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🗞 In Today’s Playbook. UW-River Falls Wins Stagg Bowl. 2025 Sports Law in Review. Blaha Named Gagliardi Trophy Winner. NWCA National Duals Brackets. Wartburg Wrestling Tops Dual, Tournament Rankings.

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“In an age of offense, defense proved it still wins championships.

UW-River Falls used three turnovers to power past North Central, 24-14, in Stagg Bowl 52 Sunday night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Falcons quarterback Kaleb Blaha, the Gagliardi Trophy winner and D3football.com Offensive Player of the Year. “I feel like I am dreaming right now. I am not able to put into words how good it feels, but I am just so happy I had the opportunity to come back for another year and play with my brothers. It feels really good.”

Blaha finished with 419 yards of total offense on the evening and as named the game’s Most Outstanding Player. He surpassed Joe Burrow for the NCAA all-divisions single-season offense record (6,051 yards).”

» Driving The News. “It’s the first Stagg Bowl crown for the Falcons (14-1). North Central (14-1), playing in its sixth straight Stagg Bowl, was trying to become the first back-to-back national champ since UW-Whitewater in 2013 and ’14.”

» Between The Lines. “UW-River Falls entered the game ranked first in total offense at 564.1 yards per game. However, it was the Falcons’ defense that proved to be the different. The unit forced three Cardinals turnovers, including two in the red zone, on the evening.”

» Quotable. “I thought the game kind of was a reflection of this football team. It wasn’t going our way early. It wasn’t easy early. This group just hung in there,” UW-River Falls coach Matt Walker said. “This offense has gotten a lot of attention nationally – and it should – but, this defense never gets enough credit. When they were running the ball on us early, I am sure everyone in the crowd with a Falcon logo on were getting a little worried. But, all these guys did was get tough and nasty and made plays.”

“2025 was a banner year for sports law, so much so that we have a two-part series to review it all. In Part 2, we present scouting reports on major controversies involving college sports, sports betting and a President Donald Trump pardon.”

» State of Play. “Amateurism in college sports has been dying for more than 15 years. Lawsuits and lawmakers have chipped away at the idea that college sports should be made different from pro sports by denying athletes’ opportunities for pay. Amateurism’s death came in the stroke of an order issued by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken on June 6. Wilken granted final approval to the settlement between the NCAA, power conferences and current and former D-I athletes represented by the House, Carter and Hubbard antitrust litigations.”

» Court Awareness. “For a long time, a question that has preoccupied the sports law community was how soon athletes should be able to turn pro. Over the last year, the question has turned on its head: How long can athletes remain students in college, and is it possible they can keep playing years into graduate school studies?”

» Between The Lines. “The core legal issue is whether antitrust law, which centers on commercial activity, applies to the eligibility of a college student to play a sport, and if it applies, whether the four-season/five-year rule is reasonable considering college athletes—especially football players at power conference schools—operate in a labor market.”

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UW-River Falls record-setting quarterback Kaleb Blaha is the recipient of the 2025 Gagliardi Trophy, presented by Stearns Bank.

Blaha is the 19th quarterback to win the Gagliardi Trophy in the 33-year history of the award. He is the first UW-River Falls player to win the award, and the third member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to do so.

Of the 42 voters, nearly 70% percent had Blaha as their top pick.

Curry College (Mass.) record setting running back, Diamonte “Montie” Quinn was second in voting. Quinn leads the nation in rushing yards (2,446); rushing touchdowns (27); rushing yards per game (222.4); rushing yards per carry (9.82); and total points scored (168) all in just 11 games this season. Quarterback Nick Semptimphelter from John Carroll was the D3football.com Fan Vote winner.

The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has released the 16-team Division III men’s and women’s brackets for the NWCA/USMC Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships on Jan. 9-10 at Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Wartburg is the top seed in the women’s event. The Knights placed seventh in the multi-division event last year. Defending runner-up North Central is not in the field.

The ‘Burgs are seeded 1-2 in the men’s event with Wartburg ranked just ahead of Augsburg in the 24-team field.

» Opening-Round Women’s Matchups. #1 Wartburg vs. Albion; #8 Eastern vs. Illinois Wesleyan; #5 Aurora vs. Bethany; #4 Elmira vs. Augustana; #3 Western New England vs. McMurry; #6 Schreiner vs. Manchester; #7 Adrian vs. Pacific; #2 Simpson vs. Marymount.

» Opening-Round Men’s Matchups. NYU vs. Luther; winner vs. #1 Wartburg | Olivet vs. Central; winner vs. #8 JWU | VTSU Castleton vs. Albion; winner vs. #5 Loras | Millikin vs. Baldwin Wallace; winner vs. #4 TCNJ | RIT vs. Chicago; winner vs. #3 UW-La Crosse | Dubuque vs. UW-Whitewater; winner vs. #6 Roanoke | Coe vs. Concordia-Moorhead; winner vs. #7 North Central | Cornell vs. Wabash; winner vs. #2 Augsburg.

“Wartburg continues to hold the top spot in both the NWCA Tournament and Dual Team Top 25 polls, followed closely by Augsburg in each ranking.

The Tournament Team Top 5 saw minor movement, as UW–La Crosse and The College of New Jersey swapped positions at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

In the Dual Team rankings, North Central slid out of the top five, with Loras moving up from eighth to claim the No. 5 position.”

» Top 10 Tournament Teams, 1-Wartburg, 2-Augsburg, 3-UW-La Crosse, 4-TCNJ, 5-North Central, 6-Roanoke, 7-UW Whitewater, 8-Baldwin Wallace, 9-Loras, T10-Stevens, T10-Luther | Complete Poll

» Top 10 Dual Meet Teams. 1-Wartburg, 2-Augsburg, 3-UW-La Crosse, 4-TCNJ, 5-Loras, 6-Roanoke, 7-North Central, 8-Johnson & Wales, 9-Central, 10-Coe | Complete Poll

» Top Individuals by Weight Class. 125 - Christian Guzman, North Central; 133 - Ethan Spacht, North Central; 141 - Mark Samuel, Roanoke; 149 - Dom Mallinder, UW-Whitewater; 157 - Charlie Dojan, Wartburg; 165 - Clayton McDonough, Luther; 174 - Hunter Mays, TCNJ; 184 - Ganon Smith, Elizabethtown; 197 - Joey Petrella, Baldwin Wallace; 285 - Mitch Williamson, Wartburg | Complete Rankings

» Lacrosse (W). “As the finishing touches are added to the $30 million Judson Stadium construction project, RIT officially announced the state-of-the-art facility will be the site of the 2026 NCAA Division II and III Women's Lacrosse Semifinals and National Championship games this coming Memorial Day weekend.”

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