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“When J. Michael Haynie, chancellor of Syracuse University, announced last month that the university would miss its enrollment target and run a deficit for the first time in years, he was unusually candid for a college president.

“Enrollment volatility is widespread, unpredictable and the ‘new normal’ for even strong, well-resourced universities,” he wrote.

To be sure, the enrollment math for colleges was always going to be negative this year. The high school graduating class of 2026 is the first in a long line of smaller ones that will last through the end of the next decade. Now, colleges and universities are bracing for the most consequential rewrite of federal higher-education policy in a generation.”

» What’s Next. “On July 1, provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act took effect, which, among other things, will put new limits on student loans. Graduate students, who have helped fuel overall college enrollment in recent years, will no longer be able to borrow up to the full cost of attendance. Parent borrowing for their undergraduates will also be restricted to $20,000 per student per year, with a lifetime limit of $65,000.”

» Why It Matters. “Taken together, these changes are breaking the business model that built the modern higher education system. Colleges can respond to the current crisis the way they often have in the past: trim around the edges, delay maintenance, add new majors, and hope the next admissions cycle is better. Or they can accept that the old financial model is no longer reliable.”

» The Takeaway. “Colleges need to be far more transparent about value. In the past, colleges could say, “trust us.” Increasingly, students are saying, “show us.”

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“NCAA President Charlie Baker defended Congress’ effort to regulate college athletics Sunday, saying that powerful conferences are making a mistake opposing the legislation.

The two largest groupings in college sports — the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences — have come out in opposition to the bill from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) that aims to temper a college sports world in turmoil since student-athletes began earning cash for endorsements.”

» State of Play. “In an interview with Ed O’Keefe on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Baker said that the conferences shouldn’t try to abandon an earnest effort to address “a number of the most significant challenges” facing college athletics. “What we’re really trying to achieve is some sort of national framework so that you can have national championships and national competitions, in which, for all intents and purposes, everybody’s playing by the same set of rules,” Baker said.”

» Between The Lines. “The former Massachusetts governor hinted at some disagreement over how the legislation would ensure that revenues from high-profile sports like football and men’s basketball are used to ensure that smaller sports aren’t cut.”

» What They’re Saying. “The best way to deal with it is to treat the sports that generate significant amounts of revenue appropriately, right, and make sure there is this opportunity to share revenue.”

“This June, the NCAA welcomed the 35 young professionals who make up the 37th cohort of the Association's Postgraduate Internship Program. The program provides interns, 23 of whom are former NCAA student-athletes, with a yearlong work experience designed to foster the next generation of college athletics administrators.”

Nine are graduates of Division III institutions.

“Virginia Wesleyan University will never win another NCAA Division III national championship in softball or men’s basketball.

The VWU women’s soccer team has appeared in its last Final Four, and Virginia Wesleyan won’t add to its success in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.

Virginia Wesleyan University became Batten University on Wednesday, changing its name to honor a philanthropic family that has unquestionably transformed the small, private Virginia Beach college.”

» What to Know. “Batten University teams will still be known as the Marlins, and “Bob Marlin” — created in 2003 during a class project as a nod to musician Bob Marley — will remain the school’s mascot. The Virginia Wesleyan championship banners at the on-campus TowneBank Arena and across campus will still wave. But now that the Virginia Wesleyan name is gone, a question looms: Will the school’s storied athletic success be a forgotten footnote?”

» Driving The News. “The name change has not been embraced by all of the school’s alumni, including some of its most prominent athletes. A few have requested that the school remove them from the university’s sports hall of fame.”

» Quotable. “I think when you have the right coaches in place, you’ve got Dave (Macedo) and Jeff Bowers in women’s soccer, and hopefully me, people connect that program with them,” said head softball coach Brandon Elliott, who has since been named athletic director. “And those people are saying we’re not changing our program. The name might change but the standard doesn’t change.”

» Football. The SmileyCookie.com Lakefront Bowl will be moving to Carroll University in Waukesha, Wis. The fifth annual game, featuring the Midwest and Northern Athletics conferences, is scheduled for Saturday, November 21, 2026.

» Basketball. Former Amherst player Connor Johnson was named head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder summer league roster.

“America’s top brewers see big business in small beers.

Sierra Nevada and Modelo-maker Constellation Brands are among the companies rolling out smaller cans and bottles, known as ponies, and sales are growing, say industry analysts and executives.

“We’re bullish on what ponies can add,” said Craig Purser, chief executive of the National Beer Wholesalers Association, which represents more than 3,000 beer and beverage distributors. “Consumers don’t have to make a 12-ounce decision.”

» The Final Word. Takes me back to the ‘Skeller at Penn State and 7-ounce Rolling Rock ponies.

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