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“Members of the House of Representatives are sharpening their proverbial pencils to go to town on the Protect College Sports Act.

Lawmakers in the lower chamber expect to take an X-Acto knife to the 170-page bill that passed in the Senate earlier this week. Some expect moderate revisions. Others believe there will be wholesale changes. And even a few folks think the bill itself may be too divisive to reach the House floor for an actual vote, despite its overwhelming (77 votes) passage in the upper chamber.

But if House members choose to amend portions of the Act, complications are expected.”

» Tick, Tock. “The Senate would need to ratify any changes in another elongated procedural process that could, for one, run into a time issue (the final day of this Congress is Dec. 18) and, secondly, include a host of new demands from senators (if the House gets changes, some in the Senate will want changes, too).”

» Between The Lines. “A draft of a two-page letter intended to be sent to House leadership encourages elimination of the expansion provision. More than a dozen House lawmakers have committed to signing, most of them in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina — not coincidentally states with schools that’d like to be playing in another conference.”

» Quotable. “What’s very disturbing to me,” New York Yankees president Randy Levine said, “is that we have this amazing bipartisan bill which got 77 votes in the US Senate. The civil war in the ACC, which has been going on for a while, should not be a reason to derail this bill, which solves college sports’ problems, including theirs,” he finished.”

» Be Smart. “If senators did change the expansion provision, they’d want something in exchange, such as amendments focused on coaches and administrators that mirror the legislation’s restrictions on athletes. Those include capping the salaries of coaches, athletic directors and school presidents, as well as requiring them to miss a year of work for moving to a second job. Another proposed Senate amendment may also put in jeopardy universities’ tax-exempt status.”

It was a day for the Wartburg men and the Williams women to shine as the Knights and the Ephs captured the team titles at the “Running of the Cows” DIII Pre-National meet in Northfield, Minn.

Wartburg, ranked fifth nationally, put five athletes in the top 50 to finish with 110 points to better No. 3 Johns Hopkins (123), No. 1 UW-La Crosse (144) and No. 9 UW-Stevens Point (182). The Knights’ Isaiah Hammerand took individual honors in 24:05.1.

Second-ranked Williams made a statement with four runners in the top 20 on its way to a lopsided 79-141 win over seventh-ranked UW-La Crosse (79-141). Johns Hopkins (176) placed third, followed by Tufts (197) and WashU (203). Vassar’s Haley Schoenegge was the first to hit the tape in 21:07.1.

“Since 2016, roughly 150 colleges and universities have already closed, merged, or otherwise consolidated, according to a running tally from Higher Ed Dive. Many schools cited financial struggles and falling enrollment as reasons for closing their doors.

As more colleges close or consolidate, their surrounding towns that rely on the constant influx of students, and jobs created by the institution, can be affected.”

» Why It Matters. “Schools in smaller and more remote towns can leave a devastating hole in the local housing market and economy when they shutter.”

» Zoom In. “Realtor.com® recently examined three former college towns to find how the loss of the institution affected the local housing market: Cazenovia, NY, Ashland, WI, and Laurinburg, NC.”

While the choice for the top team in DIII - North Central - remains the same, the remainder of the top 10 show some shuffling in the weekly rankings.

According to the D3Football.com poll, CCIW rival Wheaton is No. 2, followed by Saint John’s, and a pair of Wisconsin schools - Platteville and Whitewater.

The D3FBHuddle ranking has the Johnnies and Thunder swapping places, as well as the Warhawks and Pioneers.

» D3Football. 1-North Central (4-0), 2-Wheaton (5-0), 3-Saint John’s (4-0), 4-UW-Platteville (4-0), 5-UW-Whitewater (4-0), 6-UW-River Falls (3-1), 7-Hardin-Simmons (3-0), 8-Trinity TX (4-0), 9-Endicott (5-0), 10-WashU (5-0).

» D3FBHuddle. 1-North Central (4-0), 2-Saint John’s (4-0), 3-Wheaton (5-0), 4-UW-Whitewater (4-0), 5-UW-Platteville (4-0), 6-UW-River Falls (3-1), 7-Trinity TX (4-0), 8-Hardin-Simmons (3-0), 9-WashU (5-0), 10-Endicott (5-0).

» Polling. “The share of surveyed Americans who think a college education is “very important” has hit a new all-time low — 31% — since Gallup started asking the question in 1978, according to new data from the polling organization.”

» Swimming. “Reigning NCAA Division III champions Denison on the men’s side and the NYU women are atop the preseason CSCAA Division III Poll, released on Friday.”

» Golf (W). “St. Catherine University won the sixth Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) women's golf title in program history on Sunday. The Wildcats led the three-day, 54-hole conference tournament from start to finish, wrapping up the 2026 MIAC Women's Golf Championships with a tournament record 882 (294-291-297, +18).”

» Fundraising. Hamline raised $100,175 from 564 donors during its Fall Athletics Fundraising Week.

» Beverages. “The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Athletics Department has partnered with The Brewing Projekt to bring Blugold fans a brand-new beer to celebrate homecoming week, Blugold Light. The light and refreshing golden lager was made in partnership with Blugold alum, William Glass '11, and his team at the locally owned brewery in Eau Claire, Wis.”

» Tuition. “Beginning in fall 2027, incoming first-year and transfer students from families earning up to $100,000 a year can have their tuition covered at any University System of New Hampshire institution, including Plymouth State University and Keene State College.”

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