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#10: GSC Commissioner Matt Wilson on the DII Think Tank: “I get a little tired of hearing words like 'unprecedented' and 'transformative' used to describe the current intercollegiate athletics landscape, but they are so accurate. The issues we discussed and topics we considered are items that we may not have considered in any meaningful way just five years ago. However, now, the Division must be clear in its mission and priorities. In my opinion, those are championships and membership. […] It is a really tough time in higher education right now. Enrollment and advancement dollars are both declining in certain segments of institutions as state flagship institutions and larger regional public institutions gain students and funding. We must wrestle with how DII can support each institution to reach their individual aspirations for athletics while at the same time providing worthwhile competitive and education opportunities to our students.” (link)
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#9: Peach Belt Commissioner Dave Brunk chats with The Union-Recorder’s Matthew Brown about the state of the industry and the association, on which he says: “I definitely say (the NCAA) is needed. There needs to be some tweaking. Charlie Baker, the new NCAA president, has done a great job. He was really behind the 8 ball when he first came on board. He’s very proactive. He knows how to deal with both sides of the issue. Quite frankly … we missed the boat by not being proactive when NIL and the portal were first being talked about. If we could have put something in before California and Florida and Texas and some of those states put in their regulations, if we could have towards the end of President Emmert’s tenure, I think we’d be in a better position now. But I think Charlie Baker is the one that is going to lead us out of the myriad of issues. His contacts on Capital Hill, being a former governor of Massachusetts, is going to help.” On changes around the National Letter of Intent, as a member of the NLI Appeals Committee: “Something needs to be done about that. […] The question is how can you keep student-athletes committed to a school. There would have to be some language added to the basic financial aid agreement at the particular institution to provide some failsafe for the school that’s bringing them in.” More. (link)
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#8: Cameron Asst. AD for Communications Brayden Reeves is no longer with the Aggies. (link) |
#7: East Stroudsburg names Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (DI) Asst. Director of Academic Services Jim Glovach as Assoc. AD for Compliance. (link)
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#6: Western Washington is expected to implement layoffs as part of a significant budget deficit, as WWU is requesting a $21.4M increase in per student funding from the state. President Sabah Randhawa: “The bottom line is that the university’s current scope of operations is not sustainable.” (link)
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#5: Western Colorado AD Miles Van Hee joins D2.ticker as the latest AD in Residence to discuss the Mountaineers’ recent $43.9M stadium renovation, gameday operations, NIL and more. The Mountaineer Bowl renovation had various attempts over the years, which ended in a $43.9M project that included the entire complex of the Mountaineer Bowl and Katy O. Rady Field at the Rady Family Sports Complex. Van Hee adds that the home opener earlier this month, the Mountaineers’ first home night game ever, broke WCU attendance records. On the gameday experience improvements: “It is already making an impact on the Mountaineer spirit as we have expanded the game day atmosphere utilizing our new high-end Musco lights, which provide light shows that can be synchronized to music to create special effects, and our new 10mm 1250 sq ft video board — the largest in the RMAC. In addition, we’ve added a fan cam to engage our fans on the video board. The student body absolutely loves it. The WOW factor cannot be overstated. It is simply remarkable. The fans and athletes are proud and, honestly, still in a little disbelief that this is our new normal. The student-athletes have a facility that matches how they feel about being a Mountaineer. This is a championship-caliber facility. Facilities don’t win games, but they definitely elevate the esprit de corps and give the extra boost that makes a difference.” Check out all of Van Hee’s responses on BOSCA. (link)
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#4: Coming out of the DII Think Tank, the group and the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee laid out a list of top priorities for the sustainability of the division. The 11 top priorities (those with more than 50% of the group’s support) include, in order: reviewing and enhancing finances for championships, increased mental health resources, modernizing the Life in the Balance mantra, updated bracketing models, increasing attendance, reimagining the DII Festival, reviewing the division titles, offering an officiating certificate, considering expanding the neutrality policy, athletic trainer grants and scholarships and utilizing AI. On bracketing, the think tank is recommending to “use a metric-based method (NPI/KPI) for selections. Consider revised bracketing model for selections. Confirm that the championships regionalization philosophy is met at the time of selections.” Other notable priorities include an expedited membership process, a new Football model, student-athlete education modules and more. This report and future survey results will be used to finalize the 2026-2032 DII Operating Plan. (link)
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#3: Lenoir-Rhyne promotes Assoc. AD for External Relations Jake Berry to Senior Assoc. AD for External Operations and brings in former staffer/current UAB (DI) Assoc. AD for Fan Engagement and Marketing Leah Botts as Senior Assoc. AD for Marketing and Branding. (link)
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#2: Florida Southern has cut the ribbon on its $8.2M Adams Athletic Performance Center. Mocs AD Dean Howard on the biggest challenges with the project: “First and foremost, you’re trying to match what you need and what you want with what you can afford. It was definitely a learning process for me, but ultimately I think we have a great building that is going to benefit our department for a long, long time.” With the facility 90% complete, Howard: “For us, one of the biggest things is we'll be able to have teams work out together as a group. In the current space, teams can't necessarily work out together. A lot of our larger teams will be able to work out together. But in addition, more teams will be able to work out at opportune times. So there are days where we go and really the athletes need to work out at a very consistent time.” (link, link)
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#1: Truman State taps Asst. AD for Operations Peter Young and Head Athletic Trainer/SWA Michelle Boyd as Co-Interim ADs. (link) |
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