📖 In Today’s Playbook. Lynchburg Placed On Probation After Improper Awarding of Financial Aid. Bilas Sends Stern Message to NCAA. Wesleyan Ends Top-Ranked Trinity’s 29-Game Win Streak. Owls Overtake Emory For Top Spot In Women’s Swim Poll.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Theme From ‘Cheers’. Gary Portnoy

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The University of Lynchburg was fined and placed on probation for a year by the NCAA for violations in the awarding of financial aid to student-athletes.

“Specifically, the institution improperly awarded $155,325 in financial aid on 57 occasions across multiple sports during the 2022–23 academic year. The violations resulted from aid awarded as part of the institution’s “Scholarship Days” competition where all admitted students were invited to campus to earn additional financial aid. Competitors were interviewed and scored based on set criteria, but athletic participation was not considered. These “Scholarship Days” traditionally took place in both the fall and spring semesters, but due to recruitment timelines, student-athletes often participated in the fall while non-student-athletes participated in greater numbers in the spring.

The parties agreed the penalties include public reprimand and censure, one year of probation, a fine of $1,500 and a Level II review by the Committee on Financial Aid.”

“ESPN’s Jay Bilas sent a stern message to the NCAA in response to the Charles Bediako playing for Alabama situation. Bediako was recently in the G-League and granted more NCAA eligibility, causing a stir amongst fans and pundits.

With NIL and the transfer portal running college athletics at this point, Bediako’s eligibility called the NCAA’s rules, or perhaps lack thereof, into question again. While some are baffled that certain athletes can’t retain eligibility with medical waivers or some go on too long, Bediako is a newer example.”

» Court Awareness. “Basically, he had a professional contract but was allowed to return to “amateur” sports. We say “amateur” due to the nature of name, image and likeness these days, and Bilas called out the NCAA.”

» What They’re Saying. “What I would say, though, is college sports has always been professional, like minor leagues and amateur sports don’t make billions of dollars,” Bilas said on College GameDay. “This is a multi billion dollar entertainment industry. The problem was they illegally restricted the compensation of the athletes. They can’t do that anymore, and so this is just an eligibility issue that could be fixed in no time, if they had the will to do it.”

» Reality Check. “The presidents say they’re in charge, and they say ethics, integrity, and this is what it’s supposed to be about. Why don’t they step in and say, ‘No, we’re not doing that,’” Bilas said. “They don’t do it because this is big business … NCAA, handle your business, that’s the bottom line in this. Make a reasonable rule and be able to enforce it, and they can’t do that.”

Wesleyan gained a measure of revenge against longtime rival Trinity on Saturday, ending the top-ranked Bantams’ 29-game unbeaten streak with a 64-62 home win. Sam Pohlman scored 22 points for the Cardinals (15-4), but it was Zach Wolinski who hit the go-three with 3:20 left and two key free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

“The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) has released the January edition of the Division III Top 25 dual meet poll. The Kenyon women and Denison men claim the top spots of their respective polls.”

» Top 10 (M). 1-Denison, 2-Emory, 3-NYU, 4-Chicago, 5-Kenyon, 6-MIT, 7-Carnegie Mellon, 8-Johns Hopkins, 9-TCNJ, 10-Calvin | Complete Top 25

» Top 10 (W). 1-Kenyon, 2-Emory, 3-NYU, 4-Denison, 5-MIT, 6-Pomona-Pitzer, 7-Chicago, 8-Williams, 9-Tufts, 10-Hope | Complete Top 25

» In Memoriam. Our condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Rose-Hulman athletic trainer Scott Keller who passed away after a battle with cancer. He was in his 23rd year with the institution, with plans to retire after the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic year. May his memory be a blessing.

» Basketball. Congrats to New Paltz’s Brianna Fitzgerald who recorded a quadruple-double in the Hawks’ 85-41 win against Potsdam on Friday. The grad student registered 15 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 10 steals in just 27 minutes of action for the first quad-double by a DIII player since 2020.

» Debt Ratings. Moody’s released debt ratings on three Division III institutions. St. Lawrence was downgraded to Baa2 with its outlook revised to stable from negative. Webster’s B1 issuer and revenue bond ratings were affirmed, and its outlook revised to stable from negative. Macalester has been assigned a Aa3 rating for its $58.3 bonds with an outlook of stable, while MIAC rival Carleton is also stable with an Aa2 issuer rating.

» Viral Video. “The latest unboxing video taking the internet by storm is not a new Labubu. It’s not a search for a rare holographic Charizard card from a Pokemon base set. It’s actually a humble showcase of collegiate swag after a serendipitous airport meeting between Jon Gruden and the men’s volleyball team from Adrian College. On Jan. 16, Gruden posted a video after meeting a couple members of the college’s men’s volleyball team and an assistant coach.”

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