Is College Sports Ignoring Warning Signs?

 

written by STEVE ULRICH your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III >> Good Wednesday morning. It's the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 16 moon landing. Wow! >> Today's Word Count: 1,077 or four minutes of your morning. >> Would you be interested in sponsoring D3Playbook? Did you know we have over 1,800 subscribers with an open rate above 60 percent? Give us a shout for all the details.  >> Thanks for reading D3Playbook. Please refer a friend.   A free subscription to D3Playbook. Yes, please. TOP STORY 1. Is College Sports Ignoring Warning Signs? by Rick Burton, Sportico "One thing most of us can agree on is that prophets of doom aren’t much fun. For good reason. They usually throw around metaphors, saying things like Mt. Vesuvius is about to blow. They’re a buzzkill. We see the same with predictions involving the NCAA’s coming demise. Saying the association is in trouble is easy (the drumbeats sound daily), but what would hot lava pouring over 69 Power Five schools look like? Might college sports find itself boiled alive and then frozen in time, a quaint reminder of a bygone era? Could the Power Five (or even just two of those conferences) break from the NCAA, create their own entity and begin paying their collectively bargained football and basketball players? Would this leave the NCAA watching over the rest of Division I, II and III? Or, without the NCAA men’s basketball tournament to monetize, could the NCAA simply declare bankruptcy and unceremoniously shut down?" >> Court Awareness: "On a 2020 episode of Hidden Brain, the National Public Radio segment, host Shankar Vedantam discussed why humans often disregard predictions of catastrophe. They willfully ignore looming disasters. That’s because outsiders with no influence (i.e., the media, politicians, liberal do-gooders, nay-saying prophets) are generally the ones forecasting, in vague terms, the problem." >> Reality Check: "When (SEC Commissioner) Greg Sankey was asked recently about the NCAA, the transformation committee co-chair essentially said too many folks are happy trying to leave things the way they are. “We are in a world after the Supreme Court decision [referring to the 9-0 Alston case] that suggests things are not going to stay the same in the future. We have state legislation, we have federal congressional interests. Keeping things like they’ve always been is not really an option.” >> What They're Saying: “Keep in mind,” John Barrows offered, “the last time a blue state was home to an NCAA football champion was 2004. So, you have legislators from Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, and Georgia that you’d have to get on board [to support that idea]. Good luck getting federal intervention for reform. The [folks in those states] think the current system is just fine.” >> The Final Word: "I don’t think we’ll hear the government sounding the alarm. Bureaucrats don’t initiate bills when the lava is coming down the hillside. That’s when they get out of town. No, the person needed has to be someone who currently sits on the NCAA’s Board of Governors (BOG) and holds inside influence. Who is that person?" >> Continue Reading IN MEMORIAM 2. Jan Gentry     Jan Gentry, who served in the NCAA national office from 1996-2021, died Monday morning in a car accident in Iowa. She was 54. According to an online crash report, Gentry lost control of her BMW Z3 on a slush-covered portion of the highway and crossed into the path of an oncoming Chevy Equinox. Gentry was killed in the collision, the other driver was taken from the scene with non-life-threatening injuries. The Sac County Sheriff’s Office reports that blowing snow was accumulating on roads in the area at the time of the crash. "We all remember her welcome smile, love of life, endless energy, competitive spirit and meticulous attention to detail," said Laura Peterson, NCAA Associate Director of Championships. "Her love and devotion to Division III was evident!!" May her memory be a blessing. SPONSORED BY THE DAILY UPSIDE   The Daily Upside is a business newsletter that covers the most important stories in business in a style that’s engaging, insightful, and fun. Started by a former investment banker, The Daily Upside delivers quality insights and surfaces unique stories you won’t read elsewhere. It’s completely free, and you are guaranteed to learn something new every day. Sign up here.   BASEBALL 3.   Pioneers, Warriors Stay 1-2 Dominic Perachi, Salve Regina / photo by Niall Silberman Marietta and Eastern Connecticut stayed in the top two positions in the latest D3baseball.com/NCBWA poll. Birmingham-Southern and LaGrange swapped positions, while Arcadia and UW-Whitewater joined the top 10. Marietta (24), 27-3 Eastern Connecticut, 22-2 Birmingham-Southern, 27-7 LaGrange (1), 27-4 Lynchburg, 26-6 Cortland, 25-7 Rowan, 21-6 Salisbury, 24-7 Arcadia, 28-4 UW-Whitewater, 19-6 >> Conference Call: NJAC (2), ODAC (2), Ohio (2), SCAC (2), SCIAC (2), SUNYAC (2), WIAC (2), ASC (1), C2C (1), CCIW (1), Little East (1), MAC Commonwealth (1), NACC (1), NESCAC (1), SAA (1), SLIAC (1), UAA (1), USA South (1) >> Batting Average Leaders: Jack Hanson (Gustavus Adolphus) 538, Ryan Enos (Oswego State) 511, Miles Reid (Tufts) 506, Ryan McCarty (PSU Abington) 504. >> ERA Leaders: Dominic Perachi (Salve Regina) 0.40, Jimmy Adkins (Salisbury) 0.71, Tyler Herrera (Centenary, La.) 0.81, Jason Hughes (Immaculata) 0.85, Alex Gow (Kenyon) 0.86 Games We're Watching (Wed/Thurs) No. 1 Marietta vs. Mount Union No. 2 Eastern Connecticut vs. Salve Regina No. 6 Cortland vs. No. 22 Rochester No. 12 North Central (Ill.) vs. No. 21 Aurora >> Complete Poll SOFTBALL 4. CNU, Salisbury Set for Showdown Ashleigh Hartwig, St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) Christopher Newport and Salisbury are ready for today's doubleheader showdown for Coast-to-Coast Conference supremacy and the top spot in the national rankings. Christopher Newport (10), 31-1 Salisbury, 30-2 Texas Lutheran, 32-4 East Texas Baptist, 25-7 Eastern Connecticut, 24-4 Belhaven, 28-5 DePauw, 24-6 Linfield, 33-7 Birmingham-Southern, 29-6 Randolph-Macon, 27-6 >> Conference Call: ASC (3), ODAC (3), C2C (2), MIAC (2), NACC (2), NJAC (2), Northwest (2), SAA (2), CCIW (1), Little East (1), NCAC (1), NESCAC (1), NEWMAC (1), SCAC (1), WIAC (1) >> Batting Average Leaders: Mary Cuevas (York, NY) 588, Ashleigh Hartwig (St. Joseph's, Brooklyn) 560, Emily White (Brevard) 554, Jordan Day (Lesley) 554, Lexi Martin (Wisconsin Lutheran) 551  >> Hits Allowed per Seven Innings Leaders: Ashlynn Hemm (Loras) 3.08, Katie Murphy (Susquehanna) 3.46, Kennedy Lehn (MSOE) 3.52, Elizabeth Eberhardt (Geneseo) 3.54, Ashlyn Strother (Texas Lutheran) 3.58 Games We're Watching (Wed.) No. 1 Christopher Newport vs. No. 2 Salisbury (2) >> Complete Poll NEWS 5.   Lightning Round     Western Connecticut announced a new nickname to represent the University - the Wolves.   The Southwestern men and Trinity U. women were victorious at the SCAC championships.   Middlebury's Jane Earley, Shenandoah's Emma Stiffler and FDU-Florham's Katie Walsh were named the IWLCA Division III Players of the Week.   John Carroll's Alex Phillip and Dubuque's Kaitlyn Wilder were named National Athletes of the Week by the USTFCCCA.   Covenant's Lauren Kay and Susquehanna's Katie Murphy captured the NFCA Player and Pitcher of the Week awards.   Do you know of someone celebrating a birthday soon? Drop us a line at D3Playbook@gmail.com. TRANSACTIONS 6.  Comings and Goings   FINLANDIA - Tony Skiles named head cross country coach ST. NORBERT - Charlie Drewek named assistant football coach SKIDMORE - Lindsay Bynon named head women's volleyball coach TRINITY (Conn.) - Drew Munoz named assistant men's soccer coach WITTENBERG - Melissa Kolbe named head women's basketball coach   Thanks for starting your day with us. What did you think of today's newsletter?  Please invite your friends to sign up for D3Playbook

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