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🗞 What You Need to Know. Is Protect College Sports Act 'Last Hope' For Help From Congress? New MIAA Commissioner. Frere, Srivastava Headline Academic All-America Cross Country/Track and Field Teams.

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“In the NCAA’s years-long quest for help from Congress to settle the landscape, the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act presents an opportunity for federal legislation. As the process goes along, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips called the bill college sports’ “last hope” for Congressional assistance.

The bill, introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in May, is on track for the Senate floor after passing the commerce committee in a markup and vote. Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has the authority to call the bill for a full floor vote, and Yahoo! Sports reported lawmakers have “intentions” of bringing it to the floor before a month-long break begins in August.”

» Quotable. “This is our last hope relative to getting some help from Congress,” Phillips said Wednesday in Charlotte at ACC Kickoff. “I don’t know that I could share, what does that look like beyond if we’re not able to get some help there, because I don’t think anybody wants to go in that direction just yet. I don’t know how much more disrupted college sports could be. But we would enter that ecosystem if we can’t get something done.”

» Worth Noting. “Meanwhile, discussions are ongoing about the Protect College Sports Act. Presidents from four Big Ten schools – Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State and USC – met with Cruz and Cantwell on Tuesday about the bill. Revisions are also being discussed and formalized, and Yahoo! Sports reported there is “movement.”

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“The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Presidents' Council has named Lauren Bryne-Dunn as Interim Commissioner of the MIAA, effective immediately.

Bryne-Dunn assumes the role following the departure of Jason Horn, who recently accepted the position of Commissioner of the Red River Athletic Conference. Details regarding the search for the MIAA's next Commissioner will be announced in the near future.

“Lauren has earned this opportunity through her strong leadership, sound judgment, and dedicated service to the MIAA,” said Dr. Steven Corey, chair of the MIAA Presidents’ Council. “The Presidents’ Council is grateful for all she has contributed to the conference, and we have every confidence in her ability to lead the MIAA during this period of transition.”

» Background. “Bryne-Dunn recently completed her sixth year with the MIAA and has served as the Association's Associate Commissioner and Senior Woman Administrator. Since joining the conference office in 2020, she has overseen numerous championship operations, sport administration responsibilities, governance initiatives, and student-athlete programming.”

Augustana College’s Charlotte Frere highlights the 2025-26 NCAA Division III Academic All-America® women’s track and field/cross country teams selected by College Sports Communicators.

A three-time outdoor national champion in the discus, she was selected as the CCIW Student-Athlete of the Year while compiling a 3.96 GPA in biology and kinesiology. Frere set a DIII record in the event with a toss of 56.59 meters.

Eleven of the 45 members of the Academic All-America® Division III women’s track and field/cross country teams hold a perfect 4.00 GPA in their undergraduate work or graduate school. The 15 first team members have an undergraduate GPA of 3.94. The entire 45-member team has an undergraduate GPA of 3.91.

Aryan Shrivastava of the University of Chicago was honored as the Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year as the 2025-26 NCAA Division III Academic All-America® men’s track & field/cross country teams were selected by College Sports Communicators.

He was selected as the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year after winning the outdoor triple jump with a winning mark of 15.50 meters. Shrivastava also earned All-America honors in the high jump, finishing sixth. He compiled a 3.96 GPA in mathematics.

The 15-member Division III first team had a 3.90 average undergraduate GPA. Additionally, the members of the CSC Academic All-America® men’s track & field/cross country Division III teams had 15 student-athletes who hold a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate or graduate degree programs.

» Baseball. Olivet graduate Bryan Carney was drafted by the Houston Astros in the seventh round and 211th pick overall in the 2026 MLB Draft.

» Streaming. “The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) and FloSports have agreed to a two-year exclusive media rights contract extension. The extension ensures SCAC sports will stream on the FloCollege platform through 2031.”

» Flag Football. “The Middle Atlantic Conference will begin sponsoring women's flag football as a conference sport beginning in the 2026–27 academic year. Four institutions will participate in the inaugural season - Albright, Eastern, Marywood and Neumann - while Messiah and Lebanon Valley are slated to add the sport in the spring of 2028 and 2029, respectively.”

» Track and Field. “An optional scoring system for indoor and outdoor track meets was proposed earlier this month for men’s and women’s competitions.”

» Operating Margins. “Despite enrollment growth at public and private colleges in fiscal 2025, both sectors saw their operating margins worsen, according to reports released this week by S&P Global Ratings. The median operating margin across S&P’s 286 rated private institutions in fiscal 2025 was -0.4%, down from -0.3% the prior year. Public colleges showed healthier performances with a median operating margin of 0.7% across S&P’s 145 rated institutions in the sector, but that was still down slightly from 0.9% the prior year.”

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