#10: In addition to many other budget requests, Western New Mexico is asking for funding for new Baseball and Women’s Soccer programs. (link) |
#9: The DII Presidents Council and Management Council approved a number of recommendations this week. In their final meeting, the Presidents Council approved the new triennial budget recommendations for championships, which includes $1.3M for enhancements and expanded postseason fields for Field Hockey, Men’s Lacrosse, Women’s Lacrosse, Women’s Golf and Women’s Track & Field, allocated a $4.4M FY23 budget surplus that will see around $13,500 distributed to each member and sponsored a 2025 NCAA Convention proposal to eliminate certain qualifiers for two-year college transfers. Effective next month, the new 14-member DII Executive Board will take over, with Texas-Permian Basin President Sandra Woodley serving as vice chair. Management Council approved removing cannabinoids from the drug testing list at championships, changes to sports gambling reinstatement guidelines, add a second student-athlete representative to the Championships Committee and Legislation Committee and a mental health hardship waiver pilot program through 2024-25. (link)
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#8: Missouri Western State hires UT Martin (DI) Assoc. AD of External Operations Ryan Menley as Senior Assoc. AD for External Relations. (link) |
#7: Saint Augustine’s will begin classes online this semester to ensure classrooms and residence halls are in good condition. (link) |
#6: BOSCA Founder/former Oklahoma City (NAIA) AD Jim Abbott pens on the expectations for senior administrators to be successful. First, “Do your job well.” Beyond just your responsibilities, Abbott points to the importance of revenue and recruiting for everyone in the department, advocating and speaking frankly about challenges, setting the example, helping to solve problems before they reach the AD’s office and more. Looking for professional development: “Share with me your ambitions so that I can help you achieve them. Make sure that your AD knows what your career goals are. If those goals are focused on continued growth in collegiate athletics, then they are in a unique position to help expand your experiences and network in a way that will help you grow and better prepare you for the opportunity that you desire. That having been said, make sure that you are focused on doing your job to the best of your ability instead of focusing on finding the next one.” Check out the full list of a dozen expectations. (link)
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#5: New Lubbock Christian AD Andrew Sorrells joins the LCU Coaches Show to talk about his priorities for year one, his development to becoming an AD at 27 years old and more. Stepping into the chair, Sorrells credits his student-athlete experience at Texas Tech (DI) and serving as the GM for the TTU-aligned Air Raiders TBT team with learning about the industry at a high level, discipline and having to do a bit of everything, adding: “You get all sides of it, but then you also realize, there's a lot that goes into it. That's the same deal as an athletic director. There's a lot that goes into it and you don't know until you get in that position, but to oversee all these sports, it is a lot. It's a big responsibility, but it's also good to know that it's on my watch, that I'm comfortable that if things are going wrong, it's on me.” In his first year, Sorrells plans to spend a lot of time listening and working to develop resources. “I think there's a lot of people willing to step up and support our values for LCU. And so I would say year one, for sure and probably every year, resources are going to be a main focus because one that impacts winning, two it enhances the student athlete experience and three it's just what we have to do to stay competitive.” (link)
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#4: At Saturday’s DII business session, membership approved week 0 legislation for Football by a vote of 89-80, AQ privileges for all team sports except Football, which lost by a vote of 83-84, decreasing the number of sponsored programs for a DII championship to 35 for men’s and women’s sports, which includes a three-year grace period for sports that fall below the threshold and eliminates exceptions for Olympic sports. With AQ privileges passing, the DII Championships Committee will cap a bracket at 60% AQs and “establish as policy that bracket expansion be considered at the next budget opportunity whenever a sport reaches a 50% threshold. However, should a sport exceed the 60% limit while being considered for bracket expansion, the Championships Committee may maintain automatic qualification while the bracket size is being addressed.” Concordia-St. Paul AD/Championships Committee member Regan McAthie: “This legislation will ensure that all conferences that sponsor team sports, other than football, will be represented in the national championship. This may help with sponsorship growth, as well, as there would be guaranteed access for the conference when at least six members sponsor the sport. We know that championship access is often discussed when evaluating whether institutions and or conferences are looking to add a sport, and this legislation removes that barrier.” (link)
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#3: Small College Basketball releases the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List. (link) |
#2: Lincoln (MO) President John Moseley has volunteered to go on paid leave following the passing of former VP for Student Affairs Antoinette Candia-Bailey. (link) |
#1: Minot State AD Kevin Forde has resigned after a year-and-a-half leading the Beavers. VP for Student Affairs Kevin Harmon will lead the department on an interim basis. (link) |
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