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Central Missouri AD Matt Howdeshell, Colorado School of Mines AD David Hansburg, Kutztown AD Renee Hellert and Lenoir-Rhyne AD Kim Pate chat with D2.ticker about how their departments and institutions are leveraging on-field football success. Following last year’s national semifinal appearance, Hellert notes Kutztown’s brand and exposure for the Bears and university grew, along with an increase of ticket sales. Sticking with Bears, Pate states LR, in addition to their sustained success over the last decade, received exposure “unlike anything we’d expected” after the New England Patriots drafted Kyle Dugger in 2020. The impact in Hickory includes more than $30M in facility upgrades; annual giving, corporate sponsorship and ticket revenue nearly tripling; and growing attendance which finished last year 10th in average attendance. Hansburg details how Mines positioned itself for success, which included media and local TV relationships, an improved booster club, elevated game day experience and more. Hansburg: “Once football went from good to great, we were really positioned well. Our games started selling out and local media stories became national media stories. We were ready because our whole athletics staff was bought into the idea of producing a top-notch, high-quality event BEFORE we were national contenders on the field. We are definitely seeing more applications nationally instead of just regionally. […] More importantly than increasing attendance, which was already good, we were able to raise ticket prices. No one balked, and our ticket revenue doubled. […] The overall revenue from our local sponsors has also grown by almost 300%. It is hard to not love a bunch of nerdy students who win. People want to be part of our Oredigger football success.” For Howdeshell and UCM, last year’s record year on the field also saw a 34% increase in football attendance, 22% jump in all sports attendance and 26% bump in ticket revenue. To capitalize on those successes, UCM restructured its annual fund, which led membership growing by 22% and overall revenue increasing 36% in FY24; put season tickets on sale for the earliest they have ever been, with a renewal rate near 100% and a record number of new season tickets; updated its suite pricing strategy and more. Check out all of their thoughts on how they spend game day, relationships with their coaches and more on BOSCA. (link)

The NCAA is considering applying football’s redshirt rule to all sports, according Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger, who reports discussions are also underway to allow student-athletes to earn prize money before enrolling in college and to eliminate the National Letter of Intent. “The potential changes are part of what is expected to be a year-long comprehensive review of NCAA athlete-eligibility rules to reflect and operationalize the House settlement terms, according to documents obtained by Yahoo Sports. The documents will be reviewed this coming week during a video call of the NCAA Division I Council.” Dellenger also reports that similar recruiting rules tied to NLIs will continue via the signing of school aid agreements, which officially end a prospect’s recruitment. “For instance, all communication with the signed prospect and family members must end, and the prospects are prohibited from signing more than one aid agreement prior to enrollment.” Another change under consideration would allow student-athletes and recruits to “utilize the services of agents when pursuing professional opportunities without jeopardizing their intercollegiate eligibility.” The new rule would grant agents more access to student-athletes on professional endeavors. (link)

@1QLeadership Question: Do winning head coaches need leadership training?

Penny Lucas-White, Head Volleyball Coach at Alabama State, tells of her introspective journey learning to be a better leader after 30 years in the role. She decided to invest in her own development by attending a John Maxwell leadership retreat.

• she was communicating but not connecting with student-athletes

• when student-athletes police themselves, the coach's job is easy

• the country is paying attention to the HBCU experience

Coach Lucas-White shares her excitement for the health of the game of volleyball and considers herself a relational and servant leader whose role is to grow and show people how great they are. 🎧 on Apple Podcast or Spotify

House Updates:

+ Programming note: OSKR’s Andy Schwarz with the reminder that the next House settlement hearing with U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken is set for this Thursday at 5:30pm ET & will be livestreamed with availability to the public. (link - tweet, link - live stream)

+ NCAA leaders are looking to hire outside entities to oversee post-House management and enforcement systems, Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger reports, adding that “power conference officials have seen presentations from some of the world’s largest professional service providers, such as PricewaterhouseCoopers” and “leaders are in the process of selecting outside companies to oversee a cap management reporting system; regulate a clearinghouse for third-party endorsement/NIL deals; and enforce existing NCAA rules, such as those against pay-for-play, etc.” Meanwhile, House plaintiffs’ attorney Steve Berman remains confident U.S. Judge Claudia Wilken will grant preliminary approval of the settlement, telling Dellenger: “We’re very positive she’s going to overrule the [Fontenot] objections. There could be minor changes.” While the settlement requires student-athletes to report their outside compensation, it does not require the approval of deals through any governing body or clearinghouse. As such, NCAA and power conference leaders are establishing a clearinghouse and enforcement entity on their own, and Berman comments: “The NCAA has indicated that it may change its enforcement bureaucracy or may even outsource it. Frankly, we don’t care if they do that or don’t do that. That’s up to them.” As for the clearinghouse attempting to reject deals between collectives and athletes, Berman says: “We’ll see what the NCAA tries to impose. The NIL [collectives] have not agreed to anything. If the NCAA tries to punish a student or school, if they try to take action against an NIL [collective], I think they’ll probably see that NIL organization in court.” More. (link)

Development Wins:

+ Emporia State will rename its Baseball field after benefactor Mike Turnbull following his $650K lead donation for the $1.3M in improvements planned for the facility, which will include new turf. AD David Spafford: “The addition of a fully turfed infield and outfield elevates our program as it complements our on-site amenities of an indoor batting facility, weight room and locker room. These improvements allow the team to practice and play at home in different weather conditions and host conference tournaments. This will help significantly in our recruitment efforts.” (link)

+ St. Edward’s has renamed its Volleyball court after Hall of Famers Ed Norris and Joe Beck thanks to a record $500K donation from John and Mary Lucas. AD Jim Sarrá: “I couldn't think of anything more perfect than having the names of these two Hall of Famers who put their stamp on our basketball and volleyball programs looking over games in the same year two of those programs celebrate their 50th anniversary. We're grateful to the Lucas family for this invaluable and transformational gift. It's a reminder that this community is more than the people we see daily. It's made up of all who came before it who've followed our Holy Cross mission to leave our community better than we found it.” (link)

It’s Personnel:

+ Texas Permian Basin announces West Texas A&M Deputy AD/Director of Athletic Performance Sarah Ramey as its new Deputy AD/SWA. (link)

+ Pittsburg State hires Nebraska (DI) Director of Football Operations Anthony Crespino as Assoc. AD for Operations and Special Projects. (link)

+ Saint Michael’s names Roberts Wesleyan Asst. AD for Compliance and Academic Success Kristen Milne as Assoc. AD for Compliance. (link)

+ Adelphi taps LIU (DI) Asst. Director of Media Relations David Patalano as Asst. AD for Sports Information. (link)

+ Barry selects Jurassic World Live Athletic Trainer Samantha Blakely as Asst. AD for Sports Medicine/Health Care Coordinator. (link)

+ Christian Brothers names West Virginia State SID James Garcia as its new Asst. AD for Communications. (link)

+ Bentley brings in Adjunct Professor/former Nokia and AT&T President Rick Miller as an Executive-in-Residence. (link)

Newberry will launch a student-led broadcast on FloSports next week, titled “Wolves Weekly.” AD Sean Johnson: “This show will take the Wolf Nation fan experience to the next level. ’Wolves Weekly’ will provide never-before-seen coverage of Newberry College Athletics, from once-in-a-lifetime plays and in-depth commentary to fascinating features and behind-the-scenes. It’s a great opportunity for communications students, our student-athletes, and we think our fans will be blown away.” (link)

Quick Hits:

+ Dominican (CA) will join the MEC as Women’s Lacrosse associate members. (link)

+ Cal State Monterey Bay selects Nexus Licensing Group to serve as its licensing and trademark manager. (link)

+ Southwestern Oklahoma State is the latest to partner with HomeTown Ticketing. (link)

+ Cal State San Bernardino unveils a new Taraflex volleyball surface at Coussoulis Arena officially named Kim Cherniss Court in honor of the program’s longtime HC. (link)

+ Upper Iowa rolls out its new website with the help of SIDEARM Sports. (link)

Coaches.wire:

+ Auburn-Montgomery taps former Samford (DI) Women’s Golf HC Haley Minor as the Warhawks’ inaugural HC. (link)

+ Daemen removes the interim tag from Men’s Volleyball HC Darek Przybyl. (link)

+ Dominican (CA) names Westmont Men’s and Golf HC Josh Ault for the same role. (link)

+ Holy Family hires NFL Flag Philly AC Charles Hopkins as its inaugural Women’s Flag Football HC. (link)

+ St. Thomas Aquinas promotes Baseball AC John-Michael Guarino to HC. (link)

+ Texas A&M International elevates AC Ruben Rodriguez to Baseball HC. (link)

+ William Jewell Men’s and Women’s Golf HC Craig Sager is headed to Nebraska (DI) as Director of Men’s and Women’s Operations. (link)

+ Dozens of more coaching moves in this morning’s Coaches.wire. (link)

Interested in advertising a job opening in D2.ticker? Click here to submit your position. Post your department-wide openings with CollegeSports.jobs, where thousands of administrators coaches get news and updates about the world of college sports.

(Posted from most recent over the last 30 days)

(NEW!) Vice President for Athletics (Hanover College / Hanover, IN): The vice president for athletics at Hanover College oversees all aspects of Hanover’s NCAA Division III athletic program. (DIII) More details HERE.

(NEW!) Associate Athletic Director of External Relations (Lewis University / Romeoville, IL): The Associate Athletic Director for External Operations position will collaborate with internal and external constituents for strategic planning of the athletic department and university. More details HERE.

(NEW!) Assistant Director, Athletic Development and External Affairs (Texas A&M International University / Laredo, TX): Assists Development Officers and Institutional Advancement in securing philanthropic support for athletics. More details HERE.

(NEW!) Athletic Trainer (Texas A&M International University / Laredo, TX): The Athletic Trainer prevents, cares and treats injuries to athletes using necessary knowledge of injury patterns and modern principles of athletic training. More details HERE.

Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach (Grand Valley State University / Allendale, MI): Position serves as the leader of the NCAA intercollegiate women’s lacrosse program that recruits and retains quality student-athletes who achieve student-athlete success on and off from the field. More details HERE.

Director of Athletics Communications (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) / Kansas City, MO): The Director of Athletics Communications is responsible for the leadership and oversight of the department's day-to-day operations. (NAIA) More details HERE.

Director of Athletics Media Relations (Coker University / Hartsville, SC): Director of Athletics Media Relations. More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Trainer (University of Texas at Dallas / Richardson, TX): UTD seeks experienced and energetic athletic trainer who will provide education, assessment, treatment and prevention services for athletic-related injuries and illnesses. More details HERE.

Assistant Men’s and Women’s Swimming Coach (Grand Valley State University / Allendale, MI): Reports to the Head Swimming and Diving Coach and assists in all aspects of the program, including and not limited to, coaching, recruiting, camps and swim lessons. More details HERE.

Director of Advancement & Stewardship (Rose Bowl Stadium / Pasadena, CA): The Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the 501c3 of the Rose Bowl Stadium, is recruiting for a Dir. of Advancement & Stewardship to support the preservation, protection and enhancement of America's Stadium. More details HERE.

Head Softball Coach (Adelphi University / Garden City, NY): The head softball coach is responsible for the recruitment and retention of quality student-athletes. More details HERE.

Director of Intercollegiate Athletics (University of Indianapolis / Indianapolis, IN): The University of Indianapolis (UIndy) seeks an experienced, relational, and strategic leader to serve as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics (AD). More details HERE.

Director of Athletics (Knox College / Galesburg, IL): Reporting to the President and serving on the President’s, the Director of Athletics oversees operations of the College's intercollegiate athletics program, as well as campus recreation. (DIII) More details HERE.

Ticket Sales & Service Manager (Pepperdine University / Malibu, CA): The Ticket Sales and Service Manager is responsible for managing the Pepperdine Athletics Ticket Office needs for indicated sports regularly, while managing postseason ticketing needs for all sports. (DI) More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director for Partnerships & Fundraising (Northwest Missouri State University / Maryville, MO): Position is responsible primarily for building the corporate sponsorship base and running fundraising events for the department and individual sport programs. More details HERE.

Deputy Athletics Director / Chief Revenue Officer (University of California – Los Angeles – UCLA / Los Angeles, CA): Lead our revenue-generating efforts & bring your strategic thinking skills, deep understanding of the industry, proven leadership success, & strong constituent engagement abilities to UCLA’s program. (DI) More details HERE.

Assistant Softball Coach (St. Mary's University – Texas / San Antonio, TX): This position teaches and instructs on the technical and motivational aspects of softball. As well as develops, coordinates and supervises the practice and training of student-athletes. More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Trainer (University of Illinois at Springfield / Springfield, IL): The primary function of this position is to be Assistant Athletic Trainer working under the supervision of Head Athletic Trainer providing support for intercollegiate athletic teams at UIS. More details HERE.

Visiting Assistant Men's and Women's Cross Country and Track and Field Coach (University of Illinois at Springfield / Springfield, IL): This position is eligible for a tuition waiver as well as a stipend for on campus housing for 2024-25. More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Director for Compliance (University of Illinois at Springfield / Springfield, IL): The Associate Athletics Director for Compliance will strategically plan, implement, manage, and enforce all aspects of NCAA, GLVC, and UIS compliance for all UIS intercollegiate sport programs. More details HERE.

Assistant Baseball Coach (Missouri Western State University / St Joseph, MO): The Assistant Baseball Coach will assist the Head Baseball Coach w/ all aspects of our baseball program. Will coach and monitor the development and wellbeing of student athletes. Also Recruits talent More details HERE.

Head Acro-Tumbling Coach (Emmanuel University (Georgia) / Franklin Springs, GA): Emmanuel University, located in northeast Georgia, is accepting applications for an immediate opening for a full-time Head Acrobatics and Tumbling Coach. More details HERE.

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