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NCAA Committee Recaps…
➤ The DII Legislation Committee is proposing 2027 NCAA Convention legislation to eliminate the cap of 60 total awards in all men’s sports outside of football in basketball as part of its Bylaw 15 review. On the same note, the committee is recommending noncontroversial legislation to award athletics aid to a student-athlete who has received an extension of eligibility beyond the 10-semester/15-quarter limit and removing the cost of books and supplies from the grant-in-aid and equivalency calculations, both effective August 1, 2026. Two other pieces of noncontroversial legislation recommended include the elimination of the June 15 transfer notification date and permitting basketball competitions against out-of-region opponents from contiguous states to be exempted via region challenge events. More, including positions on nine membership-sponsored proposals for January’s convention. (link)
➤ The DII Championships Committee is recommending reducing the Men’s Tennis bracket from 48 to 32 teams, reducing the Men’s and Women’s finals site to eight teams per gender and implementing eight regional sites starting in 2027-28 to meet the access ratio policy and provide an equitable experience. If enacted, the changes would save around $342K. The committee also approved access ratios for a number of sports and revised the bracket expansion policy as it relates to AQs to exclude leagues in the three-year grace period. On streaming, the 45 spring championship events streamed through NCAA.com garnered 8.3M minutes watched. For 2025-26, the Administrative Committee has allocated up to $200K for streaming championships. “For 2025-26, Division II championships preliminary-round contests not already contractually obligated to be shown on ESPN or CBS will be available free of charge on ncaa.com. The dollars allocated from the division’s FY25 surplus will fund operational costs for the streaming platform. The allocation also applies only to championships in 2025-26, as other options for this content will be explored for 2026-27 and beyond.” (link)
➤ Saint Augustine’s will remain on probationary status for 2025-26 and be required to meet the minimum sports sponsorship requirements during this year to avoid being placed in restricted membership status. (link)

Saint Vincent (DIII) Men’s Basketball student-athlete Michael Iuzzolino is suing the NCAA as he seeks to compete in the 2025-26 season. Iuzzolino claims he should have another season of eligibility, voiding his 2021-22 season at Bryant (DI), after the NCAA ruled him ineligible for the upcoming season. “Mr. Iuzzolino relied on his then-coach's good-faith assurances that Mr. Iuzzolino's limited participation in the 2021-22 season at Bryant would not count against his four years of NCAA eligibility. In fact, Mr. Iuzzolino played only sparingly during that season-23 minutes across 12 games (of Bryant's 32-game slate) and did so only because he was told by his coach that this very limited participation in this second COVID-impacted season would not deprive him of a season of eligibility in the future. […] The NCAA, however, has improperly ruled Mr. Iuzzolino ineligible. It has wrongly applied its own rules in bad faith to count his brief and limited participation during the COVID-impacted 2021-22 season as a full ‘season of competition,’ despite Mr. Iuzzolino's good-faith reliance upon his then-coach's assurances to the contrary.” Of note, one of Iuzzolino’s attorneys is Winston & Strawn’s Jeffrey Kessler. (link)

Minnesota State launched the public phase of its $60M donor-funded Future State campaign that has already raised around $30M. The three-phase plan would include a new 6,500-seat multipurpose stadium, renovations to the Track & Field facility with the addition of around 3K seats, a new residence hall with mixed-use spaces on the lower floors and more. The new stadium and field would be named after Becky and Glen Taylor in recognition of their support of the Mavericks. The stadium and track & field construction would begin in fall 2027, with the stadium expected to open in 2029. President Edward Inch: “It is with great pride that I officially announce the public launch of The Future State capital campaign. This visionary initiative will help us build a dynamic, multi-purpose complex that will serve southern Minnesota, greater Mankato and our University for generations to come. Hosting more than 115 events annually, this hub will be a catalyst for regional economic growth, cultural vibrancy and community wellness.” (link)

A task force from the Congressional Black Caucus is in negotiations with its Republican colleagues to amend portions of the SCORE Act, some of which have already been agreed to, according to Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger. Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL), a member of the caucus, revealed that the group has reached an agreement on several changes to the legislation, adding that while “no piece of legislation is perfect, we know that something has to be done.” However, “it’s important that all views are taken into account when you’re talking about legislation that has an impact on such a big swath of peoples’ lives.” Specifically, Sewell says GOP members have agreed to changes with two of the caucus’ four areas of concern, including extending the bill’s medical provision that would require schools to provide five years of post-graduate healthcare rather than three and increasing athlete representation on NCAA governance committees from 25% to 35%. Dellenger: “The CBC and Republicans remain in negotiations, Sewell suggested, over the caucus’ desire to change the Act’s overseeing and enforcement entity from state attorneys generals to the Federal Trade Commission. Attorneys general enforcing the act is ‘problematic,’ she said, implying that their in-state bias serves as a conflict of interest.” (link)

Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger adds context to reports of the potential privatization of the FCS Playoffs via an investment from Sequence Equity: “For one, according to NCAA Rule 31.2.1.1, all NCAA members are required to participate, if selected, in the NCAA championship or in no postseason at all. The decision to eliminate the FCS playoff would require approval from its sport-specific committee, the FCS Oversight, followed by approval from the new NCAA Administrative Committee, and then, after that, the Division I Board of Directors. However, there is another hurdle: moving the FCS playoffs out from under the NCAA umbrella may come with consequences, as it may impact the NCAA’s $115 million media rights package with ESPN — a deal that incorporates 40 other sport championships. What happens now? It remains to be seen, but FCS officials are expected to continue talks over the coming weeks with the earliest implementation date of 2027. (link)

More Fundraising Developments…
➤ Columbus State’s Girls In The Game luncheon raised over $1.3M for female student-athlete scholarships. (link)
➤ At its recent State of the University, Minnesota State Moorhead announced $125M in facility investments across the campus, including “a vision for a bigger, better and brighter Nemzek building and a state-of-the-art indoor facility for athletics and recreation to include a turf, a track, and training spaces.” (link)
➤ Through partnerships with Hour-A-Thon, Emmanuel, King and Chowan raised $140K, $136K and $110K, respectively. (link, link, link) 
➤ NCAA DII raised close to $270K for Make-A-Wish in 2024-25, surpassing the previous year’s total by more than $70K. Since 2003, DII schools have donated over $7M to the organization. (link)

Deal Digest…
➤ The GLVC inks a five-year exclusive media rights deal with Hudl, becoming the first league to “adopt Hudl’s new model for live video distribution and fan engagement.” Commissioner Jim Naumovich: “This partnership ensures our student-athletes, coaches, and fans experience GLVC competitions on a consistent, high-quality platform, while generating new value for our member institutions.” (link)
➤ The SIAC teams up with Cadence Bank to become the league’s official banking sponsor, with Cadence to “connect directly with students, faculty and alumni in environments that extend outside of the classroom. This sponsorship further aligns with Cadence's overall recruiting strategy to reach diverse candidates across its footprint that is nearly identical to SIAC's footprint.” Playfly Sports brokered the four-year deal that runs through June 2029. (link)
➤ The ECC inks a deal with Collegiate Travel Network to create a travel booking platform for alumni and fans. (link)
➤ West Liberty teams up with FanWord to support its written content with the help of FanWord’s AI-powered FanWord Assist platform. (link)
➤ Ferris State partners with Podium X to offer career development and personal marketing tools to Bulldogs student-athletes. (link)
➤ The RMAC will work with Genesee Nutrition to provide nutrition at select championships. (link)

What’s a Chief AI Officer? This morning’s CRO.ticker has insights on that question from Washington Post Chief AI Officer Sam Han, including this nugget: “The best benefit of having that is no more meetings to decide what rules [to set as the basis for the paywall]. Thanksgiving sale’s coming up, how should we change the paywall rules to accommodate more subscriptions during the sales price? We will have meetings after meetings after meetings, and then the executive with the largest voice will win, right? That’s all gone now. It’s all driven by machine learning.” There’s also key insights on Ryder Cup economics, Major League Baseball end-of-season attendance & revenue data, plus lots more. (link)

It’s Personnel…
➤ Cal State San Bernardino selects Cal Poly Pomona Assoc. AD Christie Joines as Senior Assoc. AD/SWA. (link)
➤ Arkansas Tech elevates Director of Athletic Communications Daniel Gallegos to Assoc. AD for Athletic Communications. (link)
➤ Indianapolis promotes SID Cody Wainscott to Asst. AD for Creative Content and Digital Strategy. (link)
➤ Texas Woman’s hires TWU Coordinator in Civility and Community Standards and Investigator Ashton Middleton-Brown as Asst. AD for Compliance and Academic Services. (link)
➤ West Texas A&M Asst. AD for Ticket Operations James Evans is no longer with the Buffs. (link)

St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball HC Quincy Henderson signs a contract extension that would keep him with the Huskies through 2029-30. (link)

Winona State Women’s Tennis HC Thomas Sanvik has been arrested on three felony charges for possession of child sexual abuse materials. Sanvik admitted to police that he viewed materials and has been placed on leave by WSU. (link)

Coaches.wire…
➤ Alaska Fairbanks Nordic and Cross Country Skiing HC Eliska Albrigtsen departs to become the Nordic Skiing HC at Denver (DI). (link)
➤ Millersville hires Misericordia (DIII) Women’s Lacrosse HC Nicole Hinkle for the same role leading the Marauders. (link)
➤ St. Mary’s (TX) Women’s Volleyball Interim HC Dave Ulrich steps down. AC Cali Nims will serve as Interim HC for the remainder of the season. (link)
➤ More coaching staff transitions over the last couple of days. Check out this morning’s Coaches.wire. (link)