Sending A Message

 

written by STEVE ULRICH your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III   >> Happy Friday!  Make it a great weekend. >> Today's Word Count: 1,162 >> Thanks for reading D3Playbook. Are you looking to advertise for a job opening? Or are you a business looking to reach a desirable demographic? Email us.   Yes. I want to subscribe to D3Playbook TOP STORY 1. Sending A Message    Two important constituents in the Division III world have come together to pen a message to the DIII governance structure as a reminder of the importance of membership involvement. The Division III Commissioners Association (D3CA) and the National Association of Division III Athletics Administrators (NADIIIAA) came together during the pandemic shortened 2020 and 2021 seasons to address concerns and provide information to their memberships. The collaboration has continued into the post-Convention timeframe with new challenges facing the Division. "With the passing of the new NCAA Constitution in January, NCAA President Mark Emmert has referred to 2022 as a year of “transformational change” within the association," the letter states. "Inspired by and following up on this charge, our respective executive boards are working in partnership to support a genuinely member-driven review and decision-making process in our division. Both associations believe there are a number of key areas of Division III governance in need of membership review and consideration as we move into the future under the new NCAA Constitution." >> Why It Matters: “The joint desire of our two associations is to collaboratively support discussion and engagement that leads the way towards truly comprehensive and transformative change in Division III – real changes that are driven by the views and wishes of our members. These change considerations should include reviewing how our governance structure is organized, how we continue to fund our division (both short term and long term), reviewing what our budget priorities should be, how we can most effectively administer our championships, and how best to reach our goals and objectives as a division under the new constitution.” >> Between The Lines: “We acknowledge that many of our Division III colleagues are in a difficult place following two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. As we emerge from this crisis, it is now the opportune time to ask for full membership engagement on these national issues. We believe it is paramount that our colleagues in Division III do just that, due to the shortened window before us to enact truly transformational change within our division. In particular, D-III conferences and institutions interested in legislative proposals not covered by the Division III governance subcommittees should begin to organize now and communicate with one another to put forth proposals in several areas for full vetting, discussion and votes at the 2023 Convention.” >> The Bottom Line: The president of the DIIICA, Patrick Summers, said the groups' end game is "To have the membership weigh-in on what’s most critical for the future of the Division and collaborate on developing proposed legislation for the 2023 NCAA Convention." >> The Final Word: "We want to stress that neither DIIICA nor NADIIIAA is advocating for any specific policy change or outcome, nor are we attempting to operate outside of the current NCAA Division III governance structure. Rather, we hope that this joint statement and executive summary of possible areas of reform within our division has the effect of engaging the entire Division III membership regarding these critical issues, and moving individuals and groups to action that they may not otherwise consider.” >> Read More SWIMMING 2. CSCAA Names All-Americans   The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) announced its top NCAA Division III award winners and All-Americans for the 2021-22 season. The awards mark the first awards since the 2019 season. In total, seventy-four men and seventy-five women earned first-team individual honors with another 124 men and 125 women receiving first-team relay honors. An additional 213 athletes (105 men, 108 women) earned second-team honors. Kenyon College’s Bryan Fitzgerald was named CSCAA Men’s Division III Swimmer-of-the-Year following wins in both the 500 freestyle and 400 individual medley while the Lords’ Israel Zavaleta was named CSCAA Men’s Division III Diver-of-the-Year following a sweep of the 1 and 3 meter springboards. Chicago’s Elizabeth Cron was named CSCAA Men’s Division III Diver-of-the-Year and Kenyon’s Crile Hart was voted CSCAA Women’s Division III Swimmer-of-the-Year for the second time in her career. The awards were determined by a nationwide vote of CSCAA-member head swimming coaches and head diving coaches. >> 2022 All-America List A MESSAGE FROM BRIGHT CELLARS   Bright Cellars is a monthly wine club that matches you with wines you'll love. Founded by two MIT grads (#whyD3) who were intimidated by the vast and complex world of wine, Bright Cellars was created to help wine drinkers discover and learn about wine in a fun, interactive way. Bright Cellars creates a wine experience tailored just for you. Based on an algorithm, wine selections are calculated to match your taste preferences. As you try the wines, you're encouraged to rate them on the website to fine-tune your taste profile even further. Your matches improve as the algorithm gets to know you better, making each shipment better than the last. D3Playbook readers are invited to get 50% off your first 6-bottle box from Bright Cellars. That's a $45 value. Each box will include a wine education card for each bottle that details servings temps, food pairings, background on the region and more. Take our 30-second quiz to start your weekend right. VOLLEYBALL 3.  Conference Championship Weekend Daniel Perun, Stevens / photo by Mike McLaughlin It's Championship Weekend for teams in conferences that sponsor Division III men's volleyball with spots in the national tournament on the line. * AMCC (Semis): PSU Behrend vs. PSU Altoona; Hiram vs. Geneva * CCIW: No. 3 Carthage vs. No. 8 North Central CSAC: Cairn vs. Saint Elizabeth * CUNYAC: Hunter vs. Baruch * CVC (Semis): No. 5 Rutgers-Newark vs. No. 14 Marymount; No. 7 Southern Virginia vs. No. 11 Juniata  * GNAC: No. 10 Wentworth vs. Lasell * MAC: No. 4 Stevens vs. No. 13 Messiah * MCVL (Semis): Mount St. Joseph vs. Mount Union; Trine vs. Fontbonne  * NACC: No. 2 Dominican vs. Benedictine * NECC: Endicott vs. Nichols * SKY: St. Joseph's (L.I.) vs. New Jersey City * UVC (Semis): No. 6 New Paltz vs. NYU/Nazareth; No. 15 St. John Fisher vs. Vassar/Elmira * Conferences with an AQ (11) >> What's Next: The 16-team NCAA championship field is filled out with 1 Pool B and 4 Pool C selections on Monday. The tournament begins next weekend and concludes on April 22-23 at Carthage College. NEWS  4.  Lightning Round    Stevenson men's basketball coach Gary Stewart has been named president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches   Bates tops the most recent IRCA coaches poll, followed by Williams and Tufts.   Congratulations to Kalamazoo men's tennis coach Mark Riley on his 400th career victory.   Cake and candles to Michael Zaccardo, junior gift officer at Cortland; Mickey Kerr, vice president for athletics at Mary Hardin-Baylor (Sat.); and Dom Savino (Sun.) A MESSAGE FROM D3PLAYBOOK Help us help you. We are glad that you are enjoying D3Playbook. Now won't you help us continue our work? Your gift helps us offset the costs of operating the newsletter and enable us to continue to provide the quality you have come to expect. Please contribute today.   Make a Donation to D3Playbook SCHEDULE 5.  Weekend Watchlist     Baseball No. 5 Lynchburg vs. No. 24 Christopher Newport No. 7 Rowan vs. Montclair State Complete Schedule Lacrosse (W) No. 1 Middlebury vs. No. 11 Wesleyan No. 5 Colby vs. No. 20 Amherst Complete Schedule Lacrosse (M) No. 3 RIT vs. No. 4 Union No. 16 Middlebury vs. No. 19 Wesleyan Complete Schedule Softball No. 3 Texas Lutheran vs. St. Thomas No. 16 Concordia (Wis.) vs. No. 17 MSOE Complete Schedule Tennis (M) No. 4 Washington (Mo.) vs. No. 34 UW-Whitewater No. 9 Middlebury vs. No. 20 Amherst Complete Schedule Tennis (W) No. 5 Wesleyan vs. No. 10 Tufts No. 8 Middlebury vs. No. 9 Amherst Complete Schedule SPONSORED BY PRESTO SPORTS TRANSACTIONS 6.  Comings and Goings   CENTRAL - Conor Riordan named assistant men's basketball coach COVENANT - Josh Brown named head men's basketball coach CURRY - Todd Parsons named head football coach NEW YORK U. - Charlie Hu named assistant track and field coach TEXAS LUTHERAN - Kristine Driggers-Gogin named assistant women's soccer coach WASHINGTON COLLEGE - Announced addition of men's and women's golf as varsity sports  Thanks for starting your day with us. 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