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Virgin Islands AD Karen Carty will depart after two-plus years leading the Buccaneers. SWL/Administrative Specialist Donna Andrews and SID Shaquille Richardson will serve as Co-Interim ADs. (link, link)

Bethel (KS) AD Tim Swartzendruber joins This Week in the KCAC to discuss a number of topics. The college has recently launched its Foundations Strong and True campaign with seven core priorities, including raising $750K for a turf field at its softball facility. The Threshers have received a $350K challenge gift towards that goal. On the growth in the national profile of the league: “The KCAC now has schools that are competing at the national level and honestly, 15 to 20 years ago you did not see that. I think that there’s so much more respect for our conference now than what it was when I was at Bethel and before that. … Expanding the KCAC certainly has just pushed everyone to be more competitive. For each of our schools now, I’ve watched it evolve how athletics is driving enrollment at these small institutions, which also helps create the competitiveness. There’s a lot of factors involved. I guess the main one is the talent you see now at these small colleges. It’s very impressive.” With five HC openings in the last year, Swartzendruber on fit: “I want good people. We all want to win. You’re not in this business if you’re not competitive, but really it’s about finding a good person you believe fits the institution and the ethos of the institution.” More. (link)

NCAA Nuggets…
➤ As the NAIA considers voting on a fifth year of eligibility at its convention in April, NCAA DII has decided to refer its fifth year proposal back to its governance structure for further discussion. “The expectation is that the board reports back to the Division II membership on this referral in time for sponsorship of legislation for the 2028 NCAA Convention.” (link)
➤ The NCAA membership voted to add DII women’s bowling and DIII women’s wrestling as championship sports and added women’s flag football as an emerging sport. (link)

As Ottawa (KS) women’s flag football prepares to go for its sixth straight red banner, HC Liz Sowers and AC Katie Sowers speak about the state of the sport and its continued growth, with HC Sowers noting: “This is the top level of flag football. You're going to see Division I schools slowly start adding teams and this sport is just going to explode but, I think that the competition is continuously getting bigger and bigger and with that comes a growth which is something we'd be very proud of.” Further: “There needs to be investment behind it. I think it's gaining so much visibility and with this momentum people are investing in the sport as well because there needs to be more than just permission to play. We need investment and continued visibility.” AC Sowers adds: “On a larger scale, equality and this ability to see women as leaders, as athletes, as aggressive, as strong and as courageous is evening the playing field in more ways than just on the football field.” HC Sowers on recruiting for the Braves: “When I started, it was during COVID, so, I was not able to meet any of these athletes. At the time, there was not Kansas or Missouri flag football, so it was all through social media. I found a player on my For You page on TikTok, who was a junior college softball player from Kansas, who had never played flag football. … Their trust in coming to Ottawa, Kansas is something that's been unique. There's a wide variety of athletes from all over the world: Panama, Canada and Spain. I could watch a basketball highlight video and, and recruit someone. Find me the best high school basketball team, and that's the best flag football team you have. I can promise you that.” (link)

Deal Corner…
➤ The NAIA partners with Ichor to be the association’s official sports drink and alkaline water on a multi-year deal. (link)
➤ Columbia (MO) inks a five-year partnership with Columbia Orthopaedic Group to be athletics’ premier health partner. (link)
➤ Northwestern (IA) will kick off its 2026 football season at Western Illinois (DI). (link) 

Coaches.wire…
➤ Arizona Christian names high school HC Gabby Davenport to lead its upstart women’s lacrosse program. (link)
➤ Hastings hires high school HC DeAndre Robinson as its Women’s Flag Football HC. (link)
➤ Indiana Wesleyan taps high school HC Travis Combs as its first Women’s Flag Football HC. (link)
➤ Missouri Baptist selects local golf pro Michael Wyatt as the Spartans’ new Men’s and Women’s Golf HC. (link)
➤ Check out dozens & dozens of additional coaching staff moves from across the country in this morning’s Coaches.wire. (link)

Enrollment this past fall increased 1% year-over-year to return to pre-pandemic levels, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Public four-year institutions and community colleges saw increases of 1.2% and 3%, respectively, while private four-year nonprofit enrollment fell by 1.4%. For freshman enrollment this fall, four-year public enrollment grew by 1.9% and four-year private enrollment dropped by 2.2%. Geographically, the South led all regions with 3.1% growth. Georgia and Alabama led all states with a 4.9% increase, followed by North Carolina, Utah, Wyoming and North Dakota, all over 4%. On the other hand, Washington saw the largest drop of 4.6%, followed by Indiana, New Jersey and South Dakota, all seeing 3.1% decreases. Among the top 20 major fields, engineering saw the largest growth of 7.3%, followed by health professions and related clinical sciences (5.5%), public administration and social service professions (5.2%), and public administration and social service professions (3.7%). Computer and Information Sciences and English Language and Literature/Letters both saw drops of more than 8%. (link, link - full data)