D2.ticker - Eliminate the barrage of articles & time-consuming searches. Efficient DII athletics news in a daily email. |
| |
|
#10: The D2 CCA penned a letter to the DII Football Committee and DII Championships Committee asking for the Football postseason bracket to be expanded from 28 to 32 teams as soon as this fall or by 2026 at the latest, with the D2 CCA’s unanimous support. The group is also “nearly unanimous” in its support for adding a 12th week of the regular season to align it with the schedule for FCS and DIII, no later than the 2026 season. On bracket expansion, the group points to DII policy that calls for the exploration of expansion when a bracket comprises over 50% AQs, which DII football now has following the passage of recent AQ legislation. Further: “Filling each Super Region’s bracket achieves enhanced fairness by eliminating byes. With the current bracketing flexibility that does not seed road teams, having four first-round matchups provides additional flexibility for the committee in creating matchups that avoid flights, and there would be increased flexibility in avoiding conference matchups, both of which are priorities in D-II football’s bracketing procedures.” In arguing for week 12, the D2 CCA cites a former Sports Science Institute representative who called playing 11 games in 11 weeks “the definition of insanity.” Further, they point to such a solution as a way to mitigate the drive for conferences with an odd number of members to pursue expansion from other leagues and open the door for more conferences to play a conference championship game. On the media implications, the commissioners prioritize “changing the D-II football calendar to align with FCS and Division III, even if it risks the potential loss of linear television distribution, though D2CCA is optimistic that linear distribution can be maintained with our existing broadcast partner. Additionally, if Division II were to make this change, there is value for NCAA football to have all of its championships crowned in January, and there are many opportunities that can be cultivated if FCS, D-II, and D-III all crowned champions the same weekend.” Also of note from a risk consultant on moving to week 12: “the more you look like everyone else, the more that legal risk is reduced.” (link, link - Full letter)
|
#9: Georgia Southwestern State selects Phoebe Putney Health System Wellness Manager Caitlin Downs as Asst. AD overseeing external functions. (link)
|
#8: Wisconsin (DI) Football student-athlete/former Grand Valley State student-athlete Nyzier Fourqurean has had his preliminary injunction granted, thus giving him an extra year of eligibility. U.S. District Court Judge William Conley took issue with the NCAA waiver process, specifically the waiver Fourqurean sought for his 2021 season at GVSU following his father’s passing, writing that the NCAA is enjoined from enforcing the Five-Year Rule “as to plaintiff absent a more meaningful demonstration that exceptions to that rule should not apply to plaintiff’s requested, additional season of eligibility given the unique circumstances surrounding his 2021-2022 season at Division II GVSU.” Also of note, Conley did not agree with the premise non-DI eligibility should be exempt and an individual’s eligibility should begin when one enrolls at a DI institution, writing such a move would result in: “largely destroying defendant’s differentiated product to the point that college football programs would likely become nothing more than a minor league feeder system for the NFL where players develop for years (or even a decade) until they have optimized their chances of being drafted and sticking on an NFL roster. As concerning is the prospect that Division II and Division III football programs would become nothing more than minor league teams for the most powerful Division I football programs.” (link, link - full decision)
|
#7: New Mexico Highlands Softball HC Marc Benjamin has resigned during the season. Former Colorado-Colorado Springs HC Scott Peterson will serve as Interim HC, effective immediately. (link)
|
#6: The DII Committee of Infractions has found a former Cal Poly Humboldt Softball HC violated amateurism and recruiting violations by conducting an impermissible tryout with a prospective student-athlete and allowing that individual to compete while academically ineligible. The former HC also provided $445 in inducements and encouraged staff and student-athletes to conceal her involvement with the team and an injury suffered during practice. Humboldt has been placed on probation for a year, prohibited from recruiting contacts and tryouts for one week and fined $1,500. Show-cause orders have been issued for the former HC for five years and a volunteer AC who failed to cooperate for three years. (link)
|
#5: Extra Points author Matt Brown dives into the proposed “Oklahoma College Athletic Conference Act.” Brown reports the desire for the 11 schools mentioned in the bill to be in the same league are mixed, with Oklahoma Christian being the most motivated and the bill’s sponsor being an OCU alum. On Central Oklahoma’s exclusion from the bill: “Two sources familiar with Oklahoma D-II athletics told me they did not think UCO’s omission had anything to do with D-I. Instead, I was told it was more a reflection of UCO’s status and clout,making them a little more difficult to nudge in any particular direction.” Brown’s conclusion: “The bill’s current language would allow university presidents to vote to invite anybody else they wanted, in-state or not. It’s unclear exactly if the state can make a bunch of D-II schools create an entirely new conference. Many of the schools on the list are private Christian colleges, after all, and NCAA bylaws might not even allow schools to create a new league from whole cloth. Still, when a powerful state lawmaker starts digging around, it’s worth keeping an eye on future developments.” (link)
|
#4: Fort Hays State AD Curtis Hammeke has asked the Student Government Association to increase the athletic student fee to $11.97 in an effort to cover transportation cost increases. Hammeke: “We buy our own buses, we hire our own drivers, we maintain all of our vehicles. […] Our plea is for more support from student fees, and we realize we’re trying to keep our cost down and affordable for our students. [I’m] totally on board with that, our tuition and our fees. However, we have to be mindful of that at all times. We also have to be cognizant moving forward of quality.” The fee change will be voted on next week. (link)
|
#3: Ferrum (DIII) has been accepted into the two-year DII expedited membership process as the Panthers are set to join Conference Carolinas. (link)
|
#2: Colorado School of Mines hires former HC Bob Stitt as the Orediggers’ new HC. AD David Hansburg: “Coach Stitt has proven he can win at Mines, and he has a tremendous ability to coach and develop players. His success with limited resources during his first tenure with the Orediggers gives me confidence he can help us win a national championship with our program where it is today.” (link)
|
#1: PSAC Commissioner Steve Murray tells the Indiana Gazette two schools will soon apply for one open spot in the league, with Murray noting: “That could still be a couple more years away. […] Right now, things are most problematic in football and basketball, but we’ve figured out ways to make it work so far.” (link)
|
|
|
|
