Good morning.
CONDOLENCES
Our hearts are with the family, teammates, and friends of Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer student-athlete Lauren Turner. Lauren and teammate Ashlyn Gwynn were involved in a tragic accident in September (LINK) and have been in intensive care since.
On Friday, November 7th, Christopher Turner provided an update on their GoFundMe page “Early this morning, our sweet Lauren fell asleep in the Lord. Our hearts are broken, and our family is forever changed. We will miss her beyond measure, yet we take great comfort in knowing she is now in the loving embrace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
In an extraordinary act of strength and love, knowing Lauren had been moved to hospice care, the Titans chose to take the field in their Big West Women’s Soccer Semifinal match on Thursday night — playing for one another, and for Lauren — because they knew that is what she would have wanted.
The music selected this week is “Hymn to the Fallen” by John Williams which honors Lauren and reminds us of the courage, unity, and enduring spirit that define our student-athletes and our Big West family. With Veteran’s Day on Tuesday, this song and this spirit of courage and unity is doing double-duty, also honoring all of those who have served in the U.S. military, some of whom have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
With our sincerest condolences, let’s get to The Bold Type.
CONGRATULATIONS
- To the Cal Poly women’s soccer team, who took home the title at the 2025 Big West Women’s Soccer Championship yesterday afternoon! Thank you to our hosts from CSUN, sending congratulations to our runners-up UC Santa Barbara and wishing the Mustangs success in the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship! Cal Poly will learn their next opponent today at 1 p.m., on ncaa.com.
- To the 2025 All-Big West men’s soccer award winners announced on Tuesday! Read more >>>
- To our men’s soccer championship finalists, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine! The Gauchos host the Anteaters for the title on Friday from Harder Stadium. Watch on ESPN+ here >>>
- To Long Beach State men’s water polo, The Big West regular-season champions!
- To UC Davis and Cal Poly women’s volleyball, who clinched their spot in the field of The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship coming up over Thanksgiving week!
- To The Big West pairs that competed at the 2025 AVCA Collegiate Beach Pairs National Championship! Long Beach State’s Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah took home the title, with the Cal Poly duo of Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep bringing home third place.
- To our men’s tennis representatives at the ITA Conference Masters tournament. Azuma Visaya of Hawai’i won his first match to advance to the round of 16 and the UC Santa Barbra duo of Conrad Brown and Miguel Avendano fell in the round of 32. Read more >>>
- To our women’s tennis representatives at the ITA Conference Masters tournament. Long Beach State’s Pamela Badillo competed in singles action and the tandem on My-Anh Homes and Raphaelle Leroux of UC Santa Barbara advanced to the round of 16 before retiring prematurely from the tournament. Read more >>>
- To our amazing PLAYERS OF THE WEEK!
- Men's Soccer - Marcus Lee, UC Irvine (offensive); Nic Thiele, UC San Diego (defensive); Adam Dunbar, UC San Diego (freshman)
- Women's Volleyball - Jade Light, UC Davis (offensive); Campbell Jensen, UC Irvine (defensive); Mia Star, UC Davis (setter); Gabi Martinez, UC Santa Barbara (freshman)
- Men's Swimming & Diving - Omar Elsayed, Grand Canyon
- Women's Swimming & Diving - Samantha Banos, UC Santa Barbara
- Men's Water Polo - Brock Zamanian, UC Santa Barbara
THE BIG WEST SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT: LONG BEACH STATE
Learn about some Bold Moments, notable alumni and impressive athletic pedigree of one of The Big West’s founding members, Long Beach State! Read more >>>
Gallery: (11-7-2025) LBSU School Spotlight Gallery
THE BIG WEST LEADS NATIONALLY WITH NINE KAY YOW SERVANT LEADER AWARD RECIPIENTS!
Nine Big West women’s basketball student-athletes have been selected as Kay Yow Servant Leader Award honorees for the 2025-26 season. The award, presented by the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, recognizes women across all NCAA divisions who exemplify leadership, selflessness and service in the fight against all cancers affecting women. Read more >>>
- Cal Poly - Alana Goosby
- Cal State Bakersfield – Alli Dioli
- Cal State Fullerton – Madelynn Muniz
- Hawai’i – Kira-May Filemu
- Long Beach State – Kennen Ka
- UC Davis – Ryann Bennett
- UC Riverside – Maya Chocano
- UC San Diego – Rosa Smith
- UC Santa Barbara – Martha Pietsch
REMOTE CONTROL: HOW THE BIG WEST IS FORGING AHEAD ... REMOTELY
Get some insight on how we have reimagined the Big West as a fully remote, forward-thinking conference built for a changing college sports landscape in an interview I did with KC Smurthwaite of Hero Sports. You might even learn a thing or two about some of my past history that you don’t already know! Read more >>>
COLLEGE SPORTS COMMISSION UPDATE
The College Sports Commission has released its newest round of data around NIL deal-making. The report, which was unveiled publicly on Thursday afternoon, notes that more than 12,000 total deals worth $87.5M have been cleared since launch on June 11 and Nov. 1, while just 394 deals worth $10M have not been cleared in that same span.
Those deals classified as “not cleared” are agreements that have gone through the CSC’s full process and will not move forward. The CSC did not include how many deals have been resubmitted or for which the time period for resubmission remains open, though that total is believed to be minimal.
The report also reflects more than 3,300 deals worth a total of $24.95M were cleared by the CSC in October alone, and notably zero deals are currently in arbitration.
Other numbers in the report include:
The faster processing time is of particular note as schools and collectives have voiced varying concern over delays in deals being vetted.
That said, the CLC and many within the industry have preached patience with the fledgling governing body as it has only been operational since June.
WOMEN’S SPORTS DRIVING RECORD NIL GROWTH
Through the first years of the NIL era, women's sports thrived. With the revenue-sharing era in its early stages, that trend is primed to continue, according to a new report from Opendorse.
Women's sports are on track to drive record NIL growth, the report showed. Rev-share is also part of the equation as schools continue to invest in women’s athletics.
Women's basketball, in particular, is receiving the third-most rev-share dollars from schools under the $20.5 million cap set by the House settlement. Roughly $1.8 million – or 8% – of the cap is expected to go toward those athletes, according to data compiled by Opendorse from the top 10 football conferences.
In fact, between 8% and 12% of rev-share dollars are heading toward women's sports. That group includes volleyball, gymnastics and soccer, among others.
Even beyond the investment from schools, women's sports have also become a bigger revenue stream. From 2022-24, women's athletics grew 4.5 times faster than men's sports, according to Opendorse. (LINK)
MEDIA REPORTS ON NCAA AND LEGAL MATTERS
- The NCAA received updates on eligibility cases this week. Sam Ehrlich (LINK, LINK, LINK) and Mit Winter (LINK) provide updates on just a few of the active cases.
- NCAA President Charlie Baker has sent a letter imploring Congress to grant the Association protections around eligibility standards for college athletes. From Baker’s letter: “I write to bring your attention to the ongoing attack on the essential eligibility and academic rules that are the foundation of college sports. This year alone, we have seen dozens of challenges to these rules, jeopardizing college sports as we know them. The NCAA’s eligibility and academic rules are what ensure that college sports are played by college student-athletes, and that a strong connection remains between college athletics and academics. [...] The courts’ chiseling away of the NCAA’s ability to enforce eligibility rules is destabilizing and threatening college sports. [...] Congress must take action, and legislation must include limited antitrust protection to allow the NCAA to promulgate fair, sensible eligibility and academic rules.” Full letter. (link)
- Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger reports Texas Tech Board of Regents Chair Cody Campbell has received commitments from House and Senate leaders to hold hearings on the Sports Broadcasting Act. Campbell has reportedly shifted his opinion on federal legislation, “supporting the passage of the SCORE Act, something that could happen as soon as the government returns from what is now a more than 30-day shutdown. When or if the SCORE Act reaches the Senate — where many believe it will die without major changes — Campbell hopes the legislation will be combined with the Democrat-backed SAFE Act, a bill authored by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and one that opens the Sports Broadcasting Act.” (link)
- American Commissioner Tim Pernetti joins JohnWallStreet’s Big Business on Campus podcast to share his thoughts on private equity coming into college sports. “It's definitely coming. I've never been more convinced. … It's definitely going to happen, without a doubt, whether it happens at a conference level or maybe more likely at an individual institution, it's happening. More. (link)
- With Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill suggesting his league may shift from 18 to 20 league games and the ACC having made the move from 20 to 18 this season in an attempt to assist with NCAA Tournament positioning, The Virginian-Pilot’s David Teel highlights the “disparate realities for a mid-major league that has qualified multiple teams for the tournament only twice in the past 30 years (Sun Belt) and a traditional power conference frustrated/humbled by its recent failure to earn the quantity of at-large bids folks expect (ACC).” Gill: “It really is a problem for (Sun Belt teams) to try to schedule the games that are best for (building) the best resumé to get an at-large selection.” Teel continues: “Indeed, precious few programs from the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East — the sport’s monied power brokers — will consider playing a mid-major on the road. More. (link)
- Piecing together the annual college basketball TV schedule is a giant but solvable puzzle for networks, according to SBJ’s Ben Portnoy, who notes there will be more than 1,500 linear broadcasts this season: “ESPN will broadcast nearly 900 games on linear this season (around 630 men’s games and 250-plus women’s contests). Fox’s slate is in the neighborhood of 300 games split between Fox, FS1 and FS2 (most will be on FS1). CBS, too, will have more than 300 games spread across CBS, CBS Sports Network and Paramount+, along with teaming up with TNT to broadcast March Madness. More. (link)
- An Opendorse report highlights how women’s sports are powering the next wave of NIL growth and athlete-driven brand influence with its analysis showing women’s sports revenue has risen 4.5 times faster than men’s sports from 2022-24, driven by heightened visibility, fan investment and demand from brands that invest in sports. Taking into account Division I programs, 8-12% of school-to-athlete payments are expected to go to women’s sports, representing approximately $2M of the $20.5M annual NIL revenue-share allocation and an opportunity for brands to bridge the earnings gap against male athletes. Total NIL spend on women’s sports is projected to reach $663.3M by 2027-28, up from $305.9M in 2021-22, while women’s sports athletes are 2.8% more engaged in the NIL process than their male counterparts and now represent 32.2% of all NIL deal submissions. (link)
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Life changes when you least expect it to. The future is uncertain. So, seize this day, seize this moment, and make the most of it. " – Jim Valvano
As we move deeper into championship season, we’re reminded that sport mirrors life — unpredictable, emotional, and filled with moments that test our strength and unity. This week, the Big West family feels that truth deeply. The courage of the Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer team, choosing to compete in honor of Lauren Turner, embodies everything we stand for: perseverance, togetherness, and the unbreakable bond of team. In times of heartbreak and triumph, we are reminded to seize every opportunity, every game, every day. Because in the end, championships are measured not only by trophies, but by the heart, resilience, and humanity of those who play the game.
Dan