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»☀️ Hi, Monday. It’s conference championship tournament season!

» The Elite Eight. We’re down to our final eight schools in our “Best Fight Song” in DIII bracket. Vote for your favorites on Twitter until midnight Tuesday. Adrian vs. Ohio Wesleyan; Gettysburg vs. Grove City; Christopher Newport vs. Washington and Lee; and UW-La Crosse vs. UW-Whitewater,

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TOP STORY
1. Message Impossible?

by Daniel Libit, Sportico

“Sisyphus had his heavy boulder to deal with. Tim Buckley has the NCAA’s rulebook.

Buckley, a longtime political staffer for former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, was tapped by Baker to take over the NCAA’s public outreach efforts.

His steep, if not Sisyphean, challenge: Redirect the conversation about the NCAA’s much-maligned enforcement duties while emphasizing stories about the athletes it is supposed to serve.”

» Situational Awareness. “On March 1, Buckley was named senior vice president of external affairs, a newly created position that incorporated the role formerly occupied by Bob Williams, who had served as the NCAA’s senior VP of communications since 2010. Out of the NCAA’s 500 staffers, 27 currently make up its communications department, which Buckley recalls as beaten down by an unyielding string of unfavorable coverage during the 12-year tenure of former president Mark Emmert.”

» Why It Matters. “This is not the first time the NCAA has sought to reboot its media relations. Buckley suggested that his participation in this very article showed the NCAA’s latest rapprochement. He also hoped to promote its new, in-house PR initiative to promote five of its fall sport offerings aside from FBS football. It could be a precursor to a new normal, as big-time football looks increasingly likely to break off from the NCAA in the not-too-distant future.”

» Socially Speaking. “As it approached the current academic year, the NCAA allocated $500,000 towards creating original social media content—with a particular focus on TikTok and Instagram Reels—for women’s volleyball, cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, and the lower-tiered FCS football.”

» Quotable. “In the role we execute as communicators,” said Gina Lehe, managing director of communications, “we are often taking messaging, or we are often pushing notifications on decisions that are made by our members and committees, and we are not going to win the day. I don’t expect media members or anyone to applaud difficult decisions but if we have done our job in explaining, I do think people will trust us.”

» Continue Reading

CROSS COUNTRY
2. Conference Championship Recap

by USTFCCCA Communications

“The best season is the postseason.

We’re officially in that realm in NCAA DIII Cross Country.

Out of the 40 conferences holding their championships this weekend, 19 have at least one nationally ranked program among their coffers.

Let’s find out which meets stood above the rest this weekend.”

» Continue Reading

» Champions (M). Penn State Behrend (AMCC), #7 Wartburg (ARC), UT-Dallas (ASC), Marywood (AEC), #16 Johns Hopkins (CC), Hunter (CUNYAC), #34 UC Santa Cruz (C2C), #1 North Central (CCIW), Piedmont (CCS), Roger Williams (CCC), Houghton (E8), Manchester (HCAC), Moravian (Landmark), #8 RPI (LL), Plymouth State (LEC), Westfield State (MASCAC), #20 Calvin (MIAA), DeSales (MAC), Grinnell (MWC), #11 St. Olaf (MIAC), #6 Williams (NESCAC), #3 MIT (NEWMAC), Rowan (NJAC), Maine-Farmington (NAC), Wabash (NCAC), Milwaukee School of Engineering (NACC), #12 George Fox (NWC), #22 John Carroll (OAC), Lynchburg (ODAC), Saint Vincent (PAC), Merchant Marine (Skyline), Berry (SAA), #9 Pomona-Pitzer (SCIAC), Colorado College (SCAC), Greenville (SLIAC), #18 Geneseo (SUNYAC), #5 Carnegie Mellon (UAA), UW-Superior (UMAC), Southern Virginia (USA South), #2 La Crosse (WIAC).

» Champions (W). Penn State Behrend (AMCC), #3 Wartburg (ARC), McMurry (ASC), Marywood (AEC), #9 Johns Hopkins (CC), Hunter (CUNYAC), #30 UC Santa Cruz (C2C), Millikin (CCIW), Berea (CCS), Suffolk (CCC), Nazareth (E8), Hanover (HCAC), Catholic (Landmark), #20 Vassar (LL), Keene State (LEC), Westfield State (MASCAC), #18 Hope (MIAA), Misericordia (MAC), Grinnell (MWC), #4 Carleton (MIAC), #10 Williams (NESCAC), #7 MIT (NEWMAC), TCNJ (NJAC), Husson (NAC), #24 Wittenberg (NCAC), Concordia, Wis. (NACC), #16 George Fox (NWC), #27 John Carroll (OAC), Lynchburg (ODAC), Grove City (PAC), SUNY Maritime (Skyline), #2 Claremont-M-S (SCIAC), Colorado College (SCAC), Greenville (SLIAC), #6 Geneseo (SUNYAC), St. Mary’s, Md. (UEC), #5 NYU (UAA), UW-Superior (UMAC), Meredith (USA South), #12 La Crosse (WIAC)

» Championships Central

BASKETBALL
3. This Jewish Coach Is A Legend At His Catholic School

by Greg Levinsky, Jerusalem Post

“Andy Yosinoff departs his prayer service at Congregation Kehillath Israel shortly after 8 a.m. every Thursday during the college basketball season, navigating across the Boston city line.

For nearly 50 years, the Reform Jew has commuted to what’s become his life’s calling: coaching the women’s basketball team at a small private Catholic college.”

» Court Awareness. “The all-time winningest Jewish college basketball coach at any level for both men and women with 898 wins, Yosinoff is also the country’s longest-tenured active college basketball coach, according to the NCAA. In addition to heading the women’s hoops program, Yosinoff served as the director of athletics at Emmanuel for 17 years; he is now an associate athletic director and the department’s business manager and athletic alumni development liaison.”

» Why It Matters. “Perhaps Yosinoff’s most important accomplishment, though, came as an assist, when he helped then-freshman Lesa Dennis petition the NCAA to allow the devout Muslim to wear sweatpants and a scarf to cover her head during games in order to adhere to religious customs in the mid-1980s. Recently, Jamad Fiin, a 2022 graduate, rose to influencer status and viral fame for her empowering content as a female Muslim college basketball player.”

» What They’re Saying. “Now, Lesa Dennis-Mahamed is a Roxbury, Massachusetts-based optometrist. She described Yosinoff as “an asset to the human race.” “He is an advocate,” Dennis-Mahamed said. “Even though there can be some stress between Muslims and Jews, Andy doesn’t see that. He sees people as human. Andy looks beyond race, color, religion or even gender, and he sees the person for who they are.”

» Quotable. “Even as a practicing Jewish person, Andy really embodies the mission of Emmanuel College,” said Beth Ross, the college’s president. “I can’t think of a better advocate or somebody who is more passionate or committed to developing student scholar-athletes.”

» Keep Reading

FOOTBALL
4. Still The Same

No changes in the top 17 of the latest D3football.com rankings this week.

North Central (Ill.), Mount Union, Wartburg, UW-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater remain in the top five slots.

Coe makes its first appearance in the top 25 in seven years, popping up at No. 24 and for the first time in the poll’s 20-year history - Mary Hardin-Baylor is not ranked.

1. North Central, Ill. (25), 8-0

2. Mount Union, 8-0

3. Wartburg, 9-0

4. UW-La Crosse, 7-1

5. UW-Whitewater, 7-1

6. Trinity, Texas, 7-1

7. UW-River Falls, 7-1

8. Johns Hopkins, 8-0

9. Linfield, 7-0

10. Randolph-Macon, 8-0

» Champions. Wartburg (A-R-C), Ithaca (Liberty), Grove City (Presidents),

» Notable. UW-River Falls QB Kaleb Blaha threw for 234 yards and ran for a career-best 301, accounting for all seven Falcon TDs in a 49-35 win over Stout. North Central QB Luke Lehnen fell just one shy of Blaha, running for three scores and tossing three more in a 56-0 win at North Park. Bethel drilled Carleton, 4-0, giving head coach Steve Johnson his 250th career win. Hamilton outlasted Tufts, 36-34, in five overtimes. John Carroll QB Joe Collins and WR Joe Torok combined on a 99-yard TD pass and run vs. Muskingum. Ohio Wesleyan DB Sammy Stoner returned an interception 100 yards vs. Oberlin. Mount St. Joseph QB Josh Taylor completed 34 of 43 passes for 545 yards and eight scores, while also running for 41 more yards in the Lions’ 55-0 win vs. Franklin. Illinois College ran the score up on Grinnell, shutting out the Pioneers, 93-0. The Blueboys led 51-0 at the break and tacked 35 more points on in the third period.

» Complete Poll

NEWS
5. Tough Weekend For Top-Ranked Teams

It’s not easy being green … and it’s not easy being ranked No. 1 in the country, as three top-ranked teams were defeated last weekend.

🏒 No. 11 Oswego State got things going Friday night, as the Lakers downed defending national men’s ice hockey champion and preseason No. 1 Hobart, 3-2, in overtime.

🏃🏻‍♀️ The fifth-ranked NYU women’s cross country team kept it going on Saturday, besting top-ranked Chicago, 34-46, to capture its first-ever UAA championship.

⚽️ And No. 10 Rochester dealt No. 1 Washington U., its first loss of 2023 by a score of 2-1 on Sunday.

TRANSACTIONS
6. Comings and Goings

• LESLEY - Martin Rather named interim head women’s basketball coach

• NEUMANN - Michael Hedden named head men’s ice hockey coach

• SALEM STATE - Ray Kizzie named head women’s ice hockey coach

• THOMAS - Kaitlyn Daly named head women’s lacrosse coach

1 THING
7. Plays of the Weekend

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