👋 Saying Hello to August. Starting the countdown to the new year

🗞 What You Need to Know. SEC, Big Ten Onboard With PCSA. “System” Opens DIII Hoops Season. Bye-Bye Legacy Admissions? Surfer Dogs.

🗓 What’s Happening This Week. The DIII Presidents Council meets today, while the DIII Advisory Working Group meets Wednesday.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Surfin’ Bird. The Trashmen

“The Big Ten and SEC have struck a deal with federal lawmakers over legislation to regulate the college sports industry.

Each of the league's presidents and chancellors voted Friday evening to swing their support behind the Protect College Sports Act in a stunning and about-face development that thrusts the legislation forward. The two conferences announced the deal via a joint statement on Friday night.”

» Situational Awareness. “The scramble comes a day after the conferences missed, for a second time in as many days, a deadline set by lawmakers to determine their position on a revised bill and follows aggressive involvement from the White House. U.S. president Donald Trump engaged with stakeholders through intermediaries on Thursday evening, stating his intent to publicly condemn Big Ten and SEC leaders for opposing the bill, presumably through a social media account followed by millions.”

» Turning Point. “The goal is to establish a more strict cap by including into the cap all affiliated NIL deals, aside from those authentic deals that are ratified through the attestation process. This is a key point for university presidents and conference commissioners in all four power leagues, especially considering that the legislation raises the athlete cap from $21.3 million to $48.8 million.”

» What’s Next. “Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) likely needs to file Monday for what's called "cloture," a formal procedural step that starts the process for a floor vote later in the week. Many predict that the bipartisan legislation has enough support to easily surpass the 60-vote threshold necessary in the Senate with the leagues throwing their weight behind the measure.”

» Why It Matters. “While the bill would still need to pass the House of Representatives, Senate ratification would stand as one of the most historic moves in college sports history and a victorious moment for the NCAA's seven-year lobbying effort for a congressional bill.”

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“While the rest of college basketball sleeps as the calendar flips from Nov. 5 to Nov. 6, a 1,000-seat gym on Elm Street in sleepy Greenville, Illinois, will be gearing up for an unhinged round-robin series involving a group of hoops madmen pushing the game beyond its perceived limits.

At midnight, the first allowable moment for the Division III season to begin, the two fastest teams at any level of college basketball will tip-off off their season to little external fanfare.”

» State of Play. “The Grinnell vs. Greenville game isn't scheduled to be nationally televised, and it won't be contested between players on seven-figure NIL deals. The game might approach 300 total points, and its style would seem extreme anywhere else. But the constant full-court pressure, stream of astoundingly quick shots and mass substitutions will be normal for two teams playing at a pace that makes even the fastest Division I programs look slow.”

» Why It Matters. “Then, after their track meet is complete sometime in the middle of the night, they'll both gear up to do it against fellow System program Covenant College over the ensuing 36 hours. The Scots are a relatively new adherent to the philosophy, which calls for possessions to last no longer than 12 seconds.”

» Quotable. "In my opinion, there's so much emphasis, almost too much emphasis, on winning," Greenville head coach George Barber said. "We've reduced giving it your best shot and challenging yourself. I go to these high school games and both teams are playing zone, and the score is 32 to 31, and we're in the fourth quarter. I'm going, 'these poor kids don't even want pizza after the game.' They haven't even worked hard because the coaches are afraid to lose."

“A bipartisan group of Senate lawmakers reintroduced legislation last week that would ban legacy admissions after past efforts have failed despite cross-party support and sharpened public scrutiny of the practice.

The Merit-Based Educational Reforms and Institutional Transparency Act would tie accreditation to colleges having admissions policies that don’t give preferential treatment to applicants based on their relationships with alumni or donors.”

» Driving The News. “The legislation defines “preferential treatment” as having applicants’ ties to alumni or donors be the “determinative factor” in admissions decisions or awarding educational benefits.”

» Why It Matters. “Legacy practices “persist most strongly at the wealthiest and most selective colleges and universities,” of which more than half give a “birthright advantage” to relatives of alumni, according to the report.”

» Worth Noting. “With or without federal legislation, pressure continues to mount on legacy admissions. One big question is whether the wealthiest private institutions will continue the practice if not forced by federal law to drop it.”

» Swimming. “The Division II and III Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Wednesday approved requiring the backstroke ledge to be adjustable to 4 centimeters above or 4 centimeters below the water level and may not be used outside of this range.”

» Leadership. “The NCAA selected four DIII athletics administrators to take part in the Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute, a program that aims to elevate participants’ leadership skills to accelerate their professional growth and enhance their ability to excel within their current roles - Sebastian Bush (CCNY), Pankil Chander (Utica), Christina Epps-Chiazor (Swarthmore) and Reava Potter (St. Mary’s, Md.).

“Top dogs were riding waves Saturday at the annual World Dog Surfing Championships as hundreds of spectators cheered - and barked - from the Northern California beach.

From small spaniels to large labs, the canines were judged on factors including how long they could stay on their board, the size of the wave and their confidence. The dogs, sporting their colorful life vests, stood ready on their surfboards and were assisted by human participants, who spotted the best wave to carry the board to the beach."

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