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Saint Joseph’s (ME) AD Christopher Willer is no longer leading the Monks. Willer was hired as AD earlier this year after serving as an Asst. Professor since 2017. (link)

UMAC Commissioner Corey Borchardt sits down with College.town’s Anthony Grassi at the 2025 NACDA Convention to discuss the league’s rebrand, which had positive internal and external feedback over the first year. The rebrand came in conjunction with the launch of the UMAC Sports Network, which Borchardt notes has been used even more than anticipated. Asked about the long-term vision for the network: “We right now philosophically are more in the camp of trying to avoid having our viewers pay. Obviously, there are a lot of different models and positives and challenges of different models out there, but we're in the camp trying to keep it accessible for as many viewers as we can. We feel there are some opportunities that we can still add – sponsorship and things revenue-wise to still capitalize on, yet ultimately try to make it, in terms of the product, as viewable as possible as we can in terms of quantity and numbers.” Borchardt adds that the league is progressing on its three-year plan to incrementally enhance the quality of broadcasts, from the number of cameras to graphics to on-air talent and more. More from Borchardt: “I think we knew going in that if we're going to do this, we wanted to do it well and we knew that it quickly is a representation of you. It helps in terms of your identity, how you're viewed, and the image, so we knew the importance and the significance of it, but I don't know if we knew just how significant it would help. So I think in some ways we're doubling down now because we recognize how critical it is just to our image or identity, how we're viewed as a conference that we want to keep raising that bar.” More on BOSCA. (link)

Check out the latest NPI rankings in Field Hockey (link), Football (link), Men’s Soccer (link), Women’s Soccer (link) and Women’s Volleyball (link).

Legal Matters…
➤ Attorneys for Vanderbilt (DI) quarterback Diego Pavia say they are now pushing to make their lawsuit against the NCAA a class action claim. From Front Office Sports: “The new plaintiffs include football players from multiple schools, including Vanderbilt’s Tre Richardson, Louisiana Tech’s Andrew Burnette, Virginia Tech’s James Djonkam, and Oklahoma State’s Iman Oates. With the imminent amended complaint, Pavia and his attorneys hope to set a completely new precedent nationwide and permanently change the rule that currently requires JUCO seasons to count against a player’s four years of NCAA eligibility.” (link)
➤ An Orangeburg, South Carolina, jury has awarded former South Carolina State football student-athlete Robert Geathers $18M after it found that the NCAA was aware of the risks of repeated concussions but failed to warn Geathers, who played for the Bulldogs from 1977-81 and now struggles with severe memory loss and can’t hold a job, make a meal or dress himself. The State’s Ted Clifford also reports Geathers was diagnosed with dementia in 2017 at the age of 59. Strom Law Firm attorney Bakari Sellers, who represented Geathers, says they had not sued SC State because they felt that the NCAA was ultimately responsible for Geathers’ suffering: “[The NCAA] had information from these experts. They didn’t provide that information to the schools.” Once the judgement is entered, the NCAA will have 30 days to file a notice of appeal. (link)

Fundraising Developments…
➤ Suffolk brought in more than $129K from 705 donors during its Day of Giving. (link)
➤ DeSales raised over $109K during its annual Bark-A-Thon. (link)

It’s Personnel…
➤ Chatham sheds the interim tag from President Lisa Lambert, who has been leading the university since June. (link)
➤ Pacific removes the interim tag from Asst. AD/SWA Mallory Hiefield. (link)

Neumann inks a two-year extension of its athletic training services and physical therapy partnership with NovaCare Rehabilitation. (link)

Ithaca has dedicated the new Track & Field complex press box after recently retired AD Susan Bassett. (link)

We offer our deepest condolences to the Middlebury community following the passing of Diving student-athlete Lia Smith. (link)

Alverno will bring back Track & Field starting in 2026-27. (link)

Coaches.wire…
➤ Lakeland Women’s Soccer HC Heather Robare is no longer leading the program after serving in the role since January 2022. (link)
➤ This morning’s edition of Coaches.wire is ready for your review. (link)

Korn Ferry CEO Gary Burnison observes that the fears of loneliness and failure are both rooted in isolation and Angela Castellani, a member of the Korn Ferry Board and CEO Services Practice and a clinical psychologist, tells Burnison: “‘I didn’t realize how lonely this job would be.’ That’s what I hear from every first-time CEO.’ It comes up every month.” Burnison notes: “For leadership, as in life, evolutionary psychology offers an explanation. Going back millennia, the fear of failure meant much more than making a mistake. It was also about rejection. That’s where the fear of loneliness comes in – and far more than the existential angst of being alone. Getting shut out of the circle was tantamount to being ousted from Maslow’s Hierarchy. And that was a threat to human survival. Failure and loneliness—they’re embedded in our DNA.” Castellani goes on to explain: “You are not alone. The minute I tell that to leaders—they feel so relieved.” From there, Burnison believes the path to dealing with the fear begins, and he outlines three steps to take: understand the fear, reframe the fear and give yourself some grace. “What matters most are not our fears or even the moments of failure—what counts is what we do afterwards. … Amid our fears, insecurities, and vulnerabilities, we all have one thing in common: We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves. And that’s the leader’s job—to ensure a deep sense of belonging reverberates throughout the organization.” (link)