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More from Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua’s remarks ahead of Friday’s College Football Playoff matchup with Indiana, during which he said: “Ultimately, I view one of the key elements of the House settlement is the transfer of that economic responsibility of compensating student-athletes, moving from an unregulated collective world into the university system, which I think is a good thing. Then still having collectives remain like Rally that will be regulated by fair market value. So, both will continue to coexist, but the true economic responsibility is now on the universities. That will cause and create economic pressure. Some universities, I think, will look to private equity as an outlet for that. We won’t. We’re comfortable doing it ourselves. We’re fortunate that Notre Dame, I don’t think, has ever been stronger academically. I don’t think we’ve ever been more well-positioned financially.” While noting the industry still needs help from Congress, Bevacqua added: “I think there’s the potential for a moment of stability. Stability is loosely defined. … I think there seems to be some calm in the waters of conference realignment. I think a lot of people are stepping back and saying, ‘Okay, now it’s moved from four teams to 12 teams. Let’s see how it goes over the next couple of years.’” Regarding the partnership with the ACC, Bevacqua remarked: “We would like to see Florida State and Clemson stay in the ACC. Only they and the ACC can make that decision. But that’s certainly how I feel. That’s certainly how we feel. We think the ACC is firing on all cylinders right now when you think about the addition of Stanford, Cal, and SMU. And the fact that SMU, in their first year, what a great showing they’ve had, certainly in football and the ACC. And to bring universities like Stanford and Cal and their academic pedigrees, we think the conference is in great shape. But it’s better and stronger with Clemson and Florida State, and we hope it stays that way.” Lots more. (link)

Colorado AD Rick George joins The Mason Crosby Show and explains that while he acknowledges the challenge the College Football Playoff Selection Committee faces, “I don’t think the Big 12 got a lot of respect. We got, I think, 10 teams going to bowl games in our conference. I think that's one of the highest out there, and we've got one in the playoff. I thought we didn't get the respect early but, again, that's the committee's decision. I think they really need to fine-tune exactly how important is the strength of schedule? How important is the head-to-head?” George also says CU has delivered a $1B economic impact in the state, and it “took us five years to do that prior to 2021. You mentioned $10M of direct visitor spending in our community, $31M in a direct economic impact when you include the concerts and the different things that we do. 20% of our fans now come from outside the state…[and] all of that translates into the economic impact we’re having not only in our community, but on the state. We just need to get our businesses in this community to understand how important we are to their bottom line and get them to support some of the things that we’re doing.” (link)

James Madison AD Matt Roan covers several topics with JMUSports.com correspondent Mike Barber, including how to keep the momentum going in football, about which Roan says: “I think in this modern era of college athletics you can't say that anybody has been more successful than Nick Saban. What Coach Saban said is, 'Getting to the top of the mountain is one thing. And that's hard enough. But staying on top of the mountain is even harder.' And I think, in a lot of ways, when you look at FCS and the sudden success of the transition to FBS, our challenge is sustaining success and taking that next step forward. Again, we have a lot of things that are in place. For me, it's very important that our coaches and staff feel appreciated. That we have continuity. We have consistency. … Trying to benchmark ourselves, not only against our Sun Belt peers, but our aspirational peers, to say, 'Here's where we are. And here's where we need to be.'" With regard to the current NIL/transfer portal setup, Roan says the “solutions are in unions. The solutions are in collective bargaining. But at the same time, with those things, there's employee status. I don't think that's something that we want, and I don't think that would be necessarily good for college athletics. Hopefully, we can find some sort of middle ground there. … Agents and marketing managers, whatever you want to call them, that are taking 22% more than the 3% an NFL agent can take. You're right, shopping student athletes around. Not necessarily looking out for what's in the best interest of that young man or young woman but looking out for what's in the best interest of them. There are a lot of challenges that we face. I have a high level of optimism and confidence that we can figure out the solutions.” Full Q&A. (link)

Plaintiffs’ attorneys in the House case filed a motion seeking legal fees and reimbursements of around $484M. According to the motion, that figure represents 20% of the NIL settlement fund, 10% of the additional compensation fund, an injunction relief award of $20M paid by the defendants, and a little over $9M for “out-of-pocket litigation expenses.” Sportico’s Daniel Libit and Michael McCann note the motion also “cites the percentage-of-the-fund analysis and recent precedent of other class action lawsuits in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit…to have awarded class counsel above 25%. The plaintiffs’ attorneys also request they be awarded reimbursement of their litigation costs and expenses totaling approximately $9.1M. Meanwhile, the lawyers are asking that the class representatives in the case – Grant House, Tymir Oliver, Sedona Prince – receive $125K apiece. As to class representatives DeWayne Carter and Nya Harrison, each would receive a service award of $10K while class representative Nicholas Solomon would net a service award of $5K.” House says in a declaration filed with the motion that “I understood from the outset that participating in this lawsuit as a class representative would not necessarily provide a significant financial benefit to me,” though he noted that he incurred “substantial risks” to his collegiate and Olympic future by lending his name to litigation that directly challenged the NCAA while a swimmer at Arizona State. Libit and McCann go on to note that the settlement “also entitles the class counsel to earn an annual percentage share of that athlete revenue over the next decade, with a starting share of 0.75% in the first year, scaling up to 1.5% in the 10th. That means the plaintiffs lawyers could earn tens of millions of dollars in addition to the $484 million they are currently seeking.” (link)

USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz reports a different figure, noting the House attorneys are asking U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken “to award them nearly $525M in attorneys’ fees and costs. … In addition, as permitted by the proposed agreement, the plaintiffs' lawyers also asked for the right to apply annually to a judge or special master for additional amounts that, according to the filings, could total roughly another $250M. … The additional $250M for which the plaintiffs' attorneys are seeking to the right to apply comes from a provision in the settlement agreement that would allow them to seek 0.75% to 1.25% of the annual total amount spent by Division I schools on NIL agreements with athletes, and up to certain limits, new scholarships and academic achievement awards that were created when NCAA restrictions on education-related benefits for athletes were overturned by the Supreme Court in the Alston case in June 2021.” More from Berkowitz. (link)

Kelly Woolwine, CEO of the Virginia Tech-focused Triumph NIL, joins the Tech Sideline podcast and says he believes it’s fair for student-athletes to be compensated. “What I think’s unfair is that – I’m sorry, I have to say – I haven't seen any adults step into the room to help the kids. There needs to be more order and standardization and guardrails and things like that. If it remains that whoever has the most money wins – not wins on the field necessarily because I think we're seeing money can't buy that… it's the student athletes that are suffering the most, and I feel bad for that. These guys, they want structure, they want to understand it, and I don't how we get there.” Woolwine believes there should be one transfer portal rather than two, noting schools can pay a lot of money in the winter for kids who could leave in April. Therefore, one of two things will happen: schools will decide that’s just the cost of doing business or “you might see clawbacks and fighting over money. … That’s a big, nasty pothole to me. One portal window makes sense. If everybody’s an unrestricted free agent once a year, okay, that’s fine.” Woolwine would also like to see some sort of salary cap put in place because right now the schools with the most money have created a “gravitational pull that all the student-athletes are hovering and buzzing around…and there’s really not a lot of activity for all the other schools right now until when the music stops [and] whoever gets those chairs and gets those offers and then everybody else [says] okay, where are we now?” A lot of student-athletes, Woolwine continues, feel like they’ve been mistreated by the organizations they’re with. “Some of our own guys feel that way…because they’re hearing some of these numbers, and they think their school or organization was holding out on them. … I don’t know what you do about that.” Lots more. (link)

USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer contextualizes the recent contributions and/or reworked contracts of LSU Football HC Brian Kelly, Oklahoma State HC Mike Gundy and Florida State HC Mike Norvell and notes: “Used to be, a coach bankrolling his roster amounted to a major NCAA rules violation. Now, a coach can declare his payments on the up and up as part of a fundraising campaign. The optics are a bit odd, although not entirely unexpected. It’s more evidence of scales of power and wealth shifting within a landscape in which athletes are compensated.” Toppmeyer goes on to submit that what he calls a “loser’s tax” is a “fresh idea” with the House settlement looming. “Either [Norvell or Gundy] could have dug in his heels. Instead, they took a personal financial hit that favors their employer. Gundy and Norvell proved themselves winners before each experienced a career-worst season this year. Their acceptance of a pay hit allows each school to recoup funds that might improve the program, without triggering a leadership change that could further set back the program.” Toppmeyer goes on to note that “in the long-term, perhaps more coaches’ salaries will be reduced and paired with additional performance bonuses for successful seasons, or buyouts could be curtailed to contain costs for firing a losing coach. However, applying more financial caution toward coaching contracts could hurt a school’s hiring or retention efforts. … Just last year, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops grumbled that Wildcats fans needed to ‘pony up’ more cash for athletes if they desired a better team. Stoops’ idea to throw more money at the problem holds merit, but he overlooked himself as a potential source of funding.” (link)

Indiana President Pamela Whitten in an SBJ op-ed shares the results of an IU study gauging what “avid fans” think about the current state of college athletics and notes that “what we learned should guide policymakers not only on campuses and in conferences, but in the halls of government as well.” Whitten points out that 87% of respondents want continued baseline academic eligibility requirements; 80% support guidelines around NIL to protect student-athletes from an insincere approach that mirrors pay-for-play rather than true sponsorship NIL opportunities; and 82% favor limits on the number of times a student-athlete can transfer schools. “While roughly half of respondents agreed that student-athletes should share in the revenue generated by athletics, only 44% thought they should be treated as employees. This question will take on added urgency if, as is contemplated by the proposed settlement of antitrust litigation against the NCAA, direct payments from universities to student athletes becomes permissible. … Those of us who lead universities, especially flagship universities in leading conferences, must step up and play a leadership role in shaping the new world of intercollegiate athletics that will serve all institutions, large and small. It cannot be left to television networks, video streamers, agents, and other commercial interests. We must act individually and together to ensure that the future of college sports supports our institutions’ mission to enhance the lives of the young people entrusted to us.” (link)

Powerade has inked NIL deals with Connecticut men’s basketball student-athlete Alex Karaban, Arizona men’s basketball student-athlete Caleb Love and NC State women’s basketball student-athlete Saniya Rivers. The trio announced the partnerships on their respective social media pages and will continue to be part of marketing efforts throughout the season. Additionally, per On3’s Nick Schultz, they will be part of Powerade’s “It Takes More To Get This Far” campaign, which will launch in February 2025 and carry through March Madness. (link)

Companies that sell tickets for live sports and concerts must follow a new universal pricing standard that requires them to disclose all cleaning fees, concert service fees or other mandatory fees in initial search results when booking. The new Federal Trade Commission rule takes effect in April and states the total price must be the most prominent price in an ad. Companies can still provide itemizations and breakdowns but cannot hide the real total. (link)

People & Places presented by D1.relocation…

+ Colorado State taps Monmouth Senior Assoc. AD for Compliance, Equity and Inclusion Christina Diaz for its Executive Senior Assoc. AD for Internal Operations and Student Success role. (link)

+ Norfolk State selects former Virginia Tech/NFL star QB Michael Vick as its next Football HC. (link)

+ Sacramento State has named UNLV OC Brennan Marion as its next Football HC. (link)

+ Sam Houston State is targeting former Wisconsin OC Phil Longo for its Football HC post, per FootballScoop’s John Brice. (link)

+ Arizona Senator T.J. Shope (R-16) tells Sun Devil Source’s Chris Karpman he’ll draft a bill seeking to increase the maximum contract length for state employees from five years to eight.  Karpman notes Arizona State Football HC Kenny Dillingham a potential beneficiary and adds: “This bill would likely take months into 2025 to make its way through the process so it may not have an immediate impact on the ongoing dialogue between Dillingham's agent and ASU about a potential contract extension.” (link)

+ South Carolina has approved a total of $2M in raises for Football ACs. FootballScoop’s Zach Barnett notes the South Carolina Board of Trustees has approved a three-year contract for OC Mike Shula and across-the-board raises and extensions for the nine remaining assistants, each of whom is now under contract through at least the 2026 season. All 10 now earn more than $500K per year. Shula's deal starts at $1.1M per year, while DC Clayton White signed a three-year extension that boosted his salary to $1.9M. He is now under contract through 2028, and will make $2M in 2025 and $2.1M each year from 2026-28. OL AC Lonnie Teasley is receiving the biggest percentage raise (65%), taking his salary from $410K to $675K. The Gamecocks’ ACs will earn a total of $8.69M in 2025. (link)

+ As you would expect, this morning's Coaches.wire is highlighted by dozens & dozens of Football coaching staff changes. (link)

In case you missed yesterday's Evening Standard...

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, NCAA President Charlie Baker called for a ban on college prop bets, the exclusion of bettors who harass student-athletes and the enhancement of data-sharing for integrity investigations. Baker notes many student-athletes have “received death threats from bettors and they also receive other in-person threats and accusations directed at them while they’re leaving or coming onto the field of play.” (link); Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) took aim at Baker over transgender participation in college athletics, with Kennedy asking why Baker supports allowing transgender women who were born as biological males to compete against biological females who identify as such. Baker responded: “Over the course of the past two years, five federal court cases involving this question – let me finish – five federal judges have all sided with participation as the standard. This is a very –” Kennedy interrupts and asks: “So, you’re saying you don’t have a choice?” To which Baker replies: “I'm saying that under the current dynamic there is not clarity on this issue legally.” Kennedy pressed further, asking why Baker doesn’t take the position that, if he agrees that biological males have a competitive advantage over biological females, he should lead the NCAA in legislation banning transgender participation. Baker: “Because federal courts have already taken the position that they do have the right to compete.” Kennedy consequently advises: “You can disagree and be sued.” Hawley piles on, asserting that the court has not ordered the NCAA to allow transgender participation, and charges Baker with personally allowing transgender participation, to which Baker reiterates the NCAA is complying with decisions made by federal judges. Later in the hearing, Baker is allowed to speak uninterrupted on the matter and says: “Part of the challenge is we’re dealing with a very murky set of court decisions at the state and federal level around this issue, which creates a certain lack of clarity around our policy because our policy ultimately needs to comply with federal policy, which is why guidance either on the regulatory side or on the statutory side would be very helpful.” Full hearing. (link)

Central Michigan AD Amy Folan signed a contract extension through 2029, according to The Detroit News’ Tony Paul, who reports Folan will earn at least $342K a year. (link)

Georgia President/former DI Board of Directors Chair Jere Morehead submits that “it is absolute bedlam occurring across college football” right now, and says of last-minute, pre-House implementation NIL agreements: “We should be definitive that we will go back and unwind these deals that are not legitimate third-party NIL transactions. We should not accept the notion that institutions, coaches or players can agree to anything they want until July 1. These deals, if not legitimate third-party NIL agreements, would be in violation of the settlement we all agreed to going forward.” The bedlam is manifesting in several ways, Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger observes, including with the recent transfer of Penn State QB Beau Pribula, about whom Nittany Lions HC James Franklin says: “We got problems in college football and I can give you my word: Beau Pribula did not want to leave our program until the end of the season. Beau should not be put in this position.” One person familiar with Pribula’s decision adds: “It’s really sad. Agents have all the control and players are put in awful situations. He had to do it or he would lose any opportunity to be a starter.” Some point out, however, that the sport appears to have more parity than it has in recent years, and SMU HC Rhett Lashlee observes: “Teams can no longer load up, create a monopoly and dominate over and over again. No longer does a blue blood have four or five straight top-five classes. They can’t keep guys. These guys are leaving. They transfer so they can play and it spreads the talent out more.” (link)

AAC Commissioner Tim Pernetti joins the On the Fly podcast and talks about how having been an AD informs his perspective as commissioner: “Understanding what presidents and athletic directors deal with, what some of the challenges that campuses face today are, I think has been a huge advantage because in that commissioner room – [ACC Commissioner] Jimmy Phillips has that experience as well at Northwestern – but every commissioner brings something different to the table, and I think that's what makes the room so dynamic. Because you’ve got a lot of Type A’s in the room, there's a lot of opinions, but it is a group that's committed to trying to move the industry to the right place.” On the current state of the industry, Pernetti submits that “people wonder” whether the enterprise is in lockstep the way it once was “or are some trying to move their enterprise forward at the cost of others? So it's really important to create alignment, but it starts with your own conference, and what I explain to our conference is we're going to spend all our time on trying to establish a new reputation, which, in five years, I'd like us to be known as the most Innovative conference in collegiate athletics. What does that mean? Conference naming rights – would we bring a brand in to sort of co-name or conference to generate new resources and revenue for maybe directly to student-athletes for conference-wide NIL deals? Private capital and private investment? College athletics is hugely valuable. We’re all locked up in these long-term relationships, but as part of it, we know what the value is, so how can we bring a capital partner in to help accelerate some of that investment for the next three to five years while we face all these new challenges? And we want to get in the business of creating new value so when our next media contract comes up we're a more valuable enterprise.” Full convo. (link)

Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua met with reporters today ahead of the Fighting Irish’s College Football Playoff matchup with Indiana this weekend and said it will sound and feel like a home game. "I think it has a chance to be a spectacular moment in sports and a spectacular moment in Notre Dame history." He also said of the House settlement: “It's on our minds constantly; it's set for final hearing in April, expectation is it will be approved. We have a plan in place if it is approved and we will absolutely meet the cap.” Bevacqua also remarked that percentages on a revenue-sharing split are still being figured out but that no secret that a large portion of that will be dedicated to football. On Football HC Marcus Freeman’s extension, he says there are "no carve outs" that would make it any easier for him to get out of it for any other college or NFL. Bevacqua says of the challenges of hosting a home CFP game that the first thing was to change the exam schedule and everybody embraced that. ND wanted to make sure dorms were open an additional 24 hours because a home game is not a home game without students there. Private equity discussions, Bevacqua noted, are out there and firms have reached out to Notre Dame, but he doesn’t envision PE will be prevalent in college football anytime soon and “we definitely do not see private equity as the answer for Notre Dame.” More from Irish Sports Daily. (link)

Boise State AD Jeramiah Dickey sits down with JohnCanzano.com’s namesake to discuss how the Broncos are charting their path forward and predicts football will break away from the NCAA by the end of the decade. “When you look at the NFL, there’s a lot less drama. You have one king in terms of the commissioner, and in many cases, he has more power than the owners. I think we probably need to get to a system where you don’t necessarily have as many cooks in the kitchen as we have currently right now. Every AD is doing what’s best for his/her program, every president is doing what’s best for his/her (school), every commissioner is doing what’s best for his/her (conference), and you have a lot of people in the kitchen, and it creates problems because you have no unity.” More Dickey as Canzano uses the “Moneyball” analogy for the Broncos: “It’s apples and chainsaws. As I go through the budgets currently where we sit from a football operating standpoint compared to the other 11 schools that are in the CFP — we’re an outlier. Some of those schools have more for their football budget than I do for my overall department and the 18 sports that I represent. It’s a point of pride on one hand, but on the other, we’ve got to find a way to do more.” Enter the Pac-12. Dickey “felt there was enough meat on the bone that it was going to better our situation, whether I could monetize it myself or it was additional revenues coming in because of those we were aligning with and being underneath that brand or umbrella.” (link)

The Athletic's Chris Vannini unpacks how SMU donors’ investment in the football program is already paying dividends, and former Mustangs student-athlete/current donor Paul B. Loyd Jr. says: “As a businessman, if you look at the rate of return on what we invested, that return is substantial.” SMU Board of Trustees Chair/fellow donor David Miller adds: “It’s no longer, ‘If you make this investment, here’s what could happen.’ What we hoped could happen is happening right now. It’s real. You can reach out and touch it, feel it.” Vannini notes the ROI goes beyond football as the men’s basketball team is 9-2 under first-year coach Andy Enfield and the volleyball team recently reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Outside of athletics, applications for enrollment are up more than 40%, according to Miller. Outgoing President Gerald R. Turner: “So often you provide support and you may see it somewhere down the line. But it’s just amazing that the turnaround has been so fast.” Thaddeus Mattula, an alum who directed the 30 for 30 documentary Pony Express, puts it like this: “It’s like a limb or appendage is back after being gone for so long. SMU being a great program was part of my childhood. For it to be back is amazing.” (link)

While the relative size of College Football Playoff teams’ NIL budgets is generally assumed (i.e. Ohio State’s squad receives more NIL funding than Boise State’s), the precise numbers are mostly rumors, according to The Athletic’s David Ubben, who got six operators of CFP teams’ collectives to go on the record. Arizona State-focused Sun Angel Collective Executive Director Brittani Willett helps explain the rationale: “If your number is too low, everyone is concerned and it works against you in recruiting. Another school might hear you only have $10M and say, ‘We have $20M over here.’ If your number is too high, then you have athletes you’re already working with saying, ‘Oh, you could afford to pay me more.’” As for how the money is spent, Ubben notes: “Though major acquisitions like Ohio State landing Caleb Downs from Alabama and Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss make bigger headlines during the offseason, every collective The Athletic spoke with said the majority of their money goes toward roster retention, rather than adding players through the transfer portal or in high school recruiting. Happy Valley United GM Jen Ferrang: “We’re really not involved in recruiting. We’re focused on retaining the current roster and giving the team opportunities across the board.” (link)

It’s Personnel powered by D1.relocation…

+ Priority Sports & Entertainment announces Korn Ferry Sports Sector Leader Jenna McLaughlin will join its Coaches, Broadcasters, and Front Office Division and spearhead Priority’s new Women’s Sports Division. (link)

+ Little Rock announces five new additions to its leadership team. The Best is Ahead Foundation Executive VP Dan Crowley will take over as Deputy AD/CRO; Boise State Asst. AD for Facilities and Operations Garrett Ton has been named Assoc. AD for Facilities and Operations; Asst. AD for Communications Brandy Dixon has been elevated to Assoc. AD for Marketing and Engagement; UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law's Development Director Noah Henkell moves over from campus to become Assoc. AD for Development; and SBLive Sports Regional Editor Nate Olson joins as Assoc. AD for Strategic Communications. (link) 

+ The Southland Conference names North Texas Assoc. AD of Business Operations Amanda Brooks as Senior Assoc. Commissioner of Business Operations. (link)

Coaches Corner presented by D1.relocation…

+ Tarleton State has named Louisiana AHC Jazmyne Johnson as its next Volleyball HC. (link) 

+ Iowa State inks Men’s Basketball HC T.J. Otzelberger to an extension through June 30, 2032. Financial terms have yet to be reported. (link)

+ Western Carolina Women’s Soccer HC Chad Miller has inked a multi-year extension. (link)

+ Iowa Softball HC Renee Gillispie will step away from coaching for the 2025 season due to a personal health matter. AC Brian Levin has been named Interim HC. (link)

+ West Virginia Football HC Rich Rodriguez will have a $5M annual salary pool for his on-field assistant coaches along with $2.5M for his football support staff. This is particularly notable, according to the AP’s John Raby, because “after he left for Michigan in December 2007, Rodriguez has said promises made by a previous administration at West Virginia were not kept and his request for more money for his assistant coaches was rejected. Rodriguez said his relationship with then-athletic director Ed Pastilong had disintegrated by August 2007 to the point that the two men barely spoke.” (link)

Cincinnati and Nebraska will open their 2025 football campaigns at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The game was previously slated for Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Scott Springer notes UC stands to double its money for the game, “which could approach a $6M profit.” Bearcats AD John Cunningham: "We weren't looking to move it, didn't want to move it from Indy but got a cold call from Arrowhead and a group that was looking to put a game together. We didn't know if they could get us to where we needed to go financially, but they did. We feel like we can get close to doubling our revenues. In this day and age, business decisions have to be made and this was one we needed to make." CFO John Daniel adds: “We didn't have a guarantee in Indy, it was all based on ticket sales. Here (at Arrowhead) we get a guarantee ($2.5M) plus upsides based on tickets sold and there are some bonus triggers in the contract." (link)

Charlotte’s previously two-pronged donor collective structure has been consolidated into a singular entity – the Niners Collective, and the 49ers announce that donors who support the Niners Collective will also now receive 49er Club priority points. 49ers AD Mike Hill: "A singular collective is critical to the support of our student-athletes' NIL opportunities as the collegiate model continues to evolve." (link)

St. Thomas has selected Levy as its official food and beverage partner. Tommies AD Phil Esten: "With the Lee and Penny Anderson Arena opening in 2025, we wanted a partner that would elevate the gameday experience for fans and allow us to strategically plan for an enhanced food and beverage experience. Levy is a national brand and industry leader both on the collegiate and professional level, and this partnership is a commitment, not only to our fans, but anyone attending a St. Thomas event in the future." (link)

Georgia Southern and Old Dominion will join the Atlantic Sun as affiliate members in women's swimming and diving beginning with the 2025-26 season. (link)

Front Office Sports’ Amanda Christovich reports the Athlete Showcase, which sought to function as a college version of the NFL combine to help athletes maximize their transfer/NIL earning potential, has been canceled due to logistical issues. It was supposed to take place on January 5, and the organizers are instead planning an event in the spring for men’s and women’s college basketball players. (link)

Media Metrics…

+ The NCAA Volleyball Championship regionals were the most-watched on record, averaging 401K viewers on ESPN networks, up 98% YoY. The round included five of the most-watched regionals ever. Growth among P18-34 was up 232%, P2-17 viewership was up 115% and women viewership increased 112%. ESPN+ experienced a 44% uptick. (link)

+ ESPN College GameDay delivered its most-watched regular season in the show’s 38-year history in 2024, amassing over 30M total viewers. GameDay averaged 2.2M viewers per show, up 5% over the previous season high and 6% YoY. Four episodes topped 2.3M viewers. From ESPN’s release: “College GameDay remains the most-watched traditional sports news and studio show on cable and college football’s No. 1 pregame show, outpacing the competition in the final hour by 84% overall and by 155% in the key persons 18-49 demographic.” (link)

+ The Heisman Trophy presentation on ESPN drew 2.5M viewers, per SBJ’s Austin Karp, who notes it’s the highest figure since 2019 and up 8% YoY. (link)

+ Viewership numbers for the initial Players Era Festival reached a high of 281K for the Alabama-Houston matchup on TBS. The next most-watched game was Alabama-Oregon (187K on TNT), followed by Creighton-San Diego State (161K on TBS), Texas A&M-Oregon (138K on TBS), TAMU-Rutgers (136K on TruTV), SDSU-UH (105K on TNT), UH-Notre Dame (83K on TBS), Creighton-ND (83K on TruTV) and ND-Rutgers (63K on TBS). (link)

Interested in advertising a job opening in D1.jobs powered by CollegeSports.jobs? Submit your position here.

 

(NEW!) Senior Broadcast Engineer - Full Time/Exempt (Insignia Event Services / Glendale, AZ): This position is responsible for providing technical oversight and operations for Insignia Events. Will assist in facilitating live productions for both broadcast and in-stadium presentations. More details HERE.

 

(NEW!) Director of Mental Health (Wichita State University / Wichita, KS): Provide D1 student-athletes with psychological counseling related to performance, assist athletes in the development of mental strategies, and provide performance-related programming within the teams. More details HERE.

 

(NEW!) Assistant Director of Equipment Operations/Olympic Sports (University of South Florida / Tampa, FL): Duties include inventory management, accurately reporting inventory received and issued through the ACS inventory management program; budget management, forecasting & purchasing equipment. More details HERE.

Job openings by discipline, posted in the past 30 days...

Academic Advisor Athletics (Missouri State University / Springfield, MO): More details HERE.

 

Coordinator/Senior Coordinator (Football Lead), Athletic Academic Services (R0145346) (University of Nevada – Reno / Reno, NV): More details HERE.

 

Director of Basketball Academic Success (James Madison University / Harrisonburg, VA): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director of Student Services (Vanderbilt University / Nashville, TN): More details HERE.

 

Academic Counselor (Kansas State University / Manhattan, KS): More details HERE.

 

Senior Associate Athletic Director, Student Life (University of Pittsburgh / Pittsburgh, PA): More details HERE.

 

Associate Athletic Director, Academics (University of San Diego / San Diego, CA): More details HERE.

 

Director, Student Athlete Development (R0144335) (University of Nevada – Reno / Reno, NV): More details HERE.

 

Academic Coordinator (University of South Florida / Tampa, FL): More details HERE.

 

Associate/Assistant Director of Academic Services (Baylor University / Waco, TX): More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Director for Business Operations (University of North Texas / Denton, TX): More details HERE.

 

Assistant AD, Foundation Finance (Auburn University / Auburn, AL): More details HERE. 

 

Assistant Athletic Director for Business Operations (Georgia Southern University / Statesboro, GA): More details HERE.

 

Associate Athletics Director-Resource Management (Purdue University / West Lafayette, IN): More details HERE.

 

Senior Associate Athletic Director for Administration (Ball State University / Muncie, IN): More details HERE.

 

Part-Time Business Office Assistant (University of Denver / Denver, CO): More details HERE.

 

Senior Associate AD, Sports Administration (University of Delaware / Newark, DE): More details HERE.

 

Athletics Fiscal Specialist - 133366 (University of California – San Diego / La Jolla, CA): More details HERE.

 

Financial Analyst II (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletic Director, Strategy and Analytics (Penn State / University Park, PA): More details HERE.

 

Executive Associate Athletic Director - Chief Financial Officer (Georgia Tech / Atlanta, GA): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletic Director Business and Finance (Florida International University / Miami, FL): More details HERE.

Assistant Women's Volleyball Coach (Kansas State University / Manhattan, KS): More details HERE.

 

Head's Women Soccer Coach (Southeast Missouri State University / Cape Girardeau, MO): More details HERE.

 

Head Women's Volleyball Coach (Saint Mary's College of California / Moraga, CA): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Coach / Goalkeeper Coach, Men's Soccer (University of Central Florida / Orlando, FL): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Coach, Women's Soccer (Bowdoin College / Brunswick, ME): (DIII) More details HERE.

 

Head Women’s Soccer Coach (Virginia Commonwealth University / Richmond, VA): More details HERE.

 

Head Volleyball Coach (Central Michigan University / Mount Pleasant, MI): More details HERE. The Coaches.dossier for this position is available HERE.

 

Head Volleyball Coach (University of North Texas / Denton, TX): More details HERE. The Coaches.dossier for this position is available HERE.

 

Assistant Coach, Women's Volleyball (Tulane University / New Orleans, LA): More details HERE.

 

Head Volleyball Coach (Oral Roberts University / Tulsa, OK): Please email any interest to kaity@bowlsbysportsadvisors.com More details HERE. The Coaches.dossier for this position is available HERE.

 

Assistant Volleyball Coach (Texas Tech University / Lubbock, TX): More details HERE.

 

Women's Basketball Video Coordinator (Bowling Green State University / Bowling Green, OH): More details HERE.

 

Women's Soccer Assistant Coach/Goalkeeper Coach (Duke University / Durham, NC): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Women's Tennis Coach (Johns Hopkins University / Baltimore, MD): (DIII) More details HERE.

 

Chief Executive Officer (Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) / Anywhere, US): More details HERE.

 

Women’s Head Soccer Coach (University of California – Riverside / Riverside, CA): More details HERE.

 

Field Hockey Head Coach (Rhodes College / Memphis, TN): (DIII) More details HERE.

 

Assistant Coach, Women's Soccer (Oakland University / Rochester, MI): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Coach Women's Lacrosse (Saint Francis University / Loretto, PA): More details HERE.

 

Head Coach - Women's Soccer (University of the Pacific / Stockton, CA): More details HERE.

Associate Athletics Director of Marketing and Branding (East Tennessee State University / Johnson City, TN): More details HERE.

 

Athletics Communications Assistant (10 months) (Johns Hopkins University / Baltimore, MD): (DIII) More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director, Creative Services (Post-Production) (Boise State University / Boise, ID): More details HERE.

 

Video Broadcast Graduate Assistant (2 Positions) (Mercer University / Macon, GA): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director of Broadcasting (Dartmouth College / Hanover, NH): More details HERE.

 

Associate Athletics Director for External Relations (Missouri State University / Springfield, MO): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing, Fan Engagement, and Revenue Strategy (University of San Diego / San Diego, CA): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director - Digital Strategy (Football) (Georgia Tech / Atlanta, GA): More details HERE.

 

Director, Athletics Communications and Creative Services (University of Delaware / Newark, DE): More details HERE.

 

Director of Digital Marketing (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill / Chapel Hill, NC): More details HERE.

 

Associate Director of Digital Strategy (University of Washington / Seattle, WA): More details HERE.

 

Director/Assistant Director of Marketing and Fan Engagement (East Texas A&M / Commerce, TX): More details HERE

 

Assistant Director of Marketing (United States Air Force Academy / Colorado Springs, CO): More details HERE.

 

Assistant A.D., Video / #Content (University of Central Florida / Orlando, FL): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director of Creative Video (Duke University / Durham, NC): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletic Director, Marketing & Fan Engagement (William & Mary / Williamsburg, VA): More details HERE.

 

Broadcast & Video Production Coordinator (Southeast Missouri State University / Cape Girardeau, MO): More details HERE.

 

Associate Director, Marketing (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletics Director for Strategic Communications (Football) (University of Utah / Salt Lake City, UT): More details HERE.

 

Director of Marketing and Digital Strategy (George Mason University / Fairfax, VA): More details HERE.

 

Athletics Graphic Designer (Lamar University / Beaumont, TX): More details HERE.

 

Director of Recruiting, Influence, and Branding Strategy (University of Virginia / Charlottesville, VA): More details HERE.

 

Creative Producer - Men's and Women's Basketball (Rice University / Houston, TX): More details HERE.

 

Communications Assistantship (Duke University / Durham, NC): More details HERE.

Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Coordinator (San Diego State University / San Diego, CA): More details HERE.

 

Compliance Coordinator - Athletics (Missouri State University / Springfield, MO): More details HERE. 

 

Assistant Athletic Director for NCAA Compliance (Monmouth University / West Long Branch, NJ): More details HERE.

 

Associate Athletic Director for Compliance (Colorado State University / Fort Collins, CO): More details HERE.

 

Associate Athletics Director-Resource Management (Purdue University / West Lafayette, IN): More details HERE.

 

Associate General Counsel (University of Nebraska / Lincoln, NE): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletic Director, Compliance (Kennesaw State University / Kennesaw, GA): More details HERE.

 

Senior Associate Director of Athletic Compliance (Football) (University of Minnesota / Minneapolis, MN): More details HERE.

Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Coordinator (San Diego State University / San Diego, CA): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director, Development and Alumni Engagement - Athletics (Vanderbilt University / Nashville, TN): More details HERE.

 

Director of Development 1 or 2 (Washington State University / Pullman, WA): More details HERE.

 

Assistant AD, Foundation Finance (Auburn University / Auburn, AL): More details HERE. 

 

Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development (Rice University / Houston, TX): More details HERE.

 

Coordinator - Athletic Development (Middle Tennessee State University / Murfreesboro, TN): More details HERE.

 

Senior Director/ Director of Development - Major Gifts (University of Georgia / Athens, GA): More details HERE.

 

Director of Heritage Association (University of Southern California / Los Angeles, CA): More details HERE.

 

Director of Development Communications (University of Southern California / Los Angeles, CA): More details HERE

 

Assistant AD for Annual Fund & Premium Seating (Arkansas State University / Jonesboro, AR): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director of Development Operations (Arkansas State University / Jonesboro, AR): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director, Development (University of Wyoming / Laramie, WY): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director of Donor Relations & Stewardship (Dartmouth College / Hanover, NH): More details HERE.

Assistant Director of Donor Communications & Events (Dartmouth College / Hanover, NH): More details HERE.

 

Director of Revenue Growth (Illinois State University / Normal, IL): More details HERE.

 

Director of Development - Annual Fund (Tarleton State University / Stephenville, TX): More details HERE. 

 

Director of Stewardship, Signature Events and Donor Experience (University of Tennessee / Knoxville, TN): More details HERE.

Commissioner (St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference / Belleville, IL): (DIII) More details HERE.

 

Athletic Director (Augsburg University / Minneapolis, MN): (DIII) More details HERE.

 

Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development (Rice University / Houston, TX): More details HERE.

 

Senior Associate Athletic Director for Administration (Ball State University / Muncie, IN): More details HERE.

 

Deputy Athletic Director, Chief of Staff (Utah State University / Logan, UT):  More details HERE

 

Senior Associate Athletic Director, Student Life (University of Pittsburgh / Pittsburgh, PA): More details HERE.

 

Director of Athletics (Midway University / Midway, KY): (NAIA) More details HERE.

 

Senior Associate AD, Sports Administration (University of Delaware / Newark, DE): More details HERE.

 

Chief Executive Officer (Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) / Anywhere, US): More details HERE.

 

Executive Associate Athletic Director - Chief Financial Officer (Georgia Tech / Atlanta, GA): More details HERE.

 

Director, McAndrews Fund for Athletic Engagement (Dickinson College / Carlisle, PA): (DIII) More details HERE.

Assistant Director, Facilities & Operations (University of Notre Dame / Notre Dame, IN): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director of Event Management and Operations (SUNY University at Albany / Albany, NY): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director of Event Management & Camps (University of Pittsburgh / Pittsburgh, PA): More details HERE.

 

Director - Landscape, Turf, and Grounds (University of Missouri / Columbia, MO): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director of Event Management (University of Missouri / Columbia, MO): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director of Athletic Events & Rentals (Rice University / Houston, TX): More details HERE.

 

Senior Associate Athletic Director for Administration (Ball State University / Muncie, IN): More details HERE.

 

Facility and Student Programming Coordinator (Bowling Green State University / Bowling Green, OH): More details HERE.

 

Part-Time Assistant Equipment Manager (University of Denver / Denver, CO): More details HERE.

 

Director, Maintenance (Stanford University / Stanford, CA): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Equipment Manager for Olympic Sports (Utah State University / Logan, UT): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director - 3M Arena at Mariucci and Ridder Arena (University of Minnesota / Minneapolis, MN): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director - Williams Arena/Maturi Pavilion (University of Minnesota / Minneapolis, MN): More details HERE.

 

Client Services Manager, UNO Athletics & Events (University of Nebraska at Omaha / Omaha, NE): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletics Director, Operations & Events (Stanford University / Stanford, CA): More details HERE.

 

Director, Maintenance (Stanford University / Stanford, CA): More details HERE.

 

Asst. AD Facs & Game Ops (New Mexico State University / Las Cruces, NM): More details HERE.

Coordinator of Athletics Administration (Drake University / Des Moines, IA): More details HERE.

 

Senior Associate AD, Sports Administration (University of Delaware / Newark, DE): More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Trainer (Long Beach State University / Long Beach, CA): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletic Trainer (University of Alaska – Anchorage / Anchorage, AK): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Sports Performance Coach - Olympic Sports (University of Wyoming / Laramie, WY): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletic Trainer - Women's Soccer & Women's Water Polo (Iona University / New Rochelle, NY): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletic Trainer (Middle Tennessee State University / Murfreesboro, TN): More details HERE.

 

Associate Athletic Trainer (San Diego State University / San Diego, CA): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletic Trainer (University of Wyoming / Laramie, WY): More details HERE. 

 

Athletic Trainer I (University of Delaware / Newark, DE): More details HERE.

 

Athletic Trainer (Brown University / Providence, RI): More details HERE.

 

Director of Mental Health & Performance (William & Mary / Williamsburg, VA): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletic Trainer (Illinois State University / Normal, IL): More details HERE.

 

Athletic Trainer (King University – Tennessee / Bristol, TN): (DII) More details HERE.

Account Manager - Athletic Corporate Partnerships (Clemson University / Clemson, SC): More details HERE.

 

Director of Sales - Holy Cross Athletics (Peak Sports MGMT / Worcester, MA): More details HERE.

 

Account Executive - Advertising (D1.ticker Parent Company: Drive & Company / Remote): More details HERE.

 

Head of Revenue (Stanford University / Stanford, CA): More details HERE.

 

Sr. Assoc. AD/Executive Sr. Assoc. AD – Revenue Generation & Partnerships (University of Cincinnati / Cincinnati, OH): More details HERE.

Assistant Ticket Office Manager (University of Montana / Missoula, MT): More details HERE.

 

Director of Ticket Sales (University of New Mexico / Albuquerque, NM): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Director of Ticket Operations (Baylor University / Waco, TX): More details HERE.

 

Assistant Athletic Director for Ticket Sales & Operations (Colorado State University / Fort Collins, CO): More details HERE.

 

Associate AD or Senior Associate AD for External Affairs (Furman University / Greenville, SC): More details HERE.