Unlock critical fan insights to develop targeted messaging with LEARFIELD’S Fanbase™ platform. By aggregating your athletic department’s data to create a holistic fan profile, Fanbase™ puts a world of information at your disposal to help you enhance fan experiences, improve engagement, boost sponsorships, and increase ticket sales.
|
|
D1.ticker Editor's Note... The domain for D1.ticker will be changing next week. All newsletters and digital information will arrive in your inbox from a new domain for D1.ticker, instead of from d1ticker.com. To ensure that you continue to receive our content, please whitelist emails from mail-d1ticker.com. If you’re unsure how to do so, please forward this message to your IT department.
D1.jobs... New opportunities at UChicago (DIII), FIU, Northeastern, San Diego State, SMU and Texas A&M Corpus Christi, below. 665 different schools, conferences and companies have posted their openings with D1.jobs. Click HERE to post your openings for tens of thousands of administrators to see.
D1.dossiers... SIU Edwardsville is now available along with Cornell, Louisiana Monroe, Maine and Texas A&M-Commerce, among others. Ball State is next on the docket. $199 for unlimited access to all dossiers for one year. (HERE)
|
|
West Virginia AD Lyons on how the Mountaineers are handling Alston awards to student-athletes: "We’ve tied it to academics; we’ve tied it to retention; and we’ve tied it also to character. If you do everything right, you can get $5,980. But if you transfer, you won’t get it. That’s why we wait until the start of the next year. That way the $5,980 goes to someone who is coming back, and we’ve also told our athletes it’s also about good behavior. If you want to go out and get in trouble on campus or in the community, you may not get the full $5,980. Our policy right now, if you’re here as a freshman, you don’t get the money until September of your sophomore year. That way we know they are coming back and are back in school almost a month before they get that $5,980. Some (colleges) are doing it other ways, but that’s how we’re building it." Lyons also believes student-athletes will become employees at some point, but, "I don’t think we’re there yet either. It’s a lot more complex than saying we’ll just make them employees." (link)
|
|
Clemson AD Neff talks continued facility investment at the Orangeburg Touchdown Club: "We currently have 2,400 club seats, all of which sold out. We have 95 suites that have all sold out; there’s a wait list. Those things have revenue associated with them, but there’s a demand. IPTAY’s annual fund this year will raise $41 million, that’s Top 5 in the country. We need to continue to be bold, and invest in our sports while keeping the things we love about Clemson. There’s always a balance there." (link)
|
|
The comp package for new Florida A&M AD Sykes comes with base annual pay of $215K, as well as a one-time $15K payment that she'll receive within 60 days of her official start date. There's also a $10K retention bonus every year she's still leading the Rattlers. Deal length is three years. Data per CollegeAD. (link)
|
|
Facility Features...
+ Yesterday the Texas A&M University System’s Board of Regents approved adding $94M to its capital plan for athletics facilities renovations and projects for baseball ($60M), soccer ($25M) and track & field ($9M). The group also approved $83.2M to fund the construction of the Student-Athlete Academic & Wellness Center and renovate the Bright-Slocum Center as part of the previously announced Bright Redevelopment Area project. (link)
+ Kent State gets approval to replace the indoor track surface inside Kent State Field House. Installation is expected to begin by early summer 2023. (link)
|
|
Admins & Coaches...
+ CollegeAD says Michigan State Executive Assoc. AD/Senior Director of Development Surian is leaving the Spartans department. Further, MSU has retained TurnkeyZRG to it help fill the role. She is no longer listed on the Spartans staff directory, nor is any MSU job listed on TurnkeyZRG's site. (link)
+ Also, Louisiana Monroe looks to have hired a new Assoc. AD for Compliance in Campbell Director of Compliance Jackson. His LinkedIn bio reflects the move. (link)
+ Arkansas AD Yurachek has extended VB HC Watson through the 2027 season. (link)
+ UC Davis AD DeLuca will hire a new Women's Gymnastics leader. (link)
|
|
Jackson State FB HC Sanders continues to lobby for his team to be able to play in an FBS bowl game this season: "Why can’t that be us? I’m just saying, why can’t that be us? You got teams that are virtually 6-5 going to a bowl game. Ain’t nobody going to see them play, and nobody is turning the channel to witness that foolishness. But you have us (Jackson State) that travels deep and travels heavy. ... This is after the Celebration Bowl. That's a goal. This is a pre–New Year’s Day bowl game that we would love to have an opportunity to play in. Along with FAMU and some of the other wonderful teams that are doing some wonderful things." (link)
|
|
If you want to be in business with South Carolina WBB HC Staley, she expects you to be in business with her players, as well, telling the Washington Post she wants to be No. 1 on the court and No. 1 in the NIL rankings. Staley: "Honestly, I make a lot of money. I want our players to make a lot of money. I want them to feel like I’m able to make the money that I make off of their backs and [I should] be able to help to create some wealth [for them] — no matter how big or small. I am an active participant in wanting them to benefit in this space." To that end, the Gamecocks program, through Staley, recently reached an agreement with upstart company Rewind, which provides each player with equity in the company through stock options, in addition to some NIL money. The deal also incentivizes financial literacy. (link)
|
|
The New York Times’ Thames and Abrams talk with 20 current and former Power 5 female student-athletes about the pressure of maintaining a certain physique. Former Penn State track & field student-athlete Koopman says while she was never told to achieve a certain body fat percentage, she was told by upperclassmen to stay away from the dessert table at banquets because the coaches might be watching. “It’s interesting how a lot of us have kind of been brainwashed into thinking that that is something that’s good for you and it is good for you to lose your period and it is good for you to have that feeling of hunger in your stomach.” Across the country, Thames and Abrams report programs are "asking or requiring student-athletes to measure their body composition, producing data that can help schools gauge whether the athletes are optimally training, resting and eating"; however, Boston University Associate Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology Quatromoni says body composition data often overemphasizes the correlation between body fat percentage and athletic performance. As such, Quatromoni believes the tests should not be used to calculate body fat. More. (link)
|
|
Notre Dame global sponsor Citi will have its name on the Citi Shamrock Classic, which features the Irish WBB team facing Cal in St. Louis on Saturday. According to SBJ's Smith, this is the first-ever live broadcast of a college WBB game on NBC and Peacock. "Notre Dame Global Partnerships, a joint venture between Legends and JMI Sports, facilitated the partnership between Citi and Notre Dame. Intersport has helped Notre Dame Global Partnerships manage all basketball event operations, while the St. Louis Sports Commission has helped facilitate the event on the ground in St. Louis." (link)
|
|
Michigan will beef up security between the Michigan Stadium field and tunnel, starting with this weekend's home tilt against Nebraska. Also, there will be a “more pronounced” gap between Michigan and the visiting team accessing the tunnel at halftime and postgame. UM Deputy Chief of Police Overton, who has been investigating the brawl between Spartans and Wolverines FB student-athletes a few weeks ago, said she hoped the results of said investigation would be ready by the end of this week. (link)
|
|
The Penn Gazette’s Popp examines the work being done by the Penn Athletics Wharton Leadership Academy (PAWLA), which aims to “turn varsity athletes into lifelong masters of team dynamics.” Quakers Women’s Lacrosse HC Corbett, who was chosen as the PAWLA inaugural director, observed that “over time, I’ve noticed that the kids coming into our program have less in the way of leadership skills. And it seems to keep going down every year.” Corbett attributes this in large part to the changes in youth sports and the lack of neighborhood pickup games. “I really believe, especially as I now have a 10-year-old, that youth sports robs kids of owning the games: of setting it up, making the rules, picking the teams, getting kids out, dealing with the conflict, holding people accountable. Kids rise to the top of leadership because they’re comfortable in it…but I think youth sports has put an adult in your life” every step of the way: from the maximalist parents forever shepherding their children to club practices and showcase tournaments and the right prep schools—fetching forgotten cleats along the way—to the coaches who direct every drill and mediate every conflict that arises. “So the personal responsibility, the leadership of just stepping into a team when you’re little with nobody guiding you—you don’t get that opportunity as kids these days. So what I’ve found as a coach is, I’m expecting my seniors to know what they’re doing, and they don’t.” Lots more. (link)
|
|
Take your meetings on the move. Stanford staffers Oppezzo and Schwartz release their research report on the "Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking." Lots here, but key findings from a series of four experiments: 1) While seated and then when walking on a treadmill, adults completed Guilford’s alternate uses (GAU) test of creative divergent thinking and the compound remote associates (CRA) test of convergent thinking. Walking increased 81% of participants’ creativity on the GAU, but only increased 23% of participants’ scores for the CRA. 2) Participants completed the GAU when seated and then walking, when walking and then seated, or when seated twice. Again, walking led to higher GAU scores. Moreover, when seated after walking, participants exhibited a residual creative boost. 3) Participants sat inside, walked on a treadmill inside, walked outside, or were rolled outside in a wheelchair. Walking outside produced the most novel and highest quality analogies. The effects of outdoor stimulation and walking were separable. Walking opens up the free flow of ideas, and it is a simple and robust solution to the goals of increasing creativity and increasing physical activity. Conclusion: "Walking substantially enhanced creativity by two different measures. For the three alternate uses studies, 81%, 88%, and 100% of participants were more creative walking than sitting. For the BSE, 100% of those who walked outside generated at least one novel high-quality analogy compared with 50% of those seated inside." (link)
|
|
Yesterday's Evening Standard...
|
|
While spending a game day with USC AD Bohn, who President Folt describes as a “relentlessly positive person,” The Athletic’s Morales outlines some of the challenges Bohn has overcome in his three years at the helm, and Trojans FB HC Riley notes: “I think Mike, as we all sense, has made it a priority to unify people. It’s not just about a coaching staff or players. That’s obviously a big part of it but there’s so much more to it, right? This place, like most, and probably even more than most, like the power of all the Trojans together is substantial but it doesn’t seem like all the Trojans have been together in a while. Mike’s doing everything in his power, I know, to bring that back.” Morales also notes the hiring of Riley and the move to the Big Ten have gone a long way to assuage doubts that the university was committed to athletics, and Riley adds: “Anytime your expectations, resources and commitment level don’t match, you’re going to be in trouble. I’ve never felt that from Mike. I think Mike’s aggressive, passionate about where we’re going, and I think (there’s) a very shared vision there.” (link)
|
|
AL.com’s Scarbinsky credits Auburn AD Cohen for winning the introductory press conference, citing Cohen’s repeated assertion of what it means when Auburn is being Auburn. “Cohen didn’t just highlight a half-dozen powerful selling points for himself and perhaps for prospective football coaching candidates. He punctuated each attribute - quality of the university, three Heisman winners, game-changing athletes in multiple sports, Hall of Fame coaches, championships and unique traditions - with that new twist on an old insult.” With Cohen and President Roberts in place, Scarbinsky observes it’s now up to them to solidify the athletics leadership with a strong FB HC hire: "Expect Cohen to identify and vet candidates thoroughly. Convincing one of them to leave a good situation may be the hardest part of the search, but he’s already outlined a pretty powerful recruiting pitch. THAT is Auburn being Auburn. When he says it, believe it. He’s not whistling Dixie." (link)
|
|
Kentucky AD Barnhart in a letter to fans affirms that the Wildcats “wholeheartedly embrace our athletes’ ability to earn from their NIL and continue to do everything we can to empower them to succeed” and “are doing everything possible to help our athletes maximize their NIL opportunities.” Barnhart also notes those who wish to support student-athletes' NIL endeavors can do so through the Athlete Advantage program, Charities for Kentucky, Commonwealth Causes and the BBNIL Exchange, among others. (link)
|
|
Five separate Texas collectives with focuses in different sports have combined to form the Texas One Fund which will seek to “maximize community impact and be the preferred NIL fundraising collective for Texas student-athletes.” The consolidation includes the Clark Field Collective, Horns With Heart, the baseball-focused Occupy Left Field, the basketball-centric 40 Pack, and the golf-oriented National Championship Golf Foundation, all of which will now operate as one under the Texas One Fund name. The Clark Field Collective will serve as the NIL activation agency. Longhorns AD Del Conte: “As a 501(c)(3) organization, [the Texas One Fund] provides our fans, donors, and supporters a way to contribute to NIL opportunities for our student-athletes and for our student-athletes to support important community programs. We believe this is the best way to bolster NIL initiatives for our student-athletes and support the meaningful interactions they can make in the charitable community.” (link)
|
|
Tennessee FB HC Heupel says it can’t be overstated "the importance Spyre Sports Group has had in providing our players [NIL] opportunities. It's life-changing for them. It’s a huge part of the success as we continue down this road as a program. That’s a huge part of it. I think we’re uniquely situated – the Power T, this fan base, the city that is Knoxville, the opportunities that are afforded to our players – to me, this is the number one destination when it comes to NIL opportunities. You can see it as we’ve grown as a program, the power and opportunities that have been provided with our current roster here.” (link)
|
|
The Athletic’s Hamilton profiles Miami (FL) WBB student-athletes Cavinder and Cavinder, whose 3,040 combined points, 1,009 combined rebounds and 722 combined assists over three seasons are outpaced only by their 4.1M TikTok followers, 990K Instagram followers and 221K Snapchat followers. Hamilton: “During this fixed cycle, over and over, Haley and Hanna Cavinder have to be very good at basketball and very good at being Cavinder Inc., in order to get what they want. Shed no tears — and they’re not asking anyone to — but it turns out pursuing the double life of Division I athlete and NIL megastar is damn hard work.” Hanna Cavinder: “Yeah, it’s not no 9-to-5. It’s 24-7. But it’s my dream job. I would never complain.” Given their myriad commitments, Hamilton notes the Cavinder twins are “avatars for a new age of college athletics, and they may take over the world someday, and good luck trying to stop them. … Once upon a time, Haley and Hanna Cavinder wanted to be professional basketball players when they grew up. Years later, sitting on a couch in a photography studio loft, they say they’re not sure what they want to be. So they might as well start with everything.” Lots more. (link)
|
|
More NIL Today...
+ The Dam Nation collective was announced today as “The Preferred Collective of Oregon State Athletics” through a sponsorship agreement with LEARFIELD’s Beaver Sports Properties. As part of the partnership, Dam Nation will have visibility across numerous official OSU platforms. The sponsorship initiative is separate from any activity related to funds associated with Dam Nation that may be allocated to student-athletes and teams as part of NIL opportunities. (link)
+ Florida QB Richardson has signed more than $1M in NIL deals this season, multiple sources have told On3’s Nakos, who notes that figure “does not include the compensation he’s received from Florida-focused NIL collectives.” (link)
|
|
D1.ticker/Connect's Fischer welcomes an all-star panel to talk about DEI messaging that industry professionals at all levels need to know. Discussing this important issue are three members of College Sports Communicators' Diversity and Inclusion Fellowship Class in Delaware Assoc. AD Thompson, Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Director of Communications Rodgers and Piedmont (DIII) Asst. AD Percival. The group discusses what the fellowship focuses on, why they signed up to be a part of it, the major points of emphasis when it comes to DEI, measuring the effectiveness of DEI messaging, miscommunications associated with DEI messaging, the messages that appear to be working/not working and relying on campus units to assist with the endeavor. (link)
|
|
After Virginia Tech FB student-athlete Tisdale received a nine-game suspension (reduced to six after an appeal) for betting on the NBA playoffs over the summer, The Athletic’s Bitter examines whether the NCAA’s gambling rules are outdated, particularly in light of the increasing legality of betting nationwide. Hokies Senior Assoc. AD for Compliance Gwinn says his “jaw dropped” when the initial suspension came back at nine games. “How am I supposed to encourage self-reporting on my campus when you’re not rewarding good behavior? You’re trying to overhaul the whole enforcement system here and you’re encouraging self-reporting and you’re telling people if you cooperate and you’re transparent that the penalties will reflect that. … [Tisdale] came forward and told us, and you’re still going to hold him out that many games? I thought maybe three games was fair.” Gwinn goes on to submit that “I think the rules are moving slower than our environment. … We can make bets with our fingertips. There’s state legislation in place. But for the most part, NCAA rules have been essentially the same over the past two decades. … Just my personal opinion is that I don’t see the risk in a student going out and placing $20 on the winner of the World Series. I mean, they can make all other types of adult decisions. Why can’t they do that?” (link)
|
|
Facility Features...
+ Pittsburgh's Property and Facilities Committee gives the Victory Heights project a full green light. Groundbreaking set for early next year on the $240M in overall enhancements that will include: "A cutting-edge athletic performance center that will serve the strength and conditioning, sports medicine, nutrition, and mental well-being needs for 16 of Pitt's 19 intercollegiate athletics programs. A 3,000-seat arena for gymnastics, volleyball, and wrestling. Each of those teams currently practice and compete in the 70-year-old Fitzgerald Field House." (link)
+ The Iowa Board of Regents approved $28.5M in spending for Iowa State’s CYTown Entertainment District, on which ISU hopes to break ground in the spring. The Cyclones plan to use $14.25M from existing athletics cash reserves, and from the university, $10.25M in private giving and $4M of investment income. Previously, Cyclones AD Pollard said he expects CYTown will bring in $200M over 20 years. (link)
+ Indiana State has installed 21 new Daktronics LED video boards at its venues. (link)
+ Check out the progress Troy is making on its Baseball upgrades at Riddle-Pace Field. (link)
|
|
Game Plan announces a new program powered by Teladoc Health to provide college athletics departments with comprehensive telehealth mental wellness solutions. More details: "By providing mental health resources in the same app the student-athlete receives e-Learning, Survey and Career Services, this allows for a comprehensive, streamlined approach for college athletic departments and student-athletes." (link)
|
|
It's Personnel...
+ The Sun Belt removes the interim tag from Senior Assoc. Commissioner/Chief Communications & Branding Officer Knehans. (link)
+ Toledo FB HC Candle earned $40K in bonuses with Western Michigan’s last-minute loss to Northern Illinois, which gave the Rockets a MAC division title ($25K) and a spot in the conference championship game ($15K). Candle now has $70K in bonuses so far, per USA Today’s Berkowitz. (link)
+ Administrative moves at Stanford, Washington, Iowa, Georgia Southern, Yale, Northern Arizona, Tennessee Tech, ECU, Idaho & Mississippi State are all detailed on The Wire at Collegiate Sports Connect. (link)
|
|
Development Details...
+ Boston College has launched the Flynn Fund Leadership Society for donors who contribute $10K or more. Membership in the Leadership Society allows donors to participate in exclusive opportunities. (link)
+ Toledo introduces The 1923 Society "for donors who make five-year philanthropic gift commitments of $25,000 or more," which comes with "opportunities [including] but not limited to special access to Athletics and University leadership, exclusive game-day access and recognition, and intimate involvement with those directly impacted by your support." (link)
|
|
Quick Hitters...
+ Bethune-Cookman has been impacted by a hurricane for the second time this year, as Hurricane Nicole has forced the Wildcats to take a 12-hour bus ride to Jackson, Mississippi, on Tuesday for Saturday’s FB matchup at Alcorn State, per The Action Network’s McMurphy. (link)
+ Troy is closing in on its first-ever football sellout as Army West Point visits the Trojans this Saturday. (link)
|
|
|
|