#10: The DIII Management Council has approved championship expansion in Football to 40, altering the access ratio for team sports to 1:6, which will see the Baseball, Ice Hockey, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Softball and Men’s Volleyball brackets expand and the implementation of the NCAA Power Index for at-large selections starting this fall. The council also approved NIL protections and resources and a 2025 NCAA Convention proposal to add Women’s Wrestling as a National Collegiate championship. (link)
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#9: Rochester women’s lacrosse graduate attacker Emily Schillinger’s spinning goal against Hamilton was featured at No. 7 on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10. (link) |
#8: Pacific Lutheran AD Mike Snyder chats with BOSCA Founder Jim Abbott about key issues in DIII, his path to the chair, professional development on committees, advice for those looking to sit in the chair and more. Snyder’s path to PLU involved evaluating all DIII AD jobs based on endowment, enrollment, championships to try to “figure out mathematically what the right schools that I could really be a part of.” On the enrollment cliff: “Right now, budgets are tight and they have to be at least for the next few years. Now the outlook down the road for some of us looks better. I mean we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and for those of us who are able to make it through these next few years, I think we will see some better days ahead. But right now, there's no no doubt talking with colleagues here on campus, in the conference, across the country, you just keep hearing, ‘Oh, man, I had to take this percentage cut,’ and we can't do this or that anymore. I have to cut back on these things and you struggle because you have a level of expectation, a level of operating, that you just kind of say that this is how it should be. This is the student-athlete experience that we're providing and when you're invested in this work, it almost feels like a personal cut. … I think that that's kind of the biggest thing is we're all trying to figure out how we continue to provide a great student-athlete experience in a changing budgetary world.” Lots more. (link)
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#7: RIT has broken ground on a new $30M, 38K+ square-foot Tiger Stadium, which will be the home for lacrosse and soccer. The project, which is expected to be completed in fall 2025, will include seating for 1,180, new locker rooms, training room and more. AD Jacqueline Nicholson: “This achievement marks a pivotal moment in our journey to revitalize our athletic facilities and provide unparalleled experiences for our student-athletes, campus community, alumni, and the vibrant Rochester community. Tiger Stadium will stand as a premier outdoor venue, distinguished by its size and configuration. It will elevate our athletic program, setting us apart from our competitors and leaving a lasting legacy for generations to come.” (link)
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#6: Hiram will depart the NCAC for the PAC, with the Terriers to become full members in July and all sports to begin competing in the PAC in 2025-26. Hiram President Robert Bohrer: “Athletics has long been an integral part of the student experience at Hiram College with more than half of our students participating in one or more sports. We are pleased to accept the invitation to again join the Presidents' Athletic Conference, which not only means that our student-athletes will compete with schools more locally and give our fans the opportunity to support our teams at away competitions, but also that our students will spend less time out of the classroom traveling for competition, helping to promote a balanced structure between athletics and academics.” (link)
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#5: Postseason Updates:
+ The latest Men’s Lacrosse regional rankings have Tufts, RIT, Salisbury, Washington & Lee and Ohio Wesleyan atop their respective regions. (link)
+ The Women’s Lacrosse regional rankings are led by Middlebury, Babson, Ithaca, Gettysburg, Salisbury, Denison and Pomona-Pitzer. (link)
+ Williams, TCNJ, Swarthmore, Emory, Case Western Reserve, Chicago, Wisconsin-Whitewater and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps lead their respective Men’s Tennis regions. (link)
+ The most recent Women’s Tennis rankings are led by Wesleyan, Vassar, Johns Hopkins, Emory, Case Western Reserve, Chicago, Carleton, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. (link)
+ Check out the initial Baseball (link) and Softball (link) regional rankings.
+ Here are the latest Rowing regional rankings. (link) |
#4: LeTourneau will depart the ASC for the SCAC, effective 2025-26. President Steven Mason: "The SCAC is an ideal fit for LETU as one of the premier NCAA Division III conferences in the country. It has built a long tradition of athletic success across a range of sports, and its member schools embrace an academic profile that supports our culture and the holistic experience we provide our student-athletes. We're glad to be joining a conference that's growing from strength to strength, and we look forward to partnering with our fellow members in the SCAC and to making our own mark in the conference." (link)
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#3: A new rule finalized by the U.S. Department of Labor will require colleges and universities to provide either a pay raise or overtime benefits to thousands of admissions officers, student affairs professionals and athletics staffers. Previously, universities were exempt from clocking work hours and providing overtime pay to any employee salaried at or above $35,568. The new rule raises that bar nearly 65% to $58,656, effective January 1, 2025. The change is expected to impact roughly 4M employees nationwide, and the Biden administration has tried to address concerns about the timeline by breaking the shift into two parts—first a smaller increase to $43,888 by July 1, and then a larger jump to $58,656 in the new year. American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell: “We are disappointed that DOL failed to fully address the concerns raised by the entire higher education community. Ultimately, students will be harmed if institutions are forced to cut services, reduce financial aid, reduce staffing, and raise tuition to address the rapid growth in costs this rule would produce.” (link)
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#2: NYU names Johns Hopkins Deputy AD Jake Olkkola as its next AD, starting June 10. Senior VP for University Life Jason Pina: "Throughout this process, it became evident that Jake brings a demonstrated ability to manage a complex enterprise; an understanding of the integral relationship between athletic and academic excellence within a Division III program. He has a keen awareness of the opportunities and challenges presented by NYU's unique location in an urban environment and its impact upon our students' experience of sport and, above all, an approach to leadership grounded in integrity and compassion." AGB Search assisted with the process. (link)
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#1: The entire Brandeis Women’s Basketball team has sent a letter to HC Carol Simon stating they will depart if she does not resign, according to the Boston Globe’s Michael Silverman, who reports the call for Simon’s resignation follows the conclusion of a yearlong investigation that found no violations of institutional policies and reinstated Simon. A week after the investigation concluded, members of the WBB squad read impact statements they filed with the Office of Equal Opportunity during a meeting with athletic department staff and fellow student-athletes. Lone senior Selena Gonzalez writing: “I am exhausted from the numerous attempts at recounting my trauma, which continue to be disregarded and ignored. From the second I’ve stepped foot on this campus, I’ve developed and expressed concerns regarding women’s basketball players, especially those of color, quitting under Carol Simon. […] my heart is with the players that still have one or two years left of having to navigate all of this, so just even having to recount my trauma and my story, it’s for them.” Junior student-athlete Lulu Ohm adding of the situation and incoming AD Jessica Chapin, who played for Simon while at Brandeis: “The team is in shambles. People are stressed out of their minds because there’s a pressure on us to make things right because, unfortunately, the university has not really been hearing us until we started showing them how much we need to be heard. […] It’s not [Chapin], it’s the name that she’s attached to and the history and the timing — it’s very icky. Who will we talk to if we have issues about Carol?” (link)
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