#10: Catawba AD Michelle Caddigan has been promoted to VP for Athletics. President David Nelson: “This is a recognition of the outstanding leadership Vice President Caddigan has demonstrated during her tenure at Catawba. It also recognizes the significance of our athletics programs for the education of our students and the culture of our college.” (link)
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#9: Deloitte has released a white paper titled The New Era of College Athletics: Securing a sustainable financial future through revenue generation and expense management. The paper advises athletic departments to take a three-pronged approach to identifying and capturing new revenue streams, starting with assessing the current state of the athletic department. “Build a baseline understanding of current strategic, operational, and financial health, benchmarked against leading practices to inform the athletic department’s financial and operating goals. The comprehensive assessment should provide a clear understanding of the current landscape and identify areas for improvement and growth.” Second, plan for the future. “Forecast and scenario plan for known and potential expenditures and revenue over the next five years. This should include detailed financial categories specific to athletics,” such as team health, academic services, team travel and recruiting costs. “By considering these specific financial categories, athletic departments can create more accurate and actionable financial plans that address the unique needs and challenges of collegiate athletics.” Finally, chart a path forward: “Develop a strategic plan that prioritizes increasing revenue and reduces costs through the identification of sustainable opportunities for growth, centering the experience of current and future student-athletes, faculty, staff and fans.” Recommended revenue-generation activities could include developing a creative NIL strategy, exploring naming rights partnerships and setting clear objectives, among others. Expense management strategies could include updating the budget model, eliminating redundancies, establishing or refining governance structures and more. Full paper. (link)
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#8: MIAA Commissioner Mike Racy sits down with D2.ticker's Anthony Grassi at the 2025 NCAA Convention to dive into Racy’s efforts to push for change in Division II and the industry. The DII Football Alliance met in Nashville with eight conferences represented among the roughly 50 attendees and the focus of their conversations was around changes they would like to see, such as an expanded bracket or different bracketing principles, and the organization of football broadly to potentially include lower-level FCS programs that may not want to participate in a revenue-share model. “If there is, is there a way to align some of those schools with some of the schools that were at our meeting last night and create a different model either under the NCAA umbrella or outside of it?” Racy believes that to enact change on these critical issues, the alliance will have to come forward with a strategy and plan. “The days of survey, discussion, contemplation, another survey, here's our strategy, now let's go vote two years later, I'm sorry it can't continue to work like that. On some of these critical issues; we've got to be proactive, we've got to make some decisions and we can't continue to be reactive.” One other group Racy is engaged with is the college advisory board, facilitated by former Horizon League (DI) Commissioner Jon LeCrone: “It’s purpose is to bring representatives from FCS, Division II, Division III and even the NAIA around the table to talk about the future of college sports committed to an educational model.” On what some may see as moving away from the “Life in the Balance” mantra for DII: “I helped create Life in the Balance. Life in the Balance was never about being mediocre in more than one thing so you can balance your life. Life in the Balance was a destination to be excellent in everything you do. […] I feel like on the competitive landscape, we're taking ourselves back. Division II has brought in a number of schools that used to be in the NAIA. When you used to leave the NAIA and move into Division II, it was about enhancing your athletic program. […] My personal opinion seeing the difference of schools that are coming in now versus where they were 10 years ago, we've got schools now that aren't really trying to change anything. They're treating NCAA as NAIA Version 2 and I think it's watering down the competitive nature of Division II athletics.” Asked about the current NCAA division structure: “I worked at the NCAA. I have a lot of affinity for the good old days and how grand the three divisions were, how grand this great convention was. That was invented in 1973. It served us 50 great years. It's time for something else. We can do better.” Full conversation on BOSCA. (link)
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#7: Franklin Pierce names Interim AD Matt Johnson to the permanent position, effective at the end of this academic year. Johnson will continue to serve as Women’s Soccer HC, in addition to his AD role. (link)
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#6: Fort Hays State AD Curtis Hammeke will retire at the end of the academic year after more than two decades as the AD. President Tisa Mason: “It is with a profound sense of gratitude and admiration that I recognize Curtis Hammeke's exceptional contributions as our Director of Athletics. Over the past 21 years, Curtis has not only elevated our athletic programs to remarkable heights, but also fostered a deep sense of community and connection with our student-athletes, coaches, and supporters. Working alongside Curtis has been an honor and a privilege. His dedication and vision have shaped the strong foundation we enjoy today, and his leadership will be greatly missed.” FHSU General Counsel Joseph Bain will chair the AD search committee. (link)
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#5: Nine former Western Oregon Women’s Basketball student-athletes are suing the institution, coaches and administrators for roughly $28M, with the lawsuit claiming: “[HC Jessica] Peatross and [AC DJ] Marlow physically abused plaintiffs through using excessive and unreasonable amounts of exercise as punishment contrary to NCAA guidelines provided to all NCAA Division II schools, and emotionally abused and humiliated plaintiffs through disparaging comments about their bodies, tearing them down, belittling them, and telling them they were worthless.” The suit comes after Peatross and Marlow were placed on administrative leave last February following an physical incident between Peatross and a student-athletes, with the duo reinstated two months later following an investigation. The lawsuit goes on to call that investigation a “sham,” only interviewing four of the dozen individuals who made complaints and that six of the individuals who complained that had eligibility remaining were not allowed to return for this season. More. (link)
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#4: Maryville has opened its new Baseball facility, which includes an indoor hitting area, new dugouts, updated seating and more. President Mark Lombardi: “These upgrades are a testament to Maryville’s commitment to innovation and excellence. Our student-athletes deserve the very best, and these facilities reflect our dedication to their success both on and off the field. This is about more than just baseball—it’s about building a community that thrives on shared pride and achievement.” (link)
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#3: Sonoma State coaches intend to file a class action lawsuit against the institution and will pursue lobbying efforts to save the athletic department. Per The Press Democrat’s Gus Morris, the coaches are also looking to “enlist the faculty union and will push for more transparency on the budgetary and decision-making process that led to the cuts.” They plan to speak at this week’s California State University Board of Trustees meeting and engage alumni and the community to gain enough financial support to continue operating. Men’s Soccer HC Marcus Ziemer is one calling for budget transparency, as he states SSU athletics ran on a $3.7M budget with over $2M funded via Instructionally Related Activities fees. Further: “We knew athletics might be on the table for cuts, but all their actions (prior to Wednesday’s announcement) showed the opposite. They put a travel ban on the university, but they let athletics continue to recruit.” Women’s Soccer HC Emiria Salzman: “We’re here to fight and we want our student-athletes to know that we’re fighting. That’s what we do.” (link)
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#2: Wisconsin (DI) Football student-athlete Nyzier Fourqurean is suing the NCAA after his waiver request for another season of eligibility was denied, claiming his time playing at Grand Valley State should not count towards his eligibility. From the brief: “Here, Plaintiff is facing the same fate as [Vanderbilt QB Diego] Pavia. The fact that one played in junior college and the other in Division II is a distinction without a difference as it relates to the economic impact of limiting the athlete’s eligibility in Division I. Both would be deprived of not only athletic participation in Division I but also the related economic opportunities afforded to Division I athletes through NIL Compensation and revenue sharing opportunities if the bylaws control.” A hearing on Fourqurean’s motion for a temporary restraining order has been set for February 4. (link, link - Complaint, link - Brief)
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#1: Tampa AD Larry Marfise will retire in November after 26 years leading the Spartans. President Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg: “I cannot overstate the profound impact Larry has had on UTampa's co-curricular experience and on the hundreds of student-athletes who have competed on our fields and courts.” Marfise will stay on with Tampa through the onboarding of his successor. (link)
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