D1.ticker Top Ten - the most clicked stories of the past week

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#10: The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport has released its 2025 Women in College Coaching Report Card: NCAA Division-I Select Institutions in conjunction with the University of Minnesota. The 2024-25 dataset “included head coaches of women's teams at 94 institutions of higher education in the United States that were current members of NCAA Division I conferences.” Zero coaching positions were unfilled at the time of data collection, resulting in 1056 head coaching positions used for data analyses. Four teams were added and zero programs were cut in the Select Seven (American, Big Ten, Pac-12, ACC, Big East, Big 12 and SEC) since the last report. “The percentage of women's teams with women head coaches in Select Seven NCAA DI institutions went up to 47.7% in 2024-25, and increased 0.3% from 2023-24 (47.4%). The percentage has increased for the last 12 years. A steady incline is evident; however, growth has slowed compared to the previous two years. If growth continues at the current rate, achieving 50% of women head coaches of women’s teams is possible within eight years.” The report also states that “less than half of head coach positional vacancies for Select Seven women’s Division I teams (54 of 119, 45.4%) were filled by women, resulting in 65 missed opportunities to hire a woman. Since 2013, a majority (54.4%) of all head coach hires have been men, but more recently, women are being hired at higher rates.” As for institutional grades, the following received an A: UCF, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Ole Miss, Michigan, Penn State, Washington, UCLA and Cal. Full report card. (link)

#9: Check out a video update of Maine’s renovations to the Shawn Walsh Center and Alfond Arena. (link)

#8: ESPN’s Pete Thamel & Kyle Bonagura report Texas State is the “heavy favorite” to receive a Pac-12 invite, noting that the “league is currently exploring making an offer in the upcoming weeks.” A Bobcats exit from the Sun Belt would currently cost $5M, a figure that increases to $10M come July 1. Beyond a potential Texas State addition, more conference growth looks to be tied to where media rights negotiations end up: “The finances from a new TV deal are expected to be below what the league's consultants pitched schools initially. In the wake of the initial flurry of schools going to the league, ESPN reported schools were shown projected revenue from a TV deal north of $10 million per school, but conditions have changed. That number projects under $10 million for the new deal starting in 2026 but is still expected to be more than those schools would have received had they remained in the Mountain West. The other financial variable is related to the buyouts for the five MW schools.” As for what the Sun Belt would do in response to a Texas State exit: “The Sun Belt's realignment strategy for years has been to double-down on regional rivalries, and Louisiana Tech would fall into that category. Western Kentucky would be attractive because of the program's strong history in football and long-standing success in men's basketball. It would have some support from schools in the East, but the early read is that Louisiana Tech is ahead.” More, including a potential addition of Tarleton State for Conference USA. (link)

#7: Ohio State AD Ross Bjork met with the media, saying the Buckeyes had their best fundraising year ever with more than $80M generated. As for the House settlement: “We have an obligation to follow Title IX in several buckets. ... The revenue share and the NIL world is not subject to Title IX per se, but we do have an obligation to support our female athletes as much as we support our male athletes. ... We think we'll be in a better position to support our female athletes. [...] We have been in an environment the last four years, that there wasn't necessarily a valid business purpose between a collective and an athlete. ... It (now) has to meet a valid business purpose. ... These numbers, you have to really ask, 'When?' When are you counting that? ... People think there's still going to be this chase. ... Everyone is going to sign an agreement attesting to, 'We are going to follow the rules.'” Bjork also touched on football game atmosphere enhancements: “More night games, we already covered that. Fans, they want to modernize, they want to innovate. ... I think we saw what happened in the Tennessee game. ... We learned a lot from that. So, when we do music, how we play music, we have to do sponsored segments, but how do we do that? ... We have a ramp that's iconic that the band walks down, how can we use that during the game? ... We are working on new boards, new LED ribbon boards. ... The plan is really, really strong.” (link, link)

#6: Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera emphasizes “speediness” in the hire of a new AD for the Yellow Jackets. More: “The interest for this position is extremely, extremely high. This is going to be more of a question of deciding what is the right profile for this point of time for Georgia Tech?” University board members Mark Teixeira, David Rowland and Ron Johnson will assist with vetting candidates with “different stakeholders” from the campus community also meeting with the finalists. (link)

#5: Another House case appeal has hit the docket. USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz: “Another group of female athletes who objected to the House-NCAA settlement has filed notice that they are appealing to the 9th Circuit. This group is represented, in part, by lawyers from a firm called EQUITY IX, LLC, which works on Title IX, gender equity and NIL matters.” (link); Here’s the full filing. (link)

#4: Southern Utah AD Doug Knuth has announced his resignation with plans to move closer to his family: "Thank you @SUUThunderbirds for three great years and many new friendships along the way. In @SUUtbirds president Mindy Benson’s words, 'you’ve had a good run.' Yes, I think we have! Record fundraising, all-time best academic and APR marks, new and renovated facilities with more coming soon, new partnership with healthcare, conference championships, and much more. All of that in 3 years. I’ve been away from my wife and kids for 3 years. It’s time to be closer to them, and I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunities that are coming soon." (link)

#3: The NCAA released a 36-page question & answer guide to House settlement implementation. (link)

#2: Tennessee Tech hires former Montana State Deputy AD for External Operations Casey Fox as its new AD. Fox: "I'm a competitive person, and when I came to Tech, I saw that same competitive drive on this campus. From strong community and administrative support to engaged students and first-class coaches, this is a university with all the right tools in place for nationally competitive sports programs. I have seen how Tech has already leveled up in recent years, and I am excited for the opportunity to further elevate and transform Golden Eagle athletics." Collegiate Sports Associates assisted Tennessee Tech with the process. (link)

#1: Cal AD Jim Knowlton announces his retirement, effective July 1, and says: "It has been an incredible honor to serve at the University of California, Berkeley, the No. 1 public university in the country. The expectation of holistic excellence helps to drive everyone associated with the university, and our department is no exception. The combination of a world-class education, athletic excellence, an inclusive community, an awe-inspiring location and, most importantly, truly special people, make Cal a magnificent place to serve." Chancellor Rich Lyons also announced that he will use this period of transition to put in place a new leadership structure. He has appointed current Deputy ADs Jay Larson and Jenny Simon-O'Neill to be the new co-directors of Cal Athletics. ESPN's Pete Thamel was one of the first to report the news. (link, link)

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