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

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#10: The Daily News-Record’s Shane Mettlen weighs in on what Louisiana Monroe AD John Hartwell’s sudden resignation could mean for the school and the Sun Belt moving forward. Despite lagging tens of millions of dollars behind many of its league peers with the smallest FBS budget at $19.1 million, Mettlen writes that Hartwell had embraced the challenges with the Warhawks and had things moving steadily in the right direction. However, some Sun Belt ADs reportedly heard that ULM President Carrie Castille had asked for huge athletics budget cuts and a revised budget. Per Mettlen, if ULM was serious about continuing its forward momentum, finding a way to work with Hartwell to at least maintain the department’s current support level was vital, and that slashing an “already barebones budget” would make producing a viable Sun Belt program difficult further weakening the “conference’s bottom dweller” and the league in the process. Following Hartwell’s resignation, Castille commented in a press release that her “commitment to ULM Athletics and the Sun Belt Conference is unwavering.” People in the ULM community that believed the school wouldn’t drop down to FCS suddenly aren’t so sure, however, with one Sun Belt AD telling Mettlen that “ULM was a shell of an FBS program and he was having a hard time picturing the Warhawks at that level a few years from now.” (link)

#9: USF Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford in a letter to fans explains that “as we launch our search for the next leader of USF Athletics, we want to share with you why this moment is different – and why we're not just hiring an athletic director. We are hiring a CEO of Athletics. This new title reflects more than a change in language. It reflects a new era in college sports, and a new vision for USF. In today's world, leading an athletics department is no longer just about managing teams or balancing a budget. It's about building a competitive enterprise, growing revenue, leading through change, and positioning our university – and our region – on the national stage. … To succeed in this environment, USF Athletics must be run like a serious business – because it is one.” Weatherford notes that USF remains “deeply committed to the student-athlete experience and to providing meaningful opportunities across all sports – including our Olympic sports programs…but we also know that winning, growing, and investing in our future requires a modern approach. That's where the CEO comes in. We're looking for a leader who understands both the boardroom and the locker room – someone who can drive revenue, elevate our brand, attract top-tier talent, and embrace innovation. Someone who sees the opportunity in USF and isn't afraid to dream big.” (link)

#8: The Deseret News’ Amy Ortiz deep dives into BYU’s strict honor code, by which all students, faculty and staff must abide. Ortiz notes “recent discussions surrounding former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff and his decision to withdraw from the university, after facing a seven-game suspension for violating the school’s honor code, have reignited questions about the code and how it functions today.” BYU AD Brian Santiago: “It’s something that we’ll never shy away from. And I think our competitive advantage into the future in college athletics is who we represent, the honor code (and) the way that we are unashamed about what it is.” As for its impact on recruiting student-athletes, Santiago notes: “Some of the best in the country are going, ‘It’s exactly what we’re looking for. We want this structure, we want the discipline, we want leadership.” Lots more on the history of the code and its slight modifications over the years. (link)

#7: Akron has named Rutgers Deputy AD/Chief Compliance Officer Matt Pottorff as Senior Deputy AD/COO. (link)

#6: Oklahoma announces that it has retained The Athlete Group (TAG) to assist its 12-member search committee in identifying the Sooners’ next AD. TAG has previously served as an OU partner in other placement searches, including for GM of Football. (link)

#5: Former NC State AD Debbie Yow, who hired new Rutgers AD Keli Zinn at Maryland, says of Zinn: “She’ll fight for Rutgers. She’s Southern, like me, and people have this idea about Southern women. But Southern women are tenacious. They’re tough. They just do it softly. But they get it done.” Yow also observes: “I’m seeing the trend where you go hire a businessperson, but they have no clue what they’re stepping into. You have about 20 different constituent groups you have to please, whether it’s boosters, or parents, or the state legislature, or the NCAA, or the president’s council, or the student body, or the athletes – there’s just no end to it. All the years [Zinn] has spent in the room contributing to the decisions now becomes critically important, because she’s seen so much. Both good and bad.” Also from Yow: “She’s not going to implode. You’re not going to pick up the paper one day, look at a statement she made and go, ‘Oh. My. God. What in the world was she thinking?’ She’s not going to have an affair with anybody. That’s a good start!” (link)

#4: Hats off to New Mexico AD Fernando Lovo and Football HC Jason Eck, who sent up the “Scott’s Tots” episode of The Office to promote a new initiative through which fans who purchase single-game general admission tickets in the north end zone can now get up to two free kids (12 and under) tickets for the same game. A special tip of the cap for the inclusion of this gem: “I have made some empty promises in my life, but hands down that was the most generous.” Have a watch. (link, link)

#3: President Donald Trump has appointed LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker and WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition and says the commission "will be working on college football in terms of what happened. It's a mess. What they're doing with college football – and the fans are upset about it. Players are being taken from team after team and traded around like playing cards. And a lot of money’s passing and nobody knows what’s happening, so these people behind me are going to be very much involved in figuring that whole thing out and working on it and trying to bring some sanity to that incredible, not only the football, college sports – very, very bad for women because all of the sudden there’s no women that are able to get the money that they’re talking about. It seems to be going mostly to football, some basketball, and women’s sports are being totally decimated. … Women are being left behind and lesser sports are being left behind and the Olympics is being decimated because that was training for the Olympics and now we’re not going to have many of those sports left. The smaller sports, they’re almost going to be completely wiped out.” Other notable members of the 30-person President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition include Michigan Women’s Lacrosse alum/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Senior Policy Advisor Catherine Granito who will serve as Executive Director, Texas Tech System Board of Directors Chairman Cody Campbell, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and more. (link, link)

#2: Check out the renovation progress at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium. (link)

#1: ULM AD John Hartwell resigns after leading the Warhawks since February 2023 to pursue other opportunities. President Carrie Castille: "We appreciate what John has done for ULM Athletics over the last few seasons and wish him and his family all the best. There is a plan in place, and we will be making that plan known as soon as the logistics are finalized. My commitment to ULM Athletics and the Sun Belt Conference is unwavering, and we will continue to find ways to win on the field, on the court, in the community, and in the classroom." (link)

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