USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force men’s water polo team announced its 2025 schedule, highlighted by a pair of tournaments and as the host institution for the 2025 WCC Men’s Water Polo Championships.  The Falcons host 13 home games, which is more than double the amount from the previous season.

The Falcons open the season by hosting the Rare Air Challenge and the Rare Air Invite in back-to-back weekends.  The Falcons open Aug. 29-31 as the host of the Rare Air Challenge, taking on Redlands, Mount St. Mary’s, Salem, Cal and Biola.  Air Force then hosts the Rare Air Invite on Sept. 6-7, taking on McKendree, Cal State Fullerton, Augustana, Whittier and UC Merced.

After taking part in the Titan Invitational in Fullerton, Calif., Sept. 12-13, the Falcons head east to take on Service Academy rival Navy on Sept. 18.  That weekend has Air Force at the Bucknell Invitational in Lewisburg, Pa., Sept. 20-21, taking on  LIU, Bucknell and Gannon.

Air Force follows with its WCC-opener on Oct. 2 at Pacific.  The Falcons follow up at the Gary Troyer invite in Claremont/Pomona, Calif., on Oct. 4, with games against Chapman and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.  Air Force closes out the weekend with a game at Redlands on Oct. 5.

The Falcons return home to host Cal Baptist on Oct. 12.  Air Force then plays WCC road games at LMU on Oct. 17 and Pepperdine on Oct. 19.  

Air Force hits the road for the final time at Cal on Oct. 24, followed by three games at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament in San Jose/Santa Clara, Calif., from Oct. 25-26.   The Falcons face UC Merced, Harvard and Pomona-Pitzer at the Fraser Memorial.

Air Force concludes the regular season with WCC home matches against San Jose State on Nov. 2 and Santa Clara Nov. 8.

The Falcons are the host school for the 2025 WCC Men’s Water Polo Championships, held Nov. 21-23 at the Cadet Natatorium.

Air Force Men’s Water Polo 2025 Schedule

Date/Opponent

Aug. 29 REDLANDS !

Aug. 29 MOUNT ST. MARY’S !

Aug. 30 SALEM !

Aug. 30 CAL !

Aug. 31 BIOLA !

Sept. 6 McKENDREE !

Sept. 6 CAL STATE FULLERTON !

Sept. 7 AUGUSTANA !

Sept. 7 WHITTIER !

Sept. 7 UC MERCED !

Sept. 12-13/TBA (Titan Invitational) #

Sept. 18 at Navy

Sept. 20 vs. LIU $

Sept. 20 at Bucknell $

Sept. 21 vs. Gannon $

Oct. 2 at Pacific*

Oct. 4 at Chapman %

Oct. 4 at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps %

Oct. 5 at Redlands

Oct. 12 CAL BAPTIST*

Oct. 17 at LMU*

Oct. 19 at Pepperdine*

Oct. 24 at Cal

Oct. 25 vs. UC Merced^

Oct. 25 vs. Harvard^

Oct. 26 vs. Pomona-Pitzer^

Nov. 2 SAN JOSE STATE*

Nov. 8 SANTA CLARA*

Nov. 21-23/WCC Championships (@ USAFA)

Home matches in BOLD CAPS

! Rare Air Challenge – USAFA

@ Rare Air Invite – USAFA

# Titan Invitational – Fullerton, CA

$ Bucknell Invite – Lewisburg, PA

% Gary Troyer Tournament – Claremont/Orange, CA

^ Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament – San Jose/Santa Clara, CA

* Denotes West Coast Conference game

WCC Championships – USAFA

 

When we questioned the upside of ESPN’s new all-women’s show, “Vibe Check,” featuring three mean girls known for their animosity toward Caitlin Clark, woke white knights in the media argued the network was burying the program on the Disney+ streaming service.

“The show isn’t on ESPN. It’s on D+ which means the only people watching it will have to purposefully go search for it and seek it out to watch it in their time,” said Ringer host Van Lathan in response to our article.

Lathan tried to argue that the program was merely accessory content and that ESPN wasn’t replacing current television programming for it. But that’s not true. Despite promoting the show as a Disney+ exclusive, the show also quietly airs daily on ESPN2.

It’s not just that ESPN is wasting valuable real estate on a show hosted by Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike, and Andraya Carter. The network is also feeding sports fans content that has nothing to do with, well, sports.

Through two weeks, the cast’s most viral moment is a segment in which Duncan fawned over former first lady Michelle Obama with guest Robin Roberts. According to Duncan, “everybody” loves Michelle and is a dream guest for the new show.

Of course, not everybody loves Michelle Obama. She’s actually quite polarizing. She’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars, has never held a real job, and is launching a podcast where she endlessly complains about her life, America, and her (seemingly estranged) husband.

But that’s not the point. The point is that ESPN has a publicly-acknowledged “ban on politics” policy, yet actively promotes a show that violates said policy.

Viewers don’t tune into ESPN to hear about the Obamas. Or to see one of the hosts prancing around the set like a drunken college student and doing pushups mid-segment:

Cringe.

And while viewers can – and will – turn the channel when “Vibe Check” airs, it’s frustrating to talents internally that the network chose to promote this specific project.

ESPN2 used to be a minor league system for growing and developing future hosts. Names like Mike Greenberg, Stephen A. Smith, and Max Kellerman started on ESPN2 before moving to the main channel. However, instead of trying to find the next Stephen A., Greenberg, or McAfee, the network is wasting time slots and resources on a preachy, finger-wagging all-women’s show.

As a factual matter, the vast majority of ESPN viewers are males. Historically, male viewers are drawn to former players they rooted for on the field or guys they’d want to watch a game with, such as Chris Berman, Scott Van Pelt, and Stuart Scott.

And yet, ESPN opted to build a show around hosts known for protesting GOP legislation, advocating for abortion, smearing little girls who wear Caitlin Clark jerseys, and praising Lia Thomas during Women’s History Month.

In all likelihood, the show will fail and ultimately worsen the perception of women in sports. Talented female broadcasters like Charissa Thompson, Erin Andrews, Laura Rutledge, Sage Steele, Michele Tafoya, Jane Slater, Katie George, Kay Adams, and Ashley Brewer will suffer because these pinheads are singing songs, dancing, and talking politics on ESPN.

The only people who will benefit from this project are the male executives who greenlit the program to advance their own careers. The “I am the guy who launched the first all-women’s show at ESPN” label holds great value within Disney, no matter its success — or lack thereof.

Anyway, expect “Vibe Check” to soon make its way into the main ESPN lineup. Possible “Around the Horn” replacement?

Around 300 Indian student-athletes from more than 60 universities are set to represent their country at the FISU World University Games 2025, scheduled in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, from July 16 to 27.

Also referred to as the ‘Olympics for university athletes’, the World University Games are a multi-sport event held every two years for students aged 17 to 25.

The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 World University Games edition will see over 9,200 athletes from more than 150 countries compete, making it the largest FISU Games to date.

India’s best-ever performance in the biennial event came at Chengdu 2023, where they finished seventh overall with 26 medals – 11 gold, 5 silver and 10 bronze. A bulk of these came from shooting, which contributed 14 medals, including eight gold.

Notable performers included Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, who won four medals, and Manu Bhaker, who bagged two golds in pistol events. Jyothi Yarraji, Amlan Borgohain and Priyanka Goswami also stood out with podium finishes in athletics.

India have been participating in the FISU World University Games since the inaugural edition in Turin in 1959. The upcoming Games will mark the 32nd edition of the Summer Universiade.

The FISU World University Games 2025 will feature 18 sports across 23 venues in six German cities – Bochum, Duisburg, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Hagen and Berlin.

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford runners Roisin Willis and Zofia Dudek were named to the Academic All-America team for women’s track and field/cross country by College Sports Communicators.

Willis, the 2025 NCAA outdoor 800-meter champion, was named to the first team and Dudek, the Atlantic Coast Conference indoor 5,000 champ, received second-team honors. This is the second Academic All-America honor for Willis and the third for Dudek.

Willis, a junior history major from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, broke the NCAA Outdoor Championships record in capturing her third career NCAA title. Her personal-record time of 1:58.13 at the championships in Eugene, Oregon, was an ACC record and the third-fastest time in collegiate history.

Willis, the USTFCCCA West Region Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, has the second-most NCAA women’s titles in program history, behind the five of Lauren Fleshman ’03. She is nine-time All-American and was named 2025 ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s track and field.

Dudek, a graduate student in biomedical data science from Poland via Ann Arbor, Michigan, earned second-team indoor All-America honors in the distance medley relay and was an NCAA outdoor qualifier in the 5,000, placing 17th. A four-time All-American, Dudek represents Poland in international competition.

Stanford cross country and track and field now has 26 Academic All-America honors earned by 20 different women.

College Sports Communicators Academic All-America team
Division I Track and Field/Cross Country

Women
First team
Roisin Willis, Jr., Stevens Point, Wis., 3.96, history.
Second team
Zofia Dudek, Grad., Ann Arbor, Mich., 3.81 (Undergrad)/3.64 (Grad), Bioengineering (U), Biomedical Data Science (G).

Willis and Dudek were selected from those who were named to the CSC Academic All-District teams.

Here is the list of Stanford’s All-District honorees:

Amy Bunnage, So.
Zofia Dudek, Grad.
Sophia Kennedy, So.
Roisin Willis, Jr.
Teagan Zwaanstra, Sr.

Here is an all-time list of Stanford cross country and track and field’s women’s Academic All-Americans:

Women
Year, Name, Category, Team
1983: Kim Schnurpfeil, At Large, second team
1984: PattiSue Plumer, At Large, second team
1999: Sarna Renfro, At Large, second team
2002: Caroline Annis, XC/TF, third team
2007: Arianna Lambie, XC/TF, first team
2011: Kate Niehaus, XC/TF, first team
2012: Kathy Kroeger, XC/TF, first team
2012: Arantxa King, XC/TF, second team
2013: Kathy Kroeger, XC/TF, second team
2015: Jessica Tonn, XC/TF, second team
2016: Elise Cranny, XC/TF, third team2016: Kristyn Williams, XC/TF, third team
2017: Elise Cranny, XC/TF, second team
2018: Elise Cranny, XC/TF, first team
2019: Mackenzie Little, XC/TF, second team
2019: Fiona O’Keeffe, XC/TF, second team
2022: Christina Aragon, XC/TF, first team
2022: Allie Jones, XC/TF, second team
2023: Zofia Dudek, XC/TF, first team
2023: Maya Valmon, XC/TF, first team
2024: Zofia Dudek, XC/TF, first team
2024: Juliette Whittaker, XC/TF, first team
2024: Roisin Willis, XC/TF, first team
2024: Lucy Jenks, XC/TF, second team
2025: Roisin Willis, XC/TF, first team
2025: Zofia Dudek, XC/TF, second team

 

North Dakota State University women’s track & field athlete Merrideth Spiers has been named to the CSC Academic All-America second team for Division I, the College Sports Communicators announced Tuesday.
 

This is the first Academic All-America honor of Spiers’ career, and the first for the NDSU women since 2022. The Bison women have now earned 21 Academic All-America honors in track & field and cross country since the Division I transition.
 
Spiers (Grant City, Mo.) owns a 4.0 GPA pursuing a Ph.D. in criminal justice after earning her undergrad degree with a 4.0 majoring in psychology. She ranked 45th nationally in the weight throw for the indoor season and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in the hammer throw outdoor.
 
Previously this season, Spiers was voted Academic All-League for the Summit League indoor and outdoor seasons, as well as being named the 2025 Summit League Outdoor Scholar of the Championship.