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#10: Emory & Henry unveils a new Wasp secondary logo for the first time since 2013. (link) |
#9: Nova Southeastern rolls out its new branding campaign #SharkCounty, as NSU focuses on engaging Broward County and South Florida. Coordinator of Revenue Generation & Marketing & Promotions Kacie John: “Creating this new campaign that's meaningful to not only our NSU campus but the local Broward community is another step in bringing everyone together and showcasing NSU and the success of our athletic teams. Students and fans will get the chance to represent the brand through exclusive giveaways and through various promotions.” (link)
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#8: Rogers State AD Chris Ratcliff and GA Corrie King sit down to discuss institutional challenges, facilities and much more. On the challenges of leading a young athletic department that is 17 years old, Ratcliff points out a key “growing pain” is having alumni who are in a position to just give. “Our alumni are 37 and younger, and they're not in that giving capacity. They've got little babies. They've got little kids. They're buying diapers right now. They don't have disposable income to give at a high level and so once you mold this, as we navigate this young athletic department, it's difficult and so you rely very much on the community.” For facilities, RSU is finalizing new turf for baseball and softball, with women’s soccer recently completed for this season. Looking ahead, the two priorities are a new gymnasium and indoor facility for baseball, softball and golf. On the latter, Ratclifff notes bids are out and the Hillcats hope to break ground soon on a 10K square-foot space that will support those programs. Ratcliff hopes to direct university leadership’s attention to the need for a new gym next, which is expected to cost between $25-30M, now that RSU has secured funding for a new STEM building. Ratcliff on his leadership style: “My style is I'm going to hire the best person I can and let them do their job, and if they cannot do their job, then we have to talk about it. I hired you. I believed in you. I will ask questions, but I'm not gonna be in your hair. So I always that quote, and I always screw the quote up, but I always give it all the time. It's Maya Angelou, ‘People forget what you said, people forget what you did, but people will never gonna forget how you made them feel.’ And that's the legacy I want to live.” More. (link)
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#7: Fox Sports' Bryan Fischer reports there have been “increased discussions among administrators [about] eliminating the National Letter of Intent program, potentially as soon as October in order to take effect this year. Elements of the NLI would be legislated into current athletic aid agreements. The conference commissioners — who are technically in charge of NLI — are expected to have a formal proposal to discuss later next month.” (link)
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#6: Point Park held a pep rally earlier this month to celebrate its transition to DII and the Mountain East. AD Scott Swain: “Going NCAA is for the entire university. It’s not just the student athletes and the coaches. […] All these schools that are NCAA Division II that we will compete against are in close proximity, so our student athletes don’t have to go far to compete against them. But now when students look at those other schools, they will also look at us, because we would be considered a peer to them.” On the MEC’s decision to allow Point Park to compete for conference championships: “Our coaches and our student athletes are still going to be competing for conference championships this fall, winter, [and] spring. It’s good to have something to play for, and that’s what’s really important.” (link)
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#5: The DII Championships Committee continued discussions around moving the Football Championship to the first full week in January allowing for a week 12 at the end of the season, “However, ESPN has indicated there are no programming windows available through their linear platforms in the January timeframe – ESPN would prefer that the Division II championship game remain in its December schedule.” Earlier this year, the Football Committee desired the championship to remain on a linear platform as much as possible, but will review the matter again. Speaking of ESPN, the committee was updated on the terms of the NCAA’s media rights deal with the worldwide leader. “This year the contracted games in football, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball will be broadcast through ESPN+. DII Men’s Basketball Championship game will remain on CBS. Preliminary-round games for women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball will be broadcast through host institution/conference networks.” The Champs Committee also granted the Peach Belt an AQ bid for Men’s Lacrosse through its partnership with the RMAC. The two conference champions will compete for the AQ. Also the bench size limit for Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse has been set to 72 and 50, respectively. (link)
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#4: Central Missouri hires Macon Bacon Director of Marketing & Analytics Ben Remelius as Asst. AD for Marketing & Promotions. (link)
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#3: Notable from the latest DII Management Council and Executive Board meetings (link):
+ In an update from the DII Championships Committee, the group asked the Management Council to remove current regionalization bracketing rules to “allow the committee to begin considering alternative concepts and signal to the membership that changes that have been called for will be pursued.” Those potential changes include DI bracketing principles and DIII’s NCAA Power Index and will test those principles at its meeting next month.
+ The Management Council determined no change should be made regarding the football-only voting rule.
+ Both groups discussed potential changes to NCAA sports wagering rules, with the Executive Board summary noting: “Some members expressed concerns that deregulation could result in wagering on intercollegiate sports activities and contribute to gambling problems and mental health issues among student-athletes. The board noted that Division II will continue its discussions and that any legislative change would require approval by all three divisions in order for the change to be adopted.”
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#2: Emory & Henry inaugural Men’s Lacrosse HC Joe Laird has departed before the program’s first season. (link)
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#1: Allen names Morehouse Assoc. AD for Operations Phillip Wallace Jr. as its next AD. President Ernest McNealey: “We are pleased to have Phillip Wallace Jr. join us. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in NCAA Division II athletics and the SIAC, in particular.” (link)
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