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Saint Anselm removes the interim tag from AD Phil Rowe, who has been leading the Hawks for the last year. As AD, Rowe has promoted Deputy AD for External Relations Jonathan Harper to Senior Deputy AD for External Relations. (link)

NCAA President Charlie Baker recently sat down with SI’s Pat Forde at the FCS Championship in Nashville for a wide-ranging Q&A on the myriad issues college sports is confronting. Here are some of Baker’s most notable comments…

➤ On getting everyone to coalesce around the idea of a uniform set of rules and meaningful enforcement: “Well, most people [want rules]. … The mere fact that we got the [House] settlement done, and admittedly that came with some outside pressure, I mean, that was an agreement around a set of rules. No one wants [College Sports Commission CEO] Bryan Seeley and his team to succeed more than I do, but they have a way to go there. And the other thing I would say here is that group dynamic decision making is always more complicated than one individual authority or two. Most of the college presidents, most of the ADs and most of the coaches I talk to say they would like clarity on this stuff. We’re setting up a mechanism to create clarity, and it’s based in many cases on some of the key elements that people said were important to them that should be part of it. And now we’re just going to have to see if people can get there.”

➤ On the potential for the SCORE Act passing: “I thought in August we had it for sure. But we got tied up in a lot of other stuff the second time. The first time, some of that was our own issues. We had unity and then we didn’t, and then we had to go get it back. And I thought a lot of the modifications they made to the bill to get certain people back on board were appropriate, and by then we were part of a much bigger set of trades. … In politics, you never say never because windows open, they close, they open, they close. For all kinds of reasons. I think we’re going to have a lot of work to do when they come back, especially if they don’t land the plane on the Jan. 30 [government funding deadline]. I mean, if we go back into another environment where they’re not in session for any extended period of time, I think it gets a lot harder.” More from Baker. (link)

The NSIC expands its partnership with Midco Sports to power the NSIC Network starting in 2026, with all home football, basketball, baseball, soccer, softball volleyball and wrestling games to sit behind the paywall. Commissioner Erin Lind: “We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Midco Sports Plus, which is built on a long-standing relationship rooted in trust and a shared commitment to telling the stories of our 16 member institutions and the student-athletes they serve. Midco will walk alongside our member institutions in the digital space to create a comprehensive streaming platform for NSIC content that connects our loyal supporters and fans across the region, the nation, and around the world.” (link)

Objectors to the House settlement approval between the NCAA and former Division I student-athletes represented by the House, Hubbard and Carter antitrust litigations “have raised unpersuasive and unsupported arguments,” per a brief filed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by the NCAA and power leagues, according to Sportico’s Michael McCann, who notes Association attorneys hope to persuade the Ninth Circuit that it should affirm the House ruling. McCann: “Don’t expect a swift response from the Ninth Circuit, which sometimes takes around two years to decide an appeal. The loser … could also petition the U.S. Supreme Court, which, if it agreed to review, could push the litigation clock back another year or two. The stakes couldn’t be larger in college sports: If the settlement is ultimately rejected, House, Carter and Hubbard would return to the litigation docket and the various new rules governing college sports and athletes’ rights could be removed.” More. (link)  

Tusculum inks a five-year naming rights deal with Eastman Credit Union to name the Pioneers’ baseball stadium. AD Josh Ealy: “This partnership builds on our long-standing relationship with Eastman Credit Union and the Greeneville Flyboys. As one of the premier baseball facilities in the Southeast, Eastman Credit Union Field at Pioneer Park provides an ideal setting to further enhance the experience for both our fans and student-athletes.” (link)

Football Files…
➤ Concordia-St. Paul hires Saginaw Valley State Assoc. HC/former Concordia Ann Arbor (formerly NAIA) HC Josh Schumacher as its next HC. (link)
➤ Northern Michigan names Wisconsin-La Crosse (DIII) Football HC Matt Janus to the same role in Marquette. (link)
➤ Saginaw Valley State selects Indianapolis AC Michael Engle as the Cardinals’ next HC. (link)

Coaches.wire…
➤ Minot State Women’s Soccer HC Chris Logan resigns, citing personal reasons. (link)
➤ Stanislaus State Women’s Soccer HC Gabriel Bolton is headed to Fresno State (DI) for the same role. (link)
➤ Coaches.wire is your one-stop-shop to keep up with all of the coaching staff changes, across all sports at the collegiate level. From Division I through NJCAA, we track all the movements and compile them in one email for your convenience. Check out this morning’s edition. (link)

Savannah State will prepare a protest of its 64-62 men’s basketball loss to Morehouse over the weekend after a pair of questionable officiating decisions, per HC Clevan Thompson. First, a layup scored by the Tigers in the first half was not reflected on the scoreboard. Then, later in the game, student-athlete Michael Swift, who scored the aforementioned layup in question, made contact with Morehouse HC Larry Dixon near the sideline and was ruled out of bounds. Thompson: “They had no explanation for us. All they said was the table had it right — the same table that had been doing an awful job all night long. … At the end of the day, I’ll push my guys to do the best, and they did what they should tonight. The other party should not be a part of why.” (link)

Comcast officially announces the separation of the majority of its cable networks into a separate entity called Versant Media Group, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s Georg Szalai, who notes CEO Mark Lazarus and his staff will “lead the development of an independent strategy,” while also establishing the firm as a potential partner and acquirer of complementary media businesses. Cable channel Bravo, NBC and streaming service Peacock will remain part of Comcast’s entertainment arm NBCUniversal. Lazarus, who has been overseeing most of Comcast entertainment arm NBCUniversal’s TV operations as chairman of the NBCUniversal Media Group, remarks: ‘As a standalone company, we enter the market with the scale, strategy and leadership to grow and evolve our business model.” Szalai: “Media, entertainment and tech giant Comcast said on Monday that ‘Versant will commence regular-way trading today on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol VSNT.’ … The deal was structured as a tax-free spinoff to Comcast shareholders. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and PJT Partners served as financial advisors to Comcast, with Davis Polk & Wardwell serving as legal counsel.” (link)