Every Big West basketball game is set for ESPN+ broadcast, but a few additional games are coming up on linear television, as well: 

• Saturday, Feb. 7 at 1 p.m. - UC Riverside at CSUN men’s basketball on Spectrum SportsNet 

• Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. - UC Irvine at UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball on ESPNU 

   FALL CHAMPIONSHIP ATTENDANCE & VIEWERSHIP   

We have done a year-over-year comparison of fall championship attendance and viewership. 

• Attendance at all fall championships was up between 6-60%, with the exception of the men’s soccer championship, in which the final match was played in a downpour to a larger-than-expected crowd. 

• Viewership of fall championships was up between 19-22%, with the exception of women’s volleyball which was down 10% and can be attributed to Hawai’i not making the championship and their large women’s volleyball viewership. 

Thanks to all of our hosts and those who assisted in broadcasting these events! 

These results are not accidental. They reflect sustained investment in storytelling, distribution, and championship presentation—areas where The Big West has chosen to lead rather than follow. 


 

   THE KNIGHT COMMISSION ON COLLEGE ATHLETICS   

The Knight Commission recently released the video and additional resources from its January 14 session at the NCAA Convention, “Congress and College Sports: Pending Legislation and Lingering Questions.” The session information page is accessible here. 

   LOBBYING UPDATES   

The Coalition of 10 conferences met on Monday prior to the CCA-22 meeting to receive many updates as to what is happening with federal legislation to assist the NCAA, its conferences and member institutions.  Here is a story that ran Thursday related to a Congressional bill: 

It’s “absolutely critical” that any federal law related to college sports includes a provision preventing student-athletes from being deemed employees of their school, per U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who adds that “without it, we will see enormous and irreparable damage to college sports.” In an interview with ESPN’s Dan Murphy, Cruz observed: “Congress might run out of time to act if it can't find a bipartisan solution in the coming months,” with the current divide between Republicans and Democrats over whether college student-athletes should have a future avenue for collective bargaining thus requiring them to be employees. Murphy: “Cruz and NCAA leaders say many smaller schools would not be able to afford their sports teams if athletes had to be paid and receive benefits as employees. However, as lawsuits over player contracts and eligibility rules continue to mount, a growing number of frustrated coaches and athletic directors from major programs say they are open to collective bargaining as a solution.” Asked if creating a distinction between groups of college athletes is a viable compromise for Congress, Cruz told ESPN he does not think “employment status is the answer to this problem.” More. (link) 

Decisions being shaped right now in Washington and Indianapolis will define the operating environment for the next decade in NCAA Division I. Although we are not a CFP-4 conference with high financial resources, The Big West is actively working to influence these outcomes.   

   MEDIA REPORTS ON NCAA AND LEGAL MATTERS   

• Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, who sued the NCAA to secure unlimited transfers for collegiate student-athletes now references the unrestricted transfer portal as a “train wreck” and says it is “sucking the life out of college sports,” according to USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer. Skrmetti: “I think the portal is probably the single biggest problem that needs to be solved.” More. (link) 
• Hawai’i is seeking legislative support during the 2026 session to “strengthen its athletics program and ensure long-term stability for student-athletes in a rapidly changing national college sports landscape that includes name, image and likeness (NIL).” UH is requesting a combined $22.3M in operating and capital improvement funding, including $15M in operating support and $7.3M for athletics-related capital improvements. The operating request includes $10.08M to support core areas such as nutrition, recruiting, travel, equipment, medical care, academic support and routine facility maintenance. The proposal also includes $5M to establish an institutional NIL program. (link) 
• NIL attorney Daniel S. Greene reports that a “bill has been introduced in Hawaii to create a ‘Name, Image, and Likeness Endowment Fund’ to be managed by the U of Hawaii to compensate its athletes. Per the draft, the creation of this fund ‘is a matter of statewide concern.’ There shall be an initial corpus at least $10M.” (link) 
• UC San Diego agreed to terms with new AD Andy Fee on a contract running through June 30, 2030, with a first-year base salary of $340K, according to CollegeAD. The deal includes a $100K signing bonus and 4% annual salary increases. Fee would owe a buyout of one year's salary plus $200K if he leaves before June 30, 2027, with the figure dropping in subsequent years. Termination without cause would trigger a payout of 50% of his remaining base salary. (link) 
• Hero Sports’ KC Smurthwaite unpacks UC Davis AD Rocko DeLuca’s "brick-by-brick" strategy as the department prepares to join the Mountain West for non-football sports in July 2026. DeLuca has launched IGNITE 2.0, an updated roadmap focused on modernizing facilities and expanding support staff—highlighted by a sports medicine model featuring 16 full-time trainers and three physicians. Financially, the department’s operating budget has grown from ~$32M to over $55M during his tenure, and DeLuca confirms the Aggies will opt into revenue sharing this year after initially declining, stating: "We want to be in a position to benefit from the next phase of collegiate athletics, not just survive it." Football will remain in the Big Sky; a pragmatic decision DeLuca frames as pursuing a "national championship caliber program" at the FCS level rather than chasing FBS status prematurely. He adds: “To have the success that we’re having right now is incredible; that gives me even more hope on the future. If we put more fuel into this machine, do things the right way, we’ll continue to have success.” (link) 
• The NCAA spent $1.75M this past year on federal lobbying in an as-of-yet unsuccessful bid to convince Congress to pass legislation protecting what remains of its amateurism model, nearly double the amount the association logged in 2024, per Front Office Sports’ Amanda Christovich. Federal lobbying disclosures don’t necessarily represent the full breadth of spending on lobbying activities with the NCAA and power leagues having also retained outside PR firms and incurred travel expenses for sending commissioners and NCAA employees to Washington to lobby on its behalf. Christovich: “The specific effort to protect amateurism began in earnest in 2019. The group’s lobbying spending has grown steadily since then, from about $700K in 2019 to $890K in 2024. In all, the six (and now five, without the Pac-12) organizations—all of which are 501(c)(3) educational nonprofits with legal lobbying limits—-have spent more than $10M combined. … Last year, however, the NCAA launched an unprecedented blitz, upping that spending from $890K to $1.75M,” marking the first year of more than $1M in lobbying spending. More. (link) 

   QUOTE OF THE DAY   

 Peter Drucker: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” 

Last week reinforced a simple truth: conferences that will thrive are those investing simultaneously in governance leadership, competitive excellence, media innovation, and values-driven decision-making. The Big West is doing all four—intentionally, collaboratively, and with our institutions at the center of every decision. 

Enjoy the week ahead. Be Bold! 

Dan