Good morning!
First, I want to wish all of you an amazing holiday season. From the start of Hanukkah on Sunday, December 13th to Christmas and Kwanzaa this week, the season reminds us how much we have to celebrate in The Big West.
The past week was focused on new opportunities, continued follow-up from our recent Winter meetings, and preparations for meetings that will be conducted just after the holiday season concludes. However, as we look at the week ahead, it is a time for faith, family, friends, reflection, and hopefully for many of you, a time of rest — something all of us need as we prepare for another pivotal year of change and opportunity in 2026.
The song of the week of “Happy Holidays” from Andy Williams. Sometimes you just have to go with a classic — especially during a season when tradition, reflection and connection matter more than ever.
Let’s get to The Bold Type!
CONGRATULATIONS
- To Zack Lillington of UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton’s Aiden Bengard who were selected in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft! Read more >>> | Watch the video >>>
- To the six Big West men’s water polo student-athletes for their ACWPC All-American performances in 2025, headlined by a third-team selection for Tommy Kiesling of UC Davis. Read more >>>
- To our 17 Big West women's volleyball student-athletes named to the 2025 CSC Academic All-District Team! Read more >>>
- To our Players of the Week!
THE RUNDOWN BY CHLOE CLARK
Cal Poly volleyball caps a historic season reaching the NCAA Sweet 16, while Big West hoops stayed hot with statement wins, streaks and career milestones on the court.
And don’t look now… men’s volleyball is almost here! Tune in Dec. 30 at Noon PT/10 a.m. HT on ESPN+ for the Men’s Volleyball Preview presented by the Hawaiian Islands, featuring preseason insight, interviews and the preseason poll. Watch here >>>
Catch it all in Wednesday’s episode of The Rundown!
AMAZING STIES OF OUR STUDENT-ATHLETES - KYLA BRUHN OF UC SAN DIEGO
About 18 months ago, Remi was matched with the UC San Diego women’s water polo team through Team IMPACT, a national nonprofit that pairs children facing serious illness or disability with college sports programs. Read more >>>
THE BIG WEST COMMISSIONER'S CUP FALL UPDATE
The 2025-26 Dennis Farrell Big West Commissioners Cup fall standings are here, and Cal Poly holds the commanding advantage after yet another stellar fall for the Mustangs. Read more >>>
“Named in honor of former Commissioner Dennis Farrell, the Big West Commissioner’s Cup represents comprehensive competitive excellence across The Big West,” noted current Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly. “By capturing four fall championships, Cal Poly has taken an early lead and set the pace for the Big West this year. At the same time, the depth of competition throughout the standings reinforces that every championship, every match, and every point will matter as the race continues.”
THE SAFETY OF GAME OFFICIALS
I want to share this video and story from a high school game in Hawaii. (LINK) I am hopeful after watching the video and reading the article you will understand why we put such an emphasis on the safety and security of our game officials. Officials and referees are vital to all sports, from elementary school to professional sport. Without them, our teams and athletes do not participate in safe and fair competitions. Officials are human, and can make mistakes, but I can assure you they get a SIGNIFICANT percentage of calls correct. How can I state that, because officials are evaluated, and in some sports, we have a system in place for the official to be graded on calls correct, calls incorrect, no call correct or no call incorrect. We take officiating seriously, including their safety and security. Please help us by thanking an official for officiating a Big West event.
US COUNCIL FOR ATHLETES' HEALTH UPDATE
Inside Higher Ed sat down with U.S. Council on Athletes’ Health (USCAH) President and CEO Jim Borchers to discuss the growing threat presented by gambling in collegiate sports. On examples of the impact he’s seen gambling have on student-athletes: “This whole financial marketplace now exists in college athletics—even high school athletics now has NIL payments—and so sport as a financial vehicle is growing, and these markets are growing, and that causes them stress. Young athletes are developing physically and mentally. Do we expect them to have a skill set to manage that financial stress like an adult, or the experiences and the ability to develop that skill set? I think it is misguided. You add into that the pressure of outside influences who now have their own financial market where they’re making these bets and providing those bets. And they can make comments to that person directly either on social media or direct messaging. It’s easy for me as a 55-year-old to say, “I’ll just turn my phone off,” but that’s not how these folks operate. It impacts their mental and emotional health, and that impacts their performance. We know athletes have to be physically, mentally and emotionally well to perform at their best.” More from Borchers. (link)
FROM THE NCAA: WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BLANKET WAIVER RESCINDED FOR SCHOOLS SUBJECT TO HOUSE SETTLEMENT - STUDENT MANAGERS SERVING AS PRACTICE PLAYERS
Based on the approval of the House settlement and adoption of the related legislation, including roster limitations (NCAA Division I Bylaw 17.2), the blanket waiver issued in May 2025 that permitted women's basketball student managers to also serve as practice players through the end of the 2025-26 regular season has been rescinded for institutions subject to the House settlement and other institutions that have opted into the settlement, but the waiver remains in effect for those institutions that have not opted into the settlement.
Please note that the adopted settlement-related legislation allows male students who are employed as managers to practice with women’s teams pursuant to Bylaw 12.5.5 (Eligibility Requirements for Male Students to Practice With Women's Teams). In addition, pursuant to Bylaw 17.2.2.8 (Exception -- Male Student Who Practices With a Women’s Team), a male student who is eligible to practice with a women’s team (pursuant to Bylaw 12.5.5) may participate in team practices without being included on the sport’s submitted roster. However, a male student who practices with a women’s team forfeits any remaining eligibility in the corresponding men’s sport at the institution (e.g., men’s basketball for male student who practices with women’s basketball team).
MEDIA REPORTS ON NCAA AND LEGAL MATTERS
The national landscape continues to shift quickly — legally, financially, and structurally — underscoring why our unified approach as a conference matters now more than ever.
- The San Diego State Campus Fee Advisory Committee has recommended a 41% increase to mandatory student athletic fees, a move that would raise the annual cost for enrollment from $580 to $820. The proposal, which passed via a 15-2 vote and is expected to be approved by President Adela de la Torre, utilizes an "alternative consultation" process rather than a student referendum and will be phased in over four years, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Mark Zeigler, who explains that under the amended recommendation, the athletics department will receive just under 90% of the new fee revenue – roughly $9M more annually for athletics – to help address a $29.1M operating deficit reported in FY24. Zeigler notes that student fees ($16.3M) were already the department’s single largest revenue source last fiscal year, ranking SDSU No. 1 in the Mountain West for student fee contribution by a "wide margin." (link)
- President Donald Trump on Friday shared his take on NIL and the priority for funding to go to football programs: “I think that it’s a disaster for college sports. I think it’s a disaster for the Olympics. We’re losing a lot of teams. Colleges are cutting their, they would call them, sort of the lesser sports. They’re losing them at numbers nobody can believe. And they were really training grounds, beautiful training grounds. Hard-working, wonderful young people. They were training grounds for the Olympics, and a lot of these sports that were training so well would win gold medals because of it. Those sports don’t exist because they’re putting all that money into football. And, by the way, they’re putting too much money into football because colleges don’t make – even the most successful universities don’t make that much money. … I think the NIL is a disaster for sports. It’s horrible for the Olympics. I think it’s actually horrible for the players. And you’re losing all of these great sports. They’re not college football.” Trump also believes in a salary cap, especially given the strain that not having one puts on athletic department finances. Trump: “You’re going to have these colleges wipe themselves out, and something ought to be done. And I’m willing to put the federal government behind it. But if it’s not done fast, you’re going to wipe out colleges. They’re going to get wiped out, including ones that do well in football. They can’t pay $12M, $14M, $10M, $6M for players. They won’t be able to stop. There’ll always be that one player, they only have that player, they’re going to win the national championship. And they’ll have 100 colleges thinking the same thing. Colleges cannot afford to play this game. It’s a very bad thing that’s happening.” More. (link)
- Efforts to overhaul NCAA men’s soccer may have received a boost from MLS’ recent decision to alter its schedule by moving its playoffs to the spring as part of a July-to-May season calendar switch, per Sportico’s Luke Cyphers, who adds the change “dovetails with reforms proposed by U.S. Soccer’s NextGen College Soccer Committee” which recommends “moving the men’s game, and perhaps the women’s, from the current fall-only schedule to one that covers the entire scholastic year and culminates in an April playoff festival.” More. (link)
- Beginning with conference play, the Atlantic 10 will launch a player availability reporting system to publicly update the status of each league player on its website a few hours prior to each A-10 contest. Through the system, players will be classified as “available,” “questionable,” or “out” with schools subject to fines for misrepresenting a player’s status. Per the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s John O’Connor, “the player availability reporting system that leagues implement is designed to protect players from bettors who might go through team members to learn information about the physical condition of players who are known to be injured to some extent, and gain knowledge about any injuries that are unknown publicly. … The A-10 initiative mimics what Power Four football leagues did this year regarding player availability.” The Power Four leagues and the Big East also started the practice for basketball this season, while the NCAA will do the same for its 2026 men’s & women’s tournaments. The move is a reactionary measure to the proliferation of legal sports gambling in recent years. (link)
- The Big 12 is finalizing a deal with RedBird and Weatherford Capital that would infuse as much as $500M into Big 12 members who opt-in through a “multifaceted strategic business partnership,” with a focus on growing commercial operations. (link)
- DeKalb County (AL) judge Andrew Hairston has granted a preliminary injunction requested by former Tennessee Football HC Jeremy Pruitt seeking to prevent the NCAA from enforcing its six-year "show cause" order. Per Bama247’s Mike Rodak: “Pruitt's attorneys argued for the court to grant the injunction because the NCAA's penalties -- the basis of the lawsuit -- were preventing high-level college teams from hiring him. … NCAA attorneys argued against Pruitt's injunction, stating that DeKalb County … did not have jurisdiction over its infractions matters, and that the court should ‘not interfere with or second-guess the internal affairs and decisions of athletics associations.’ More. (link)
- A New York federal court has granted a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by House settlement opt-out and former Villanova men’s basketball student-athlete Kris Jenkins over NIL restraints, Boise State assistant professor Sam Ehrlich reports. (link)
- UC Davis has named former Cal State Bakersfield AD Kyle Conder as Senior Assoc. AD for Compliance and Human Resources. (link)
- Kalshi made headlines after notifying the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that it was self-certifying markets on whether college athletes will enter the transfer portal. The announcement drew a sharp rebuke from NCAA President Charlie Baker, who explained in a statement to ESPN’s David Purdum: "The NCAA vehemently opposes college sports prediction markets. It is already bad enough that student-athletes face harassment and abuse for lost bets on game performance, and now Kalshi wants to offer bets on their transfer decisions and status. This is absolutely unacceptable and would place even greater pressure on student-athletes while threatening competition integrity and recruiting processes. Their decisions and future should not be gambled with, especially in an unregulated marketplace that does not follow any rules of legitimate sports betting operators." (link)
- More from NCAA President Charlie Baker with Tulane Sports Law Professor Gabe Feldman. On what the NCAA wants to be able to do but can’t without some limited antitrust exemption: “The primary issue for us is really around what I would describe as sort of eligibility. And when I talk eligibility, I'm not just talking five years to play four, I'm also talking academic eligibility. I mean, we've had judges basically throw out academic eligibility in some of these cases that we've been in court on. … If we get to the point where grades don't matter anymore for anybody who's playing college sports, I think that's a problem. … I think the federal preemption around a lot of the state laws, which really are just naked attempts by states to create special advantages for the schools in their own state and competing, that's not just an NCAA issue. That's a conference issue as well. … To me, the big issue with the transfer thing is do you really want kids transferring every year? … We have a lot of that now because they can. And again, if you get rid of the academic rules and you get rid of the eligibility rules generally, then you've completely divorced the whole idea that getting a degree matters or figuring out what it is you want to do with the rest of your life matters. Even for the kids who play in the 5% of the very top end of college sports, the vast majority of them are not going to play professionally, and we are not doing them a favor by pretending that their college degree is meaningless.” (link)
- In September, a realignment curveball hit when UC San Diego accepted an invitation to the West Coast Conference. At first glance, the move raised more questions than answers. The WCC had been navigating its own uncertainty. Gonzaga was gone, Grand Canyon had backed out, and there was continued smoke around St. Mary’s long-term future as a potential domino elsewhere. Historically, the conference had leaned heavily toward private and faith-based institutions, while the Big West, where UC San Diego has competed since it joined Division I in 2020, has been almost entirely public and deeply rooted in California. In recent years, the Big West has been stable, adding Utah Valley, Cal Baptist and Sacramento State. Yet the WCC made its move — and it paid big to do so. Writing for NIL Wire, KC Smurthwaite examines the factors that led to UC San Diego’s jump to the West Coast Conference, noting the league committed to $10M in total payments to the Tritons, “a figure that dwarfs what conferences typically pay low and mid-major schools in realignment.” Per the deal, UC San Diego was to receive a $4M payment within 10 days of full execution, contingent on UCSD formally notifying the Big West of its departure effective June 30, 2027, as well as three annual payments of $1.5M through 2029-30 and three additional annual payments of $500K through 2032-33. The league also completely waived its standard entry fee. Instead of paying an equity buy-in, UCSD will receive the conference payment, an arrangement explicitly justified by the Tritons’ transition costs and anticipated contributions to the league. One sitting AD in California said: “This wasn’t a panic move, but it was close. The WCC membership was growing anxious, almost teetering on angry, as other conferences were being proactive. They had to do something, especially with some Gonzaga money still in the coffers.” (link) (link)
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The Joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others’ burdens, easing each other’s loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of the holidays.” –W. C. Jones
And I will close with one that hits personal, as the significant stress of the year 2025 left me with a bit of weight gain:
“There are three stages of man: he believes in Santa Claus; he does not believe in Santa Claus; he is Santa Claus.” –Bob Phillips
Please have a safe, and joyous, holiday week ahead. Thank you for the gift of representing you as commissioner of The Big West — a conference rooted in excellence, guided by its values and prepared for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Dan