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JUNE 16, 2025 | composed by STEVE ULRICH

What administrators, coaches, parents and fans are reading. #whyD3
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⛳️  Good Monday Morning DIII. What a putt to win the U.S. Open! Who imagines making a putt from 64 feet to win the Open? No one. The rest of us humans imagine the 8-footer! Congrats J.J. Spaun.

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🗓️ What’s Happening Today. The DIII Championships Committee begins two days of work in Indianapolis, while the DEI subcommittee meets virtually today.

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TOP STORY
1. U.S. Soccer's New Committee to Evaluate NCAA Soccer's Future

by Jeff Kassouf, ESPN

“U.S. Soccer announced on Tuesday a committee that will evaluate and potentially overhaul the college soccer system.

The committee includes 18 members spanning stakeholders across the industry, from professional leagues and college soccer to the men's and women's games. They will recommend potential changes to college soccer -- long viewed as an important but flawed development pipeline for the U.S. professional leagues -- that could be implemented as early as next year.

"We believe there's an opportunity for college to be the premier U-23 league in the world," U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson told ESPN.”

» Driving The News. “The group is tasked with making recommendations for college soccer "to thrive in the rapidly evolving soccer ecosystem," prior to the start of the academic year in the coming months and working with conferences and college programs "interested in these innovative solutions and opportunities."

» Why It Matters. “The college game utilizes slightly different rules like clock stoppages and unlimited substitutions. But critics' biggest point of contention is the short fall season that crams a couple dozen games into a few months. A proposal to shift soccer from a fall sport to one that spans the full academic year - fall to spring with a winter break - dates back 25 years and picked up renewed momentum in 2022.”

» Worth Noting. “U.S. Soccer formal involvement with college soccer is new. A big question about any potential new college soccer setup is how it would fit into NCAA governance. Batson pointed to the College Football Playoff as an example of an organization that sits adjacent to the NCAA.”

» By The Numbers. “There are more than 50,000 college soccer players combined in men's and women's soccer across all three divisions.”

» Continue Reading

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FEATURE
2. How a DIII Field Hockey Player Built An LGBTQ Advocacy Program That Lasts

by Corbin McGuire, NCAA

“A child stood at the table full of LGBTQ-themed gifts, unsure which sticker to pick. Behind the child, a parent smiled and offered gentle encouragement: "Say thank you."

An older couple — gray-haired, quiet at first — approached the same table with curiosity and left with gratitude. "Thank you for doing this," they said.

And in the bleachers at Haverford's field hockey 2023 Pride Game, a lone parent wore a rainbow T-shirt, the only one in the crowd. He had driven from Massachusetts to support his daughter's teammates — and, more quietly, his younger son, who is gay.

Each interaction affirmed what Mary Smith had come to believe: Visibility is powerful, and belonging starts with being seen.”

» Quotable. "What I wanted was somebody's kid sister or kid brother to come to one of our Pride Games and see that, 'Oh, it's celebrated, being who I am,'" she said. "Having those experiences fuels the fire and keeps it going because I want these kids to keep thinking that it's OK to be who they are."

» Field Awareness. “Smith, a 2025 Haverford graduate with a degree in physics and standout goalkeeper for the field hockey team, spent her college career doing exactly that — creating space. She was a driving force behind the formation and growth of Play with Pride, an LGBTQ student-athlete group that evolved from late-night support meetings in empty classrooms to an established club organizing events for every varsity sport on campus.”

» What They’re Saying. "Mary is a thoughtful, kind and supportive person, and she demonstrated that every day as a member of the Haverford field hockey team," field hockey head coach Jackie Cox said. "Her passion was evident in the way she cared deeply for everyone in our community. She didn't have to take on the responsibility of raising awareness and advocating for this cause, but she did, driven by her genuine compassion and commitment to making a difference."

» Continue Reading

FINANCES
3. Guilford College Scrambles For Cash to Keep Its Accreditation

by Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive

“Guilford College is scrambling to raise cash and balance its budget amid an anticipated decline in enrollment revenue. The college needs to provide a balanced fiscal 2026 budget by December in order to remain accredited.

Describing the institution as “between the proverbial rock and a hard place,” Acting President Jean Bordewich said this week in a community message that the institution’s fiscal 2026 budget will “almost certainly” need cost cuts to meet a projected revenue dip.”

» Why It Matters. “Come December, Guilford will have been on probation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges for two years due to financial issues. That’s the maximum time allowed for an institution to be on probation with good cause, per the accreditor’s policy. To stay accredited, the historically Quaker college must show it has the financial resources and ability to manage them to sustain its mission. Accreditation loss would mean Guilford would no longer be eligible to receive federal student aid funds.”

» Backstory. “Founded by North Carolina Quakers in 1837, Guilford has suffered from declining enrollment in recent years along with many other private liberal arts colleges. Between 2018 and 2023, fall headcount declined 23.4% to 1,208 students. And that number is down 57.3% from 2010. With the shrinking student body has come financial struggle. In fiscal 2024, the college reported a total operating deficit of $2.4 million.”

» Read More

NEWS YOU CAN USE
4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Alumni. “The Seattle Seahawks released undrafted free agent Mitch Van Vooren on Friday who was one of the feel-good stories of the offseason. Just over a week after signing, Van Vooren, who was an NCAA Division I track star at Marquette before transferring to St. Norbert College to play football, may have seen his NFL dreams come to an end.”

» Litigation. “A group of eight women filed an appeal of the House v. NCAA settlement approval on Wednesday, arguing that it violates the Title IX gender equity statute. The appeal only challenged the back damages portion of the settlement.”

TRANSACTIONS
5. Comings and Goings 

ALBION - Jolynn Harris named head women’s wrestling coach
BROCKPORT - Charrise Everett named head women’s flag football coach
BUFFALO STATE - Scott Foster named head women’s basketball coach
COLORADO COLLEGE - Cam McKinney named assistant men’s basketball coach
ELMIRA - Denis Tobin named head men’s basketball coach
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL - Dina Henry named head softball coach
GWYNEDD MERCY - Catie Jaskowak resigned as head cross country coach
HANOVER - Zoe Watts named assistant women’s basketball coach
LeTOURNEAU - Whitney Grubb named assistant track and field coach
MARIETTA - Keandre Graves named assistant men’s basketball coach
MONMOUTH - Heather Turnquist named head softball coach
SHENANDOAH - Courtney Allen stepped down as head softball coach
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN - BT Pham named director of cross country/track and field
WESTMINSTER (Pa.) - Craig Hannon named assistant men’s basketball coach
WISCONSIN-SUPERIOR - Eveline Parsons named head women’s basketball coach
WOOSTER - Seth Lieberman named assistant athletic director for facilities and operations

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