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American Rivers Commissioner Marie Stroman sits down with College.town COO Maria Buckel at the 2025 Women Leaders in Sports Convention to dive into the league’s new strategic plan. Regarding streaming, as the league has since announced it will move its basketball championship behind a paywall, Stroman notes the league will provide funds to members this year to invest in upgrading broadcasts. On the American Rivers Sports Network: “That network itself is pretty young still and we know that we have some steps to go in terms of establishing standards for broadcasting, making sure that the score bug is on there, the clock is on there, let alone other technological advances in terms of cameras, multiple angles, and the talent you have commenting on the game. All of those things we can elevate to really enhance the experience of the students and also their fans and families watching. … We are hoping year after year in our three-year plan that we can at least take some baby steps in some of those standards.” As for the action item to introduce a new football bowl game with the goal of starting that next season: “It felt like this is a natural fit for the group, in terms of competitive opportunities. When we're talking about competitive opportunities in regard to our strategic plan, what we really need are opportunities that make our programs better. So not just additional games or another chance to play, although our student-athletes are like any other Division III student-athlete in that they love the game; they play for the love of the game. It's really about we want a really meaningful game, a really meaningful competition.” More on BOSCA. (link)

Penn State Harrisburg rebrands its Athletics Partnership Program as the Victory Circle to help elevate partnership experiences, expand engagement and support department initiatives. AD Rahsaan Carlton: “This rebrand and our improved benefits program represents a significant milestone in our commitment to providing engaging experiences for our Victory Circle members while ensuring that their philanthropy will bolster our 19 NCAA Division III programs in this new era of intercollegiate athletics. As we continue to reach new and greater heights, we are excited to invite our Penn State Harrisburg family to make history with us by becoming a member today.” (link)

CollegeSports.jobs showed positive growth in Division III hiring for 2025, posting a 27.63% increase that significantly outperformed the broader market (-47.40%), NCAA (-15.81%), and NACDA (-48.45%). In Q4, CS.j saw a slight decline of -2.82% in DIII, a much smaller decrease than the market (-63.67%), NCAA (-30.17%), and NACDA (-56.25%). (link)

Sport Sponsorship…
➤ Denison will elevate its club men’s fencing program to varsity, starting in 2026-27. USA Fencing CEO Phil Andrews: “Every new program creates pathways for young fencers to compete at the collegiate level, and Denison's track record shows they're committed to excellence. We're eager to continue partnering with institutions that share our vision for the sport's growth, and we applaud the efforts of Coach Grandbois to put Denison fencing on the map.” (link)
➤ Capital will add esports as its 23rd varsity sport. President Jared Tice: “Collegiate esports represents a powerful intersection of student opportunity, technology, and place. At Capital University, our goal is to build a national championship-caliber arena and casting center that draws on the energy, expertise, and momentum of Columbus - positioning our students and our institution at the center of one of the fastest-growing sectors in higher education and sport.” (link) 

It’s Personnel…
➤ Caltech names Johns Hopkins Provost Ray Jayawardhana as the institute’s 10th president. (link)
➤ Pacific Lutheran promotes Asst. AD for Recreation Robert Thompson to Assoc. AD. (link)
➤ The ASC selects Standard of Athletics Sport Program Administrator Sierra Dickson as its new Asst. Commissioner. (link)
➤ Berry AD Angel Mason has been named to the WeCOACH Board of Directors. (link)

CCHA Sports Law and The PICTOR Group have expanded their partnership to provide joint services to schools and conferences. CCHA Sports Law Group Chair Kelleigh Fagan: “The challenges facing athletics today are not one-dimensional. Legal, operational and cultural issues all overlap. Our partnership allows us to meet clients where they are with coordinated expertise that protects institutions, strengthens culture, and matches their unique mission.” (link)

The latest edition of CRO.ticker “moves at the speed of culture,” as both Ad Age and Marketing Brew catch up with executives to get their thoughts on what 2026 has in store. Additionally, The Athletic takes a look at the latest generation of English football stadiums, Country Music Association Director of Business Strategy and Insights Michael Farris joins the Sports Geek podcast to discuss how the trade association is leveraging data to modernize the country music fan experience and Blaize CFO Harminder Sehmi explains why it’s unnecessary to take a Ferrari on a grocery run. All this and more inside. (link)

Coaches.wire…
➤ McDaniel hires Washington & Lee AC Blaine Donnelly as its new Field Hockey HC. (link) 
➤ Union taps high school HC Frank Rogers as its first Women’s Flag Football HC. (link)
➤ A full slate of coaching staff changes across 32 sports can be found in this morning’s edition of Coaches.wire. (link)

Warner Bros. Discovery’s board has unanimously rejected Paramount Skydance’s latest hostile takeover bid, arguing the group’s late December offer "is inferior given significant costs, risks and uncertainties as compared to the Netflix merger." Per Axios’ Sara Fischer, “Paramount's latest proposal addressed some of the board's previous concerns, but didn't raise the price of its all-cash offer higher than $30 per share. … WBD's board argued that Netflix's bid of cash and stock was more valuable, despite the fact that it values WBD's studio and streaming assets at $27.75 per share compared with Paramount's all-cash offer for the whole company at $30 per share. … The board also argued that in weighing Paramount's latest offer, it considered the ‘costs and loss of value for WBD shareholders associated with accepting’ that bid. … In a regulatory filing Wednesday. WBD said it ‘continues to be of the view that PSKY is a litigious counterparty, which raises concerns regarding the likelihood that the Offer (or any related merger agreement) will be completed on the terms proposed.’" More. (link) 

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 6.15% this week, its lowest point of 2025 and down from around 7% in January. While existing home sales have hovered near 30-year lows for three consecutive years, pending contracts have climbed for four straight months, reaching their highest level since early 2023. Bloomberg’s Paulina Cachero reports that economists project wage growth will outpace home price gains in 2026, improving affordability even if rates remain steady, though Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi warns that AI-driven layoffs affecting younger workers remains a "wild card" that could undermine recovery. (link)