APRIL 28, 2025 | composed by STEVE ULRICH

What administrators, coaches, parents and fans are reading. #whyD3
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TOP STORY
1. Springfield, Southern Virginia Square Off For Men’s Volleyball Title

The championship match is set for tonight at 7 p.m. in Salem, Va. for the DIII men’s volleyball title as #2 Southern Virginia takes on #4 Springfield at Roanoke College’s Cregger Center.

The Knights held off Juniata in five sets to reach their first-ever NCAA final, while the Pride swept out defending national champion Cal Lutheran to keep alive their quest for a sixth DIII crown.

#2 Southern Virginia d. #6 Juniata, 31-29, 25-10, 21-25, 23-25, 15-10

National Player of the Year Christian Sheaffer recorded 23 kills, including four in the decisive fifth set, to power the Knights (34-1) past the Eagles and into the DIII final for the first time. Gehrig Tolman handed out 44 set assists for SVU, while Juan Armando had 19 kills in a losing cause for Juniata (31-5) | Read More

#4 Springfield d. #7 Cal Lutheran, 25-19, 25-16, 25-17

The Pride (25-4) dispatched the defending national champions in straight sets to advance to the championship match for the first time since 2022. Chris Rouleau, Carter Durivage and Sam Levinson each had 10 kills for Springfield, while Michael Stahl had nine to lead the Kingsmen (23-7) | Read More

» Watch LIVE

DATA
2. NCAA to Share Data, Logos With Sportsbooks in Expanded Deal

by David Purdum, ESPN

“The NCAA for the first time is authorizing licensed sportsbooks to use its marks and logos and receive official data from championship events, including the men's and women's basketball tournaments, through an expanded partnership with technology firm Genius Sports, but only if betting options deemed "risky" are prohibited.

Genius Sports becomes the exclusive distributor of official NCAA data feeds to sportsbooks that participate in an authorized gaming licensee program through 2032, according to a release Friday announcing the partnership. Sportsbooks can use the data feeds to power live betting options, and the NCAA marks and logo can be used inside sports betting apps but not for outside marketing.

The deal does not include college football championship data, as the NCAA does not operate the College Football Playoff.”

» What They’re Saying. "The NCAA has and will continue to be a national leader in advancing responsible gaming policies, and this extended partnership with Genius Sports continues that commitment with a first-of-its-kind ban on high-risk proposition bets, specifically underperformance wagers, negative outcome bets and wagers on injuries, officials' decisions or fan-voted awards," Tim Buckley, NCAA senior vice president of external affairs, said in a statement.”

» Yes, But. “The NCAA will use revenue from the agreement to fund educational programs on sports betting harm and to monitor and mitigate the harassment of student-athletes, coaches and officials.”

» The Final Word. “The distribution of data to sportsbooks is the latest twist in the NCAA's complicated relationship with betting. The NCAA has advocated for a nationwide ban on prop betting on individual college players, and it prohibits players, coaches and officials from participating in any form of sports gambling.”

» Keep Reading

CHAMPIONSHIPS
3. Golf, Tennis, Track and Field Champions

Conference hardware and t-shirts were handed out as conference championships were determined in golf, tennis and track and field.

» Golf (M). Gettysburg (Centennial); Drew (Landmark); Rochester (Liberty); Amherst (NESCAC); Allegheny (PAC); Sewanee (SAA); Penn College (United East)

» Golf (W). Mary Hardin-Baylor (ASC); Gettysburg (Centennial); Catholic (Landmark); Wellesley (Liberty); Alvernia (MAC); Cortland (NWGC); Mount Union (OAC); Westminster (PAC); Rhodes (SAA);

» Tennis (M). Marymount (AEC); Penn State Behrend (AMCC); East Texas Baptist (ASC); Asbury (CCS); Grinnell (MWC); Sewanee (SAA); Trinity (SCAC); Case Western Reserve (UAA); ; North Carolina Wesleyan (USA South)

» Tennis (W). Pratt Institute (Atlantic East); Coe (A-R-C); North Central (CCIW); Asbury (CCS); Kenyon (NCAC); TCNJ (NJAC): Sewanee (SAA); Trinity (SCAC); New Paltz (SUNYAC); Chicago (UAA); North Carolina Wesleyan (USA South); UW-Whitewater (WIAC)

» Track and Field (M). Hartford (CNE); Johnson & Wales (GNAC); Rose-Hulman (HCAC); UMass Dartmouth (LEC): Bridgewater State (MASCAC); Maine-Farmington (NAC); Middlebury (NESCAC); WPI (NEWMAC); George Fox (NWC); Lynchburg (ODAC); Centre (SAA); McMurry (SCAC); Claremont-M-S (SCIAC); Farmingdale State (Skyline); Greenville (SLIAC); Emory (UAA); Pfeiffer (USA South).

» Track and Field (W). Gordon (CNE); Saint Joseph’s ME (GNAC): Rose-Hulman (HCAC); Southern Maine (LEC); Westfield State (MASCAC); Maine-Farmington (NAC); Williams (NESCAC); MIT (NEWMAC); George Fox (NWC); Washington and Lee (ODAC); Centre (SAA); Trinity (SCAC); Claremont-M-S (SCIAC); Merchant Marine (Skyline); Greenville (SLIAC); Washington U. (UAA); Southern Virginia (USA South).

FEATURE
4. Bassett Reflects on Career Ahead of Retirement

by Jacob Infald, The Ithacan

“On Feb. 6. 2025, Susan Bassett ’79, associate vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation at Ithaca College, announced her plans to retire at the end of the 2024-25 academic year.

Bassett has worked in intercollegiate athletics for 45 years. She was a renowned swimming and diving coach at both William Smith College from 1980-1887 and Union College from 1987-1995. Between the two schools she coached 114 All-Americans and in 1993 was named the NCAA Division III Coach of the Year.

Prior to becoming an athletic director at IC, she served in that same role at William Smith from 1995-2005 and Carnegie Mellon University from 2005-2013. While at Carnegie Mellon, Bassett became the first active athletic director to serve as president of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators, now called Women Leaders in College Sports.

As Bassett wraps up her final semester at the helm of IC athletics, she sat down with Sports Editor Jacob Infald to reflect upon her career.”

» Why It Matters. “To me, the value of intercollegiate athletics is fundamentally the educational experience it provides. So it is absolutely the truth in my thinking, that sport helps people develop discipline, character integrity, sportsmanship, teamwork, the ability to persevere during setbacks [and] the ability to bring out the best in everyone around you. And so if it weren’t for that, everything else would be meaningless. I think winning is a nice thing that happens on your way to excellence. I don’t think winning is the be-all [and] end-all. Of course, if we’re keeping score, we want to win, and more than that — at Ithaca College and everywhere I’ve had the privilege to serve — we want to win the right way.”

» Quotable. “I hope that people believe that when you have high expectations and when you work really hard towards your goals, anything is possible. And when you commit to something and persevere, you can achieve a lot, and you can help those around you become the best version of themselves.”

» Go Deeper

NEWS YOU CAN USE
5. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Track and Field. “The Rowan 4x200 relay of Elijah Hendricks, Julian Conigliaro, Robert McKinney and Rajahn Dixon set the Division III outdoor record (1:25.04) at The Penn Relays on Friday.

» Football. “Once again, the NFL draft came and went without a single Division III player being drafted. In fact, perhaps for the first time ever, nobody from outside NCAA Division I was taken among the 257 players selected.” | Minicamp Invitations

» Baseball. Cortland LHP Luis Misla struck out 19 Plattsburgh State batters and tossed 8 2/3 innings of no-hit ball as the Red Dragons defeated the Cardinals, 5-1, on Friday.

» Lacrosse (M). Transylvania became the first team to punch its ticket to the DIII men’s championship with a convincing 26-5 victory vs. Hanover for the HCLC title | Conference Tournament Trackers | Men | Women

» D-II Closing. St. Andrews (N.C.) University announced Friday that the school would close on May 5, citing financial difficulties. “The financial realities of maintaining operations in Laurinburg have become unsustainable,” the university wrote in a statement on Facebook.”

TRANSACTIONS
6. Comings and Goings

AVERETT - Thomas Powell named president
GREENSBORO - Michael McDuffie named head men’s basketball coach
KALAMAZOO - Brie Powers named head swimming and diving coach
KEYSTONE - Hugh Kirwan named head football coach. Justin Stern named head men’s basketball coach
MARYVILLE - Jon Baker named head women’s soccer coach
SAINT VINCENT - Tyler Gallagher named head men’s soccer coach
WISCONSIN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE - Announced addition of Wisconsin-Superior as an affiliate member in women’s lacrosse in 2027
WISCONSIN-STOUT - Tom Webb named head men’s basketball coach

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