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📆 What’s Happening Today. The Women Leaders in Sports Convention continues in Chicago. The DIII Joint Legislative Steering Committee also is scheduled to meet.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Pain Lies on the Riverside. Live

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“Division I and Division II have already moved to age-based eligibility models this year. Division III could be next, but two of its committees say the division still has too many unanswered questions to decide whether to follow the same path.

The Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee and the Membership Committee have each declined to support or oppose a proposal headed toward the 2027 NCAA Convention. Both committees cited the short timeline before the January vote and the number of unresolved questions surrounding a change that would replace Division III’s current eligibility structure with a continuous five-year period.

The proposal would move Division III away from the current model that generally allows four seasons of participation within 10 semesters or 15 quarters. Instead, an athlete’s five-year eligibility period would begin at the earlier of two points: initial full-time enrollment at a college or university, or the beginning of the regular academic year immediately following the athlete’s 19th birthday.”

» Why It Matters. “Once that five-year period begins, the clock would run continuously. The proposal includes limited exceptions for pregnancy, active-duty military service and official religious missions. That makes the proposal much broader than simply allowing a fifth season. It would change the framework Division III uses to determine how long an athlete can practice and compete.”

» Between The Lines. “That hesitation comes after the NCAA’s other two divisions already made major changes this year. Division I adopted its age-based eligibility model in June. The change permits up to five years of eligibility and replaces seasons-of-competition limits, sport-specific eligibility rules, traditional redshirt rules and many eligibility-extension waivers. The five-year period begins with initial full-time college enrollment or the academic year immediately following the athlete’s 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.”

» Be Smart. “The Division III proposal currently takes effect immediately if adopted, with transition language for athletes who still have eligibility remaining under the existing rules. That could make the new framework available soon after the 2027 Convention if the membership approves it.”

“The sting of last season’s loss at North Central College not only stuck with Wheaton’s Mark Forcucci the whole offseason, it even helped him decide to come back to the Thunder for a fifth season.

Wheaton was shut out on North Central’s homecoming game last season, but Forcucci and the Thunder had a chance at redemption in the same situation Saturday.

Forcucci guided the Thunder back from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit as they picked up a 13-10 win over the Cardinals, who were ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division III football, one spot ahead of Wheaton. Caleb Ryan hit an 18-yard field goal with five seconds left to cap the comeback.”

» Field Awareness. “Especially after last year, frankly getting embarrassed the way we did, to come out here and get one back, it means a lot to us,” Forcucci said. “It means a lot to this program.”

» The Bottom Line. “Forcucci went 18-for-33 passing for 272 yards and ran for a team-high 36 yards for Wheaton (6-0, 4-0). Matt Crider scored a 4-yard TD and punched in the two-point conversion with 3:50 left in the fourth to tie it at 10-10. Zeke Harris had 18 tackles, eight solo, including 6.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also had the interception that set up the game-winning field goal.”

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

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

“From college teammates to leading a PWHL franchise together, Dominique DiDia and Kim Weiss are reunited in a full circle moment in the Professional Women's Hockey League.

"My first thought was Kim and reaching out to her and building this team with her ... we've been in lockstep every step of the way," said DiDia.

Their journey started back in college, as they were former teammates playing together at Trinity College. There, the duo played NCAA Division III hockey as teammates for the Trinity College Bantams.

Fast forward to the present, and they are now working together on a brand new franchise in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, leading the newest expansion team, PWHL Las Vegas.”

» State of Play. “Since college, the two have been going in their own separate directions but have still been keeping tabs on what the other is doing. DiDia went to work for the Los Angeles Kings and became a player agent, and Weiss went into coaching and most recently was an assistant coach for the Colorado Eagles in the AHL.”

» What They’re Saying. “We were teammates. We met each other when I was a freshman. She was a sophomore at Trinity and when I got there as a freshman, she was already a captain as a sophomore," said DiDia. She touted Weiss' leadership as a more senior student-athlete at the time.”

» CNE (W). Team. Hartford +71. Individual. Abby Flanagan (UNE) +16
» GNAC (M). Team. Emmanuel +56. Individual. Cooper Bertrand (Norwich) +9
» NAC (M). Team. Husson +13. Individual. Juan Hernandez (Husson) +1
» UMAC (M). Team. Northwestern +70. Individual. Andrew Slatten (UWS) +7
» UMAC (W). Team. Northwestern +104. Individual. Bri Brandt (UNW) +18
» WIAC (W). Team. Eau Claire +14. Individual. Delainey Halverson (UWW) +13

» News. Caltech and MIT are among nine universities accused by Vice President JD Vance of potentially abusing J-1 visas, a foreign exchange program that colleges use to bring in students, lecturers and researchers. Vance’s announcement Thursday is tied to a larger crackdown on the visa system, which the Trump administration has targeted as part of an across-the-board effort to curtail both legal and illegal immigration.

» Campaigns. “Pomona College has publicly launched a $530 million comprehensive campaign to expand access to a Pomona education for exceptional students, with a ceremony that included a groundbreaking for its new Center for Global Engagement.”

» Philanthropy. “Simpson College announced a $500,000 gift to establish the Jacobson Athletic Performance Initiative, a comprehensive effort designed to strengthen available resources focused on optimizing physical, mental and nutritional health for Storm athletes in all sports.”

» Fundraising. RIT Athletics made history during ROAR Day 2026, raising a record $295,489 from more than 3,000 donors during the university's annual giving campaign. And Russell Sage College’s Gator Days of Giving raised more than $930,000 from 870 donors, both department records.

Not a DIII goal, but you may never see a better one in your life.

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