The Bold Type

The Bold Type, with Commissioner Dan Butterly - June 1, 2026

Good morning. 

  

As we concluded Big West Championships for the 2025-26 academic year, I find myself reflecting on just how much The Big West accomplished together over the past 12 months. 

From national championships and postseason success to upcoming conference expansion, governance leadership, media negotiations, and strategic planning for the future, The Big West has continued to demonstrate that progress is achieved not by reacting to change, but by helping shape it. 

Throughout a period of unprecedented transformation across Division I athletics, The Big West has remained focused, aligned, and forward-looking. 

While much of college athletics has spent the year responding to circumstances, The Big West has continued operating from a position of initiative. 

There is little time to slow down in college athletics. Summer will bring important governance discussions, strategic planning, media negotiations, and preparations for another academic year. While one chapter is ending, another is already beginning. Before we turn our full attention to the opportunities ahead, let's get to The Bold Type. 

The music selection today is from Hans Zimmer’s The Dark Knight – “Why So Serious/Like A Dog Chasing Cars”. Once the score gets going, it is great for running.  


 

   CONGRATULATIONS!!!   

  • To Big West baseball champion Cal Poly who downed Virginia Tech 6-2, beat Saint Mary’s 14-1 and again defeated the Gaels 5-2 in the Los Angeles Regional final to advance to the Super Regionals! Cal Poly is set to face off against the winner of today’s game between West Virginia and Kentucky. The Mustangs are the first Big West team to advance to baseball’s second weekend since 2018 and is a Cal Poly program first. Read more >>> 
  • To UC Santa Barbara baseball who worked their way through the elimination bracket of the Austin Regional to face off with Texas in the Regional Championship on Sunday before falling to the Longhorns last night, 6-4. The Gauchos beat Holy Cross 15-1 and Tarleton State 9-5 to get to the final on Sunday. This is the third straight season The Big West has had two representatives in the NCAA Tournament. Read more >>> 
  • To the Big West men’s golf individual medalist and NCAA Championships participant Steen Zeman of Long Beach State who finished in a tie for 72nd after three rounds of stroke play from Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif. Read more: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3  
  • To the pair of Alejandro de Castro Piera and Steen Zeman from Big West champion Long Beach State who earned selection to the NCAA Division I PING All-West Region Team, as announced by the GCAA. Read more >>> 
  • To all of our student-athletes who will be competing at the 2026 Division I Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.! We already had four heptathlon and decathlon student-athletes through to the Championships before the West Preliminaries in Arkansas over the weekend, and The Big West saw 15 more qualifiers earn their place to head to historic Hayward Field from June 10-13! Preliminaries Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 
  • To Big West student-athletes Lindsey Cowans of Long Beach State softball and Tate Meaux of UC San Diego track & field and our own Angie Allen who were selected to participate in the NCAA’s Career in Sports Forum last week! 
 
  • To the 18 Big West student-athletes representing seven member-institutions were honored as members of the College Sports Communicators (CSC) 2025-26 Academic All-District® Softball Team! Read more >>> 
  • To Cal Poly, who won the 2025-26 Dennis Farrell Big West Commissioner’s Cup! Read more >>> 




   SUMMARY & SOME INITIAL ANALYSIS OF THE PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT     

The Protect College Sports Act (PCSA) is a bipartisan bill introduced on May 27, 2026, by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who serve as chair and ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee.  Senators Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Chris Coons (D-DE) have signed onto the bill as original cosponsors.  

  

Key Provisions 

  • NIL Rights and National Standard — Codifies athletes’ rights to NIL compensation. Establishes a federal national NIL framework that preempts conflicting state laws. Includes disclosure requirements, a searchable NIL agreement database for transparency, and rules against sham/third-party deals used to circumvent compensation caps.  

  • Student-Athlete Transfers and Eligibility: Limits athletes to one free undergraduate transfer during their career. It establishes a five-year eligibility clock. 

  • Provides liability protection to the NCAA, conferences and schools enforcing the rules 

  • Coaching Movement ("Lane Kiffin Rule"): Bars coaches from leaving their teams for new jobs during the season.    

  • Amends the Sports Broadcasting Act- allows for the voluntary pooling of media rights.  If 75 percent of FBS schools choose to participate, an entity would be created to distribute revenue more broadly to women’s and Olympic sports.  Also would prohibit certain conference mergers or acquisitions that could create a “super league.”   

  • On Employment, Section 122 of the bill is titled ‘Neutrality on employee or non-employee status’ says, “The title is neutral on, and does nothing to alter, employee or non-employee status for student-athletes.’    

  • Additionally on employment: Section 116 establishes a ‘Commission on the Future of College Athletics’.  It’s a panel of 20 members appointed by the Senate Commerce Committee and House Energy & Commerce Committee tasked to study and make recommendations regarding: 

  • An alternate structure for providing compensation for student athletes, including consideration of the positive and negative implications associated with collective bargaining structure and employment status for student-athletes.’ 

  • Protecting and preserving athletic opportunities for student-athletes, particularly in non-revenue generating women’s and Olympic sports.’ 

  

The bill gives the commission subpoena power and a time limit of five years to report to Congress and make recommendations on the above. 

  • Student-Athlete representation on governing boards: requires student-athletes / former student-athletes to make up one-third of the representation (section 111) 

  • Agent Regulation — Creates an agent registry, limits agent fees (typically to 5%), and adds certification/compliance rules. 

  • Academic protections and scholarship guarantees. Schools may not revoke scholarships based on athletic performance or injury. 

  • Medical coverage requirements (including post-eligibility for sports-related injuries) and health/safety standards (e.g., for heat, brain injuries). 

  

To read the joint press release, section by section summary and bill text, please click here.  

I believe the legislation has significant challenges ahead in passing, but I do appreciate the senators picking up where Congress dropped the opportunity two weeks ago. 

  



 

   UPDATE FROM THE NCAA ON FUTURE AWARDS PROGRAM   

Here is the official notification from the NCAA on some upcoming changes to their awards program: 

Last month, we shared the news that NCAA Honors at Convention — including all associated awards programs such as Woman of the Year — will conclude as part of a broader evolution in how we celebrate student-athlete achievement.   
 
As many of you know, the national office undertook a 10% cost-savings initiative in fiscal year 2026. Within communications, we identified opportunities to achieve those goals while also reimagining how we recognize and elevate student-athletes in a more impactful and sustainable way. With Division I no longer conducting business at Convention, this presented an ideal opportunity to chart a new path forward.   
 
That new direction is centered on a modernized and enhanced Elite Scholar-Athlete program.   
 
The Elite Scholar-Athlete honor reflects the NCAA’s core mission of celebrating both the student and the athlete. Our vision is to grow this into a nationally visible, values-driven storytelling platform that recognizes excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and community impact.   
 
This evolution is about more than cost savings; it is an opportunity to create year-round visibility and engagement for student-athletes. The enhanced program will allow us to build a scalable storytelling and amplification model similar to the model for our successful Olympians and Paralympians Made Here campaign.   
 

As part of the program’s expansion, we will introduce national Male and Female Elite Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. In addition to academic and athletic achievements, the nomination process will now include community impact, leadership and other off-field/court accomplishments.   
 
This expanded approach will create more than 90 recognition opportunities annually, allowing us to spotlight and celebrate a broad group of exceptional student-athletes across the NCAA membership. We are also exploring opportunities to integrate student-athlete input into the nomination and selection process.   
 
The Board of Governors heard and approved this update at its April meeting, and we’ll be providing more information to each of the divisions at governance meetings this summer. We look forward to sharing additional details as the program continues to evolve. 

  

 

   
   MEDIA REPORTS ON THE BIG WEST, NCAA AND LEGAL MATTERS   

  • The Big West is reportedly scheduled to expand its basketball slate to 22 games, according to Learfield announcer Max Kelton, who cites Commissioner Dan Butterly. (link) 
  • The NCAA released the field of 64 teams competing for the 2026 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship today with UCLA, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Auburn, North Carolina, Texas, Alabama and Florida holding down the top eight seeds, respectively. The SEC led the way league-wise with 12 inclusions in the field, while the ACC (nine), Big 12 (six), Sun Belt (five), Big Ten (four), Conference USA (three) and The Big West (two) rounded out the list of conferences receiving multiple bids. Full bracket. (link, link) 
  • Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) have reached an agreement on the Protect College Sports Act, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. The bill, if passed, would codify the House settlement to grant legal protections to the College Sports Commission and NCAA to enforce the cap and give the CSC power to prevent “phony third-party payments,” leaving open the possibility to increase the cap; enable the enforcement of a one-time transfer rule, with exceptions for subsequent transfers; establish a five-year eligibility for student-athletes; prevent professional athletes from competing in college sports; create an agent registry and limit fees to 5%; permit leagues to pool their media rights, so long as at least 75% of FBS agree with the measure; prevent the creation of a super league by restricting conferences earning more than $1B from merging; restrict coaches from leaving for another job before the season ends; introduce a medical trust for lower-resource departments; and more. Cantwell on the language around the cap: “The cap can float. In case the parties go back to the table (to raise the cap) — there’s dialogue about this — we want athletes to know that there is a mechanism of getting a higher percentage of the revenue share. … I am ensuring athlete rights with a private right of action for NIL compensation and revenue sharing. That doesn’t exist right now. And do I think this discussion about collective bargaining is over? No.” Dellenger adds that hearings on the bill are expected to begin as soon as next week. (link) 
  • The Senate Commerce Committee has internally announced a hearing on the Cruz-Cantwell Protect College Sports Act for Wednesday morning, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, who notes the session is titled “Protecting College Sports: Supporting student athletes, restoring fair competition, and saving the game fans love.” (link) 
  • Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) joined On3’s Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman podcast to talk about the Protect College Sports Act and the myriad issues facing college sports. Here’s what you need to know… 
    • On the institutional risk of a football oligopoly: "If you suddenly have the Baylor and TCUs being relegated to non-competitive national level sports, that does enormous damage, not just to the athletic programs, but to the institutions themselves in terms of their alumni donations, in terms of their recruiting. I mean, you do real harm to universities across the country by letting that happen." 
    • On the bill expressly prohibiting an SEC and Big Ten merger: “Look, one of the real risks is the SEC and Big Ten joining together. Now, I don't believe they would succeed. I actually think that they would lose the antitrust litigation that would be brought against them if they tried to form a super league. But whether they would win or not, this bill makes clear they cannot merge because you would essentially turn them into the NFL." 
    • Funding long-term athlete healthcare mandates: "We also create a $60M medical trust to help smaller schools, to help historically black colleges and universities to have the resources to provide that health care." 
    • Finally, on enforcing new transfer portal restrictions: "We specify that every athlete gets one free transfer. You can have a second transfer in limited circumstances. So, if your coach leaves, you can have a second transfer. If your program is canceled or if you're the victim of sexual assault or for sexual harassment, but other than that, if you transfer a second time, you have to redshirt for a year." (link) 
  • The DI Cabinet will consider the change to an age-based eligibility model at its meeting next month and outlined more specific implementation options. The cabinet is not expected to allow sport-specific exceptions or grace periods. If adopted, current student-athletes whose eligibility will be exhausted this academic year will not be given more eligibility. Those current student-athletes with eligibility will be allowed to use the age-based model or continue with the previous eligibility rules, depending on which is most beneficial. Prospective student-athletes who will graduate this spring or later will operate under the age-based model, if adopted. Prospective student-athletes who have already graduated, but not yet enrolled, will be reviewed by the NCAA Eligibility Center on an individual basis. The deadline for current student-athletes to submit hardship or eligibility waivers is July 31. (link) 
  • The Big Ten led the financial arms race for FY25 by reporting $1.47B in revenue, according to USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer. The SEC ranked second by bringing in $1.11B, followed by the ACC at $826.5M, the Big 12 at $610.9M and the two-member Pac-12 at $111.5M. Overall, the Big Ten also guided the way in minimum league distribution at $76M, followed by the SEC ($70.3M), ACC ($42.8M), Big 12 ($37.9M) and Pac-12 ($29M). From a revenue increase standpoint looking back at FY24, the Big Ten ($540M) doubled up the SEC ($269M), while the Big 12 ($117.9M) and ACC ($115.1M) each reached the $100M plateau. More. (link) 
  • Seven schools in the new Pac-12, five of whom departed the Mountain West and subsequently ignited a pair of lawsuits over poaching penalties and exit fees, are on the hook for a payout that landed at “less than half” of the $155M total the MW sought, per JohnCanzano.com’s eponymous publisher. “According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the mediator pointed them toward a settlement proposal that landed right around $10M per school or $70M total for the MW,” which reportedly served as the framework for Monday’s deal. “The agreement does not prohibit the Pac-12 from adding MW members in the future. … Based on my conversations with sources, I expect the number to land closer to $70M total for the MW. … It appears UNLV and Air Force will get less than 50% of what they might have expected when they agreed to stay in the MW.” Meanwhile, the Mountain West has been withholding distributions to the five departing members over the last 20 months with an official at one of the departing schools remarking: “After all is said and done, the MW owes us a check.” More. (link) 
  • More from NCAA President Charlie Baker’s appearance on The Triple Option podcast with Rob Stone & Urban Meyer. On the recent trend of college programs being cut and trying to prevent it: “There's usually a lot of news about the programs that get dropped. There's not a lot of news about the programs that get added. I mean, if you go from, call it 2020 to 2026.  More. (link) 


 

   QUOTE OF THE DAY   

“College athletics is entering an era where schools are being asked to operate like sophisticated commercial enterprises.  They’re managing athlete compensation, sponsorship innovation, media rights optimization, data commercialization, and increasingly complex operations, but most athletic departments were never built for that world.”  From Jason Belzer, Publisher and Co-Founder of AthleticDirectorU 



 

   TO HAWAI’I AND UC DAVIS   

As Big West championship season has concluded as well as our league meetings, I want to extend my sincere appreciation to our colleagues at Hawai'i and UC Davis. 

Both institutions have contributed significantly to the success and growth of The Big West over many years. Their student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and supporters have helped shape the conference into what it is today. 

While their paths will soon lead elsewhere, they will always remain part of The Big West story. We thank them for their partnership, friendship and contributions to this conference, and we wish them continued success in the Mountain West Conference moving forward. 

  
 

   IN CLOSING   

I want to thank each of you for your leadership, partnership, and commitment to our student-athletes. 

This year brought significant challenges, meaningful opportunities, and important decisions that will help shape the future of our conference for years to come. 

Through it all, The Big West continued to demonstrate what can be accomplished when institutions remain aligned around a common purpose. 

The work ahead remains important, but so is taking a moment to appreciate what has been achieved. 

Congratulations again to all of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, officials, and campus partners for a successful 2025-26 academic year. 

And remember: 

The future belongs not to those who wait for change, but to those willing to help shape it. 

  

Have a great week, everyone. 

Dan