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JUNE 30, 2025 | composed by STEVE ULRICH

What administrators, coaches, parents and fans are reading. #whyD3
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😃  Not Only Monday! The end of the first half of the year and the beginning (tomorrow) of the new fiscal year.

📆 What’s Happening This Week. The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee will hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday.

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TOP STORY
1. NCAA FY24 Tax Return: House Money, Baker Pay, Emmert Parachute

by Daniel Libit, Sportico

“Amid ongoing legal challenges, the NCAA spent $62.2 million on outside legal counsel during fiscal year 2024, bringing its total legal expenditures to over half a billion dollars (unadjusted for inflation) since Ed O’Bannon filed his landmark antitrust case in July 2009.

The association’s latest federal tax return, released Friday, highlights the mounting financial toll of the House v. NCAA settlement—including a staggering $2.76 billion in back damages owed to college athletes. For FY24, the NCAA reported $1.29 billion in total revenue, reflecting a 3% increase from the prior fiscal cycle. But after accounting for liabilities, the organization ended the year with a net asset deficit of $1.97 billion and total liabilities exceeding $3 billion.”

» Situational Awareness. “Unrelated to House, the NCAA reported distributing a total of $688,257,173 in grants and assistance to 1,185 colleges, universities and athletic conferences under its purview. Television rights remained the NCAA’s primary revenue driver, generating $948.4 million, while championships and the National Invitational Tournament contributed another $263.2 million.”

» Driving The News. “FY24 marks the first appearance of current NCAA president Charlie Baker’s compensation on the association’s tax return. Baker, who started the job in March of 2023, earned $3.4 million that year, with $2.6 million coming from base salary. Former NCAA president Mark Emmert was technically the organization’s highest-compensated employee in 2023, receiving $6.34 million, including a $4.3 million severance package.”

» Be Smart. “For FY24, the NCAA’s highest-paid independent contractors were all law firms, including Wilkinson Stekloff at $11,036,245.”

» Read More

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CONFERENCES
2. MAC to Add Marywood as 18th Member Beginning in 2026-27

“The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Presidents are pleased to formally announce that Marywood University will join the Middle Atlantic Conference as its 18th member institution, commencing with the 2026-27 academic year.

“On behalf of the MAC Presidents, it is with great enthusiasm that we welcome Marywood University into the Middle Atlantic Conference, commencing in the 2026-27 academic year,” said Dan Myers, MAC Executive Committee Chair and Misericordia University President. “This strategic expansion underscores our collective commitment to growth and competitive integrity. ”

With the additions of Marywood and Neumann, the Commonwealth and Freedom will each have nine competing institutions. Neumann will compete in the MAC Commonwealth, while Marywood will compete in the MAC Freedom for field hockey, soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, golf, lacrosse, softball, and tennis.”

» What They’re Saying. “Joining the MAC is a game-changer for Marywood Athletics and an important step in facilitating our broader vision for growth,” said Lisa Lori, President of Marywood University. “This move elevates expectations both on and off the field. As an institution, we embrace that.”

» Continue Reading

NCAA
3. Funding of Olympic Sports a Bargaining Chip as NCAA Seeks Antitrust Help, AP Sources Say

by Eddie Pells, Associated Press

“College sports leaders seeking antitrust and other protections from Congress have a potential bargaining chip: School assurances that they will provide funding for their increasingly imperiled Olympic programs, by far the biggest pipeline of talent for Team USA.

Four people familiar with the talks told The Associated Press that lawmakers, mostly from the Democratic side that will need to provide votes to help any legislation pass the Senate, have been approached by college sports experts and policy shapers to explore options in exchange for support of a bill that some Democrats oppose.

One of the clearest tradeoffs would be for an idea that enjoys bipartisan support: helping collegiate Olympic sports programs.”

» Driving The News. “The NCAA is lobbying for a bill that would supersede state laws that set different rules for NIL; ensure athletes do not get employment status; and provide limited antitrust protection. One key issue is the handful of lawsuits challenging the NCAA’s longstanding rule of giving athletes five years to complete four seasons of eligibility.”

» Why It Matters. “While the U.S. government is forbidden by law from funding Olympic teams, there is no such prohibition on government funding for universities and their sports programs. One idea would be for the bill to include promises of certain levels of funding for college Olympic sports programs — some of which could be raised through federal grants to help the schools offset the cost.”

» Read More

NEWS YOU CAN USE
4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Conferences. “The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) has formally adopted its 2025–28 Strategic Plan, establishing a bold vision and renewed direction for the conference as it seeks to elevate the student-athlete experience and strengthen its role as a national leader in NCAA Division III athletics.” Included in the plan is hopes to introduce a new football bowl game in partnership with another conference.

» Student Retention. “Among first-year students enrolled in fall 2023, 86.4% returned to college in the spring for their second semester, which marks the second-highest persistence rate since 2015, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.”

» Credit Ratings. “Moody's Ratings has downgraded John Carroll University's issuer and revenue bond ratings to Baa3 from Baa2. As of fiscal year-end 2024, the university had pro forma total debt of $221 million.” Also, “Moody's has assigned a Aa1 rating to Bowdoin College's (ME) proposed approximately $3.3 million of Revenue Bonds, Bowdoin College Issue Series 2025A and $39 million of Revenue Bonds, Bowdoin College Issue Series 2025B. The college had $357 million of debt outstanding at June 30, 2024.”

» Sports Sponsorship. Completed sports sponsorship data is due to the NCAA by 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

TRANSACTIONS
5. Comings and Goings 

ALLEGHENY - Dylan Chan named head peak performance coach
ALVERNIA - Marisa Lombardo named assistant AD for athletic communications and operations
AUGSBURG - KiJuan Ware named head football coach
KNOX - Drake Sykes named head baseball coach
LUTHER - Megan Wilson named athletics director
MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE - Leandro Pares named assistant executive director
MITCHELL - Shay Ventresca named director of sports medicine
MUSKINGUM - Ryan McClain named head women’s basketball coach. Christian Hall named head men’s lacrosse coach
OTTERBEIN - Marc Thomas named head tennis coach
ROSEMONT - Rich Casey resigned as director of athletics. Kathleen DeLitta named director of athletics
TEXAS LUTHERAN - Macie Searls named head acrobatics & tumbling coach
TRINITY (Conn.) - Gavin Viano named director of athletics
URSINUS - Casey Green named head cross country coach
WESLEYAN (Conn.) - Stephanie Yanosov named head women’s tennis coach. Mike Fried resigned as head tennis coach
WESTMINSTER (Mo.) - Jessica Brown named director of athletics
WHITWORTH - Bill Baber named head softball coach

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