• With UC Irvine, Hawaii and Long Beach State all making the men’s volleyball semifinals, Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly commented on the league’s commitment to the sport: “Big West men’s volleyball has firmly established itself as the national standard in collegiate men’s volleyball. Advancing three programs to the NCAA Final Four is not accidental — it is the result of sustained institutional investment, elite coaching, outstanding student-athletes and a conference culture built around championship expectations. The Big West is now guaranteed a place in the national championship match for the eighth consecutive contested championship and is pursuing its sixth national title since 2018. Few conferences in any sport can point to that level of sustained national dominance. What our programs continue to accomplish on the national stage reflects the strength, depth and competitive excellence that defines The Big West.” 
• Congratulations to Hawaii on outlasting UC Irvine to claim the men’s volleyball national championship. (link); The Honolulu Star Advertiser’s Billy Hull notes the recent expansion of the championship to a 12-team format directly enabled UC Irvine to reach the national title game, as the Anteaters secured one of the five expanded at-large berths. HC David Kniffin tells Hull: "We are very aware that if there wasn’t tournament expansion, then we wouldn’t have been in a conversation for that NCAA first round. We wouldn’t have a chance to be here. You put good enough teams out there and if we played this tournament over 10 times, it’s probably not three Big West teams going at it now in the Final Four, but because we’ve got a bigger field and volleyball is a funny game where every time the whistle blows, it ends in a point. Overall it is just a really cool moment." (link) 
• UC Irvine inks a multi-year extension with Adidas to continue as the official provider of footwear, apparel and equipment for all 18 Anteater programs, while in an effort to streamline operations, UCI is also expanding the partnership to have BSN Sports serve as the department’s exclusive supplier. (link) 
• Colorado State FAR/political science professor Kyle Saunders shares a visualization of the structural divide between universities across the country, noting that “37% of U.S. colleges are shrinking and structurally vulnerable.” Have a look and/or see where your school sits. (link)  
• Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger reports “The college sports presidential committees have produced a draft of preliminary ‘ideas’ including establishing a new governing entity; strict cap circumvention; G6 playoff; regionalizing Olympic sports; capping coach/AD salaries; eligibility/transfer standards; pooling TV rights. The committees - which include commissioners, ADs, presidents, White House reps & pro sports/business executives - have held three rounds of meetings and will continue working toward a finite set of recommendations intended for Congressional use during bill negotiations. (link) 
• The SCORE Act is on next week’s docket for the U.S. House of Representatives, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, who notes the Rules Committee plans to meet Monday and that any bill vote – assuming passage by Rules – would likely occur on Wednesday or Thursday. This marks the third time the legislation has been on the body’s docket. A summary of changes to the SCORE Act includes: requires coach pay to be funded by athletic revenue; limits coach buyouts to donations; mandates disclosure of public funds used for athletics; and prevents recruitment of coaches while coach/team are in-season (Lane Kiffin Rule). The bill also tasks the NCAA with ensuring athletes spend at least one academic year at a school before transferring; prohibiting pro athletes from returning to DI athletics (Charles Bediako Rule); and re-establishing a five-year, age-based eligibility. Dellenger adds that “the SCORE Act, as written, will not pass the U.S. Senate, even if it does pass the House.” (link, link, link); Full bill text. (link)  
• U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA) sent a letter to House members urging them to oppose the SCORE Act, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. From the letter: “The NCAA, Big Ten, and SEC have infringed on college athletes’ rights for decades. They’ve unlawfully suppressed athletes’ compensation. They’ve consistently refused to enforce health and safety standards. They’ve routinely resisted compliance with Title IX. In lieu of receiving favorable treatment from the courts or collectively bargaining with their athletes like professional sports leagues have done for decades, they have appealed to Congress for relief. … Congress should do better by athletes, non-Power-2-conference schools, and indeed the millions of Americans for whom college sports plays a uniting and invigorating role in their life. Full letter. (link) 
• The Division I Men's Soccer Oversight Committee has adopted legislation altering the sport’s playing and practice season to two semesters, effective Aug. 1, 2027, with the action still subject to review by the DI Cabinet during its June 23-24 meeting. Under the legislation, the DI Men's Soccer Championship segment will be redistributed across two semesters, maintaining the current maximum contest limit of 25, with DI men's soccer teams able to play a maximum of 18 contests during the fall segment, starting in late August and going until the Saturday before Thanksgiving. The spring segment would begin in mid-February, with teams playing a maximum of 10 contests before the championship, which will be transitioned to the spring with specific dates for the postseason to be determined later. In addition, the committee adopted an adjustment to the DI men's soccer notification-of-transfer process. Beginning with the 2027-28 academic year, the sport would have one 15-consecutive-day window in the spring, which would open the day after the national championship match. Currently, the Division I men's soccer transfer window runs for 45 days, split into two segments. (link) 
• The NCAA has approved a comprehensive slate of men’s and women’s soccer rule changes for the 2026-27 academic year, highlighted by the implementation of a new coach's challenge system and expanded commercial inventory on the field of play. Under the newly adopted framework, coaches can utilize a maximum of two video review challenges per game, while on-field officials are restricted from initiating their own reviews for anything other than clock or goal-line issues during the first 80 minutes of a match. To align the collegiate game with international standards, the governing body increased the allotted time for goalkeepers to release the ball from six seconds to eight seconds, replacing the previous indirect free-kick penalty with a corner kick for the opposition. The sweeping regulatory updates also mandate a fourth official for all DI matchups and permits athletic departments to monetize the playing surfaces by placing up to four 15-by-15-foot commercial logos outside the penalty areas. More from the oversight committees. (link) 
• An arbitrator upheld the College Sports Commission’s decision to reject millions of dollars in NIL contracts for 18 Nebraska student-athletes via Playfly. While the Nebraska attorney general could potentially intervene under state laws prohibiting athletic penalization, the administrative framework faces an imminent federal challenge when U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael M. Cousins addresses a motion from House plaintiff attorneys seeking to categorically exempt multimedia rights companies from commission oversight later this month. CSC CEO Bryan Seeley on the decision: "I hope and expect that people at schools, people working in college athletics, will look at this ruling as a positive development to bring enforcement to this space. I do think most people working in college athletics want robust enforcement. Not everyone, but most people. And so even if it’s not precedential, the fact is, it’s influential in people’s minds about how they think about enforcement. ... I think it hopefully instills some faith in this system, but we still have a lot of work to do to get to where the schools want enforcement to be." (link) 
• Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger reports the arbitration case cost the CSC roughly $750K in legal fees, adding: “Dozens of arbitrations may be on the way, which is why [CSC CEO Bryan] Seeley, in private conversations with high-level administrators, is requesting more dough.” As for the Nebraska players’ next step, Dellenger writes: “In all likelihood, the players — or Nebraska on behalf of the players — will resubmit the deals for lower amounts but in greater quantity with actual assigned deliverables/actions for earning the money. The players will get their money, if CSC approves these resubmissions. But if the players are to eventually get the money that had originally been rejected, why all of these unnecessary hoops to jump through?” Seeley says this “case was never about whether these student-athletes could get paid. It was about whether they could get paid in this way.” (link) 
• The Knight Commission formally endorsed the NCAA’s proposed age-based, five-year eligibility model and called for immediate federal intervention to stabilize a landscape currently characterized by "untenable" roster turnover. Also from the Commission’s spring meeting… 
  • NCAA VP of Governance and Member Services Jenn Fraser added clarity about the implementation of the proposed five-in-five rule: "The proposed concept also would eliminate all redshirts and medical waivers, providing only very limited exceptions. ... athletes who completed their athletic eligibility during the 2025-26 school year will not be afforded additional eligibility in the new model, if it is adopted, unless there was a previously applied waiver." 
  • Greenberg Traurig attorney Rob Mangas said there is “near consensus” among legislators from both parties on several issues: an age-based, five-year model for eligibility; allowing athletes, with some exceptions, to transfer only once as undergraduates with immediate eligibility and once again upon graduation; registration requirements and regulations for agents; legal enshrinement of athletes’ ability to make money from their name, image and likeness; protections for women’s and non-revenue sports; and coverage of athletes’ health and safety. 
  • Knight Commission CEO Amy Privette Perko on the existential threat facing Olympic and non-revenue sports: "Leaders today emphasized what we continue to hear – the current athletics expense trends are not sustainable. Unfortunately, teams are being dropped and opportunities are being lost. Providing opportunities to college athletes beyond football and basketball is a core value of college sports." (link) 

   QUOTE OF THE DAY   

“To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”  Credited to Anatole France 

As we continue through championship season and navigate one of the most transformational periods in the history of college athletics, I continue to believe The Big West is exceptionally well positioned for the future. 

This conference continues to demonstrate national competitiveness, institutional alignment and a willingness to engage directly in the most important conversations shaping Division I athletics. From national championships to governance discussions in Washington, D.C., The Big West continues to have a meaningful voice and presence on the national stage. 

Thank you again for reading The Bold Type this week and your interest in The Big West.  We do not take that for granted, as we continue to work not only in continuing to improve the experience for our student-athletes, but our fans, as well.  

Have a great week everyone. 

Dan