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🗞 What You Need to Know. Protect College Sports Act kills realignment if it becomes law. Academic All-America baseball team. NABC to launch tournament series.

📆 What’s Happening This Week. The DIII Membership Committee concludes a two-day session in Indianapolis on Thursday.

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🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Stop! In The Name Of Love. The Supremes

“In many ways, college athletics is emblematic of American society, and in American society, no individual can escape the mouth-watering desire of promotion.

The salesperson dreams of being the CEO.

The store clerk works to become the manager.

The shift supervisor hopes to one day own the company.

In college athletics, universities exist in a state of perpetual ambition to leave their own neighborhood for the more luxurious, gated community down the street, where a pool of bigger brands increases their property value.”

» State of Play. “You know it as "conference realignment," but, really, it is the art of increasing one's value by closely associating with more premium properties. "Conference realignment never sleeps," those in the industry often say. However, according to a congressional bill that's on the doorstep of a vote here in the U.S. Senate, conference realignment will get some deep rest.”

» Why It Matters. “In fact, the Protect College Sports Act kills realignment at the major conference level if it becomes law. In Section 205 of the latest revised copy of the 116-page legislation, conferences earning at least $700 million in revenue are prohibited from merging with one another or acquiring new members. This means the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 would no longer be able to add membership.”

» What They’re Saying. "In America, there are these two strains: You want to be an economic powerhouse but also want to be fair to the little guy," says Andy Schwarz, a California-based economist specializing in sport economics. "There's a point when the Amazons of the world say, 'I don't need to be fair to the little guy any longer.'"

Olivet’s Bryan Carney was named the Academic All-America® Baseball Team Member of the Year award winner as College Sports Communicators announced the 2026 Division III Academic All-America team.

An insurance and risk management major with a 3.87 GPA, Carney was the ace of the Comets’ staff. He posted a 7-3 record with a 1.35 ERA and struck out a school-record 122 batters across 73.1 innings. Carney was named first-team All-America by D3baseball and ABCA.

The 12 members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.77.

First Team
C-Andrew Fazio, Denison, Jr., 3.92, Biology
C-Brandon Mahler, Concordia-Chicago, Sr., 3.60, Business
DH-Catcher Ridings, Hardin-Simmons, Jr., 3.77, Business Administration
IF-Cooper Berry, Pomona-Pitzer, Jr., 3.68, Math
IF-Kyle Douin, Southern Maine, Gr., 3.70, Leadership Studies
IF-Alex Henderson, Claremont-M-S, Jr., 3.54, Economics
IF-Alex Nemunaitis, Wittenberg, Sr., 3.96, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology
OF-Bryce Didrickson, Claremont-M-S, Sr., 3.93, Engineering
OF-Richie Heyder, Farmingdale State, Sr., 3.78, Business Management
OF-Connor Massimini, East Texas Baptist, Sr., 3.56, Criminal Justice
P-Bryan Carney, Olivet, Sr., 3.87, Insurance & Risk Management
P-Brit Kostura, Baldwin Wallace, Sr., 3.98, Sustainability & Finance

“The National Association of Basketball Coaches will launch the NABC Division III Tournament series during the 2026-27 season, with event locations in Las Vegas and San Antonio.

The NABC Division III Tournament – Las Vegas presented by D3hoops.com will take place Dec. 21-22, 2026 at a still to be determined Las Vegas venue. The NABC Division III Tournament – San Antonio will be held Jan. 1-2, 2027 on the campus of Trinity University.”

» Court Awareness. “Both NABC Division III Tournaments will feature eight Division III men’s basketball programs arranged in two four-team brackets. Each participating team will be guaranteed two games – a semifinal matchup, followed by either the championship game or consolation game.”

» What They’re Saying. “A core element of the NABC’s mission is to advance the game of basketball across all levels of the sport,” said NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson. “The NABC Division III Tournaments will provide players, coaches and fans alike with a first-class event experience while introducing a series of marquee cross-region matchups to the DIII men’s basketball landscape.”

» Pathway Program. The NCAA has selected four Division III administrators for the 2026-27 Pathway Program, a yearlong initiative designed to prepare senior-level athletics administrators for their next career step as directors of athletics or conference commissioners - Rachel Acosta (UMHB), Lauren Bryne-Dunn (MIAA), Liz Dennison (Hobart/William Smith), and Derek Viveiros (Bridgewater State).

» Finances. “Private colleges face a deteriorating outlook as inflation outpaces rising tuition revenue and institutions navigate myriad other operating challenges, according to a report Tuesday from Fitch Ratings. In fiscal 2025, private colleges rated by Fitch had a median operating margin of -0.5%.”

» Eligibility. “The Division I Cabinet on Tuesday unanimously approved a sweeping overhaul of eligibility rules for student-athletes, permitting Division I student-athletes up to five years of eligibility if they enroll in college no later than the academic year after their 19th birthday.”

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