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The NCAA and AT&T ink a multi-year sponsorship renewal, per SBJ’s Ben Portnoy, who highlights the agreement was brokered by TNT Sports and CBS Sports through the NCAA’s Corporate Champion and Partner Program. The deal will again include varying broadcast integrations and national campaigns with activations such as the Super Saturday Concert presented by AT&T and the AT&T Block Party at the March Madness Music Festival. Exact terms of the deal weren’t immediately available. (link)

Lackawanna President Jill Murray sits down with Penn Adjunct Professor Karen Weaver about the transition to DII. On finances, Murray joked her CFO was a little taken aback by the needed financial upgrades to the current $3M athletics budget, adding: “If there's good news about the process and how long it takes to get to the final step of Division II, that allows us to sort of step into a graduated budget process where we know we have to bring in more students, we know we have to increase our infrastructure, and we know that we’re probably going to add two to three million dollars to that budget for sure. […] As we begin to plan out how we're going to add those dollars to the budget, we also know that we have to grow our institution. We have to grow our institution through different ways. What are the revenue streams that we need to both grow or tap into that are going to make that happen? […] How are we going to do this in a responsible, ethical way that ensures everyone gets that same kind of shot to be able to prove their worth? So shifting resources from one area to another is certainly another possibility. We have to be efficient. We have to be effective. We've done that for years and we think we can continue to do it that way.” Murray broached the topic of moving out of NJCAA with her board pre-pandemic. Throughout the last couple of years, the board heard presentations from PSAC Commissioner Steve Murray and other DII presidents to understand the necessary investments in academics, infrastructure, facilities and more so that when it came time to make a decision, they were fully on board and supportive of the vision forward. (link)

Opendorse Manager of Collegiate Partnerships Jake Daugherty sits down for a Small College Conversation with BOSCA Founder Jim Abbott to dive into NIL in small college athletics. As for the foundation, Daugherty believes schools should start with their belief: “Take a look at your department and say, ‘What is our belief around NIL for our student-athletes?” And it could be, ‘Hey our belief is we love this; we think it's a great opportunity for them, but it's not a priority for us. We want to build buildings or grow out our sponsorship program or whatever that may be.” You will know that better than anybody, but then on the opposite side you might say, ‘Hey, I'm an old-school AD. I hate NIL. This is ruining athletics, but it is a priority for us. We have to be able to retain athletes. We keep losing recruits. We keep losing potential athletes. So, how do we make this a priority for our department?’ And I always say that's the best guiding star and the starting point for an AD to say, ‘Hey, what's our belief on this and is it a priority for us?’ And then from there, you'll be able to make the educated decisions on how tobuild out a program and everything that comes following that.” Those decisions, Daugherty notes, begin with understanding your state law and what policies need to be implemented on campus. As NIL becomes more prevalent at the small college level, with over $1.5M in deals done with non-D1 athletes: “The question [leaders] should be asking themselves is do we have an answer for when [an NIL opportunity] comes up because that's going to be a question that's going to continuously be asked to them in the recruiting process of insert school what do NIL opportunities look like there or what do you guys do for NIL? So I would always encourage people to make sure you have that answer and if you don't, that's one of those things do some research, reach out to us; those are things that we help with, but as a leader you should always have an answer around what NIL opportunities exist, even if the answer is NIL is not a priority for us or NIL is a priority for us and this is how it goes.” More on BOSCA. (link)

Montana State Billings Cross Country did not participate in this weekend’s Whitman Open after six individuals sustained injuries and one will undergo surgery after one of the team’s vans was involved in a single-car accident on Friday night heading to the event. AD Michael Bazemore: “We are shaken by this incident and feel extremely grateful that all of our student-athletes and coaches are still with us. We are thankful for the medical response and physicians that treated our student-athletes. As we move forward, we focus our attention on the continued care and healing for our student-athletes and coaching staff.” (link, link)

The Durango Herald’s Jessica Bowman reports that former Fort Lewis Men’s Basketball HC Bob Pietrack’s resignation from FLC came after an investigation into “academic misconduct, threatening and coercive behavior, and the frequent use of racial, homophobic and sexist slurs,” that was initiated after a letter written by former AC Daniel Steffensen. Multiple colleagues and former student-athletes acknowledge Pietrack used variations of the N-word regularly when referring to Black student-athletes. This, along with “homophobic or sexist slurs” and harassment of other staff members, created a toxic work environment. On academic misconduct allegations, Steffensen alleged the former HC took over former student-athlete Akuel Kot’s course registration, choosing to limit his credit hours to remain eligible with the Skyhawks but short of the credits needed to transfer to a DI program unless a school would admit him despite the credit shortfall. Steffensen on writing the letter a year after he resigned: “There was a time where they came to me and said, ‘We’re having issues. We don’t know what to do. How did you manage all of this?’ And I said, I didn’t. I resigned. I left. But I realized there’s going to be more Akuels, more Daniel Steffensens, more people that keep having issues, and that’s when I decided to write this letter and bear the responsibility.” Pietrack resigned from the HC role at Ferris State last month. (link)

It’s Personnel…
➤ The NCAA removes the interim tag in elevating Jennifer Fraser to Senior VP of Governance and Member Services. She had served in the interim role since September, while maintaining her position as VP of Division I. (link)

➤ Eckerd promotes Assoc. AD for Advancement and Operations Billy Evers to Deputy AD. (link)
➤ Eastern New Mexico Assoc. AD for Sport Administration Michael Molina is no longer with the Greyhounds. (link)

The SIAC has fined Central State and Fort Valley State for a postgame altercation between the two Football programs on Saturday. Both HCs and 20 total student-athletes will serve a one-game suspension. Commissioner Anthony Holloman: “Acts of unsportsmanlike conduct have no place in intercollegiate athletics or within the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. I am extremely disappointed that this event has overshadowed what was otherwise a very competitive football game.” (link, link)

Colorado Mesa held on for a wild finish to beat Colorado School of Mines after the Mavericks' sideline spilled onto the field during a bevy of laterals while play was still live. After a lengthy officials’ discussion and an illegal substitution penalty, CMU got one more stop to take home the Nyikos Cup. (link)

Millersville parts ways with Football HC J.C. Morgan after seven seasons leading the Marauders. OC Brian Ferguson will serve as Interim HC. (link)

Coaches.wire…
➤ William Jewell names club HC Mackenzie Porter as its new Women’s Lacrosse HC. (link)
➤ Wingate hires Vanguard Softball HC Sydney Lahners for the same role. (link)

According to a recent Pew Research Survey, 43% of U.S. adults believe the fact sports betting is now legal in much of the country is a bad thing for society with the Pew Research Center’s John Gramlich noting that number is up from 34% in 2022, while 40% of adults believe it’s also a bad thing for sports, up from 33%. In addition, many Americans continue to say it has neither a bad nor good impact on society and on sports, while fewer than one-in-five see any positive impact. Gramlich continues: “22% of adults say they’ve personally bet money on sports in the past year. That’s a slight uptick from 19% three years ago. [...] Some of the biggest shifts in attitudes about sports betting’s societal impact have come among young Americans – especially young men. Today, 47% of men under 30 say legal sports betting is a bad thing for society, up from 22% who said this in 2022. Women under 30 have also become more likely to express this view: 35% see legal sports betting as bad for society, up from 25% three years ago.” More. (link)