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NCAA President Charlie Baker joins Tulane Sports Law Professor Gabe Feldman on the SportsWise podcast to discuss a number of legal topics. Here are Baker’s most notable comments…

➤ On what the NCAA wants to be able to do but can’t without some limited antitrust exemption: “The primary issue for us is really around what I would describe as sort of eligibility. And when I talk eligibility, I'm not just talking five years to play four, I'm also talking academic eligibility. I mean, we've had judges basically throw out academic eligibility in some of these cases that we've been in court on. … If we get to the point where grades don't matter anymore for anybody who's playing college sports, I think that's a problem. … I think the federal preemption around a lot of the state laws, which really are just naked attempts by states to create special advantages for the schools in their own state and competing, that's not just an NCAA issue. That's a conference issue as well. … To me, the big issue with the transfer thing is do you really want kids transferring every year? …  We have a lot of that now because they can. And again, if you get rid of the academic rules and you get rid of the eligibility rules generally, then you've completely divorced the whole idea that getting a degree matters or figuring out what it is you want to do with the rest of your life matters. Even for the kids who play in the 5% of the very top end of college sports, the vast majority of them are not going to play professionally, and we are not doing them a favor by pretending that their college degree is meaningless.”

➤ On if amending the Sports Broadcasting Act would generate the necessary revenue to pay rising athletics costs: “If you think about the kinds of organizations who would have an interest in that, they're some of the biggest and most powerful entities in America. You're talking about Amazon and Apple and Google and the NFL and Paramount. I mean, there's some people there with a lot of throwaway, and that all by itself, I think, makes everybody a little nervous about what would actually happen if it were to be opened up.”

➤ More on SBA: “I think the second piece is merely opening it up and giving people the ability to bundle doesn't really do much unless you're willing to dramatically alter the schedule. When people talk about this and they talk about leverage, you can't talk about leverage unless you're willing to talk about the calendar, right? Because who people play is what ultimately is the issue that drives viewership. It's not how many people are part of the universe, it's who do they play and what day do they play them on, and what does the schedule on the calendar actually look like? And I think that's a much more challenging issue and a much bigger question than just opening up the Sports Broadcasting Act.” More from Baker. (link) 

Central Missouri AD Matt Howdeshell joins The “A Game” Show with MIAA Commissioner Mike Racy and KQ2’s Chris Roush to discuss his two-and-a-half years in Warrensburg.

➤ When he began at UCM, Howdeshell surveyed student-athletes and found those results indicated mental health support, nutritional support and NIL support enhancements would most positively impact their experience. As a result, UCM created a mental health support position dedicated to athletics, engaged a donor to build and support their new fueling station that served over 29K protein shakes last year and made a number of NIL moves, including the launch of a collective and a fee-free Opendorse marketplace. Further, the department’s partnership with Bespoken Spirits and the Central Stable Collective further supports NIL, and UCM outpaced multiple SEC partners of Bespoken’s in Q1.

➤ Coming from DI, Howdeshell on the investment to be competitive and invest in student-athletes: “I tell our donors all the time that we're one of the few Division II schools that can provide those [holistic care model] resources at this level, and you better believe our coaches use that too when it comes to recruiting and making sure that the student-athletes and their parents and their families know that they're going to get DI resources but have the opportunity to compete for national championships at the DII level.”

➤ On DII more broadly: “At the end of the day, we have to be really careful with what we're doing here and not blow up a great thing and remember that we are focused on, for us, the 550 student-athletes who are going to be going professional in something other than sports. … I think we are much better positioned with where we are in the landscape than maybe some of those mid-major Division I conferences are. … I'm optimistic that here at the high end of Division II, in conferences like the MIAA, we have a financially sustainable model where you can compete for national championships, you can play schools in your geographic footprint in your region, and have rivalries maintain regional rivalries and compete at a high level still.” More. (link)

The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) presented its strategic white paper on the future of the sport at its 2025 Annual Convention, outlining priorities such as simplifying rules to improve media accessibility and establishing a unified championship weekend for Divisions I, II, and III by 2027, a move the NCAA has reportedly taken "public meaningful steps" toward realizing. Developed with CarrSports Consulting, the framework garnered endorsement from ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus, who noted: "The findings in this White Paper come at a pivotal moment for intercollegiate women’s  lacrosse. As media executives, we’re always looking for compelling sports content that can expand our audiences, and these proposed changes directly address the barriers we’ve seen to expanding coverage. A more streamlined game format would make women’s lacrosse significantly more accessible to casual viewers. When you reduce complexity and create a fast-paced product, you open the door to the kind of storytelling and audience engagement that drives viewership.” Lots more on the sport’s direction & momentum. (link)

Kalshi made headlines after notifying the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that it was self-certifying markets on whether college athletes will enter the transfer portal. The announcement drew a sharp rebuke from NCAA President Charlie Baker, who explained in a statement to ESPN’s David Purdum: "The NCAA vehemently opposes college sports prediction markets. It is already bad enough that student-athletes face harassment and abuse for lost bets on game performance, and now Kalshi wants to offer bets on their transfer decisions and status. This is absolutely unacceptable and would place even greater pressure on student-athletes while threatening competition integrity and recruiting processes. Their decisions and future should not be gambled with, especially in an unregulated marketplace that does not follow any rules of legitimate sports betting operators." Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder notes that “after the backlash reached a fever pitch and went viral across college sports, Kalshi issued a statement that said they are not planning to go live with transfer portal markets at this time, via ESPN’s David Purdum.” A statement from Kalshi to Purdum reads: “We certify markets all the time that we do not end up listing; despite our competitors having these markets live, we have no immediate plans to list these contracts.” (link, link)

The Committee on Infractions found Quincy improperly certified 121 student-athletes in 17 sports over three years, with former Asst. AD for Compliance Taylor Zerbe admitting to falsifying eligibility lists, citing feeling overwhelmed by the certification requirements of the role. Penalties include two years of probation, a vacation of all records in which student-athletes across 17 sports competed and a $5K fine. AD Josh Rabe: “When we found these issues, we acted with integrity and self-reported and were not afraid to admit that something happened. We took the necessary steps to rectify it, and we’re going to move on. … In this situation, we double-check the double-check now. We have taken out the bad actor possibility.” (link, link) 

West Chester has been placed on probation for one year after former Men’s Basketball Volunteer AC Khalif Wyatt placed over 498 impermissible bets totaling more than $176K during his time with WCU. The department acknowledged that even though Wyatt was a volunteer coach and not included during normal sports betting education, it did not provide timely education to all staff. Wyatt has also been hit with a three-year show-cause. (link) 

It’s Personnel…
➤ Indianapolis hires Lenoir-Rhyne Asst. AD for Compliance Andrew Stafford as Deputy AD for Internal Operations/Compliance and promotes Assoc. AD for Compliance Katie Christman to Senior Assoc. AD for Academic Success and Retention/SWA. (link, link)
➤ Wingate Deputy AD for Academic Services and Compliance/SWA Erika Torrez is no longer in the role. (link)
➤ Emporia State elevates Softball HC April Rosales to Assoc. AD for Internal Operations/SWA and promotes Softball AC Megan Hill to be the Hornets’ next HC. (link)
➤ Catawba Assoc. AD for Development Andy Lausier is no longer with the college. (link)

Congratulations to Virginia Union’s Curtis Allen on winning the Harlon Hill Trophy, becoming the first HBCU student-athlete to win the award. Allen finished the season with the fifth most yards in DII history and won by the widest margin in the last decade. (link)

Sport Sponsorship…
➤ After adding women’s triathlon earlier this week, Concord will add women’s wrestling starting in 2026-27 as its 17th varsity sport. (link)
➤ Newman will add Men’s and Women’s Track & Field next year. (link)

Deal Digest…
➤ The ECC is the latest to team up with Athletic Solutions to become its NIL story provider. (link)
➤ Arkansas-Monticello partners with Monticello Coffee Company to create a co-branded Weezy Brew, with a portion of proceeds to benefit UAM athletics. (link) 

Findlay names Gardner-Webb OC Tyler Johns as its next Football HC. (link)

Coaches.wire…
➤ East Stroudsburg will hire a new women’s soccer HC after parting ways with Meagan DeWan. (link)
➤ Indianapolis names Concordia (NE - NAIA) Women’s Soccer HC Nick Smith for the same role with the Greyhounds. (link)
➤ Southern Wesleyan taps Toccoa Falls (NCCAA) Men’s and Women’s Golf HC David Beddingfield for the same position. (link)
➤ Winona State selects East Stroudsburg Women’s Volleyball HC Tricia Melfy for the same role leading the Warriors. (link); WSU hires high school HC Darin Shepardson as its new Cross Country HC/Track & Field AC. (link)
➤ For the full slate of coaching staff changes, check out this morning’s edition of Coaches.wire. (link)

F is for Friday. From fly fishing to FIFA fumbling, the Friday edition of CRO.ticker has you fully covered. SBJ’s Ethan Joyce surveys industry executives on the biggest sports tech trends for 2026, with responses overwhelmingly pointing to the convergence of AI and data to drive hyper-personalization and workflow efficiency. The rising cost of live sports is also a focal point, with Front Office Sports’ Eric Fisher examining FIFA’s latest response to "withering criticism" over exorbitant pricing for the World Cup and the Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay arguing that professional leagues have made an "unbothered short-term choice to chase peak revenue against the clear risk of pricing out their most loyal fans." Find further full features. (link)

More Higher Ed…
➤ Southwestern Oklahoma State President Diana Lovell will resign at the end of the month after being on a leave of absence since August to tend to “personal and family matters.” (link)
➤ After coming off of SACSCOC probation earlier this month, Christian Brothers will eliminate 16 full-time faculty positions to achieve its 12:1 student-faculty ratio and “balance our operating budget and position CBU for transformation.” (link)