#10: The CCC launches the CCC Sports Network in conjunction with hudlTV. (link) |
#9: Luther receives a $10 million gift from Michael and Nicole Gerdin and the Gerdin Charitable Foundation, the largest individual gift in the college’s 162-year history, which will serve as the lead gift toward the expansion and renovation of the Regents Center, home to Norse athletics and Luther’s center for sports and recreation. Preliminary plans for the Gerdin Fieldhouse include a new entrance space for the public, a team meeting space, renovation of the locker rooms, and a new common area and study space for student-athletes. AD Renee Hartl: “Students are at the heart of all we do, and these gifts are really about them. Our campus becomes their home for four years, and we work hard to provide an environment where we exercise our minds in classes and labs and we stress and push and exercise our bodies as part of overall wellness and a strong tradition of NCAA Division III athletics.” (link)
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#8: Football quarterfinals are set for Saturday. (link) |
#7: A pair of AQ updates from last week’s DIII Championships Committee meeting. The committee has denied the MASCAC’s Women’s Hockey waiver as one core member is obligated to compete in its affiliate conference through 2024-25, which would impact the conference’s AQ waiting period. The NEVC Men’s Volleyball AQ has been granted for the 2025 Championship. (link)
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#6: Hardin-Simmons Women’s Soccer HC Lance Key retires after two years leading the Cowgirls and 17 overall as a head coach. (link) |
#5: Adrian and Calvin will leave the GLCHL after 2023-24 to become inaugural members of the Great Lakes Six Hockey Conference in ACHA D1. (link)
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#4: Bridgewater taps Stevens Tech Cross Country and Track & Field HC Lance Harden as the Eagles’ new Cross Country HC. (link) |
#3: Following the tragic passing of AD Kristina Navarro-Krupka, Wisconsin-Platteville appoints UWP Director of Communications and the Public Information Officer Paul Erickson as interim AD. Erickson previously served as the Pioneers SID. Chancellor Dr. Tammy Evetovich: “Dr. Navarro-Krupka left an indelible mark not only on our athletic programs, but our entire campus. As we continue navigating this challenging time following the loss of our colleague and friend, I am grateful to Paul for stepping into this role and offering reassurance and guidance as we move forward. He brings a wealth of experience and will provide the leadership needed.” (link)
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#2: D3football reports the MASCAC has removed affiliate Football members Castleton, Plymouth State, UMass Dartmouth and Western Connecticut from its 2025 schedule, with In the D3 FB Huddle’s Frank Rossi adding: “MASCAC core members were concerned that the Little East core members listed above were going to eventually bolt for a new ‘Little East Football’ conference that has yet to materialize. Further, according to sources the ejected schools were provided little, if any warning about the forced exit — meaning the schools are scurrying to find a solution.” A new LEC football league would require two more members for an AQ, with D3football noting: “If the LEC and MASCAC each have AQs and we do not have expanded playoffs by the time the LEC is eligible ... we'll be in a world of hurt.” (link, link)
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#1: Adrian President Jeffrey Docking sits down with All Things Division III Soccer’s Paul Oliu about his strategy to growing enrollment through athletics that is the foundation for his 2015 book “Crisis in Higher Education: A Plan to Save Small Liberal Arts Colleges in America,” which helped grow enrollment from 800 to 1,800 students during his tenure. Docking’s three-legged stool for supporting new sports includes quality facilities, a full-time coach and support for program costs, which includes travel, game day, etc. As the president, Docking is keenly aware of the recruiting necessary for this strategy to be successful and gets weekly updates for applications, acceptances and deposits for each coach and their “quota.” Asked how the strategies in the book have changed since 2015, Docking observes the finances have gotten much more challenging, with economic and demographic changes, and that the strategy of investing in online education is no longer a failing strategy, given the technological advances and necessity due to COVID. Looking ahead, Docking says the end goal for this strategy puts enrollment at Adrian around 2K, beyond which point the college would need more dormitories, cafeterias and facilities, continuing: “We're building something that we call the College of the Future here. … And the College of the Future for us is a school of 2,000 with all of these activities, but actually, when a kid enrolls every year he or she is guaranteed that the cost of college will go down every year. That instead of ‘Oh, this year, it's going up 3% or 4%, or 2%,’ is that your most expensive days your first day, and that we'd be the first college and ultimately the first sector because there's just such a sector-wide interest in this to lower costs for students.” More. (link)
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