Good morning!
In a week defined by continued transition and turbulence across Division I athletics, The Big West continues to move forward — focused, unified and preparing to celebrate the achievements of our student-athletes.
Two Division I conferences are now seeking new commissioners, congressional leaders continue to keep the government shut down and remain divided on the SCORE Act, and national headlines highlight the ongoing challenges of integrity in sport. Yet, amidst the noise, The Big West stands steady — preparing for six fall championships that embody what college athletics is meant to be: education, competition, community and character.
Just a few days to go before the first Big West championship of the season – women’s and men’s cross country on O’ahu. Let’s get the Olympic sport championship season started with “Summon the Heroes” by John Williams.
Let’s get to The Bold Type!
CONGRATULATIONS
- To the three former Big West men’s basketball players who earned a spot on NBA Opening Day rosters! Good luck this season, Gabe Vincent (Lakers/UC Santa Barbara), Kobe Sanders (Clippers/Cal Poly) and reigning NBA champion Ajay Mitchell (Thunder/UC Santa Barbara)! Read more >>>
- And good luck to UCSB baseball alum Shane Bieber, as the Toronto Blue Jays pitcher competes in the World Series!
- To our SIX men's water polo programs listed in the latest CWPA varsity poll!!
- No. 6 UC Davis
- No. 10 UC San Diego
- No. 11 Long Beach State
- No. t-13 UC Santa Barbara
- No. 16 UC Irvine
- Receiving votes Cal State Fullerton
- To future Big West member California Baptist, whose men’s soccer program earned its first-ever national ranking at No. 25 this week — an early sign of the competitive depth being added to The Big West lineup in 2026–27.
- To our amazing PLAYERS OF THE WEEK!
- Women's Soccer - Madelyn Dougherty, Cal Poly (offensive); Riley Liebsack, CSUN (defensive); Shannon Porubski, Cal Poly (freshman)
- Men's Soccer - Mario Carlos, Cal State Fullerton (offensive); Joe O’Shaughnessy, UC Irvine (defensive); Nami Banks, UC Davis (freshman)
- Women's Volleyball - Jade Light, UC Davis (offensive); Nieko Thomas, Long Beach State (defensive); Emme Bullis, Cal Poly (setter); Cha‘lei Reid, Hawai‘i (freshman)
- Cross Country - Zachary Parker, UC Santa Barbara (men); Sylvana Northrop, UC San Diego (women)
- Men's Swimming & Diving - Luigi Franco, UC San Diego
- Women's Swimming & Diving - Asia Kozan, UC San Diego
- Men's Water Polo - Cole Francisco, Long Beach State
FALL CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGIN!
This week marks the start of the 2025–26 Big West Championship season with Women’s and Men’s Cross Country on O’ahu. The upcoming Fall championships are:
| October 31 |
Women's & Men's Cross Country Championships |
Honolulu, O'ahu |
| November 2-9 |
Women's Soccer Championship |
Sites TBD |
| November 5-14 |
Men's Soccer Championship |
Sites TBD |
| November 21-23 |
Men's Water Polo Championship |
Irvine, Calif. |
| November 26-29 |
Women's Volleyball Championship |
Long Beach, Calif. |
I want to thank each member institution that is hosting a Big West championship in the weeks ahead. Working with The Big West staff, preparation with our campus staffs is vital to the success of the championship and the experience of our student-athletes. A positive experience for each student-athlete is a reflection on the host institution and The Big West. The conference championship is the first NCAA championship experience for some student-athletes, and also the last collegiate athletics experience for many student-athletes.
Thank you to institutional administrators, athletic trainers, game managers, communications staff and volunteers that will work to make these championships a success!
CONGRATULATIONS to our 10 soccer programs who have punched their tickets to the postseason already and best of luck to the two others who will be joining the fields this week!
COMMISSIONER'S CURRENT TRAVEL SCHEDULE
Over the next five weeks, I’ll be across The Big West footprint — attending championships, visiting campuses and speaking with leadership groups, including the UC Regents Working Group on Athletics as well as The Big West Council and Board of Directors meetings. These visits are a reminder of how our shared purpose connects campuses from Hawai‘i to Northern California to our new footprint of Utah.
Look for me at The Big West Cross Country Championships in Hawai’i, both the women’s and men’s soccer championship finale, and The Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship over Thanksgiving week. I’ll also be attending three men’s basketball games in November where our current member-institutions are facing off with our future member institutions! Look for me at Sacramento State as the Hornets host the preseason Big West favorite Gauchos, California Baptist for the Crosstown Showdown, and at Utah Valley as the Wolverines take on the NIT runner-up Anteaters.
I can’t wait to speak with our campus and conference leadership over the coming weeks, watch our student-athletes celebrate title moments and tip off the basketball season in a taste of future conference games!
THE BIG WEST ON NCAA NATIONAL GOVERNANCE COMMITTEES
With the significant change in the NCAA governance structure that took effect on September 1, The Big West continues to play an influential role in shaping the future of collegiate athletics, with conference leaders, institutional administrators and student-athletes serving on a wide range of NCAA national committees during the 2025–26 academic year and beyond.
From governance groups to sport-specific oversight, Big West representatives are helping guide policy and competition at the highest level of NCAA Division I. Meet these impressive leaders here >>>
BIG WEST BASKETBALL ON NATIONAL AND REGIONAL TV
This morning, The Big West announced its most ambitious basketball broadcast package ever — 350+ games across ESPN platforms and Spectrum SportsNet.
Five regular-season contests will appear on ESPN2 or ESPNU as part of our “wildcard” national series, beginning January 29, 2026. The Spectrum SportsNet slate will include 14 additional feature games showcasing all 11 men’s programs and six women’s programs. These games will also appear on the ESPN+ platform.
As I noted this morning, from game-winning shots to championship moments, we’re proud to showcase the players, programs and passion that make Big West basketball unforgettable. Read more and see the list of linear games here >>>
THE BOLD BREAK: ON THE PITCH WITH QUINN MAHONEY OF CAL POLY MEN'S SOCCER
Quinn Mahoney has always poured passion and drive into every moment on the field. But his path hasn’t come without adversity. While competing in the Elite Club National League (ECNL), Mahoney endured two major neck injuries that ultimately sidelined him for his first season at Cal Poly.
Forced to redshirt, he dedicated that time to rehabilitation and recovery, a period that tested both his patience and perseverance. Through it all, Mahoney leaned on his support system of family, friends, teammates, and the Cal Poly medical staff to push through the toughest moments.
Now back stronger than ever, Mahoney’s resilience and determination continue to define his journey as a Mustang, proof that every setback can become a setup for an incredible comeback. Read more >>>
STATEMENT FROM THE NCAA CABINET
Throughout the nation, there were rumors trending that there was a strong likelihood of the NCAA moving to a five years of eligibility within five years. During NCAA Cabinet meetings two weeks ago, the Cabinet wanted to address this and distributed the following statement on Wednesday afternoon:
“During its October meeting, the Division I Cabinet determined that, for the remainder of the current academic year and for the rosters competing during the 2026-27 academic year, it will maintain existing eligibility rules as they pertain to student-athletes competing in no more than four seasons of athletics competition in a particular sport over a consecutive five-year period.
The Cabinet is studying these policies, along with several related eligibility rules, and will later consider what changes, if any, to implement for future academic years. When challenged, the current rules have been upheld by the overwhelming majority of courts. The Cabinet understands, however, that the situation for student-athletes, coaches and administrators remains untenable, with rules changing seemingly on a moment’s notice because of any single court’s temporary ruling. Congress continues to be the best forum to protect these eligibility rules and other academic standards, while providing clarity for current and future student-athletes. As these situations demonstrate, we need bipartisan legislation that empowers college sports to set these basic rules that support academics as a foundational purpose of collegiate athletics.”
MEDIA REPORTS ON NCAA AND LEGAL MATTERS
- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sat down with Puck’s John Ourand at Puck’s inaugural In the Arena event to discuss the league’s $76B rights deal and how AI will transform the business, noting of the latter: “My hunch is AI is going to change the sports experience. It’s going to happen fairly quickly. We’re going to see as much change in the next few years as you and I have seen—with maybe the exception of high-definition—in our television experience in our adult years.” (link)
- Sportsbooks flagged dozens of suspicious bets made by gamblers repeatedly wagering against the same small-conference teams in at least 11 men's college basketball games over six weeks last season, according to ESPN’s David Purdum, who adds: “At least nine sportsbooks in 13 states and one Canadian province detected similar unusual betting activity, according to an email sent by IC360, a firm that monitors the betting market for abnormalities. The gamblers kept betting big against the same teams and winning. … Sportsbooks reported seeing similar betting activity on first-half spreads in the 2023-24 college basketball season and believed these bets were connected to the same gambling syndicate, according to the records and a source with direct knowledge. One sportsbook wrote in the documents that several bettors had potential links to the syndicate and referenced Marves Fairley, a Mississippi man who sells betting picks online, as ‘the main syndicate suspect.’ When reached by ESPN, Fairley denied any involvement. Multiple sources familiar with the federal investigation…told ESPN that the FBI has been interviewing college athletes and believe indictments are forthcoming. The sources said they have seen evidence of plots to fix college basketball games.” Fairley to Purdum: "Once this thing comes out and we can talk, man, and get all this behind us, whatever is going on, whatever the suspicion may be, just try to figure it out.” (link)
- Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger provides this summary of congressional Democrats’ news conference: “Either of the two introduced college sports bills – the Republican-authored SCORE Act & the Democrat-authored SAFE Act – is unlikely, in its current form, to pass Congress by the mid-term elections next November. Authors and sponsors of the Democrat-backed SAFE Act have *not* held productive discussions with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) over a third piece of bipartisan legislation to govern college sports (though Cruz does continue to hold dialogue with others).” (link)
- Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports “UC Investments, the non-profit investor proposing the $2.4B capital deal with the Big Ten, has released a statement, confirming much of what has been previously reported about the deal and emphasizing that it plans to continue dialogue with the Big Ten.” Of note from the statement: “UC Investments has offered to invest $2.4B, a 10% minority stake, with the remaining 90% to be shared among all 18 Big Ten member universities and the conference itself. The terms of our offer require us to hold the investment for at least 15 years … As codified in our ten investment pillars, we are ‘centennial investors.’ We consider Big Ten Enterprises a 100-year investment. Additionally, we have offered any Big Ten-member university the opportunity to buy down UC Investments’ stake in Big Ten Enterprises if it wishes to acquire a larger ownership stake for itself. Any potential partnership with UC Investments would not change the Big Ten’s governance structure. UC Investments would not be involved in the operations of the conference itself.” The full statement. (link)
- A Big Ten source tells SBJ’s Ben Portnoy in regard to a potential private equity deal that “we’ve been pushing the league to find new sources of revenue. I don’t think we could have ever contemplated something of this magnitude, but as we push for the conference to be a revenue driver for the schools, this is a way for the conference to do just that.” More than a dozen industry sources Portnoy has spoken with over the last two weeks have “preached optimism the Big Ten’s deal will ultimately get done,” with one Power 4 administrator saying: “People are sitting back and [watching]. Let’s see the Big Ten get it across the finish line first.” (link)
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Sometimes it takes going through a tough stretch to really understand how far you have to go as a team and as individuals."- Billy Donovan
In an industry that never stands still, leadership is often measured by calm amid the storm. As others transition, debate and react, The Big West continues to advance — unified, student-centered and prepared for the championships ahead.
Let’s celebrate the moments that matter most: student-athletes earning their place, teams chasing titles, and our collective commitment to integrity and innovation.
Good luck to all institutions as their Fall sports programs are competing hard to complete their regular season and head to The Big West Championships!
Have a great day.
Dan