No. 7 Beach Volleyball advances to NCAA Quarterfinals after beating No. 10 Cal, 3-2
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GULF SHORES, Ala. – In its first-ever NCAA Championships appearance, No. 7 Texas Beach Volleyball took down No. 10 California, 3-2, to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. The Longhorns (28-9) will face former Big 12 foe and No. 2 seed TCU (29-5) in the quarters scheduled for Saturday at 10 […]
GULF SHORES, Ala. – In its first-ever NCAA Championships appearance, No. 7 Texas Beach Volleyball took down No. 10 California, 3-2, to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. The Longhorns (28-9) will face former Big 12 foe and No. 2 seed TCU (29-5) in the quarters scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. CT. The match will be streamed on ESPN2.
Friday’s opening round saw Texas take a 1-0 lead after a victory from the No. 3 pair of Maddison Parmelly and Karin Zolnercikova. The pair won in straight sets, 22-20, 21-9, for the 22nd time this season and improved their team-leading record to 27-6. It’s the third time this season the 2s defeated the Bears and marked the pair’s 15th-ranked win of the year. Parmelly now has 93 career wins.
Cal grabbed a 2-1 advantage after wins on courts 5 and 1. Macey Butler and Noa Sonneville then took the Bears to three sets to even the dual score to 2-2 from court 4 with a 21-18, 19-21, 17-15 victory. The pair improved to 25-10 on the season, and the victory marked the duo’s 14th-ranked win of the year and third-straight win over the Bears in 2025.
The final Texas point was won on court 2 off a Katie Hashman ace. The Longhorns’ duo of Hashman and Emma Grace Robertson won in three sets in a back-and-forth affair by a score of 20-22, 21-17, 17-15. The pair is now 25-12 on the year and earned its first win against the Bears this season.
Saturday’s match against the Horned Frogs marks the second time the teams will face off this season.TCU claimed a 4-1 win in early March.
Order of Finish:
3. Maddison Parmelly / Karin Zolnercikova (TEX) def. Alexand Young-Gomez/ Ella Sears (Cal) (22-20, 21-9)
5. Jenna Colligan/Ella Dreibholz (Cal) def. Ava Patton/Vivian Johnson (TEX) (21-18, 21-19)
1. Emma Donley/Portia Sherman (Cal) def. Chloe Charles/Eva Liisa Kuivonen (TEX) (21-17, 21-15)
Men’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2025 – schedule, results and scores All start times listed in local time Preliminary round week 1 (11 – 15 June) 11 June 2025 Pool 1 in Quebec City, Canada (EDT, GMT-4) 11:00 – Bulgaria vs Italy 16:30 – Argentina vs France 20:00 – Germany vs Canada Pool 2 in […]
Courtesy: UCLA Athletics SAN FRANCISCO — The Olympic Club announced late Saturday night that UCLA freshman attacker Ryder Dodd (Long Beach, Calif./JSerra Catholic HS) has been named the 2025 Peter J. Cutino Award winner. The Cutino Award is an iconic honor in NCAA water polo that recognizes the best men’s and women’s players each year. Dodd became the first Bruin to […]
SAN FRANCISCO — The Olympic Club announced late Saturday night that UCLA freshman attacker Ryder Dodd (Long Beach, Calif./JSerra Catholic HS) has been named the 2025 Peter J. Cutino Award winner. The Cutino Award is an iconic honor in NCAA water polo that recognizes the best men’s and women’s players each year.
Dodd became the first Bruin to claim the prize since attacker Nicolas Saveljic was awarded the trophy in 2021 for the 2020 season, which like the 2024 campaign, culminated with a National Championship win over USC. He is also just the fourth different Bruin and the fifth overall winner on the UCLA men’s side, joining Garret Danner who won the award in 2016, and Sean Kern, who claimed the title in 1998 and 1999, the first two Cutino Awards ever presented.
Dodd helped the Bruins (26-2) win the 2024 NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship, the 13th in UCLA’s storied history. Named a First-Team All-American in 2024, he scored twice in the NCAA Championship game, the Bruins’ fourth win of the season over the Trojans.
The win also marked the fifth NCAA Championship for UCLA Head Coach Adam Wright while in charge of the Men’s Water Polo team, with all five titles coming against USC. It is Wright’s ninth NCAA title overall, as he also won two as a player at UCLA (1999 and 2000), one last year with the women’s program (2024), and one more as an assistant coach with the women’s team in 2009. . Dodd wrote himself into the MPSF record books this past season when he scored a league-record 102 goals. It was also a UCLA freshman record and the second-most goals scored in school history. He also added 32 assists to lead the MPSF in scoring with 134 points. He also led the MPSF in sprints won (46) while finishing second on the Bruin squad in steals (32) and field blocks (11), and third in drawn exclusions (30). Named the ACWPC National Player of the Year, he also was chosen as the MPSF Player and Newcomer of the Year, the first person in league history to earn both honors in the same season.
Dodd, who was named the MVP of the NCAA Championship, scored in all 28 games of his rookie season, with multiple goals in all but one. A four-time MPSF weekly award honoree, earning Delfina MPSF West Player of the Week and S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week twice each, he scored a career-best eight goals in an 18-12 win at then-No. 7 Pepperdine (Oct. 12). Dodd, the only freshman on the Delfina All-MPSF First Team, is UCLA’s sixth all-time MPSF Player of the Year recipient (Rafael Real Vergara-2023, Garrett Danner-2015-16, Scott Davidson-2009, Sean Kern-2000) and is the fourth Bruin to earn MPSF Newcomer of the Year (Ben Liechty-2023, Makoto Kenney-2020, Garrett Danner-2013).
The other two finalists on the men’s side included Max Miller (USC) and Mihailo Vukazic (Pacific).
Vanderbilt Ready to Lead in New Model for College Sports
On June 6, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted final approval of the House v. NCAA settlement—launching a new era for college athletics. This ruling creates a foundation for greater stability, fairness, and opportunity for student-athletes—and affirms what we at Vanderbilt have long believed: transformation, when grounded in mission and […]
On June 6, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted final approval of the House v. NCAA settlement—launching a new era for college athletics.
This ruling creates a foundation for greater stability, fairness, and opportunity for student-athletes—and affirms what we at Vanderbilt have long believed: transformation, when grounded in mission and values, creates opportunity.
As we continue to build the great university of the 21st century, we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a championship-caliber student-athlete experience that integrates academic and athletic excellence and strengthens our One Vanderbilt community.
The newly formed College Sports Commission, led by Bryan Seeley—former MLB executive and a respected voice in sports law—and its partners, Deloitte and LBi Software, will be responsible for ensuring compliance and supporting institutions through this transition.
While the settlement offers a clearer, more structured path forward, we will continue to work with our legislative partners on potential federal solutions that can bring long-term stability and consistency to the college athletics landscape.
Key pillars of the new model include:
Revenue sharing: Beginning with the 2025–26 academic year, SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten institutions may share up to 22 percent of defined athletics revenue with student-athletes—estimated at up to $20.5 million per school.
Scholarship expansion: With scholarship limits removed, universities now have more flexibility to offer educational opportunities to a broader range of student-athletes across sports. Removing scholarship limits gives schools the flexibility to better support student-athletes and their education, while supporting the long-term success of broad-based sports programs. Current and immediately incoming student-athletes who may have been adversely impacted by roster limits will still have the opportunity to earn a roster spot.
NIL conditions: The new NIL Go platform, managed by the College Sports Commission and its partners, Deloitte and LBi Software, will streamline the reporting and approval process for third-party NIL agreements—enhancing transparency while protecting student-athletes’ eligibility.
We are also preparing for the financial responsibility that comes with this new model and remain focused on driving strategic initiatives like Vandy United and advancing the mission of Vanderbilt Athletics. With your support, we will continue to set the standard in this new era.
This is a defining time for college sports. Though much is changing, the essence of what athletics represent—community, growth, discipline, excellence—remains firmly intact. We are ready to lead. And together, we will succeed.
Anchor Down!
Daniel Diermeier Chancellor
Candice Storey Lee Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director
Students compete in Valorant, a multiplayer video game, in the Esport Lounge at the Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center, Photo by Xiaomeng Shen/UW–Madison While esports isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind when you think of athletics, there are a lot of skills that you need to be a good esports athlete. “There […]
Students compete in Valorant, a multiplayer video game, in the Esport Lounge at the Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center, Photo by Xiaomeng Shen/UW–Madison
While esports isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind when you think of athletics, there are a lot of skills that you need to be a good esports athlete.
“There is a big mental aspect of esports, but part of it is just mechanical skills, like how well you aim and stuff,” says UW sophomore Arsalan Ahmad, an officer for the Madison eSports Club. “Genetics plays a huge role in other sports, a lot of times it’s just ‘oh are you tall enough to play basketball.’ With esports there is a lot of adaptation, it’s not only that you have to grind, but you also have to adapt to changing metas (most effective tactics available) like traditional sports.”
Ahmad, who’s studying computer science and data science, competes on the club’s top team for Valorant.
Esports, or playing video games competitively, has grown rapidly into a global industry. Games like League of Legends, Valorant, Apex Legends and Counter-Strike have become some of the most popular, with their top athletes being treated like celebrities, complete with dedicated training facilities and top tier sponsorship deals.
UW–Madison has also started providing more opportunities and spaces for esports on campus. While UW doesn’t have a varsity-level esports team like some universities, student-led groups such as the Madison Esports Club offer competition across multiple games.
The Madison Esports Club first started off as a group of students who gathered to play popular games such as DOTA, Starcraft and Hearthstone. In early 2020 the organization was adopted under the University Recreation and Wellbeing as a Sports Club, bringing it more funding and opportunities to compete against other teams.
The organization hosts teams for specific games, such as League of Legends, Valorant and Call of Duty. But students in the club don’t have to compete on a team — they can just find groups of other students to play games for fun.
Esports, or playing video games competitively, has grown rapidly into a global industry. Games like League of Legends, Valorant, Apex Legends and Counter-Strike have become some of the most popular. Photo by Xiaomeng Shen/UW–Madison
Since COVID, gaming and video games has become one of the largest entertainment industries in the world,” said club president Eddie Kustner. “It’s good to have more opportunities for people who enjoy video games to go out and meet other people who enjoy video games.”
The Madison Esports Club competes in a variety of collegiate competitions locally and on a more national scale, including the Big Ten league and the Wisconsin Esports Conference, which includes other colleges in Wisconsin. The Big Ten is offering competitions in Super Smash Bros and Overwatch for the Spring 2025 semester, and the Madison Esports team is competing in both.
Outside of the team itself, the Bakke Recreation and Wellbeing Center has opened up a dedicated Esports lounge fitted with computers optimized for gaming. Esports has also been offered as a part of intramural sports, with semester-long competitions and shorter tournaments.
“Fostering local competition is really good. Also just connecting with other students on campus,” says Arsalan Ahmad. “It’s a great way to socialize with other students, just like it is with other intramural sports.”
Kustner would like to see esports grow here. “We have an esports room and it’s great that we have that, that’s a great first step,” he says.
It can be difficult to convince up-and-coming esports athletes to compete on a collegiate level because the prime age for gaming is on the younger side. Most talented players make their professional debut before they even graduate from high school.
“The long-term goals are to support the team and to provide more opportunities for the community to grow. The most successful esports communities in college have a very strong social scene and they have physical areas where people want to come, which fosters community” Kustner says.
For-Profit College Sports Commission Gives Nonprofit Web Impression
What’s in a (domain) name? Within an hour of Judge Claudia Wilken having granted final approval of the House v. NCAA settlement, the newly established College Sports Commission’s website went live, featuring a homepage headline declaring “a new day in college sports” beside a picture of female water polo players. The commission, which was established […]
Within an hour of Judge Claudia Wilken having granted final approval of the House v. NCAA settlement, the newly established College Sports Commission’s website went live, featuring a homepage headline declaring “a new day in college sports” beside a picture of female water polo players.
The commission, which was established by the NCAA’s Power Five conferences—the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and Pac-12—to police college athlete NIL transactions, registered as a Delaware limited liability company in April, as Sportico was first to report.
This sets the College Sports Commission (CSC) apart from the numerous nationally recognized “commissions,” many of which are government agencies—such as the FEC, FTC, FCC and the other SEC—or federally recognized nonprofit organizations exempt from income tax.
Aside from a small number of postseason football bowl games, the CSC is also unique in being the only for-profit governing body, association or multi-school organization in college sports. That means unlike the NCAA, its member intuitions and major conferences—all of which are federally registered 501(c)(3) organizations—the commission is not legally bound to operate for exclusively charitable purposes; does not have to publicly disclose its annual tax return (that includes financial details such as its annual legal expenditures or the compensation of its new CEO, Bryan Seeley); and faces no restrictions on its involvement in political campaigns.
However, the CSC’s website lends a different impression, starting with its URL: www.CollegeSportsCommission.org. Although any entity can register or use dot-org domain extensions, they typically and historically are associated with nonprofits. Notably, if paradoxically, all but one of the P5 conferences (BigTen.org) now employ dot-com domains for their official sites (SECSports.com, Big12Sports.com, theACC.com and Pac-12.com) even though each of the leagues are 501(c)(3) charities.
In an email, a commission spokesperson told Sportico that despite its legal structure, it is “not intended to be a for-profit company.”
The CSC obtained its website’s URL on April 2—a week-and-a-half before its Delaware LLC was formed. Simultaneously, as confirmed by the spokesperson, it also obtained a dot-com version. Nevertheless, CollegeSportsCommission.com is currently a parked domain that does not redirect to the active, dot-org site.
On its FAQ page, the CSC describes itself as “the organization overseeing the new system that allows schools to share revenue directly with student-athletes and ensures that NIL deals made with student-athletes are fair and comply with the rules.” While it distinguishes itself from the NCAA, the current version of the site offers little clarity about who controls the commission or how it is structured. Notably, its official legal name—College Sports Commission LLC—does not appear anywhere on the site, including in the “Terms of Service” or “Privacy Policy.”
Meanwhile, the website for the NIL Go system, managed by Deloitte, uses a dot-com domain name. According to the CSC spokesperson, the domain was initially purchased by Deloitte on behalf of the joint NCAA/P5 settlement implementation committee, and is now in the process of transferring ownership to the commission. Meanwhile, the dot-com website for the College Athlete Payments (CAP) platform, developed by LBi Software and “overseen” by the commission, is owned by LBi.
Aussie Stingers locked in for 2025 World Aquatics Championships
Water Polo Australia (WPA) is pleased to announce the Aussie Stingers for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships. Set to be held in Singapore from 11-24 July 2025, WPA has today announced a 14-strong women’s team to compete at the event. Headlined by 10 Paris Olympic silver medalists, with a number of New South Wales Institute […]
Water Polo Australia (WPA) is pleased to announce the Aussie Stingers for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.
Set to be held in Singapore from 11-24 July 2025, WPA has today announced a 14-strong women’s team to compete at the event.
Headlined by 10 Paris Olympic silver medalists, with a number of New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holders including Genenvieve Longman (main picture), Bronte Halligan (pictured below), Sienna Green, Tilly Kearns, Sienna Hearn, Danijela Jackovich, the Stingers squad for the World Championships is a great mix of youth and experience.
“Our team for the world Championships is a mix of athletes who have been around for numerous Olympic cycles, athletes who were part of our squad in the lead up to Paris, and some new players who have joined us for the new Olympic cycle,” said Head Coach Bec Rippon.
“It’s a nice, balanced team, who have been bringing some great energy to every session, and I look forward to seeing what we can produce in Singapore.”
Almost one year on since the historic silver medal performance in Paris, Rippon said it’s been great to have the majority of the team back together.
“It is nice having some of the Paris group back and to now see how they connect with the newer players that have been working hard in Australia and overseas,” Rippon said. “They bring with them some great experience and energy, as we approach the new Olympic cycle,” she said.
Currently in camp on the Gold Coast for three weeks, the Stingers will next head to Perth, where they will host the USA and Italian women’s teams for a training camp and official Test matches (details for tickets on sale will be available soon).
“It’s going to be a great opportunity to trial some new things that we’ve been working on, and to try things without being under the same pressure of being at a World Championships,” Rippon said.
Members of Team Australia pose with their silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“We are really happy to have both of those teams in Australia – we always have great battles with the US and such a strong history with them so it will be great to see how we’re matching up.
“And we will play the Italians at the World Championships, so it will be a really good chance to check in and measure up against each other before Singapore. “
The 2025 World Aquatics Championships will be held in Singapore from 11-24 July, with the Stingers set to play their first game on Friday 11 July against the host nation, Singapore.
Water Polo Australia would like to congratulate the following athletes on their selection:
Abby Andrews (QLD)
Charlize Andrews (QLD)
Hayley Ballesty (NSW)
Tenealle Fasala (QLD)
Sienna Green (NSW)
Bronte Halligan (NSW)
Sienna Hearn (NSW)
Danijela Jackovich (NSW)
Tilly Kearns (NSW)
Alexie Lambert (NSW)
Genevieve Longman (NSW)
Olivia Mitchell (NSW)
Gabi Palm (QLD)
Pippa Pedley (WA)
Alice Williams (QLD)
Reserves:
Claire Durston (NSW)
Jessica Emerson (QLD)
Nioka Thomas (NSW)
Ord Minnett Aussie Stingers Schedule:
Friday 11 July | Australia v Singapore | 9:10pm AEST
Sunday 13 July | Australia v Italy | 7:35pm AEST
Tuesday 15 July | Australian v New Zealand | 7:35pm AEST
Thursday 17 July | Women’s Crossovers Saturday 19 July |
Women’s Quarterfinals and Classification Monday 21 July |
Women’s Semi Finals and Classification Wednesday 23 July |
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