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The ASC will welcome McMurry and Screiner back to the league in 2026-27, as the six members sign a decade-long agreement “that ensures the stability, strength, and growth of the conference.” Howard Payne President/ASC Council of Presidents Chair Cory Hines: “We are excited to continue fostering a dynamic and supportive environment for our student-athletes. This partnership will ensure the ASC remains a competitive and thriving conference, with a focus on academic achievement, character development, sportsmanship, and athletic excellence. We look forward to building upon the foundation of our united ASC institutions for years to come.” (link); SCAC Commissioner Dwayne Hanberry: “The SCAC is proud of our long and distinguished record of providing quality experiences for our student-athletes and member institutions. As always, we remain committed to being a leader in pursuit of excellence in Division III athletics.” (link)

NCAA President Charlie Baker joins CBS Evening News to discuss the House settlement and says: “I do believe the settlement will create a much saner way of doing this than the way it works now, and I hope what we get out of it is an NIL program that’s more transparent, more accountable, and one that actually works on this idea that this is still a development exercise for young people.” Baker also says of the NCAA’s efforts to combat gambling-related harassment of players: “Part of the way we’re fixing it is by nudging state gaming authorities. We now have about half of them where you can’t prop bet on college sports, and we’ve got to work the other half. It’s a bad situation.” (link)

NCAA VP of Championships Business Affairs Chris Termini tells SBJ’s Ben Portnoy the organization is increasingly focused on generating more revenue to keep up with the changing landscape: “I’ll say that broadly the NCAA has been entrenched in a lot of principles or ideals that the membership has long abandoned. We’re playing catchup, in a way, to where the membership already is in a lot of cases. ... For example, the College Football Playoff has had a beer sponsor for a long time. There are opportunities that every day we’re talking about…that we have either not pursued or that we forfeited for a variety of reasons. Having said that, I do think there are some third rails and bright lines that we’re not going to cross into.” Termini adds that “there are profound consequences to being a nonprofit organization. It means we don’t have shareholders, and we’re not maximizing value, and we have ideals that we have to continue to honor and respect. That translates into certain lines in the sand that we will not cross. … We conduct 90, soon to be 91, postseason events, and that comes with a lot of economic issues. We’ve always had a dedicated and talented staff to manage all those relationships, whether it’s our broadcast partnerships, our sponsors, our digital rights, our ticketing and marketing operations. But in this new environment, there is an expectation that we are going to be investing and excellent stewards of all those rights.” (link)

Terms have been released in the NCAA’s settlement with Tennessee and other states over an injunction preventing the NCAA from enforcing rules around booster-athlete NIL negotiations. Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger: “Of note: Though the injunction will continue, it will not impact the House settlement.” Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti: “We fought hard to protect the rights of Tennessee’s student-athletes and this settlement locks in the victory for them. With a multi-billion-dollar entertainment industry rising from the foundation of college sports, the kids who make it all happen should not be the only people denied an opportunity to prosper. This settlement benefits generations of student-athletes, protects Tennessee universities from NCAA retaliation, and pushes college sports toward a new equilibrium that acknowledges financial reality while preserving competitive integrity. I’m glad to see the NCAA give up on defending a world that no longer exists. I hope the association’s laudable change of position marks a transition from acting as the worst kind of HOA toward cultivating a new era of great college sports for athletes, schools, and fans. We all dream of a future when you can keep up with college sports without having to learn the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.” (link, link); ESPN’s Dan Murphy explains the settlement means the “NCAA has agreed to permanently drop its rule prohibiting athletes from negotiating the terms of name, image and likeness payments until after they enroll in school,” and an NCAA spokesperson says: "This agreement continues the progress we have made over the last few years in allowing prospective and transferring student-athletes to seek out NIL opportunities. This judgment is fully consistent with the House settlement and underscores our support for student-athletes benefiting from their NIL and our commitment to provide increased benefits to student-athletes at every stage in their collegiate experience, creating a sustainable model for the future of college sports." (link)

Simpson AD Marty Bell chats with The Simpsonian’s Clare Veren about facility projects on the horizon for the Storm. First up is a gymnastics training facility that could include training space for cheer, dance, cross country, track & field and swimming & diving. Pending final board approval this spring, that facility is projected to come online this fall. Bell on what’s next: “The other project is still in the strategic vision stage, which I developed when I arrived as the athletic director. This would be an indoor training facility that would include a full 200-meter indoor competition track, space for all indoor field events, 70-75 yards of field turf inside the track oval, four indoor tennis courts and dedicated locker room and reception areas that would house our track and field, baseball, softball, tennis and golf teams.” (link)

Augustana suspends its Men’s Lacrosse season, citing injuries, health and safety concerns and the small roster size. AD Michael Zapolski: “Augustana has made a good faith effort to avoid this scenario, but a variety of circumstances have created the reality that playing games is not sustainable for our program this spring. […] Augustana is fully committed to sponsoring men's lacrosse as a varsity sport. We have a lot to offer a prospective men's lacrosse recruit—an opportunity to play immediately at a school with an outstanding academic reputation, boasts a quality venue and competes in the strongest conference in the Midwest. I am confident that Coach Thornton can build back our roster size to 35-40 student-athletes after a few recruiting cycles.” (link)

Belhaven Men’s Basketball HC Josh Brooks departs for the same role at Mississippi College (DII). (link)

Millsaps AD Justin LeBlanc will step away from serving as Women’s Basketball HC. (link)

Southwestern selects Colorado College Men’s Basketball AC Matt Streich as its new HC. AD Ken Ralph: “Matt Streich has the experience, work ethic, and drive to build a successful program at Southwestern. His experience with selective liberal arts colleges, being on the staff of successful programs, and his proven recruiting contacts in the state of Texas make him an ideal hire. All of his references spoke highly of his ability to communicate effectively and build relationships. We could not be more excited for the Matt Streich era to begin for SU basketball.” (link)

Coaches.wire…
+ Husson hires Daytona State (NJCAA) Women’s Volleyball AC Kendall Jacobsen as its new HC. (link)
+ Monmouth names Northland Women’s Volleyball HC Hope Neargarder to the same role. (link)
+ Norwich Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey HCs Cam Ellsworth and Sophie Leclerc Doherty have stepped down. (link, link)
+ These changes and more in this morning’s edition of Coaches.wire. (link)

Quick Hits…
+ Bethel (MN) Women’s Track & Field student-athlete Hailey Gregg (link), John Carroll Men’s Track & Field student-athlete Basheer Alramahi (link) and Ohio Northern Wrestling student-athlete Cael Vanderhorst (link) took home their respective sport’s Elite 90 awards.
+ Pacific Lutheran Baseball knocked off Washington (DI) last night in Seattle. (link)

Moody’s has revised its outlook on higher education from stable to negative “as recent and potential federal policy changes create a more difficult operating environment for colleges and universities. Actions and potential changes include cuts to research funding, enforcement actions against diversity programs, staff reductions at the US Department of Education, uncertainty over federal student aid, and possible expanded taxes on endowments. These factors are causing institutions to pause capital investments, freeze hiring, and cut spending. Macroeconomic uncertainty, driven by shifting policies and market volatility, adds to the risks for institutions already dealing with elevated expense growth and enrollment challenges. However, top-rated institutions with strong demand and significant financial resources are better equipped to handle these challenges than those with weaker brands and more limited financial resources. … The outlook could change to stable if many of the federal policies and proposals are reversed or halted by judicial intervention or do not come to pass. Stronger-than-expected investment market returns and operating revenue growth could also lead to a revision of the outlook to stable.” (link)

More Higher Ed…
+ Wisconsin-Stevens Point Chancellor Thomas Gibson is one of four finalists for the opening at Milwaukee (DI). (link)
+ One of the three bidders for the Wells College campus is a group of alumni, the Cleveland Commission for Wells, that hope to revive the college. The group does not have funds in hand to buy the institution, but hopes to raise them within 30 days if their bid is accepted. A new Wells would include fewer administrators, courses on the Cayuga Lake ecology and utilizing the campus year-round. (link)