NOVEMBER 3, 2025 | composed by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🍂 Hello, November. Championship week continues.

🗞️ In Today’s Playbook. Congress Asks NCAA For Info On Rule Change Letting Players Bet. Football NPI. Everything to Know About NCAA Women's Wrestling. XC Conference Championship Recap.

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TOP STORY

1. Congress Asks NCAA For Info On Rule Change Letting Players Bet

“A trio of congressmen have asked NCAA president Charlie Baker to provide more information about the association's plans to allow college athletes to bet on professional sports.

Reps. Brett Guthrie, John Joyce and Gus Bilirakis of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which often oversees sports integrity issues, told Baker in a letter published Friday morning that they were examining the NCAA's proposed policy change and sent a list of nine questions they want answered within two weeks.”

» Why It Matters. “The letter said their concerns increased this week in light of recent federal indictments over illegal sports betting and gambling rings involving NBA players and coaches as well as the NCAA's recent investigations into college athletes betting on their own games.”

» What They’re Saying. "The NCAA has the most aggressive approach of any U.S. league in taking sports betting head on," Tim Buckley, the NCAA's senior vice president for external affairs, said in a statement. "The most significant threats to competition integrity are in states that continue to offer risky prop bets as well as the emerging grey market made up of futures and predictions trading sites that operate without oversight. For the last two years, the NCAA has been working with gaming regulators to push for adoption of stronger protections for college athletes and for stronger integrity measures and, while several states have made changes, more work remains."

» Worth Noting. “Friday's letter from Guthrie, Joyce and Bilirakis asked Baker what guardrails the NCAA was putting in place to try to avoid illegal sports betting. They also asked for more information about studies the NCAA has done about the impact of betting on student-athletes and details about any "fraudulent, illegal and alleged betting practices in connection with NCAA players," among other questions.” (ESPN)

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2. Football NPI

Just two weeks remain in the regular season as 27 conference champions and 13 at-large teams will round out the 40-team national field.

» NPI Top 10. 1-Johns Hopkins (8-0), 2-Mount Union (8-0), 3-Wartburg (9-0),
4-North Central (8-0), 5-UW-River Falls (7-1), 6-Hardin-Simmons (8-0),
7-Bethel (8-0), 8-Salisbury (8-0), 9-Christopher Newport (8-0), 10-UW-La Crosse (6-1).

» Projected At-Large Cut Line. 31.

» D3football Top 10. 1-North Central, 2-Mount Union, 3-Johns Hopkins, 4-Bethel,
5-Hardin-Simmons, 6-Wartburg, 7-Salisbury, 8-UW-River Falls, 9-UW-La Crosse,
10-Saint John’s | Top 25

» Complete NPI Rankings

3. Everything to Know About NCAA Women's Wrestling

“The 2025-26 season will mark the first year of women’s wrestling as an NCAA championship sport. Here’s everything you need to know about women’s wrestling as a collegiate sport and what to expect in this opening season.”

» What Does It Mean? “Championship status for women’s wrestling means that athletes can now officially compete for NCAA titles in sanctioned NCAA championship events. This distinction also creates the potential for more growth and investment in the sport as well as an additional opportunity to develop future Olympic champions, especially given that women wrestlers will compete for NCAA titles in freestyle, the same style that they compete in for the Olympics.”

» What’s Next. “The first NCAA women’s wrestling championship will be March 6-7 in Coralville, Iowa and will include teams from Division I, Division II and Division III.”

» Who To Watch. “North Central — one of the seven schools who had an athlete on the U23 world team this fall — finished second last season and will once again work to push Iowa, now in an official capacity at an NCAA championship. The Cardinals come into the year ranked third in the preseason poll behind last year's third-place finishing team, McKendree.” (NCAA.com)

4. Cross Country Conference Championship Recap

It was Championship Weekend in Division III cross country with 41 conferences handing out medals and trophies over three days.

The USTFCCCA site highlighted a pair of meets with numerous ranked teams in competition - the NESCAC and the UAA.

» USTFCCCA Conference Championship Central

5. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Football. Linfield secured the program’s 69th consecutive winning season with a 29-21 victory against Lewis & Clark.

» Facilities. “Wheaton (Ill.) College recently announced its Faithfully Forward campaign, a $275 million effort. A key component of the initiative to elevate the campus experience is the expansion of the Thunder athletics facilities. The campaign goal for this project is $23 million, and it will include new athletic training and sports medicine facilities, a new weight room for varsity student-athletes, as well as new and updated locker rooms for varsity teams.”

» Training Camp. “The Buffalo Bills' partnership with St. John Fisher University is here to stay. Buffalo has signed a three-year extension with St. John Fisher to host training camp in Rochester from 2026-28.”

6. Comings and Goings 

• FITCHBURG STATE - Announced addition of women’s ice hockey as a varsity sport beginning in 2027-28

• KALAMAZOO - Announced Jamie Zorbo will step down as head football coach at conclusion of season

• PRINCIPIA - Announced Meggan Madden as college president

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