Good morning after a great week from Riverside! 

  

It was a pleasure to spend time with our Directors of Athletics, Senior Woman Administrators and Faculty Athletics Representatives during last week’s Council meetings at UC Riverside and then watch our amazing cross country student-athletes take home the first Big West titles of the 2026-27 season.  

Thursday provided an opportunity for each individual Council group to discuss the issues facing our institutions. Friday, we came together to share those perspectives and consider the path forward for The Big West, while voting on a number of items from sport specific legislation to future championship sites. Saturday, we saw what so many invest their time, energy, effort and passion into as trophies were raised on the course and brackets were unveiled as the next round of postseason events begins in just a few short days with men's and women's soccer. More on that in a moment.  

With so much changing across college athletics, time together matters. These conversations help us understand the demands on our campuses, strengthen our partnerships and The Big West and keep our attention on the student-athletes we serve. Thank you to everyone participating and to UC Riverside for hosting us.  You keep The Big West moving forward! 

Before we all begin another week, I invite you to take a few minutes for yourself and set your goals for the week. One of my favorite pieces of music when I need a moment of peace and reflection is Hans Zimmer’s “Chevaliers de Sangreal.” Put on your headphones, press play and simply breathe. 

  

Let’s get to The Bold Type! 

  

 

   CONGRATULATIONS!  
 

• To Parker Strauss, men’s basketball player at UC Riverside, who has been appointed as a member of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Rules Subcommittee! His term of service on the committee began October 27, 2026, and continue through August 31, 2027.   
• To Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep of Cal Poly who captured the gold for the U.S. at the eighth stop in the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic! More >>> 
• To former UC Irvine women’s soccer star Scarlett Camberos who was named to the Ballon d'Or list, making history as the first Mexican to ever be named on the women's side! More >>> 
• To Utah Valley men’s soccer who is receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll!  
• To the Utah Valley Wolverines – regular-season champions in both women’s soccer and men's soccer!  
• To Cal State Bakersfield who was featured as lead image on @ncaasoccer Top Shots of the week!  More >>> 
• To UC Irvine who was featured in an @soccergirl and @ncaasoccer Breast Cancer Awareness post (pink jersey)!  More >>> 
• To our five Big West men’s water polo nationally-ranked teams and one receiving votes in the latest CWPA men's varsity poll! 
  • No. 7 UC San Diego
  • No. 8 UC Irvine
  • No. 11 UC Santa Barbara
  • No. 12 Long Beach State
  • No. 15 Long Beach State
  • RV Cal State Fullerton 
• AND to our Athletes/Players of the Week & Month! 
  • Women's Soccer - Sadie Beardall, Utah Valley (offense); Madeleine Boucher, Utah Valley (defense); Sam Curtis, Utah Valley (rookie)
  • Men's Soccer- Zac Giles, Sacramento State (offense); Scott Williams, UC Irvine (defense); Gianluca D’Amato, Cal State Fullerton (rookie)
  • Women's Volleyball - Molly McCluskey, UC San Diego (offense); Brielle Rueckert, Utah Valley (defense); Maddie Brown, California Baptist (setter); Anaiya Campbell, California Baptist (rookie)
  • Women's Cross Country -  Jadyn Palaschuk, Cal State Fullerton
  • Men's Water Polo- Jackson Boettner, UC San Diego
  • Women's Golf – Siham Ibrahim, Cal State Fullerton 

 

   BIG WEST WOMEN'S SOCCER BRACKET DETERMINED ON FINAL DAY OF PLAY   

Championship Central >>> 

With three teams and all six seeds up for grabs on the final day of the regular season, the stage has been set for the 2026 Big West Women's Soccer Championship, with Utah Valley securing the outright regular-season title on Halloween. The No. 1 seed Wolverines are joined by No. 2 seed UC San Diego as first-time participants and Saturday semifinal hosts. No. 3 Cal State Fullerton is hosting sixth-seeded CSUN and No. 4 seed California Baptist welcomes defending champion and fifth-seeded Cal Poly in Wednesday's matchups. Read more >>> 

 

   MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD SET   

Championship Central >>> 

The four-team bracket of the 2026 Big West Men's Soccer Championship is in place with No. 1 seed and regular-season champion Utah Valley playing host to fourth-seeded Cal State Bakersfield in a rematch of the regular season finale on Saturday night. The other side of the bracket sees No. 2 seed UC Irvine at home against third-seeded UC Santa Barbara in a rematch of the 2025 Championship match. Read more >>> 

   CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONS CROWNED!   

Congratulations to the California Baptist men and Utah Valley women for racing to The Big West cross country titles on Saturday! Both individual champions, Pedro Marin of CBU and Tatiana Cornejo of Cal Poly, crossed the line in record time. Read more >>>



 

   THE BOLD BREAK: MILE BY MILE - TATIANA CORNEJO STRIDES TOWARD THE FINISH LINE WITH CAL POLY    

2026 Big West individual champion Tatiana Cornejo has been running since age six, but her love for the sport has only grown stronger with time. Now in a fifth year at Cal Poly, the veteran distance runner has become a cornerstone of the Mustangs’ cross country program — not just for the talent displayed on the course, but for the mental strength and perspective built along the way, mile by mile. Read more >>> | Watch >>>

 

   THE BIG WEST GIVING BACK   

The Big West continues its commitment to supporting women affected by cancer, highlighting the impact of a $50,000 Kay Yow Cancer Fund grant to the MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute at Long Beach Medical Center. Read more >>>

 

   WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS ON SALE NOW!  

Single-session tickets for the 2026 Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship are on sale now, giving fans the opportunity to experience championship volleyball Thanksgiving week at Mott Athletics Center on the campus of Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Read more >>> 

  
 

   MID-MAJOR BASKETBALL RANKINGS   

The official start of basketball season is today, and the first CollegeInsider Mid-Major Madness women's basketball poll has UC San Diego at 5th, UC Irvine 22nd, and UC Santa Barbara and California Baptist receiving votes! (LINK) 

The first CollegeInsider Mid-Major Madness men's basketball poll has UC Irvine at 13th, Cal Poly 23rd, and UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and Utah Valley receiving votes! (LINK) 

Also, UC Santa Barbara women's basketball beat Stanford on the road Wednesday night in exhibition play. (LINK) 

   FROM THE NCAA DIVISION I BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING   

The NCAA Division I Board of Directors met last week and discussed a number of important initiative for the future of NCAA Division I.  A few items that may be of-interest:  

  

NCAA Division I Membership Committee Reclassification Requirements Final Report. 

The Board of Directors received a final report from the Membership Committee which, based on a referral from the Decision-Making Working Group, was charged with evaluating the current membership reclassification standards. The report recommended an increase in the reclassification fee to reflect the current value of Division I membership.   

The Board of Directors preliminarily supported the recommendation to modify the application fee for Division II and Division III schools applying to enter the reclassification process beginning in 2027-28 to approximately $12 million, equivalent to the value of six times the estimated annual average value of benefits DI member schools receive from the NCAA national office. The board intends to take final action on the recommendation during its January meeting. 

In its recommendation, the Membership Committee noted that an increased application fee would ensure that applying schools are committed to the financial requirements associated with sponsoring Division I sports, while mitigating the potential increase in championships-related costs associated with a larger division and mitigating reductions in distributions to existing Division I schools. 

  

Updates on Additional Division I Decision-Making Working Group Recommendations. 

The Board of Directors received the following updates on in-progress referrals of the Decision-Making Working Group: 

1. Preliminary results of the September 2026 survey to monitor the effectiveness of the revised structure. The Board of Directors will discuss the results further and determine if adjustments to the structure should be made at its January 2027 meeting.  

2. Interim report from the NCAA Division I Infractions Process Task Force, including anticipated recommendations to modernize the infractions process approach to prescribing penalties. The task force expects to share its final report during the Board of Directors’ January 2027 meeting. 

  

NCAA Division I Cabinet Report. 

The Board of Directors received a report on action from the October 2026 cabinet meeting, including the adoption and current rescission period of NCAA Division I Proposal No. 2026-27 (Playing and Practice Seasons – Men’s Soccer – Redistribution of Men’s Soccer Playing Season Model). A motion to overturn the Division I Cabinet’s decision to affirm the adoption of the proposal was unsuccessful. The rescission period is open until 5 p.m., Eastern time, Friday, November 6. Additionally, the board received an update on the introduction of legislation to decentralize and modernize Bylaws 11, 13 and 17. 

  

NCAA Graduation Passport. 

The Board of Directors received a report on the preliminary findings of the NCAA Graduation Passport. The graduation passport creates a student-centered, longitudinal record of term-by-term full-time undergraduate enrollment. Current data includes DI and DII student-athletes enrolled during the 2018-19 academic year and demonstrates how these student-athletes progressed academically. 

 

   FROM THE NCAA BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING   

In its October 28 meeting, the NCAA Board of Governors acted on multiple recommendations, including approving NCAA President Charlie Baker’s goals for the 2026-27 fiscal year. 
 
Baker’s goals for 2026-27 include the following: 

• Meet or exceed the NCAA’s revenue and spending targets through new endemic and local sponsorship opportunities, and increased ticket sales, while also managing increased costs for championships, membership distributions, programming and legal expenses. 

• Advocate for enactment of the Protect College Sports Act by working with NCAA members, congressional and White House leaders, and other stakeholders, while preparing for alternative solutions if the legislation does not pass. 

• Continue supporting Division I transformation through greater transparency, the launch of a public Transfer Portal dashboard, expansion of the Graduation Passport and other initiatives. 

• Improve the performance of the national office by incorporating its recent strategic review into decision-making, strengthening storytelling capabilities, remaining engaged on the risks associated with sports betting and introducing artificial intelligence capabilities into national office operations. 

Board policies and procedures 
The board approved updates to its policies and procedures, including changes related to the governance meeting schedule, the Board of Governors Compensation Subcommittee charter and NCAA Convention policies, as well as various editorial updates. 
 
NCAA future strategy 
The board received a presentation on the NCAA’s future strategy, building on a discussion held during a joint lunch and meeting of the divisional presidential bodies at the national office on Tuesday, Oct. 27. 

  

 

   PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT: HOUSE OUTLOOK AND INSTITUTIONAL OUTREACH   

On Monday, I participated in a meeting with our lobbying group and conference colleagues to discuss the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA), its path forward in the U.S. House of Representatives and coordinated institutional outreach. The lobbying team reported that congressional attention remains focused on the midterm elections, with the timing and process for House consideration still unresolved.   

Path to a House Vote. House leadership has not determined whether to move the legislation through the Rules Committee or consider it under suspension of the rules, which would require a two-thirds vote for passage. Any House amendments would require further Senate action. The lobbying team identified the third week of November as the earliest likely opportunity for consideration, while emphasizing that the schedule remains uncertain. 

Remaining Issues. A key question is the level of bipartisan support in the House, including whether Democratic leadership will actively oppose passage or allow members to make individual decisions. Supportive senators are encouraging their respective House delegations to back the legislation. Separately, requests from members of the Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina delegations to raise or eliminate the bill’s membership caps for the four autonomy conferences remain unresolved and could affect its path forward. 

Institutional Outreach. The lobbying team emphasized the importance of presidents, chancellors and government relations staff communicating institutional support to House members. Outreach may include letters, emails or direct calls, depending on existing relationships, and should explain both the benefits of passage and the consequences of continued uncertainty for college athletics. 

I raised how The Big West can best coordinate this effort through our institutions’ established government relations channels, including the California State University and University of California systems. Our approach will require institutional leadership working with those offices to convey support to the appropriate congressional representatives. Draft correspondence, talking points and congressional contact information are being coordinated to assist these efforts. 

The lobbying team remains optimistic about passage but cautioned that the post-election environment, competing congressional priorities and unresolved policy issues will influence the outcome. We will continue coordinating with our conference colleagues and institutional leadership as the House’s plans become clearer. 

 

 

   THIS WEEK IS COLLEGE SPORTS COMMUNICATORS APPRECIATION WEEK   

College Sports Communicators will celebrate its annual CSC Membership Appreciation Week (November 2-8, 2026). This special week recognizes the impact of athletics communicators and creatives who play such a vital role in promoting student-athletes, coaches, and programs across all levels of college sports in the United States and Canada. 

Thank you for helping us shine a light on the talented professionals who tell the stories of college sports every day! On behalf of The Big West, a BIG THANK YOU to all of our College Sports Communicators!

  
   MEDIA REPORTS ON THE BIG WEST, NCAA,  LEGAL AND LEGISLATIVE UPDATES   

• Utah Valley has won its appeal in the Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth over its dispute with the WAC, per 103.9/98.3 ESPN The Fan’s Brice Larson, who notes Justice Dabney Bassel rendered judgment that Texas courts have no jurisdiction over UVU, while ordering the WAC to pay all costs related to the appeal. (link) 
• Here’s a photo of Utah Valley’s newly acquired athletics administration building, which Hero Sports’ KC Smurthwaite declares will be one of the 25 best in the country when converted. “Acquired from a business across the street. Basketball court, weight room, and 58,000 sq. feet of opportunities.” (link) 
• Utah Valley taps CenCore Group Founder/CEO Adam Fife as its Men's Basketball GM. (link) 
• A last-ditch campaign to overturn Division I Cabinet approval of a men’s soccer split-season calendar has gained momentum, per The Athletic’s Henry Bushnell, who notes that if 241 (two-thirds) of the 361 DI schools vote to rescind it by a November 6 deadline, they can still defeat it. And as of Monday evening, 149 already have. More details… 
  • The change has sparked so much resistance that the DI Board of Directors is also considering intervening, either to prolong the process or to defeat the proposal altogether, with plans to discuss the situation at today’s meeting. To intervene, at least 80% of the board’s members would ultimately need to vote to take “emergency” action. 
  • Maryland Men’s Soccer HC Sasho Cirovski, who has pushed the idea for over a decade: “As excited as I was two-and-a-half weeks ago. I am just as concerned that (the proposal’s opponents) might be successful in their lobbying effort to get this rescission.” 
  • Administrators from mid-major leagues have pushed back over concerns regarding facility availability, overworked campus staff and looming budget pressures. CAA Commissioner Joe D’Antonio: “If this happens in the sport of men’s soccer, there is nothing that would lead you to believe that it’s then not going to happen in women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, baseball and softball. And from a facilities standpoint, from a staffing standpoint, for the welfare of all student athletes — not just men’s soccer student-athletes, but all student-athletes — our industry is not built for this.” (link) 
• New York Yankees President Randy Levine sat down with Tulane Sports Law Director Gabe Feldman on the SportsWise podcast to discuss his role in shaping the Protect College Sports Act. Levine warned that a failure to pass the bill before the end of the year could have far-reaching consequences: “If this bill doesn't go through the House, I don't believe there will ever be a bill that goes through the House. I think this will be the end of it. I think you're going to have universities going bankrupt. I really do believe it. You're going to see Olympic programs and women's programs being shredded and cut." More key takeaways… 
  • The challenge of unionizing college athletes across a fragmented landscape: "Let's first take it from a labor relations aspect. What is the bargaining unit? When you're in professional sports, you have 30-32 teams, they're all doing the same thing. Here. You have 500 different universities with different aspects, different, and I'm talking only Division I, different budgets, different engagements with the athletes. So what is the appropriate commonality of interest? I think it's virtually impossible to try and figure that out." 
  • On his ongoing behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts in the House: "Yeah, it's been quiet, but it hasn't been quiet for me and my team. And we've been working this every day, every weekend, every night, trying to make the case. A lot of congressional people are campaigning and a lot of them are uneducated. The more they get educated; more they write like it. ... I'm actually working on a letter to go out to the house as we speak." (link) 
• Northern Arizona AD Richard Duran is prioritizing new revenue generation to fund the department's participation in the House settlement, telling The Arizona Daily Sun’s Brenden Martin that the Lumberjacks are evaluating plans to ticket previously free sports like soccer—which drew 1,000 fans to a recent home match—and track and field ahead of hosting the 2028 Big Sky Outdoor Championships at Lumberjack Stadium. The department also aims to book concerts and regional high school basketball tournaments inside the 10K-seat Walkup Skydome and is actively negotiating the program's first jersey patch sponsorship with local businesses. Duran: “The Dome is a unique setup because it was built for football, but we found a way to play basketball games there in the past. Is there a way to get more concerts in there? You’re seeing this concert craze going across all these different stadiums across the country. We have a beautiful 10,000-seat venue. How do we try to get some acts in there?" (link) 
• More from NCAA President Charlie Baker’s appearance at Puck’s In The Arena conference with Puck’s John Ourand. Here’s what you need to know… 
  • On the prospect of self-governance on a conference level: “I don't have a problem with decentralization if you want or whatever you want to call it. I think the question becomes which kinds of things do you want to have done at the conference level and which kinds of things do you think you need to have done at the national level so that you can have competitive national championships? Because one of the main reasons you have national rules is so everybody plays by the same rules so that everybody can compete in the same championship. But I have no problem with the idea of having conferences do their own rules around a lot of stuff.” 
  • Overhauling Division I committee governance and instituting weighted voting: “The whole point here, make the committees smaller, have a smaller number of committees, much clearer lines of how you get from we're going to start the process to making a final decision, shrink the timeframe around that. We also created weighted voting. We gave the four power conferences more authority with respect to the value of their votes than other people had. And we increased the number of student-athletes that served on committees. … More leverage for the four power conferences in Division I because frankly, they represent the biggest piece of the puzzle. If those four can agree, it happens. If they can't agree, then everybody else on those committees has a lot to say about what the ultimate decision is.” 
• SBJ’s Ben Fischer takes a look at the growing popularity of women’s flag football, noting the NCAA “will likely vote in January to make it an official championship sport … with the first championship awarded in spring 2028, weeks before the Olympics.” Here’s what you need to know… 
  • NCAA SVP Inclusion, Education and Engagement Felicia Martin confirms that “the demand is real, and you can measure it. It’s being pulled from the high school level, where the participation has grown so much. It’s almost explosive what we’re seeing on the high school level.” 
  • Former Michigan State AD Alan Haller, who now works as the NFL’s Senior Director of Collegiate Flag Football Development, believes that even larger institutions who are inclined to spend more on tackle football should start flag programs now because “it grows your football ecosystem. It grows your football engagement on campus. This investment can help your tackle football piece and it goes hand in hand.” 
  • Nebraska AD Troy Dannen believes the Huskers’ flag team will soon be joined by other Power 4 institutions: “Maybe we broke from the gate, but I can tell you just from my conversations with my peers at other Power Four schools, we are not going to be the only one. It’s just a matter of whether it’s a year or two … but this is on a lot of radars right now.” (link) 
• The rapid professionalization of college sports is threatening the developmental mission of non-revenue programs like college tennis, per ITA President/CEO David Mullins, who notes while the sport has never been more connected to its pro counterpart, the pressure to win is increasingly incentivizing coaches to recruit more experienced and sometimes older players capable of producing immediate results not just in tennis, but across all sports. While current DI roster data shows the age gap between international and domestic student-athletes remains narrow, concerns over older athletes with extensive pro experience displacing younger American juniors have prompted federal lawmakers to debate international participation caps via the TEAM USA Act. Mullins adds: “Not every rule should be designed solely to produce the highest possible level of competition. Not every decision should be driven exclusively by winning. And not every feature of professional sports should automatically migrate into college athletics simply because the legal environment allows it. The professionalization of college sports is not going away. The challenge now is ensuring that, somewhere along the way, we don’t professionalize the college out of college athletics.” (link) 
• James Moore & Co. Partner Katie Davis notes that a “new federal court ruling has implications for coach buyouts.” Here’s what you need to know… 
  • “The issue: Paying someone’s debt can create income even if they never receive the cash. For schools covering an incoming coach’s buyout, the tax treatment could change the cost of the hire. This month, in Levandowski (Kravitz v. U.S.) No. 4:25-cv-02713 (N.D. Cal. 2026) involved Uber paying a former Google employee’s debt.” 
  • “The court rejected the argument that he had no income because he never controlled the money. It also rejected the argument that the indemnification arrangement operated like nontaxable insurance. Those findings give additional support to challenging similar arguments used to exclude coach buyout payments from income.” 
  • “That’s an analogy, not a ruling specifically deciding coach buyout taxation. The ruling also does not mean every coach buyout is discharge-of-indebtedness income; compensation characterization still requires its own analysis.” 
  • “It is an interesting twist that would be a big change for most schools that treat the buyout of the coach’s old contract as an ‘ordinary business expense’ and don’t include it in the coach’s income as a benefit. I am not suggesting making a change yet, but consider reviewing the documentation supporting your current tax position on coach buyouts in light of the similar circumstances addressed in this case.” (link) 
• The NCAA is officially participating in the Bad Actor Program initiative to target online harassment and betting-related abuse directed at student-athletes, coaches and officials. Developed by Integrity Compliance 360 and Signify Group alongside Fanatics Sportsbook, the program tracks online offenders to support enforcement measures such as bans from participating sportsbooks. The partnership follows an initial study that flagged over 5K verified abusive posts during championship events, with sports betting directly linked to 12% of all verified abuse, increasing to 19% in men’s basketball. The NCAA’s 2025 GOALS study separately found that 51% of DI men’s basketball student-athletes received social media abuse tied to performance, while 46% received negative or threatening messages from bettors. (link)