Good morning to all!
Spring championships season is upon us, with the women’s golf championship being conducted in Las Vegas right now!
Over the next two weeks, The Big West will conduct seven Big West Championships for our student-athletes. The dates for each championship are:
- April 13-15 Women’s Golf
- April 24-26 Men’s Volleyball
- April 24-25 Beach Volleyball
- April 24-27 Women’s Tennis
- April 25-27 Men’s Tennis
- April 25-27 Women’s Water Polo
- April 27-29 Men’s Golf
I will be traveling to various championships through May, while also continuing work on membership, NCAA and CCA committees. We will also be developing agendas and supplements for the important work ahead of The Big West as we prepare for our virtual governance meetings this Spring.
I am not sure why, but the music I am listening to while writing is the “Titanic Orchestra Suite – Live in Concert 2023.” I am not sure if this is sending me a subliminal message after listening to 6+ hours of the NCAA-House settlement hearing last, or it is just a beautiful orchestration of music by James Horner, but it is worth a listen.
Let’s get to The Bold Type!
LET’S START THIS WEEK WITH A COUPLE OF VIDEO FEATURES
Lance Up with CBU's Dr. Micah Parker
With the recent announcement of CBU's full membership into The Big West set to begin in 2026-27, the Lancers are ready to elevate their level of competition and embrace the rivalries that come with joining a new conference. Read more >>>
Celebrating National Siblings Day in The Big West
They say blood is thicker than water, but in The Big West it also runs through the veins of competitors. On the field and on the courts, sibling duos double the drive, passion and heart. With at least 15 sibling pairs of student-athletes and one coach pair participating in The Big West during the 2024-25 season, we celebrate National Siblings Day. Read more >>>
2025 BIG WEST WOMEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
Do you want to follow our nine women’s golf teams competing at The Big West Women’s Golf Championship in Las Vegas this week? Cal State Fullerton is in the lead after the first and teams are teed off for Day 2 today starting at 8:30 a.m.! Follow along with Live Scoring >>>
CONGRATULATIONS!
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To our women’s water polo outright regular-season champions, Hawai’i!
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To UC Santa Barbara men’s and women’s tennis, who have clinched at least a share of the regular-season title!
- To our three beach volleyball teams ranked in the AVCA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Poll!
- No. 3 Cal Poly
- No. 9 Long Beach State
- No. 16 Hawai‘i
- To our baseball programs ranked in the various national rankings!
- UC Irvine ranked:
- Hawai‘i receiving votes by USA Today Coaches, NCBWA
- UC Santa Barbara receiving votes by NCBWA,
- Cal Poly receiving votes by USA Today, NCBWA, Perfect Game
- To our two men’s tennis teams ranked in the ITA Men's Team Rankings!
- No. 43 UC Santa Barbara
- No. 46 UC Irvine
- To our four men’s tennis singles players ranked in the ITA Men's Singles Rankings!
- No. 59 Noah Zamora (UCI)
- No. 73 Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB)
- No. 98 Azuma Visaya (UH)
- No. 110 Diogo Morais (UCSB)
- To our men’s tennis doubles pairs ranked in the ITA Men's Doubles Rankings!
- No. 48 Gianluca Brunkow & Dominique Rolland (UCSB)
- No. 74 Andy Nguyen & Noah Zamora (UCI)
- To our three women’s tennis teams ranked in the ITA Women's Team Rankings!
- No. 42 UC Santa Barbara
- No. 52 Cal Poly
- No. 73 Long Beach State
- To our two women’s tennis singles players ranked in the ITA Women's Singles Rankings!
- No. 11 Amelia Honer (UCSB)
- No. 86 Julia Haynes (UCSD)
- To our doubles pair ranked in the ITA Women's Doubles Rankings!
- No. 18 Amelia Honer & Marie Weissheim (UCSB)
- To all six men’s volleyball teams ranked in the AVCA National Collegiate Poll!
- No. 1 Long Beach State
- No. 4 Hawai'i
- No. 5 UC Irvine
- No. 9 CSUN
- No. 10 UC San Diego
- No. 18 UC Santa Barbara
- To our seven women's water polo teams ranked in the CWPA National Poll!
- No. 3 Hawai‘i
- No. 6 Long Beach State
- No. 7 UC Irvine
- No. 11 UC San Diego
- No. 17 UC Davis
- No. 19 UC Santa Barbara
- No. 22 CSUN
- And to our amazing student-athletes who were recognized as players of the week this week in their respective sports!
- Baseball - Bryan Green, UC Davis (pitcher); Carter Johnstone, Cal State Fullerton (field player)
- Softball - Trisha McCleskey, Cal State Fullerton (pitcher); Izabella Martinez, Hawai‘i (field player); Nataly Lozano, Cal State Fullerton (freshman)
- Men's Volleyball - Anthony Cherfan, UC San Diego (offensive); Kellen Larson, Long Beach State (defensive); Bryce Dvorak, UC San Diego (setter); Moni Nikolov, Long Beach State (freshman)
- Beach Volleyball - Malia Gementera & Taylor Hagenah, Long Beach State
- Track & Field - Chase Walter, Cal Poly (men’s track); Liam Miksic, UC Irvine (men’s field); Tatiana Cornejo, Cal Poly (women’s track); Tara Wyllie, Hawai‘i (women’s field)
- Men's Tennis - Ryan Torres, UC Davis
- Women's Tennis - Amelia Honer, UC Santa Barbara
- Women's Water Polo - Jordan Wedderburn, Hawai‘i
LEARFIELD DIRECTOR'S CUP STANDINGS
The Learfield Directors' Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution's finish in NCAA Championships. (LINK)
Current Big West institutions in the rankings through the basketball season:
- 113 UC San Diego
- 114 UC Davis
- 126 Cal Poly
- 133 UC Santa Barbara
- 201 CSUN
- 202 Cal State Bakersfield
- 209 Hawaii
- 209 Long Beach State
And congratulations for future Big West member institution California Baptist University who was ranked 77th. The Lancers will join The Big West on July 1, 2026.
WOMEN IN COLLEGIATE SPORTS OFFICIATING
During a meeting of the RefQuest Foundation Board of Directors on Wednesday, I was presented with unfortunate data that became of great interest to me. After reviewing data from this year’s RefQuest + Central Hub registrations across all sports, one of the most glaring data points was the number (and percentage) of women’s officials in college sports. Less than 15% of Central Hub registered officials (28,000+ collegiate sport officials) are women. In particular, there are some extremely low numbers of women’s officials in women’s sports:
- Only 7.92% of officials in NCAA soccer are women.
- Only 8.13% of officials in softball are women.
- Only 14.18% of officials in water polo are women.
- Surprisingly, in women’s basketball, only 29.16% of officials are women.
There is a real opportunity to make an immediate impact on the recruitment of women’s officials and the number of women officiating intercollegiate sports and this is a task the RefQuest Foundation is looking to make an impact. Are in you interested in helping? If so, there are a couple of ways to assist:
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Visit https://foundation.refquest.com/ to learn more and donate to the foundation.
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If you are a student-athlete that has an interest in staying involved with your sport once you have completed their competitive opportunities, consider officiating! Student-athletes understand their sport and what it takes to compete at the highest level. Officiating is a great way to stay involved in your sport, stay active and remain fit. Visit the NCAA Player to Ref site to learn more (LINK).
MEDIA REPORTS OF INTEREST FOCUSED ON NCAA MATTERS AND LEGAL ISSUES
- A federal bill filed in the House of Representatives seeks to replace the NCAA while transforming the college athletics landscape, including NIL, the transfer portal and conference realignment. The "Restore College Sports Act," introduced by Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), would replace the current governance model with the American College Sports Association. The bill takes direct aim at coaches' salaries, which under the ASCA, would be capped at "10 times the full cost of attendance for students at such institution. The bill would require that conferences be comprised of schools located in a single time zone. (LINK)
- U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken began the hearing by explaining that she would not rule from the bench on Monday but complimented the attorneys as she listed figures from the settlement. Specifically: 390K class members, 73K claims, 343 opt-outs and 73 objectors. “That’s quite a surprising and large number of responses (of claims made).” (link, link)
- Ross Dellenger distills Wilken’s most interesting points so far: “She suggested a phase-in for roster limits; she suggested collective bargaining is a better way to establish a compensation cap but that's not part of the House case; her biggest issue in the settlement, it seems, is binding future athletes to the 10-year deal; she is not leaning toward blessing the NCAA's current rules as part of settlement approval; and she has talked positively about the high number athletes who have filed claims for the backpay.” (link)
- McCann: “Today's hearing is a reminder that it is hard to be an objector (whether an attorney or an athlete) in a class settlement fairness hearing, especially when the judge is inclined to approve it. You have a limited amount of time to make complicated points and none is likely to stick.” (link)
- The Department of Education and Department of Justice are creating a special Title IX investigations team that will include OCR investigators and attorneys as well as attorneys from the DOJ’s civil right division and the Education Department’s general counsel’s office. Officials say the team will allow OCR investigators to more rapidly resolve investigations and ensure that cases are “fully prepared for ultimate DOJ enforcement. Education Secretary Linda McMahon: “From day one, the Trump Administration has prioritized enforcing Title IX to protect female students and athletes. Traditionally, our Office for Civil Rights takes months, even years, to complete Title IX investigations. OCR under this Administration has moved faster than it ever has, and the Title IX SIT will ensure even more rapid and consistent investigations.” (link)
- U.S. Congresswoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) revealed during today’s House Committee on Education and Workforce subcommittee hearing that she has introduced a bill that would prohibit college athletes from becoming employees of their schools, conferences and associations based on participation in college sports. (link)
- Extra Points publisher Matt Brown takes a look at how the Trump administration’s tariffs could impact college sports and cites athletic apparel as the first example. “It’s not great for consumers looking to buy new Air Jordans in the near future, but you know who else buys a ton of athletic shoes? Athletic departments. (link)
- The NCAA is in transfer-portal chaos. There are 2,033 men’s NCAA Division I basketball players who have entered the transfer portal as of April 10, according to Verbal Commits. That’s about 35% of the 5,607 players at the beginning of the 2024–2025 season, including players who will graduate this year. Not all of those players are on scholarships, meaning the players in the transfer portal make up an even greater share of minutes and benefits. (link)
- Column: NIL stands for No Institution Loyalty (link)
QUOTES OF THE DAY
“It is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.” Credited to Queen Elizabeth II
“Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other.” Credited to “Brian Tracy
"Sometimes, good things fall apart so better things could fall together.” Credits to Marilyn Monroe
The NCAA Division I athletics world is changing what seems like hourly. As the flight attendants tell you during your pre-flight safety briefing, please put on your mask before assisting others. Please take care of yourself this weekend. By doing so, you are best able to take care of others in your purview.
Giving a big thank you to our Big West game managers as they manage the numerous sports being conducted through Memorial Day weekend. Also saying hello and thanks to our athletic trainers, as they take care of our student-athletes and coaches (and generally do not focus on themselves). Also, giving a pat on the back to our SIDs, as they are working more hours than you realize.
Have a great week. I look forward to seeing many of you at upcoming championships!
Dan