The NCAA Presidents Council elected the following presidents and chancellors to four-year terms on the Council effective with the close of the 2022 NCAA Convention.
Jeff Abernathy, Alma (MIAA)
Joanne Berger-Sweeney, Trinity, Conn. (NESCAC)
Berenecea Johnson Eanes, York, N.Y. (CUNYAC)
Kate Foster, College of New Jersey (NJAC)
Renee Wachter, Wisconsin-Superior (UMAC)
The Council also extended the term of Troy Paino, University of Mary Washington [Coast to Coast] to January 2024 and Jim Troha, Juniata College [Landmark] to January 2026.
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NEWS
2. Will Bates Form Union?
by Steve Collins, Sun Journal
"More than 600 Bates employees will get the chance to vote in early January on whether they want to form a union.
If they agree, it would be the first union in a private college in the country to include both educators and staff.
In the ruling setting the date of the union vote, National Labor Relations Board Regional Director Laura Sacks said that non-tenured faculty and the rest of the college staff, “share a community of interest sufficient to constitute an appropriate voting group.”
More than 30% of Bates College employees have filed the required paperwork in October to clear the way for a secret vote among eligible workers to decide if they want to be represented by the Maine Service Employees Association, part of the Service Employees International Union."
>> Situational Awareness: "Bates sought to argue that faculty and other staff should not be part of the same bargaining unit, because their interests are so divergent. But the college failed to file its paperwork on time, Sack’s ruling said, so it was not considered."
>> Worth Noting: "Bates has 938 employees in total, which include about 135 who are tenured or on a tenure track, making them ineligible for the union. In addition, some personnel, from college President Clayton Spencer to head coaches, are also excluded from the group that can be unionized."
D3football.com QB-Blaine Hawkins, Central RB-Ethan Greenfield, North Central; Nicholas D'Ambrose, Chicago WR-Tanner Schminke, Central; Andrew Kamienski, North Central TE-Spencer Peterson, Wheaton OT-Chris Toth, Aurora; Kyle Gannon UW-Whitewater OG-Sharmore Clarke, North Central; Boomer Warren, Hardin-Simmons C-Jeffrey Sims Jr., Mary Hardin-Baylor DE-Yusuf Aladinov, Delaware Valley; Luke Schuermann, Johns Hopkins DT-Dallas McRae, Wheaton; Michael Wozniak, Saint John's LB-Dillon Keefe, Chapman; Ryan Schwartz, Wheaton; Emmett Forde, Hobart CB-Jake Beesley, North Central; Justin Harris, Delaware Valley S-Jefferson Fritz, Mary Hardin-Baylor; Malik Britt, Mount Union K-George Lampros, Massachusetts Maritime P-Tyler Huettel, St. Olaf RET-A.J. Jackson, Lake Forest ST-Fred Flavors, Huntingdon
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The Monday before Christmas proved to be Stun-day for a number of ranked teams.
Women
UC Santa Cruz eliminated a 12-point halftime deficit and upended No. 2 Whitman, 72-63, for the Banana Slugs' eighth win in nine games. Kaylee Murphy led UCSC with 20 points and 15 rebounds
Madison Kellione's career-high 33 points powered No. 10 Transylvania over No. 3 John Carroll, 83-75
Redlands outscored No. 10 Wartburg, 29-6, over the first 10 minutes and held on for a 72-65 victory. Angelina Roque led four Bulldogs in double figures with 22 points
Men
Sam Kilburg tossed in 23 points as Dubuque knocked off No. 10 Roanoke, 75-67
This is the final D3Playbook for the 2021 calendar year. We are taking some much-deserved time off - as are you - and will return on Monday, January 3 ... unless there is breaking news.
When I started D3Playbook back in August 2019, I didn't know where it would lead. I wanted to stay involved in Division III athletics and it seemed like a good direction to go.
Little did I realize that it could become a vital part of readers' mornings and be a voice for Division III. For that, I thank you - the reader.
Thank you also to those who reached out to me with condolences after the passing of my father. The heartfelt wishes meant a great deal at a trying time.
And a final thank you to my MARCA friends. We started a holiday party for commissioners and staffs a few years back and although the names have changed, the spirit has not. So to Jessica, Portia, Marie, Megan and Terry - thanks for inviting me back.
May you and yours have a safe, happy and healthy holiday season and my best wishes as we enter 2022.
"The first Stagg Bowl played at the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame seemed at halftime like it’d be one of the best college games in the history of Division III championships.
And then in one whirlwind half, Mary Hardin-Baylor upended everything we thought we knew and crowned itself the new king of D-III.
For 2021 emphatically. But after four Stagg Bowls in five seasons, and three victories, the Crusaders are the new kings of the division, period. Not UW-Whitewater. Not Mount Union. And after the clock ran out on Friday night’s 57-24 victory, not North Central either.
It has been a long climb of fits and starts since the program debuted at the former women’s college in 1998. A Stagg Bowl loss to Linfield in 2004. A seemingly unending string of disappointments against UW-Whitewater. Even the program’s first national championship, the Blake Jackson-led 10-7 win over UW-Oshkosh in 2016, has since been vacated for use of a player ineligible because the program loaned him a used Subaru.
But there’s no doubt now about who sits atop the division."
>> First Half: NCC's Deangelo Hardy started the game off with fireworks, returning the opening kick 93 yards for a score. UMHB QB Kyle King tossed a pair of TD passes to put the Cru in front, 16-7. The Cardinals struck for 10 points in 3:27 to take a one-point edge before UMHB tacked on a late FG for a 19-17 halftime advantage.
>> Second Half: The Cru outscored the reigning champs, 35-7, over the final 30 minutes, including two TD runs from Aphonso Thomas. And when Kenneth Cormier scored with 11 minutes remaining to make it 43-17, it was all over but the shouting.
>> Stat Stars: King completed 22 of 29 passes for 436 yards and three scores. Brenton Martin (196 yds) and K.J. Miller (149) each snared nine passes and found paydirt. Ethan Greenfield ran for 124 yards for NCC.
>> Quotable: "(UMHB head coach Pete) Fredenburg afterward reminisced about what his plan had been after he first arrived at UMHB in the late 1990s: Stay for a few years to give his offspring some stability, and then try to break back into D-I. Well of course, he stayed. “I’d fallen in love with the D-III atmosphere and the whole essence of it,” he said."
>> The Final Word: "Twenty-four years in, the university is irrevocably changed: The college that didn’t even have a football program is now the best of the best."
Nine universities joined the highest level of research institutions in the updated list, produced by the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University’s School of Education, and last updated in 2018. But this group, known more colloquially as “R1,” also lost three members."
>> Why It Matters: "The Carnegie Commission on Higher Education developed the classification more than 40 years ago as a way to distinguish institutions for educational-research purposes. The system, which in 2021 categorized about 3,900 two- and four-year colleges, is now widely seen as a ladder to climb. In part, that’s because classifications are used by funding agencies and are also the basis for the categories of annual rankings by publications such as U.S. News & World Report."
Up Alvernia, Belhaven, Concordia-Chicago, DeSales, Gwynedd-Mercy, Hardin-Simmons, Kean, Lewis & Clark, Lynchburg, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Mount St. Joseph, Ohio Northern, Puget Sound, Saint Mary's (Minn.), St. Thomas (Texas), Springfield, Stockton, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh.
Down Benedictine, Brandeis, Gallaudet, Rensselaer, Rutgers-Camden, Spalding, Yeshiva.
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"Senior Natalie Aston of Johns Hopkins University headlines the 2021 Academic All-America® Division III volleyball teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Aston, pursuing a double major in behavioral biology and psychology, has been selected as the recipient of the Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year award for Division III volleyball. A native of Woodland Hills, California, she holds a 3.81 cumulative GPA.
A setter for the Blue Jays, Aston earned her second career American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) first team All-America award in 2021. She recorded 1,030 assists, 215 digs, 85 blocks and 84 kills during the 2021 season as she helped lead Johns Hopkins to the Regional Final of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship."
>> Notable: The seven members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.91 and the 22 student-athletes that make up all three teams have an average cumulative GPA of 3.88.
First Team Natalie Aston, Johns Hopkins, Sr. Kylie Bildstein, Wartburg, Sr. Syd Case, Wooster, Sr. Elizabeth Chu, Stevens, Sr. Katie Foster, Wartburg, Sr. Katie Hobler, RIT, Sr., Tracy Westra, Hope, Sr.
"Senior wide receiver Cody Gustafson of Grove City College headlines the 2021 Academic All-America® Division III football teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
A native of Newburg, Pennsylvania, Gustafson is a mathematics major with a 3.93 GPA. He played all 11 games for the Wolverines and ended the 2021 season with 97 receptions for 1,420 yards and 14 touchdowns. Gustafson was named the Presidents' Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season this fall and is a four-time All-PAC first-team selection.
Gustafson was a semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, which is awarded to the most outstanding player in Division III, and has also been named CoSIDA Academic All-America® in track and field."
>> Of Note: "Twenty-six of the 51 members of the 2021 Academic All-America® Division III Football teams have at least a 3.90 GPA, with nine student-athletes maintaining a perfect 4.00 GPA. The 26 members of the first team combine for a 3.86 GPA."
First Team QB-Luke Anthony, Wheaton, Ill., Sr. RB-Nicholas D'Ambrose, Chicago, Sr. RB-Giovanni Weeks, Wheaton, Ill., Jr. WR-Ben Dwyer, MIT, Grad WR-Cody Gustafson, Grove City, Sr. TE-Anthony Senerchia, Benedictine, Sr. OL-Nathan Basinger, MIT, Sr. OL-Kyle Gannon, UW-Whitewater, Sr. OL-Alan Gorny, Johns Hopkins, Sr. OL-Tyler Johnson, Saint John's, Sr. OL-John Woods, Johns Hopkins, Jr. K-Lake Barrett, Wooster, Jr.
DL-Lou Duh, WPI, Grad DL-Sante Parker Jr., Mary Hardin-Baylor, Sr. DL-Luke Schuerman, Johns Hopkins, Soph. DL-Michael Wozniak, Saint John's, Jr. LB-Paul Calvetti, MIT, Sr. LB-Nick Pankow, Baldwin Wallace, Sr. LB-Ryan Schwartz, Wheaton, Ill., Sr. LB-Ben Wong, North Central, Sr. DB-Ross Andersson, Johns Hopkins, Sr. DB-Jake Beesleu, North Central, Sr. DB-Macauley Kilbane, Johns Hopkins, Grad DB-Sean Knight, Carnegie Mellon, Sr. P-Cody Harral, Hardin-Simmons, Jr. ST-Brett Tuttle, Rose-Hulman, Sr.
No. 15 Washington (Mo.) made a statement with a 71-61 win against No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan. Jack Nolan led four players in double figures with 20 points.
No. 9 Mary Hardin-Baylor handed LeTourneau its first loss of the season by a 91-86 count in overtime. Luke Feely had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Cru.
Basketball (W)
Top-ranked Hope extended the nation's longest win streak to 55 games with a 70-61 triumph at No. 7 Trine. Kenedy Schoonveld led the Dutch with 20 points.
Marietta toppled No. 3 John Carroll, 81-80, as Devin Hefner scored 23.
Wrestling (M)
Top-ranked North Central upended No. 2 Wartburg, 21-14, in a showdown at the Desert Duals. 197 Cody Baldridge and 285 Robby Bates pulled out decisions to secure the win for the Cardinals.
COVID
5. More Campuses Requiring Boosters
The list of Division III institutions that will require students and employees to have received a booster shot is at 36 and growing. The latest additions to the list are in red.
California (2): Occidental, Pitzer Connecticut (2): Trinity, Wesleyan Georgia (1): Emory Indiana (1): Saint Mary's Maine (3): Bates, Bowdoin, St. Joseph's, U. of New England Massachusetts (16): Amherst, Brandeis, Clark, Curry, Emerson, Lasell, Mass-Boston,Mass-Dartmouth, MIT, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Suffolk, Tufts, Wentworth, Wheaton, WPI Minnesota (3): Carleton, Macalester, St. Olaf New Jersey (1): Stevens New York (1): NYU Pennsylvania (2): Carnegie Mellon, Haverford Rhode Island (1): Salve Regina Vermont (1): Middlebury Washington (1): Whitman
some data courtesy of the Chronicle of Higher Education
On the flip side, dozens of colleges are rolling back their Covid-19 vaccination mandates after a federal judge temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s order requiring the shots at all institutions that hold contracts with the federal government. There are no DIII institutions on the list.
"The NCAA Board of Governors on Thursday unanimously agreed to accept the final recommendations from the Constitution Committee for a new constitution to govern college sports.
The foundational document was developed in coordination with feedback from NCAA members during several steps since the summer, including at November's Special Convention and through surveys and meetings over the past several months.
The entire membership will vote on the constitution Jan. 20 at the 2022 NCAA Convention. The formal legislative proposal will be shared with members Jan. 7."
>> New Concepts: "Similar to the first two drafts, this version of the constitution includes new concepts such as the number of Board of Governors members and student-athletes serving on all three presidential committees (Division I Board of Directors, Division II Presidents Council and Division III Presidents Council)."
>> Of Note: "It also codifies some existing priorities and principles into the constitution for the first time. It prohibits pay-for-play but embraces providing additional educational and other benefits, including those for name, image and likeness. It maintains existing revenue allocations and championship opportunities for each division, and each division would have oversight of its own budget, expenditures and distribution to its members."
>> Point: "This process has been an example of how we can work together to modernize college sports and meet the needs of students engaged in intercollegiate athletics -- today and for the future," - Georgetown president Jack DeGioia
>> Counterpoint: "What the NCAA is really saying as it changes its Constitution: “We have shown the NCAA can move quickly to steer the ship long after it hit the iceberg and dumped everyone in the water. Please join us in congratulating ourselves for our ineffectiveness.” - Jay Bilas
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor players warm up Wednesday during a practice at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. | photo by Kevin Whitlock, Massillon Independent
The 2021 NCAA Division III football champion will be crowned tonight in Canton, Ohio, as reigning champ North Central (Ill.) squares off with Mary Hardin-Baylor. You can watch the game on ESPNU beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
No. 1 North Central (14-0) vs. No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor (14-0)
Scoring Offense: NCC 54.8 (1), UMHB 48.3 (3)
Scoring Defense: NCC 11.2 (8), UMHB 9.0 (3)
Total Offense: NCC 559.2 (2), UMHB 471.3 (15)
Total Defense: NCC 235.0 (10), UMHB 233.4 (8)
Turnover Margin: NCC +3 (81), UMHB +12 (35)
Closest NCC Game: d. Wheaton 20-7; d. Mount Union 26-13
Closest UMHB Game: d. Hardin-Simmons 34-28
(#) NCAA Division III rank
Players to Watch
QB Luke Lehnen, NCC, 496 rush, 3082 pass, 32 TDs
RB Ethan Greenfield, NCC, 1672 rush, 23 TDs
WR Andrew Kamienski, NCC, 67 rec, 1150 yds, 11 TDs
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The Sport Science Institute health and safety survey will again be sent to Division III athletics health care administrators in 2021-22.
The survey is designed to collect information on the administrative and organizational aspects of Division III sports medicine programs. Data from the survey will allow schools to assess how they compare with peer institutions on issues related to athletics health care delivery and administration. Last year, just over 50% of the membership participated in this voluntary survey.
The survey will be available to the Division III membership Dec. 9 through Jan. 21 and is to be completed by the institution’s athletics trainers/athletics health care administrators. The NCAA will make the aggregate and institutional survey data available through the Institutional Performance Program.
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