Good morning, Big West! I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends!      

The Bold Type is a bit lighter than normal, as we are actively preparing for The Big West Fall Meeting which will take place Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week.  Participants in the Fall meeting will consist of our Faculty Athletics Representatives, Senior Woman Administrators, Directors of Athletics and representatives from The Big West Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The meetings will conclude with a meeting of The Big West Board of Directors, which consists of the Chancellor or President from each member institution. 

We have an agenda that will consists of such topics as future Big West championships, overall sport competitiveness, use of technologies/data/analytics, broadcasting, sportsmanship, as well as a general discussion on the current status and future of the NCAA.  Stay tuned once the meetings conclude for any announcements on decisions made by the membership. 

Should you seek more content from The Big West, please take a listen to interviews and podcasts I conducted over the past two weeks. 

• Women's Volleyball Championship (LINK)
• Men’s Water Polo Championship (LINK)
• Sports Geek Podcast (LINK)

Post-thanksgiving music today is being provided by Carrie Underwood – "Stretchy Pants". Or, if you would prefer something a little more traditional, how about. "I've Got Plenty to Be Thankful For" from Bing Crosby.

Let’s get to The Bold Type!
 

   CONGRATULATIONS   

• To Hawai'i women's volleyball for winning the 2023 Outrigger Big West Women's Volleyball Championship in Long Beach on Saturday evening. Thanks to all of the staff at Long Beach State for making our inaugural championship a smashing success. In fact, the 2,237 screaming fans that made their way to the Walter Pyramid for the final is the best conference championship final attendance in NCAA Division I volleyball this year. Thank you to all Big West women’s volleyball fans in attendance for your enthusiasm in supporting our student-athletes, teams and The Big West! Read more >>>
• To both Hawai'i and UC Santa Barbara for earning bids to the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship! Hawai'i is set to take on No. 7 seed Iowa State on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. PT/2:30 p.m. HT in Eugene, Ore. Regular-season champion UC Santa Barbara plays No. 8 seed Houston on Friday at 4:30 p.m. PT at Stanford, Calif. This marks the 35th time The Big West has had multiple teams advance to the national stage. Read more >>>
• To UC Irvine, who will represent The Big West at the National Collegiate Men’s Water Polo Championship which begins this week at USC. The Anteaters will compete against Princeton in the quarterfinals on Friday at 2 p.m. Read more >>>
• To all student-athletes recognized on the All-Big West 2023 Women’s Volleyball team! Read more >>>
• To our 2023 All-Big West Men's Water Polo team and award winners! Read more >>>
• To the 48 men’s and women’s soccer student-athletes honored as Academic All-District Performers by College Sports Communicators (CSC)! Read more >>>

 

   THANK YOU!   

As commissioner, I am very thankful for the corporate partnerships we have formed with our partners at Van Wagner, our multimedia rights holder.  I want to personally say thank you to each of our corporate partners.  Your partnerships The Big West and our member institutions improve the student-athlete experience in The Big West and at our championships. Thank you to: 

• Hawaii Tourism Authority
• Hercules Tires
• Ontario International Airport
• Outrigger Resorts and Hotels
• University Credit Union
• Gatorade
• USA Natural Patches
• UPTIME Energy Drinks
• TicketSmarter
• Jersey Mike's
• TixR
• KAP7
• Molten
• Rawlings
• Wilson
• Royal Coach Tours

Please support partners of The Big West!

 

   NCAA'S CHARLIE BAKER ON NBC   

NCAA President Charlie Baker appeared on NBC (LINK) to discuss various concerns inside and around the NCAA.  The interview is 10 minutes and worth a listen. 

 

   NCAA DEEP DIVE INTO INTERNATIONAL STUDENT-ATHLETE DATA   

More than 25,000 international student-athletes participate in NCAA sports, as shown by the latest data from the NCAA Demographics Database. This information is collected annually and provides breakdowns by division, sport and year.

The most recent trends report on first-year student-athletes includes the following highlights:

• International student-athletes returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, after experiencing a dip the previous year. 
• Several sports have a particularly high percentage of international student-athletes across both divisions, including tennis, golf, men’s soccer, field hockey, and ice hockey in Division I. 
• In 2022, student-athletes from 195 nations and independent territories competed in Divisions I and II sports.

Note: Due to differences in how the data are compiled, the information in the international resources have a one-year lag compared to the data in the NCAA Demographics Database.

 

   QUOTE OF THE DAY   

“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” – President John F. Kennedy (History Fact – JFK was assassinated 60 years ago on November 22.)

To those of you that take the time to read The Bold Type, thank you for spending a part of your day catching up on The Big West.  I am very thankful for your support of The Big West!

Dan