ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Nathan Kent from the men’s track & field team has been named this week’s Naval Academy Athletic Association (NAAA) Athlete of the Week, presented by Northrop Grumman, for his performance at the NCAA East Region First Round last weekend.
 
Kent punched his ticket to the NCAA Championship when he broke Navy’s 400m record of 45.32, which he previously set at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last June when he ran 45.23 and placed fourth. The Rocklin, Calif., native was also a member of the 4x400m relay team that qualified for the for nationals as it clocked a school-record 3:04.05. 
 
Kent and four other student-athletes – Pete deJonge (4x400m relay), Jacques Guillaume (4x400m relay), Murphy Smith (10,000m) and David Walker (4x400m relay) – will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championship on June 11-13 in Eugene, Ore.

Women’s Volleyball | 6/4/2025 2:15:00 PM

GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T volleyball team released its 2025 schedule on Wednesday after coming off a season where the program made it to the postseason for the fourth time in six seasons. In addition to making it to the postseason in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) tournament, the Aggies also qualified for the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Volleyball Championship Tournament for the first time in their three-year existence in the league.

Head coach Hal Clifton, the longest-tenured volleyball coach in program history, returns for his 15th season. His schedule includes HBCU opponents, ACC opponents and two in-state rivals before the Aggies enter the crucial portion of their schedule – facing CAA opponents.

“We are very excited about our fall schedule,” said Clifton, who enters the 2025 season with 143 wins.  “We have a variety of schools on our non-conference schedule that is very similar to what we are going to see in the CAA. 

It’s nice that we were able to get some fellow HBCUs on our schedule.  It’s been a while since we’ve battled with Howard, Bethune-Cookman and Coppin State.  We also added three Power Four matches, which also created a challenge for us.  The schedule will have us battle-ready as we start CAA play on the road at UNC Wilmington.”

The Aggies start the regular season on Friday, August 29 at 6 p.m. inside Corbett Sports Center with a familiar foe from their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference days in the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. It will be the 67th meeting between the two teams, with A&T leading the all-time series 42-24. The two teams will meet for the first time since August 27, 2022, when the Aggies defeated the Wildcats 3-0 in Moore Gymnasium.

Bethune-Cookman will play the Coppin State Eagles on Saturday afternoon, August 30, at 1 inside Corbett as a part of the Aggie/Phoenix Invitational shared with Elon University before the Eagles face A&T at 6 p.m. at Corbett. The Aggies had a similar beginning to the 2022 season when they opened with the Coppin State Eagles and the Wildcats at home. The Eagles beat the Aggies 3-2 in Moore on August 26, 2022. A&T leads the series 18-5.

 The Aggies have an additional HBCU on the schedule when they face the Howard Bison on Friday, September 12, in Washington, DC, at 6 p.m. The Bison won six MEAC tournament titles from 2015-2021 in seven years. Howard won the MEAC regular-season title in 2024 with a 14-0 record. The two schools will meet for the 20th time, with A&T holding an 11-8 advantage, but the Aggies have not defeated Howard since October 15, 2006, a streak of six straight losses.

A&T will stay in the nation’s capital to face American University on Saturday, September 13 at 4 p.m. The Aggies will begin a string of three-straight in-state non-conference matches, starting with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Thursday, September 18, at 6:30 p.m. at Reynolds Gymnasium in Winston-Salem, NC.

The next night, the Aggies will travel down Market Street to face Gate City rival UNC Greensboro at Fleming Gymnasium at 6 p.m. before facing the UNC Asheville Bulldogs at Fleming at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 20. The other ACC opponent on A&T’s non-conference schedule is the Clemson Tigers. A&T will face the Tigers on September 4 and 5 at 6 p.m. at Clemson’s Jervey Gymnasium.

UNCW will be the Aggies first CAA opponent. The Aggies will travel to Wilmington, NC, to face the Seahawks on Friday, September 26, at 6 p.m. and Saturday, September 27, at 2 p.m. A&T’s other road CAA matches include at College of Charleston (October 10-11), Elon (October 24-25) and Stony Brook (November 7-8).

Hampton will be the Aggies first CAA home opponent, facing the Aggies on Friday, October 3, at 6 p.m. and Saturday, October 4, at 2 p.m. The other CAA matches at Moore Gymnasium are against William & Mary (October 17-18), Hofstra (November 1-2) and Campbell (November 14-15).

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Head volleyball coach Sarah Rumely Noble rounded out her coaching staff with the addition of Jessica O’Brien on Wednesday, June 4. O’Brien, a recent graduate of Auburn University, will serve as South Carolina’s director of operations and technical coordinator.

“I am beyond excited to round out my staff with the addition of Jessica,” Noble said. “She is a go-getter and will be in incredible role model for our student-athletes! Her experience with VolleyStation as well as her organization skills makes her the perfect fit!”

In May, O’Brien earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Auburn; she was a double major in Business Analytics and Marketing with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Family Business. As a student, she was a supervisor for the university’s recreation sports programs for two years, helping coordinate officials and manage events.

In the athletics department, O’Brien worked with the Auburn volleyball program as a student manager and analytics intern for the 2024 spring semester and fall season. As manager, she supported the director of operations with coordinating meals and travel for the team while also working on the analytics side to break down game video and assist with the construction of scouting reports for the Tigers.

Last summer, O’Brien also worked as an analytics intern for the Normal CornBelters, a collegiate summer baseball team.

“Excited is an understatement! I want to thank Sarah, Chanelle, Connor, and Christian for their support as I begin this journey with South Carolina,” O’Brien said. “Their energy is high, their passion is strong, and I can’t wait to join them in contributing to the team’s success on and off the court!”

For continued updates on the team, follow Gamecockvolley on X/Twitter and GamecockVB on Instagram.

International Olympic Committee news

The event programme and athlete quotas for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) have been approved by the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). With a total of 351 medal events, 22 more than at Paris 2024 (329), the LA28 programme maintains the core athlete quota of 10,500, with an extra 698 quota places allocated for the five sports proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee (baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash).

For the first time in history, all team sports will have at least the same number of women’s teams as men’s teams, with water polo adding two women’s teams, making it now 12 women’s and 12 men’s teams.

Football, with 16 female teams, will feature more women’s teams than men’s (12).

Gender equality was a key consideration when deciding on the athlete quota and the number of events. In the initial sports programme, with 10,500 athletes, the number of female athletes is 5,333 and the number of male athletes 5,167. The additional sports add 322 female athletes and 376 male athletes. In addition, six mixed events were added to the event programme. Out of 351 events, there are 161 women’s events, 165 men’s events and 25 mixed events.

A powerful platform for female athletes

• Football: for the first time in Olympic history, more women’s teams (16) than men’s (12) will compete.
• Boxing: an additional women’s weight category ensures full gender parity across events, while maintaining equal numbers of athlete quotas for men and women, as was the case at Paris 2024.
• Water polo: two additional women’s teams will ensure full gender parity in the athlete quota and number of teams.
• Expanded mixed events: archery, athletics (4x100m mixed relay), golf, gymnastics, rowing coastal beach sprint and table tennis will all see the inclusion of a new mixed team event.

New medal opportunities and innovation

• Swimming: the 50m backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke events for both men and women will bring high-speed excitement to the pool at Inglewood Stadium.
• Rowing: women’s solo (CW1x), men’s solo (CM1x) and mixed double sculls (CX2x) will make their debut in coastal beach sprint.
• Sport climbing: boulder and lead events will now be contested as separate medal events, creating new stages for athletes to shine.
• Basketball 3×3: having made its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with eight teams each for men and women, the event has expanded to include 12 teams per gender.

The full event programme is available here.

Twenty-four out of 31 Olympic International Federations had put forward a request for a change in their event programme from the Olympic Games Paris 2024. In total, 46 new events were requested (16 male / 17 female / 13 mixed), six of which were to potentially replace existing events, making a net total of 40 more events requested. In total, 772 additional quota places were requested for the initial sport and event programme of 10,500 athletes (339 male / 433 female).

The event programme principles

The event programme for LA28 was developed based on the requests submitted by the International Sports Federations to the IOC. The decision from the IOC EB followed the recommendation from the Olympic Programme Commission and the principles approved in 2023, which specified that the Games should be gender equal, globally appealing, cost and complexity conscious, and athlete focused.

LA28 sports programme

With the inclusion of boxing, approved by the IOC Session in March 2025, the LA28 sports programme is composed of 31 sports, with an additional five sports proposed by the Organising Committee and approved by the IOC in 2023.

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The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit, civil, non-governmental, international organisation made up of volunteers which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 4.7 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

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International Olympic Committee

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a not-for-profit independent international organisation that is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 3.4 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

As the leader of the Olympic Movement, the IOC acts as a catalyst for collaboration between all parties of the Olympic family, from the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the International Sports Federations (IFs), the athletes and the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) to the Worldwide Olympic Partners, broadcast partners and United Nations (UN) agencies, and shepherds success through a wide range of programmes and projects. On this basis, it ensures the regular celebration of the Olympic Games, supports all affiliated member organisations of the Olympic Movement and strongly encourages, by appropriate means, the promotion of the Olympic values.

More from International Olympic Committee

The landscape of women’s sports is up for grabs, and organizations have an unprecedented opportunity to take market share by putting their data to work.

Women’s sports have exploded in popularity, transforming the landscape of athletics and presenting new opportunities for brands to engage with fan bases. Over the last three years, revenue generated by women’s elite sports globally has grown by more than 300% and is poised to continue an upward trajectory in 2025 and beyond. Attendance reached all-time highs at NCAA women’s volleyball and Final Four matchups. Broadcast deals for the National Women’s Soccer League broke records. The number of sponsorships in women’s professional sports increased by 22% in 2024, showing investors are looking more closely than ever at opportunities in this market.

How can women’s sports leaders meet this moment and prepare for a wave of growth to come?

Solid data foundations are often key to successful organizations. In a digital world, marketability comes from being able to understand fan behavior, preferences and engagement levels, and translate that data to sponsors and investors. However, many struggle with this because of how quickly the importance of data has grown and the lack of internal business investment in this area.

The good news is, there are wide-ranging opportunities for women’s sports. Below we dive into what could be holding back women’s sports from optimizing and leveraging their data, share examples of organizations that appear to be making progress, and explore steps leaders can consider to win more.

Invest in operations

Historically, sports leagues have typically focused on building up their roster of players and home venues to attract more fans and sponsors. Today, just having the best players on the best field may no longer be enough — it’s becoming increasingly important to invest in the right talent to run operations as well. Recruiting the right product manager can be just as important as drafting the right power forward.

Consider two properties that have both acquired new star players, leading to notable increases in average game attendance compared to years’ past. The presence of these players has attracted several mid-tier sponsorships, providing a financial boost for both operations. This combination of increased attendance and sponsorship revenue has made both confident they’ll consider this year a success.

As time goes by those sponsors are beginning to ask what kind of engagement their activations are getting across owned platforms. They want to make sure their content is aligned with the right audiences and understand ROI from their investment.

Property No. 1 spent time building up their internal and external product teams to conduct a deep assessment into their existing digital fan experience. They worked with engineers and data scientists to identify how their proprietary insights can be leveraged and analyzed to create value for sponsors, both existing and prospective. This forward-thinking team integrated first-, second- and third-party data to build full-picture insights on fan engagement, reach and campaign effectiveness. Sponsors were delighted by the insights because they proved the right audiences were seeing their messages and they unlocked retargeting opportunities. They grew their campaigns with property No. 1.

Property No. 2 didn’t think much about their product teams or the value of fan data, so when it came time to share insights with sponsors, they could only share basic data fields such as names and emails. Sponsors were not as impressed and wanted more specific audience intelligence — where did these fans live, what kind of income did they have and what other brands did they follow? Without those valuable data insights, and the ability to target customers or engage with fans deeply, they decided not to renew their campaigns with Property No. 2.

Exchanging value for data

Fan data is a new currency in sports, and leagues are adapting to that shift. For example, the WNBA, recognizing a growing fan base, developed a new app that prioritizes easy engagement for both avid and casual fans, while integrating key features such as schedules, game highlights and trends. Short-form content personalized for each fan, based on the team and players most important to them, was designed to help create deeper fan engagement and more monthly users.

By delivering a compelling, personalized digital experience for fans, organizations can be rewarded with more quality data from users.

This was evident at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, when the International Olympic Committee saw its fan engagement numbers balloon after investing in a fan data platform that supports segmentation and personalization capabilities. Strengthening one aspect of their digital operations contributed to a positive feedback loop: data in, personalized messages out. Fan engagement in, diversified marketing and commercial strategies out. At the Milan-Cortina Olympics, the IOC expects to be able to predict which content will resonate most with their fans to inform custom campaigns — ones that understand and celebrate their unique preferences. Applying technology to analyze fan data allows marketers to lean into the multidimensional nature of humans. It can open opportunities for engagement not only around team or athlete performance content, for example, but inspiration, community and entertainment content, too.

Personalization capabilities aren’t just a nice-to-have: Nearly 3 in 4 consumers are more likely to purchase from brands that deliver personalized experiences — and they spend 37% more with those brands. As such, investing in the operational data foundations that make personalization possible is a strategic business move.

Building on momentum

The organizations that can carve out this niche, strive to understand what fans care about most and serve up data as a competitive differentiator will not only rely on players and viewership numbers as their most valuable assets. They are positioning themselves to win more sponsorships and advertising dollars, which could lead to more diversified revenue streams that can secure their futures. And if they’re able to personalize experiences for fans within their own venue walls and owned platforms — they’re opening the door to possibly more engagement and loyalty for women’s sports.

Building an impactful data strategy starts with dedicated tech talent that can solidify foundations and pair multiparty insights. To meet this moment, leaders should conduct a review of their current data capabilities, look for gaps in operational talent, and seek the support of strategic advisers. Data is redefining competition — and at this stage in the game, organizations should be playing offense.

Michelle McGuire Christian is chief commercial officer at Deloitte’s ConvergeCONSUMER and Li-Shen Lee is a principal at Deloitte.

With a dramatic victory in the 4x400m relay, the MIT women’s track and field team clinched the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championship May 24 at the SPIRE Institute’s Outdoor Track and Field facility. The title was MIT’s first NCAA women’s outdoor track and field national championship. The team scored first of 79 with 56 points; runners-up included Washington University with 47 points and the University of Winsconsin at La Crosse with 38 points.

With the victory, MIT completed a sweep of the 2024-25 NCAA Division III women’s cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field titles — becoming the first women’s program to sweep all three in the same year.

MIT earned 20 All-America honors across three days, including the program’s first relay national championship in the 4x400m on Saturday and Alexis Boykin’s eighth career national title with an NCAA record-breaking performance in the shot put on Friday.

On Thursday, Boykin opened the championships with a third-place performance in the discus as MIT quickly moved to the top of the team leaderboard on the first day of competition. Boykin and classmate Emily Ball each earned a spot on the podium. Boykin was third with a throw of 45.12m (148′ 0″) on her second attempt and Ball was seventh with a mark of 41.90m (137′ 5″) on her final throw of prelims.

In the pole vault, junior Katelyn Howard tied for fifth, clearing 3.85m (12′ 7.5″) to pick up three points for MIT. Howard passed on the first height and cleared at both 3.75m and 3.85m, but did not pass the fourth progression. Classmate Hailey Surace was 14th, clearing 3.75m (12′ 3.5″).

Junior Elaine Wang picked up a big point with an eighth-place finish for MIT in the javelin. Wang’s second attempt traveled 40.44m (132′ 8″), moving her into sixth place. She would eventually finish in eighth on the strength of her second attempt.  

The opening day concluded with junior Kate Sanderson finishing fourth with a personal best of 34:48.601 in the 10,000m to earn a spot on the podium, as MIT continued to lead the team standings. 

On Friday, Boykin returned on day two and set the NCAA Division III women’s shot put all-time record, winning her eighth career national championship with a throw of 16.80m (55’ 1/2”). Boykin won the event by over 2 meters, breaking Robyn Jarocki’s NCAA Division III record on her final preliminary attempt with a throw of 16.80m.

MIT wrapped action with the 3,000m Steeplechase final, where sophomore Liv Girand finished in 10th place in 10:58.71 to earn the first All-America honor of her career. MIT continued to lead the team standings at the end of the second day of competition.

On Saturday, Boykin earned her third All-America honor in three events at the championships with a third-place finish in the hammer with a throw of 58.79m (192′ 10”), while junior Nony Otu Ugwu took 10th with a jump of 11.91m (39′ 1″) on her final attempt of prelims. Otu Ugwu did not advance to the final.

MIT shined on the track to secure the title, as grad student Gillian Roeder and senior Christina Crow picked up seven big points in the 1,500m final. Roeder was fifth in 4:27.76 and Crow was one spot back, finishing sixth in 4:28.81.

Senior Marina Miller followed and picked up six more points while earning the first of two All-America honors on the day with a third-place finish and a personal record of 54.32 in the 400m.

Junior Rujuta Sane, Roeder, and junior Kate Sanderson finished 13th, 14th, and 16th, respectively, in the 5,000m. Sane had a time of 16:51.45, with Roeder finishing in 16:54.07 and Sanderson clocking in at 17:00.55.

With MIT leading second-place Washington University by seven points heading into the final event, MIT’s 4×4 relay team of senior Olivia Dias, junior Shreya Kalyan, junior Krystal Montgomery, and Miller left no doubt, securing the team championship with a national title of their own, as Miller moved from third to first over the final 50m to win an electric final race.