Good morning!
As the fall term comes to a close and we move into final exams and the holiday season, The Big West continues to deliver moments worth celebrating—on the court, in the pool, in the classroom, and across the national landscape of collegiate athletics.
This week’s edition includes postseason success, conference growth, NCAA updates and important reminders as we head toward the end of the calendar year. Each item reflects the momentum, responsibility and opportunity that comes with leading in this evolving environment
With Hannukah starting at sundown yesterday, I want to say Happy Hannukah! We wish you a season filled with light and love. Hoping this holiday brings you and your loved ones closer.
Music of the Day is “Vienna” by Billy Joel. A reminder during finals, year-end deadlines, holidays and a rapidly changing national landscape that leadership is not about moving faster—but moving wisely.
Let’s get to The Bold Type!
CONGRATULATIONS
- To Cal Poly women’s volleyball for making it to the Sweet Sixteen of the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship! Thank you for bringing such joy to the court as you represented The Big West on the national stage.
- To Quentin Rodriguez, Director of Communications for The Big West, and to Nick Mathey, Associate Athletic Directors for Communications and Digital Strategy at UC Santa Barbara, who were named recipients of the College Sports Communicators (CSC) 30 Under 30 Award! Read more >>>
- To the eleven men’s soccer student-athletes from The Big West who were named to the 2025 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men’s All-Far West Region Teams! Read more >>>
- To a trio of Big West women’s volleyball players announced as American Volleyball Coaches’ Association (AVCA) All-Pacific Region honorable mention student-athletes! Read more >>>
- To UC Davis men's water polo's Tim Kerr who was announced as the recipient of the 2025 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Elite Scholar-Athlete award! Read more >>>
- To our Players of the Week!
BIG WEST MEMBERSHIP AFFIRMS COMMITMENT AT FALL MEETINGS
In a bold statement, The Big West Board of Directors strongly affirmed their commitment to conference membership and unified action during the league’s annual Fall Meetings, held December 3–5 in Irvine, Calif.
The Board of Directors is comprised of the presidents and chancellors of the conference’s 11 continuing member institutions and is chaired by Erika D. Beck, Ph.D., President of CSUN.
At the conclusion of the meetings, the Board ratified the following statement reflecting their shared commitment and alignment as members of The Big West:
“We are committed to The Big West now and in the future. The Big West provides us the best opportunity to pursue academic and athletic excellence while making a positive impact in our community.”
Leadership from the conference’s continuing member institutions, along with future members California Baptist, Utah Valley and Sacramento State, and two student-athlete representatives, engaged in three days of productive dialogue. Institutions transitioning from the conference participated in appropriate discussions related to their current membership and conference operations.
In addition to conversations surrounding membership, the Fall Meetings included robust discussion and action on conference governance, championship operations, and strategic planning as The Big West continues to navigate a rapidly evolving NCAA Division I landscape.
“I am appreciative of the bold leadership and engagement demonstrated by The Big West Board of Directors and Council during these meetings,” said Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly. “Unity remains one of our greatest strengths, and through collaboration and shared purpose, we are well positioned to navigate change in The Big West while continuing to advance opportunities for our student-athletes and institutions.”
FALL CHAMPIONSHIP ATTENDANCE GROWS
Thanks to the efforts of our hosts and our staff, we’re proud to report that overall attendance increased at three of our four ticketed fall championships. Total attendance at women’s soccer increased 5.60%, men’s water polo increased 59.76% and women’s volleyball was up 24.17%. Inclement weather in early November kept us from going 4-for-4 although attendance of 1,968 in a downpour at the men’s soccer championship match in Santa Barbara was a terrific achievement.
END OF YEAR FINANCIAL DONATIONS
As you look toward an end-of-the-year donation, please consider giving to The Big West’s “Tough Like Tammy” campaign. We are currently at $15,325 of our $25,000 goal. If we hit that goal, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund will invest $50,000 directly into Southern California, bringing lifesaving cancer care to under-resourced women.
More on the February Play4Kay women’s basketball games around The Big West will be coming soon.
Alaine and I will be donating. Thanks for your consideration!
PRPLEI PROMOTES A WORTHY CAUSE
The Big West’s merchandise partner, Prplei, has joined the effort to raise funds in support of the Tough Like Tammy program. Pink shirts bearing each institution’s logo are available at BigWestShop.org. Proceeds from the sale of these items will be donated directly to the campaign.
FULL INTERVIEW: HEAR FROM SACRAMENTO STATE PRESIDENT DR. LUKE WOOD
KCRA 3 hosted an extended conversation with Sacramento State President Dr. Luke Wood on Monday. Anchor Brandi Cummings sat down with Wood for a nearly hourlong, wide-ranging discussion on multiple topics, with some questions coming from viewers who submitted what they wanted to hear from the Hornets' president.
He said 19 programs now have the “best home they’ve ever had” by joining the Big West, instead of being in Big Sky. (LINK) We love having Sacramento State as a full member institution, Dr. Wood!
THE BIG WEST + VIVENU
The Big West has added vivenu, a global leader in advanced event ticketing technology, to the conference’s official corporate partners program. Read more >>>
UPDATE ON THE BIG WEST SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM
On that note, The Big West received a recent sponsorship report, and we are pleased have Van Wagner representing The Big West and our corporate partnership program so effectively. Through their efforts, we have been able to generate record revenues on behalf of our membership. Please support the businesses that support The Big West!
As an update, our current corporate partnerships:
- Credit Union 1
- Hawai’i Tourism Authority
- Ontario International Airport Authority
- Outrigger Hotels Hawai’i
- Jersey Mike’s
- SoldOut.com
- Signature Championship Rings
- vivenu
- Pacific Surfliner
- KAP7
- Pizza Press
- Old Spaghetti Factory
- SportsTrip
- Gatorade
- Molten USA
- Rawlings
- Wilson
SAY YES TO OFFICIATING – TELL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
College sports can’t happen without dedicated officials. We need graduating student-athletes, that booster that continues to complain about officiating, or even members of your family to become part of the solution to recruiting the next generation of officials and referees. Their love for the game and sense of fairness are exactly what student-athletes need. Send those that are interesting in stepping onto the field or court, making the call, or giving back to the sport that gives you so much to Say Yes To Officiating. Learn more >>>
FROM THE NCAA - WORLD BASKETBALL DAY IS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21
In 2023, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming December 21 as “World Basketball Day.”
It was on that date in 1891 that basketball was played for the first time at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, after Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian physical education instructor, developed the game to keep his students active during the winter months. To read more from the U.N. on World Basketball Day, visit this article.
The NCAA has again joined in the celebration of World Basketball Day, showcasing the role basketball plays in bringing people together and uniting communities around the world. Exclusive content on NCAA.com, social/digital posts on the various NCAA platforms and exclusive offers for NCAA basketball championship tickets will be part of the day, joining similar efforts being put forth by the worldwide basketball community, including USA Basketball, National Basketball Association, Women’s National Basketball Association, National Basketball Players Association, Women’s National Basketball Players Association, the National Federation of High Schools and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
We invite you to amplify the celebration through various school, team and personal social media platforms next Sunday!
MEDIA REPORTS ON NCAA AND LEGAL MATTERS
- “Even as it keeps printing money, the Big Ten has run into something of an identity crisis as the country’s richest conference. Years after the Big Ten famously resisted forming a national-title game, the College Football Playoff is now worth $1.3B a year in TV rights. Still, the conference is leading efforts to double the field to 24 teams. And this season, a civil war broke out as the conference weighed a $2.4B private investment that would pay each school at least $100M up front in exchange for 10% of future media revenue.” Geiger: “There’s a narrow line between providing leadership and selling your soul.” More. (link)
- Utah’s Board of Trustees has ratified a “nine-figure” private equity deal with Otro Capital that calls for the creation of Utah Brands & Entertainment, a company to oversee the athletic department’s revenue-generating sources. Otro will take a minority ownership stake in Utah Brands, and hold two board seats, with the university’s Utah Growth Capital Partners Foundation to hold four seats as AD Mark Harlan serves as chair. An additional supporter/investor will sit in the seventh board position. More. (link, link)
- Utah President Taylor Randall and AD Mark Harlan released a statement regarding today’s announcement of the Utes’ private equity deal with Otro Capital that reads in part: “This new model will enhance operations of key commercial activities and generate a significant influx of funding for Utah Athletics. It will also help enhance the gameday experience for our incredibly passionate fans. Ultimately, it will improve the student-athlete experience, strengthen our programs and ensure Utah Athletics can continue to thrive and compete for conference and national championships–now and into the future. Most importantly, this transition will allow more of the university’s internal resources to remain focused on education (scholarships, access and student success), cutting-edge research and exceptional patient care. By modernizing our athletics model, we are protecting and strengthening our ability to advance our academic mission and deliver societal impact over the long term.” (link, link - resolution, link - slide deck)
- NCAA President Charlie Baker, in conversation with SBJ’s Abe Madkour from the SBJ Intercollegiate Athletics Forum, says just because the post-House world is “messy doesn’t mean it’s not directionally correct,” adding: “I will die on the side of we probably saved college sports billions of dollars that we collectively would’ve otherwise owed if we hadn’t got the settlement and gotten it done.” Madkour follows up by asking if the NCAA would’ve gone bankrupt, and Baker replies: “Oh yeah, not just us. Lots of other people, too. This would’ve had real consequences for the rest of college sports that we don’t talk anywhere near as much about.” Asked whether the NCAA missed a window to get the SCORE Act through the House, Baker replies: “I don’t know. We’ll see.” Full Q&A. (link)
- NCAA President Charlie Baker tells Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Fischer he’s prepared to use every tool at his disposal to defend the NCAA regardless of what happens in Washington, D.C., in the coming months: “We don’t have a choice. That’s why we’re up to our eyeballs in court cases. We’re going to fight them all.” Here’s more from Baker at Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in Vegas …
- Baker explains why the NCAA continues to litigate rather than retreat or rewrite policies: “It’s critical for us to play those out as long as we have to. What’s at stake here is a ton of opportunities for the next generation of young people—and they’re not sitting in the courtroom, they don’t have a name, but they are the ones who are going to lose if we’re not successful in this stuff.”
- As it relates to eligibility waivers, appeals and lawsuits, Baker argues that a small number of lawsuits has created a disproportionate amount of blowback: “I think there were 1,500, plus or minus, Division I waivers last year. Two thirds of them got approved, which leaves you with about 450 or somewhere in that general vicinity that didn’t get approved. I think 40 have ended up in court—so 90% of the people who didn’t get what they wanted out of a waiver did not go to court. But 10% did and that’s where all the emotion and challenge comes from. And remember, of that 10% we win 60 to 70% of those cases. Now you’re down to a really small number that’s creating most of the angst and most of the confusion”
- Baker adds: “The one thing I hear a lot from the membership is that clarity would be nice, especially on things like eligibility. We win way more of those cases than we lose thankfully. But the fact that we don’t win them all means you have coaches and ADs who call me and say what judge you end up in front of has a lot to do with whether or not your player gets approved for another year. There’s a lot of unhappiness about that and I get it. That particular issue more than almost any other really got the attention of a lot of people in Washington to say, ‘O.K., now I understand why you act, why you believe you have a problem here that could use our help.’” (link)
- Athletes.org has published its first collective bargaining agreement framework that outlines clear terms between student-athletes and a governing body, comparisons to pro sports and the benefits for all parties. The four-year proposal would include a revenue share template agreement, “school-specific revenue-sharing percentage based on pro rata revenue per sport,” a five-year max on eligibility, a removal of third-part NIL limitations and more. (link, link, link - full framework)
- U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have introduced the Helping Undergraduate Students Thrive with Long-Term Earnings (HUSTLE) Act, per Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos, who notes via the legislation, college athletes would get the opportunity to put up to $35K in unused NIL account funds into “tax-advantaged investment accounts for student athletes, require trustees to provide financial education, and establish regulations to prevent abuse.” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, who endorsed the act, remarks: “The HUSTLE Act represents a constructive approach by establishing tax-advantaged NIL investment accounts that encourage financial education, long-term savings, and responsible management of earnings. We appreciate Congress’s sustained bipartisan commitment to developing national, consistent standards that support student-athletes and enhance their opportunities in this rapidly changing environment." (link)
- San Diego State’s Campus Fee Advisory Committee has tabled a vote on a potential increase to student fees that would buoy the Aztecs’ budget to the tune of an additional $9.7M annually. A student vote on the matter was expected, but now the university will conduct a series of forums on the issue to fully vet the potential fee hike. Of particular note, the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Mark Zeigler outlines an alternative proposal that would reduce the athletic department’s take to $4.3M per year. Timeline wise, per Zeigler, “The committee is scheduled to reconvene next Friday, possibly by Zoom, with the expectation that it will vote on a recommendation to (President Adela) de la Torre.” (link)
- Three weeks after conferences deployed the College Sports Commission’s “Participation Agreement” to their members – and a week past an original signing deadline – the answer to the question if all schools will sign the CSC’s document remains unclear. More. (link)
- Appearing on Higher Ed Athletics, Central Michigan AD Amy Folan on the topic of donor fatigue, remarks: “I think donor fatigue is really a thing, and I will tell you when I started at Texas, … I went around to the top-10 donors and I said, ’okay, tell me what we need to stop, start and continue,’ and a lot of them said ‘hey, you keep coming back to me and I don't see the person behind me.’ The average age was 82 … and they just said … ‘I need to know that it's going to continue and it's not just me,’ so I think that can happen everywhere. … They know what they're doing and their impact and how they're doing it, and it's our responsibility to make sure that their money is advancing, that it's making an impact and that we're doing what we said. More. (link)
- With the recent expansion to include short-term workforce programs adding to existing structural funding problems, the Pell Grant program faces a 10-year shortfall of up to $97B, per the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. While this past summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act granted the program $10.5B in one-time funding in an effort to avoid a looming budget shortfall, it will only delay the inevitable by about two years. CRFB expects the Pell Grant program’s costs to exceed its funding by $6B to $11B each year over the next decade, noting: ”The underlying structural gap between costs and appropriations remains unaddressed, and in fact was made worse under OBBBA.” Per Higher Ed Dive’s Natalie Schwartz: “Researchers estimated the Pell Grant program would face a $61B, 10-year shortfall if lawmakers keep its appropriations adjusted for inflation and maintain the maximum award of $7,395. If lawmakers keep both appropriations and the maximum award flat, that shortfall would reach $88B. Moreover, the shortfall would hit $97B if lawmakers raise Pell Grant funding and the maximum award in line with inflation and Workforce Pell enrollment outpaces expectations.” (link)
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Control your own destiny or someone else will." - Jack Welch
Thank you for the continued engagement and leadership amongst our campus leadership during an especially busy and important time of year. The collective efforts across all our member-institutions—supporting student-athletes, strengthening programs, and navigating a rapidly changing national landscape—do not go unnoticed.
Best wishes as campus staff and student-athletes complete the semester and prepare for a well-earned holiday break.
Dan