Good morning to all!
It was great to see our Student-Athletes, Presidents, Chancellors, Directors of Athletics, Senior Woman Administrators and Faculty Athletics Representatives at The Big West Fall Meetings last week. Thank you for the leadership, voices, and time during these important conversations. We covered a tremendous amount of ground in a short time, and I am very excited about the future of The Big West.
Last week also had me at The Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship, NCAA Division I Cabinet meetings, chairing the Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee meeting, speaking to the Long Beach Rotary Club, meeting with lobbyists, attending the National Association of Basketball Coaches Board of Directors meeting and also, of course, The Big West Fall meetings. A hectic, but highly productive week.
Stay tuned in the days and weeks ahead from announcements from The Big West Fall meetings.
Music of the Day is provided by Miley Cyrus – “The Climb”. It remains one of the most powerful and motivational songs for me, especially during intense stretches like the last week.
Let’s get to The Bold Type.
CONGRATULATIONS
- To Cal Poly women’s volleyball, who won the Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State last Saturday evening, and then have made it through the first two rounds of the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship! The Mustangs took down No. 5 seed BYU before downing host and No 4 seed USC on Friday. Read more >>> Cal Poly next heads to Kentucky to take on the No. 1 seed Wildcats on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. PT. It is now The Big West vs. all the seeded teams. Go @CalPolyVolley!
- To the six women’s soccer student-athletes who earned United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Honors! Read more >>>
- To UC Davis men’s water polo, who took on Stanford on Friday in the first round of the National Collegiate Men’s Water Polo Championship. Congratulations to the Aggies for their great run to the postseason! Read more >>>
- To our amazing Players of the Week!
THE BIG WEST SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT: UC RIVERSIDE
Before UC Riverside was established, the land the current university sits on was used by the University of California system as its Citrus Experimentation Station. The same orange groves and plant sites are still used for research to this day. By the 1950s, California's growing population made it necessary for the campus to become a full-fledged member of the UC system, and it was so designated in 1959. UC Riverside began enrolling graduate students in 1961. Learn more about UC Riverside in the December School Spotlight
here >>>
Gallery: (12-5-2025) UC Riverside School Spotlight
THE BIG WEST WELL REPRESENTED AT NCAA STUDENT-ATHLETE LEADERSHIP FORUM
The Big West was proudly represented by three individuals at the 2025 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum (SALF) in Dallas, Texas. Daryana Hall from Long Beach State Track & Field, Tate Meaux from UC San Diego Cross Country, and Angie Allen from the conference office were on-site for the forum that took place November 20th-23rd and hosted over 250 learners from across all three divisions of the NCAA. Read more >>>
MEDIA ARTICLES ON NCAA AND LEGAL MATTERS
- The Mercury News’ Jon Wilner reports Cal’s athletic spending is set to surge past $35M following GM Ron Rivera’s decision to part ways with Football HC Justin Wilcox with two years remaining on his deal. The transition will be underwritten by an unusually large influx of cash from across the University of California system that has not been widely disclosed until now. In addition to the previously announced $30M in “Calimony” payments from UCLA over three years, Cal will receive another $45M in bridge financing directly from the UC Office of the President, bringing total support to $75M over three years. Wilner explains the $45M in discretionary UCOP funds was approved in June 2025 by President Michael Drake without requiring UC regents’ approval, though regents were notified. More. (link)
- Utah President Taylor Randall acknowledges the need for the Utes’ athletic department to restructure to remain competitive in the ever-evolving world of collegiate athletics, per The Daily Utah Chronicle's John Leone. Randall: “Athletics, generally, are a big, big part of a college experience, particularly for this university. [...] we know that we have to continually invest in the athletics brand so that it remains competitive. We also have to invest in the student experience. Our athletics department does spend a lot of time trying to make sure that not only do the students succeed on the field, but they also have great outcomes in terms of graduation. Our graduation rates are always high. That’s something that I’m going to continue to invest in. Nobody can predict the future of athletics right now. So we’re spending a lot of time thinking about what the next 10 years look like.” More. (link)
- More than half of 183 employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers rate next spring’s Class of 2026 graduate-hiring job market as poor or fair, per The Wall Street Journal’s Lindsay Ellis, who notes the outlook rates as the “most pessimistic” since the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. More. (link)
- The College Sports Commission’s University Participation Agreement is dead, according to Heitner Legal Founder Darren Heitner, who observes the agreement, in its current form, “died the moment [Texas attorney general] Ken Paxton put his objections in writing and sent them not just to Texas universities but to every state attorney general in the country.” What’s still unclear, however, is what will replace it. (link)
- Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger tells Puck’s John Ourand he believes college sports is barreling toward more formalized athlete pay and likely collective bargaining, with or without Congress. As for what the industry will look like in three years, Dellenger explains: “I know how they want it to work, how their intention is for it to work, but I think legally it’s going to be hard to work. And so in three years you're probably going to have football rosters of at least $30M, $35M, maybe upwards of $40M, and you're probably going to have frustration among administrators that the clearinghouse isn’t doing what they intended it to do. And you're going to have ideas like collective bargaining start to come to fruition.” Full podcast. (link)
- Texas Tech Board of Regents Chair Cody Campbell on the upcoming SCORE Act vote: “My goals and the goals of Saving College Sports have remained very consistent: Pass legislation that will save ALL Sports! Women’s Sports, Olympic Sports, and sports at smaller and lower profile schools. Our objectives exactly mirror the objectives of [President Trump’s] Executive Order, issued this summer. While the SCORE Act comes up far short on these objectives, we support its passage in the House this week, and expect a robust debate and significant modification or replacement of the bill in the Senate. So, we urge House members to vote for the bill, so as to continue momentum, conversation, and debate, so we can find a comprehensive and effective solution that will preserve this great national treasure.” (link)
- The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has released a statement in support of the SCORE Act which reads: “The SCORE Act represents meaningful progress to strengthen the future of college sports and preserve pathways essential to the Team USA pipeline. We urge the House of Representatives to pass The SCORE Act in an effort to bring greater stability to the collegiate sport environment. We stand ready to continue working with Senate leaders, conferences, colleges, athletes and our partners across the ecosystem to build a model that supports Olympic and Paralympic sport and reinforces the critical role college programs play in developing student-athletes who go on to earn the great honor of representing the United States on the world stage.” (link)
- The Congressional Black Caucus (link) and players associations for the WNBA, NWSL and PWHL (link) issued statements today in opposition to the SCORE Act
- Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports on a newly-introduced college sports bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA) titled the “College Athletics Reform Act (CARA), which establishes a federal NIL policy, creates a bi-partisan commission for governance recs & amends [the] Sports Broadcasting Act.” In response to the news, Kennyhertz Perry LLC attorney Mit Winter writes: “This bill would kill the CSC & the House settlement. It prohibits the NCAA/CSC from restricting athletes from receiving NIL [money] and from taking adverse action against athletes because of receipt of NIL [money]. It also prevents athletes from being required to disclose NIL deals” and “allows states and athletes to sue to enjoin and enforce violations of the bill. International athletes would also be able to receive NIL [money] in the same manner as US athletes.” (link, link); Full bill text. (link)
- College sports executives are working up a concept to increase the student-athlete revenue share cap by as much as $2.5M, according to Ross Dellenger, who in a column for On3 notes officials are exploring an idea to eliminate the provision of reducing the pool by the additional scholarship money, in turn granting schools up to $2.5M in additional rev share. Dellenger: More. (link)
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful." - Credited to Mother Teresa
Thank you for the leadership and insight throughout Fall Meetings, and the continued commitment to the student-athletes of The Big West. Have a great week!
Dan