those large, previously well-positioned institutions. The federal government has frequently frozen the research funding of the high-profile colleges it is investigating. It has also broadly curtailed college research funding, long a source of revenue and jobs at universities and innovation and knowledge for the country. Next year could bring more cuts to research funding as federal agencies push for limiting reimbursement for overhead research costs. However, federal courts have so far blocked those moves.” S&P analysts: “We believe that a continued contraction in funding could not only threaten the financial health of institutions across the country, but could also jeopardize graduate and postdoctoral programs, and overall research capabilities.” More. (link)