Sports

Brown to confer honorary degrees on seven distinguished leaders at Commencement 2025

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — During its Commencement and Reunion Weekend from May 23 to 25, Brown University will confer honorary doctorates on seven candidates who have achieved great distinction in a variety of fields. The candidates are: Jon Batiste — Award-winning musician Allyson Felix — Olympic gold medalist Eileen Hayes — Social services leader […]

Published

2 months ago

May 8, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — During its Commencement and Reunion Weekend from May 23 to 25, Brown University will confer honorary doctorates on seven candidates who have achieved great distinction in a variety of fields. The candidates are:

Jon Batiste — Award-winning musician
Allyson Felix — Olympic gold medalist
Eileen Hayes — Social services leader
Suleika Jaouad — Author and artist
William Kentridge — Artist
Timothy Snyder — Historian
Kevin Young — Award-winning poet

Recipients will receive prominent recognition at the University Ceremony on Sunday, May 25. Felix, who is a five-time Olympian and the most decorated American track and field athlete in history, will deliver the Baccalaureate address to the University’s undergraduate Class of 2025 on Saturday afternoon at the First Baptist Church in America. The ceremony will be livestreamed on Brown’s Commencement website.

Honorary degrees are awarded by the Board of Fellows of the Corporation of Brown University and are conferred by University President Christina H. Paxson during Commencement exercises.

While the Board of Fellows awards the degrees, many of the recipients were recommended by the Advisory Committee on Honorary Degrees, a faculty and student committee chaired this year by Professor of English Richard Rambuss. The committee offered recommendations for leaders who have demonstrated excellence in a variety of fields, including based on nominations received from Brown faculty, staff and students.

Honorary degree recipients do not serve as Commencement speakers; since its earliest days, Brown has reserved that honor for members of the graduating class. Additional details on Commencement forums and other events during the weekend will be posted on Brown’s Commencement website.

Honorary degree candidates

Jon Batiste
Doctor of Music
Award-winning musician

Jon Batiste is a seven-time Grammy and Academy Award-winning singer, songwriter and composer who is among the most prolific and accomplished contemporary musicians globally.

Born in New Orleans, Batiste is known for powerful music that draws on classical, jazz, R&B and soul. He has released eight studio albums and won, among many honors, an Academy Award for “Best Original Score” for the 2020 Disney-Pixar film “Soul.” His 2021 album “We Are” was nominated for a historic 11 Grammys Awards across seven categories. In 2024, he released his most recent studio album, “Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1),” which is the first in his solo piano series, reimagining classical works through a fresh lens.

Along with his wife — author and artist Suleika Jaouad — Batiste was the subject of the Oscar and Grammy-nominated 2023 documentary “American Symphony,” which won a Grammy for “Best Music Film” along with an Oscar nomination for “Best Original Song.”

Batiste serves as a creative director for the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. From 2015 until 2022, he served as the bandleader and musical director of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS.

Batiste earned a bachelor’s degree and a master of music from the Juilliard School.

Allyson Felix
Doctor of Humane Letters
Olympic gold medalist

Five-time Olympian Allyson Felix is the most decorated American track and field athlete in history.

With a record 20 world championships and 11 Olympic medals, including seven golds, Felix retired in 2022 leaving a historic legacy in competitive running. In 2024, she was elected to the International Olympic Committee, the governing body of the Olympic Games.

An influential voice in women’s athletics, Felix publicly advocated for improved maternity policies in the sports apparel industry and helped spur maternity protections for sponsored athletes. Ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, she led an initiative to create the first-ever family space in the Olympic Village to support parent-athletes during the games.

Felix is the founder of Saysh footwear for women, a company that challenges traditional gendered sneaker design, and co-founder of Always Alpha, a women’s sports management firm. She serves as an ambassador for Right to Play, which supports underserved children across the world, and co-founded the Power of She Fund at the Women’s Sports Foundation to help provide childcare support for athletes who are mothers.

Felix earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California. She and her husband live in Los Angeles with their two children.

Eileen Hayes
Doctor of Humane Letters
Social services leader

For 24 years, Eileen Hayes has served as president and CEO of Amos House, a Rhode Island social services organization that has supported generations of individuals and families.

A compassionate visionary who began her career as a social worker, Hayes helped transform Amos House from a soup kitchen to a multifaceted organization that offers employment programs, services and housing to individuals facing poverty, hunger, homelessness and addiction.

Under her leadership, Amos House launched two social enterprises, More Than a Meal Catering and Amos House Builds, both of which employ graduates of its training programs and generate income to support the organization. Its housing portfolio has grown to house hundreds of individuals, families, children and older adults in apartments, rooming houses and shelters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization managed a warming center in Providence that served more than 200 individuals a night.

Hayes has channeled her experience, success and dedication to serving as a mentor and trainer across her field and an adviser on program design and implementation for other organizations. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Hunter College and a master of social work from New York University. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and has four children and two grandchildren.

Suleika Jaouad
Doctor of Letters
Author and artist

Suleika Jaouad is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, artist, advocate and New York Times bestselling author of “Between Two Kingdoms” and “The Book of Alchemy.”

After a leukemia diagnosis at age 22, she launched her widely read New York Times column and video series “Life, Interrupted” from her hospital bed. Her essays and reporting have appeared in publications including the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic and Vogue.

Jaouad created the Isolation Journals, a newsletter founded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that helps 200,000 people from around the world tap into the transformative power of creativity. She and her husband, musician Jon Batiste, are the subject of the Oscar-nominated and Grammy Award-winning documentary “American Symphony,” which portrays the artists during a year of extreme highs and lows.

An advocate for health care reform, Jaouad served on Barack Obama’s Presidential Cancer Panel and received the Inspire Award from the National Marrow Donor Program (Be the Match) for her work to expand and diversify the national bone marrow registry.

A citizen of Tunisia, Switzerland and the United States, Jaouad attended the Juilliard School’s pre-college program for the double bass. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and an MFA from Bennington College.

William Kentridge
Doctor of Fine Arts
Artist

William Kentridge is a leading South African artist whose works have been exhibited globally. Working across drawing, writing and film, Kentridge grounds his creations in politics, science, literature and history. He is renowned for his original works for the stage, which combine performance, projections, voice and music.

Since the 1990s, Kentridge’s art has been exhibited at major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Albertina Museum in Vienna, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen, the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, and the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

He has directed Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” Shostakovich’s “The Nose” and Alban Berg’s operas “Lulu” and “Wozzeck” at venues including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan, the English National Opera in London and the Salzburg Festival. In 2023, he received an Olivier Award for outstanding achievement in opera for “Sibyl” in London.

Kentridge was born in Johannesburg, where in 2016 he co-founded the Centre for the Less Good Idea, an incubator for experimental performance. In 2024, he was an artist-in-residence at the Brown Arts Institute as part of a series to commemorate the inaugural year of Brown’s Lindemann Performing Arts Center.

Timothy Snyder
Doctor of Letters
Historian

Timothy Snyder is a leading historian on Ukraine, Central Europe, the Soviet Union and the Holocaust who earned his bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Brown University in 1991.

An influential scholar and writer on authoritarianism, politics and health, Snyder offers insightful commentaries and in-depth historical analyses that have inspired artistic expressions ranging from film to rock opera. He has authored or edited 20 books that have been published in 40 languages. Those include “On Tyranny: 20 Lessons from the 20th Century,” “The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America,” and “Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin,” for which he won the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award.

A professor of history at Yale University, Snyder holds the inaugural chair in modern European history at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.

Among many recognitions, he has received the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought, the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding, and Guggenheim and Carnegie fellowships. He is a fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and head of the academic advisory council of the Ukrainian History Global Initiative.

Snyder, who speaks five languages and reads 10 European languages, earned a Ph.D. from Oxford in addition to his degree from Brown.

Kevin Young
Doctor of Letters
Award-winning poet

Kevin Young is an acclaimed poet, essayist, poetry editor and curator who earned his master of fine arts in creative writing from Brown University in 1996.

A prolific poet who has authored 15 books of poetry and prose and edited 11 volumes, Young is the poetry editor at the New Yorker. Among many recognitions for his books of poetry, “Stones” was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize, “Book of Hours” won the 2015 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets, and “Jelly Roll: a blues” won the Paterson Poetry Prize and was a National Book Award finalist.

Young served as director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture from 2021 to 2025, prior to which he directed the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. From 2005 to 2016, he was Candler professor and curator of the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library at Emory University.

A recipient of Guggenheim, Stegner and MacDowell fellowships, Young was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016 and was named a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2020.

Young received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University before earning an MFA from Brown.

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Women’s Track & Field Lands 69 Athletes on Patriot League Academic Honor Roll

LEWISBURG, Pa.- Bucknell women’s track and field continued its excellence off-the-field success in the classroom by placing a league-high 69 student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll as announced this week by the conference office. The squadron recorded a 3.51 semester GPA. To be eligible for the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete […]

Published

17 minutes ago

June 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LEWISBURG, Pa.- Bucknell women’s track and field continued its excellence off-the-field success in the classroom by placing a league-high 69 student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll as announced this week by the conference office. The squadron recorded a 3.51 semester GPA.

To be eligible for the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must earn a 3.20 grade point average (GPA) in the spring semester and participate in one of the Patriot League’s spring championship sports.

Of Bucknell’s 69 Honor Roll members, 57 also made the Bucknell Dean’s List with a GPA of 3.50 or better, and 13 women’s track and field student-athletes earned perfect 4.0s: Alexa Andron, Noel Fullman, Ainsley Danilson, Lauren Joyce, Keeley Misutka, Brenna Paxton, Sarah Policano, Laura Posh, Karly Renn, Caryn Rippey, Kaitlyn Segreti, Aidan Smith, and Brylee Tereska.

Evelyn Bliss and Kaitlyn Segreti earned Patriot League All-Academic Honors and Brylee Tereska made the CSC (College Sports Communicators) Academic All-District list.

Below are the Bucknell women’s track and field members of the 2025 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll:

Amanda Agambire	Jr.	Economics
Christine Ajao	Sr.	International Relations
Alexa Andron	So.	Economics
Megan Baggetta	So.	Psychology
Madeline Barber	Jr.	Environmental Studies
Evelyn Bliss	So.	Biology
Ella Boback	Jr.	Biology
Emma Bronson	So.	Biology
Elizabeth Bryant	Jr.	Psychology
Cami Burkett	Fr.	Biomedical Engineering
Megan Cain	Fr.	Bachelor of Arts
Anna Carruthers	Fr.	Communications
Tori Chace	Jr.	Anthropology
Alison Cooke	Jr.	Education
Ainsley Danilson	Fr.	Bachelor of Arts
Ella Derstine	Sr.	Markets, Innovation, and Design
Morgan DeWeese	Jr.	Chemistry
Liz Dlugos	So.	Biology
Sarah Dolphin	Sr.	Finance
Remy Dubac	So.	Markets, Innovation, and Design
Madison Fowler	Fr.	Bachelor of Arts
Noel Fullman	Sr.	Economics
Kailey Granger	So.	Mechanical Engineering
Avery Hargis	Fr.	Bachelor of Arts
Bella Johns	So.	Literary Studies
Lauren Joyce	Jr.	Markets, Innovation, and Design
Clara Knab	Fr.	Bachelor of Arts
Alexandra Lea	Fr.	Neuroscience
Madeline Lehker	Jr.	Biomedical Engineering
Katie Loew	Sr.	Mathematical Economics
Ava Lomberto	Fr.	Bachelor of Arts
Caroline McCaffrey	Fr.	Biology
Devin McConnaughey	Jr.	Political Science
Regan McGrath	So.	Biology
Margaret McLoughlin	Sr.	Computer Science
Shaelan McNally	Fr.	Bachelor of Arts
Abby Michaelson	So.	Biology
Maura Michalczyk	Fr.	Chemical Engineering
Keeley Misutka	Sr.	Chemistry
Katie Moncavage	Fr.	Bachelor of Arts
Malana Neal	Fr.	Bachelor of Arts
Prizila Negrete	So.	Computer Science
Kerry O’Day	Fr.	Mathematical Economics
Brenna Paxton	Sr.	Education
Sarah Policano	Sr.	Psychology
Anna Posh	Sr.	Biomedical Engineering
Laura Posh	So.	Markets, Innovation, and Design
Avery Rebar	Jr.	Biology
Hailey Reinhard	So.	Mathematics
Kera Reinhard	Sr.	Mathematics
Karly Renn	Sr.	Chemical Engineering
Meghan Rentner	So.	Political Science
Caryn Rippey	Jr.	Environmental Engineering
Abby Romero	Fr.	Biology
Cassidy Roop	Fr.	Biology
Mary Grace Sabatini	Fr.	Bachelor of Arts
Kaitlyn Segreti	Sr.	Art History
Lauren Shaffer	Jr.	Biology
Justley Sharp	So.	Biology
Aidan Smith	Jr.	Literary Studies
Sierra Strasser	Fr.	Communications
Brylee Tereska	Jr.	Biology
Kassidy Torchia	Fr.	Biology
Katrina Torelli	So.	Markets, Innovation, and Design
Lauren Trapani	Sr.	Mechanical Engineering
Siena Vestri	Sr.	Animal Behavior
Grace Vives	Jr.	Economics
Bradley Weldon	So.	Psychology
Jenna Wright	Fr.	Computer Science

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Sports

34 Johnnies Achieve Academic All-MIAC Honors in Track & Field

By: Ryan Klinkner, SJU Director of Athletic Communications Story Links MIAC Release BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Thirty-four Saint John’s University track and field student-athletes earned 2024-25 Winter and Spring Academic All-MIAC honors on Thursday, June 26. For the fifth-straight academic year, SJU led the MIAC in male honorees with a total of […]

Published

38 minutes ago

June 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

By: Ryan Klinkner, SJU Director of Athletic Communications

MIAC Release

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Thirty-four Saint John’s University track and field student-athletes earned 2024-25 Winter and Spring Academic All-MIAC honors on Thursday, June 26.

For the fifth-straight academic year, SJU led the MIAC in male honorees with a total of 173 in 2024-25, followed by Gustavus Adolphus (149), Macalester (134), St. Olaf (133) and Carleton (110). The Johnnies had 85 fall honorees in cross country, football and soccer.

Those honored (listed alphabetically) include:

-Senior Andrew Adams (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata), a finance major (pre-law emphasis) with a 3.96 GPA;

-Senior Tommy Allen (Woodbury, Minn./St. Paul Academy), a biochemistry major (pre-medicine emphasis) with a 4.0 GPA;

-Junior Jacob Becker (Lincoln, Neb./Mount Michael Benedictine), a computer science and mathematics double-major with a 3.78 GPA;

-Sophomore Noah Besemann (New Brighton, Minn./Irondale), a biology and environmental studies double-major with a 4.0 GPA;

-Sophomore Connor Brynteson (Minneapolis, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper), a computer science major with 3.94 GPA;

-Senior Eamon Cavanaugh (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest), a history (secondary education) major with a 3.88 GPA;

-Senior Ryan Conzemius (La Crosse, Wis./Aquinas), a biology major with a 3.90 GPA;

-Junior Mitchell Degen (Brainerd, Minn.), a global business leadership major with a 3.85 GPA;

-Sophomore Aaron Freier (Red Wing, Minn.), an art major with a 3.91 GPA;

-Senior Jaeden Frost (Omro, Wis.), a nutrition major with a 3.59 GPA;

-Senior Joe Gathje (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson), an economics major with a 4.0 GPA;

-Junior Kole Guth (St. Peter, Minn.), an exercise and health science major with a 3.55 GPA;

-Sophomore Matt Hansen (Longmont, Colo./Niwot), a global business leadership major with a 3.69 GPA;

-Sophomore Jack Johnston (Maple Grove, Minn.), a biochemistry major with a 3.77 GPA;

-Sophomore Vincent Kaluza (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori), a physics major with a 3.78 GPA;

-Junior Aiden Langheim (Jordan, Minn.), a finance major with a 3.79 GPA;

-Senior Max Lelwica (Brainerd, Minn.), a biochemistry major (pre-medicine emphasis) with a 3.68 GPA;

-Senior Ethan Leonard (Chaska, Minn.), an accounting major with a 3.78 GPA;

-Junior Jacob Malecha (Lonsdale, Minn./New Prague), a global business leadership major with a 3.67 GPA;

-Sophomore Peyton Martinek (Coon Rapids, Minn.), a physics major with a 3.69 GPA;

-Sophomore Max McCoy (Bennington, Neb./Mount Michael Benedictine), a biology major with a 3.69 GPA;

-Senior Jackson McDowell (Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe), a global business leadership major with a 3.66 GPA;

-Sophomore Lars Molenkamp (Almere, Netherlands/Oostvaarders College), an economics major with a 4.0 GPA;

-Junior Owen Montreuil (Jordan, Minn.), a finance major with a 3.98 GPA;

-Junior Aidan Morey (Omaha, Neb./Creighton Prep), an accounting major with a 3.96 GPA;

-Senior Sam Rabaey (Hastings, Minn.), a mathematics and physics double-major with a 3.97 GPA;

-Senior Liam Sheeley (Edina, Minn./Holy Angels), an exercise and health science major with a 3.72 GPA;

-Sophomore Cooper Smith (Alvarado, Minn./East Grand Forks), an accounting major with a 4.0 GPA;

-Junior Nick St. Peter (Maple Grove, Minn.), a data science major with a 3.90 GPA;

-Sophomore Cole Stencel (Mapleton, Minn./Maple River), a physics major with a 3.82 GPA;

-Senior Aidan Thomas (Blaine, Minn./Totino-Grace), a computer science and mathematics double-major with a 4.0 GPA;

-Senior Anthony Thurk (St. Bonifacius, Minn./Waconia), an accounting major with a 3.51 GPA;

-Sophomore Andrew Withuski (Wahpeton, N.D.), a biology major (pre-dentistry emphasis) with a 3.57 GPA;

-Sophomore Wyatt Witschen (Monticello, Minn.), a finance major with a 3.68 GPA.

Student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior or senior with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 on a 4.00 scale to qualify for Academic All-MIAC recognition. Transfers, like freshmen, must complete a full academic year to be eligible the following season.

Athletically, student-athletes must be a member of a MIAC-sponsored, varsity team and be academically and athletically eligible. The student-athlete must have utilized a season of participation (per NCAA and MIAC definitions) and have remained on the sports roster through the conclusion of the sports season.

The Academic All-MIAC honor is the fourth in track and field for Allen and the third for nine others: Adams, Cavanaugh, Conzemius, Frost, Gathje, Lelwica, Leonard, Sheeley and Thomas.

Degen, Lelwica, McDowell, Montreuil and Thurk were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team June 24.

SJU track and field finished second – by half a point, 207-206.5 – out of 11 teams at the 2025 MIAC Outdoor Championships and third at the MIAC indoor meet. SJU qualified six athletes in six events at the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships and finished fourth out of 73 teams. The Johnnies collected a program-record six top-eight finishes across the three-day meet and seven total All-America performances.

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2025-26 volleyball matchups announced – Mount Royal University Cougars Athletics & Recreation

Story Links CALGARY, ALTA. – The Cougars return to the court again in mid-October to start off the 2024-25 season. This season looks a little different as the men will start their season off alone on October 17th as they take on Thompson Rivers University. The women will start their season […]

Published

39 minutes ago

June 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

CALGARY, ALTA. – The Cougars return to the court again in mid-October to start off the 2024-25 season. This season looks a little different as the men will start their season off alone on October 17th as they take on Thompson Rivers University. The women will start their season the following week as both teams take on the University of Saskatchewan.

Last season was a year of retooling for the men’s volleyball team as they missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season. After graduating 7 players the year prior, the team had one of the youngest rosters in all of U SPORTS. Although the team didn’t make playoffs, this past season the team got stronger and bigger as players touched the floor for big minutes for the first time in their tenure. Head coach Shawn Sky looks to turn this team back around as he has many times in his career as they open up the season at 8 PM on October 17th against the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack.

Year one for Rhonda Schmuland was a great success after taking over the Cougars women’s volleyball team. In her first season, she brought the Cougars back to the playoffs after missing the year prior. Going into this season, the Cougars will need to stay hungry to make a return to the U SPORTS National Championship. Their home opener will take place on October 24 at 6 PM MT.

Their senior night will take place on February 7, 2026 in a Crowchild Classic matchup against the University of Calgary.

For fans looking to enjoy MRU live-streamed games, passes for Canada West TV will go on sale in August.

Men’s and Women’s Volleyball Schedule

Day	Date	Women	Men	Opponent	Home
Friday	October 17, 2025	XXXXX	6:00 PM	TRU	MRU
Saturday	October 18, 2025	XXXXX	5:00 PM	TRU	MRU
Friday	October 24, 2025	6:00 PM	8:00 PM	Saskatchewan	MRU
Saturday	October 25, 2025	7:00 PM	5:00 PM	Saskatchewan	MRU
Friday	October 31, 2025	4:00 PM	6:45 PM	MRU	Brandon
Saturday	November 1, 2025	5:00 PM	5:45 PM	MRU	Brandon
Friday	November 14, 2025	5:00 PM	6:30 PM	MRU	MacEwan
Saturday	November 15, 2025	3:00 PM	4:30 PM	MRU	MacEwan
Friday	November 21, 2025	8:00 PM	6:00 PM	MRU	Alberta
Saturday	November 22, 2025	7:00 PM	5:00 PM	MRU	Alberta
Friday	November 28, 2025	6:00 PM	XXXXX	Regina	MRU
Saturday	November 29, 2025	4:00 PM	XXXXX	Regina	MRU
Friday	January 9, 2026	6:45 PM	5:00 PM	MRU	Manitoba
Saturday	January 10, 2026	4:45 PM	3:00 PM	MRU	Manitoba
Friday	January 16, 2026	6:00 PM	8:00 PM	Winnipeg	MRU
Saturday	January 17, 2026	7:00 PM	5:00 PM	Winnipeg	MRU
Friday	January 30, 2026	6:00 PM	8:00 PM	UBCO	MRU
Saturday	January 31, 2026	7:00 PM	5:00 PM	UBCO	MRU
Friday	February 6, 2026	6:00 PM	8:00 PM	Calgary	MRU
Saturday	February 7, 2026	7:00 PM	5:00 PM	Calgary	MRU
Friday	February 13, 2026	6:00 PM	8:00 PM	MRU	TWU
Saturday	February 14, 2026	4:00 PM	6:00 PM	MRU	TWU

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Texas Longhorns Win 4th Directors Cup in Five Seasons Thanks in Part to NCAA Swimming Title

The Texas Longhorns have won their 4th Directors Cup in five seasons, narrowly beating out USC and Stanford in one of the most competitive battles in the history of the award. The top three teams were separated by only 4.5 points at the end of the season. The award, originated in 1993, evaluates athletic department […]

Published

49 minutes ago

June 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The award, originated in 1993, evaluates athletic department successes across the NCAA sporting spectrum to see which schools lead the way in diverse athletic programs.

Stanford owns 26 of the 31 awards given all-time. The only other two Division I schools to win are Texas, which has now won four of the last five, and North Carolina, which won the first edition in the 1993-1994 season.

The win for the Longhorns was secured, ironically, by their long-time rivals Texas A&M. When the Aggies tied USC with 41 points to be named co-champions of the men’s outdoor track & field championships, the Trojans were knocked out of contention for the title. If they had won the track & field championship outright, they would have also won the Directors Cup title.

Top 10 Standings – 2024-2025 Division I Directors Cup Standings

Texas – 1,255.25
USC – 1,253.75
Stanford – 1,251
North Carolina – 1,195.25
UCLA – 1,149
Tennessee – 1,078
Florida – 1,072
Ohio State – 1,032.25
Oklahoma – 1,017.20
Duke – 1,010

The Virginia Cavaliers, winners of the women’s NCAA title, finished 12th overall.

Teams score points based on the national finishes of their best 19 athletics programs. Five of those must be men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, women’s soccer, and baseball, while the other 14 can be any NCAA sanctioned championship sport (including swimming & diving, and water polo).

The Longhorns scored big points in swimming this year, with their men securing their record-setting 16th team title and the women finishing 3rd. That accounted for 185 of Texas’ points.

The Longhorns made their big move in the spring season, though, in spite of a disappointing early exit for the baseball team at the hands of UTSA in the Austin regional final as the #2 overall seed in the tournament. USC was also eliminated in the regional final, though for the Trojans that finish was better-than-seed.

The Texas softball team, though, came away with a clutch NCAA title late in the year, upending their former Big 12 rivals from Texas Tech in the Women’s College World Series.

As college athletics evolve post House settlement, with schools allowed to share revenue with athletes, the Directors Cup will become a crucial measure of which schools are maintaining and financially supporting broad athletics departments, and which are siphoning off resources from low-revenue sports like swimming & diving to fund more high-profile sports like football and basketball.

Full List of 2024-2025 NCAA Division I Team National Champions

Women’s Swimming & Diving: Virginia
Men’s Swimming & Diving: Texas
Men’s Water Polo: UCLA
Women’s Water Polo: Stanford
Men’s Basketball: Florida
Women’s Basketball: UConn
Baseball: LSU
Men’s Cross Country: BYU
Women’s Cross Country: BYU
FCS Football: North Dakota State
FBS Football: Ohio State
- Note: The FBS football championship is not, technically, an NCAA Championship, but it is used for Directors Cup standings, alongside the FCS football championship, which is an NCAA Championship.
Men’s Golf: Oklahoma State
Men’s Gymnastics: Michigan
Women’s Gymnastics: Oklahoma
Men’s Ice Hockey: Western Michigan
Women’s Ice Hockey: Wisconsin
Men’s Indoor Track & Field: USC
Women’s Indoor Track & Field: Oregon
Men’s Wrestling: Penn State
Men’s Tennis: Wake Forest
Women’s Tennis: Georgia
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field: USC & Texas A&M (co‑champions)
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field: Georgia
Softball: Texas
Men’s Soccer: Vermont
Women’s Soccer: North Carolina
Men’s Volleyball: Long Beach State
Women’s Volleyball: Penn State
Women’s Beach Volleyball: TCU
Women’s Bowling: Youngstown State
Field Hockey: Northwestern
Women’s Rowing: Stanford
Rifle (Co‑ed): West Virginia
Skiing (Co‑ed): Utah
Fencing (Co‑ed): Notre Dame

NCAA Division II, Division III, and NAIA

The Directors Cup for NCAA Division II athletics, which counts up to 15 teams that must include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s baseball, and women’s volleyball, was won by Grand Valley State. The Lakers had a 4th place national finish in men’s swimming and an 8th-place national finish in women’s swimming.

GVSU has won five consecutive Directors Cups, nine out of the last ten, and 16 overall. No other school has won more than six (UC Davis). In fact, only one other Directors Cup has been won by a school still in Division II Athletics – Adams State in 1998-1999.

Nova Southeastern, which won the women’s swimming & diving title, finished 9th, while Drury, which won the men’s title, finished just 57th overall. Men’s swimming & diving scored almost 30% of their total points (100/344).

In NCAA Division III athletics, Johns Hopkins won the Directors Cup for the third-straight season. Division III schools can count up to 18 teams, four of which must be men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s soccer.

Williams, who finished 8th this year in the standings, is the dominant team in Division III history with 22 wins. JHU is the only other school with multiple titles.

Women’s swimming & diving champions MIT finished 6th in this year’s overall standings, while men’s swimming & diving champions Denison were 20th in the final Division III Directors’ Cup standings.

In NAIA, 13 teams can score, four of which must be men’s and women’s basketball, men’s soccer, and women’s volleyball. The University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky won the NAIA Directors’ Cup this year, their second-straight title and second overall title.

That was another school boosted by big swimming & diving points, with both their men’s and women’s programs finishing 4th at the NAIA Championships and picking up 80 points each.

SCAD Savannah, which won both the men’s and women’s NAIA titles in swimming & diving this year, finished 11th in the Directors’ Cup standings.

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Sports

T&F’s Ezekiel Sits as Semifinalist on Bowerman Watchlist

NEW ORLEANS – Baylor track & field star Nathaniel Ezekiel added another honor to his accolade list as a semifinalist for the Bowerman Award, the organization announced on Thursday afternoon. Ezekiel has spent the most time on the watchlist out of the semifinalists, second behind North Carolina’s Ethan Strand. Ezekiel is Baylor’s third semifinalists […]

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56 minutes ago

June 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NEW ORLEANS – Baylor track & field star Nathaniel Ezekiel added another honor to his accolade list as a semifinalist for the Bowerman Award, the organization announced on Thursday afternoon.

Ezekiel has spent the most time on the watchlist out of the semifinalists, second behind North Carolina’s Ethan Strand. Ezekiel is Baylor’s third semifinalists in program history as KC Lightfoot (2021) and Trayvon Bromell (2014, 2015) also made the honor.

The Bowerman is bestowed to collegiate track & field’s top male and female athlete for the year. The Bowerman Advisory Board, and ultimately, The Bowerman Voters, are instructed to consider performances inclusively from the collegiate indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons only.

Ezekiel’s historic senior season was highlighted by the NCAA Outdoor Championships, running his final lap in a Baylor uniform with a personal-best of 47.49 and the No. 3 all-time mark in collegiate history to win the 400-meter hurdles title. The Nigerian was the first national champion for Baylor in the 400mH since Bayano Kamani in 2001 and only the third Bear to win the event.

Ezekiel ended his Baylor career with multitudes of honors, including 2025 USTFCCCA Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Athlete of the Year, a nine-time All-American in the indoor and outdoor seasons and the BU program record holder in the 400mH, the indoor 400m and a member in the indoor 4×400 relay. Most notably, Ezekiel concluded his collegiate career as the only athlete in NCAA history to have multiple all-time top ten marks in the 400mH, owning four.

The finalists for the Bowerman award will be announced Tuesday, July 8 with online fan voting happening from July 8-10. The Bowerman winners will be announced on Thursday, December 18 at the USTFCCCA Convention in Grapevine, Texas.

THE BOWERMAN MEN’S SEMIFINALISTS
Mykolas Alekna, California (Discus)
Jordan Anthony, Arkansas (Sprints)
James Corrigan, BYU (Mid-Distance/Steeple)
Nathaniel Ezekiel, Baylor (Sprints/Hurdles)
Ishmael Kipkurui, New Mexico (Distance)
Carlie Makarawu, Kentucky (Sprints)
Ralford Mullings, Oklahoma (Throws)
Brian Musau, Oklahoma State (Distance)
Ethan Strand, North Carolina (Mid-Distance/Distance)
Ja’Kobe Tharp, Auburn (Hurdles)

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U.S. Men’s National Team Charges Back to Defeat China to Start 2025 VNL Week Two

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 25, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s National Team rallied from a 2-1 set deficit to defeat China, 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-11) in the opening match of the second week of Volleyball Nations League (VNL) on Wednesday at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The U.S. win was the ninth […]

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57 minutes ago

June 27, 2025

Your Sports Nation

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 25, 2025) – The U.S. Men’s National Team rallied from a 2-1 set deficit to defeat China, 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-11) in the opening match of the second week of Volleyball Nations League (VNL) on Wednesday at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The U.S. win was the ninth in its last 10 meetings with China.

The U.S. (3-2) will return to the court tomorrow, Thursday, June 26m at 5:30 p.m. PT to face North American rival Canada (2-3).

GET TICKETS TO WATCH THE U.S. MEN COMPETE IN HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILLINOIS

The U.S. finished with 13 more kills than China (65-52), and though the U.S. men were outblocked 16-12 for the match, most of the blocks came in the first three sets as China had only one block in each of the final two sets. Both teams served three aces with China making three fewer errors.

Eleven U.S. players scored and all 14 played in the match. Outside hitter Jordan Ewert led all players with 16 kills and 18 points, adding a pair of blocks, and paced the team with six successful receptions.

“It was an important match for a lot of us, the first time getting to play in front of our friends and family representing the national team. For the first match having such a big crowd and supportive fans and then to get the ‘W’ is huge. It gives us a lot of confidence going into the rest of the week,” Ewert commented. “We were playing against a good team. They made adjustments and we had to make adjustments. We made those adjustments in the fourth set and it worked out. The fifth set is always a battle and we pulled it out. They were a great team and they did some impressive things defensively, so we had to adjust and did well.”

Opposite Kyle Ensing scored 12 points on 10 kills, a block and an ace. Outside hitter Jacob Pasteur recorded 11 kills and outside Ethan Champlin came in to start the fourth set and finished with 10 kills. In addition to running the offense, Micah Ma’a scored five points on three kills, a block and an ace. In just under two sets, veteran libero Erik Shoji registered five successful receptions and led the team with four digs.

“It was a 14-man effort. Everybody was on the floor at some point and eventually we found a combination that put together some really good volleyball. It’s not a bad thing to play a little extra as we are learning, even if it gives me a few more grey hairs,” head coach Karch Kiraly said. “I’m really proud of the way the guys responded after losing that third set. They came out really strong in the fourth and really strong in the fifth. It’s nice to come out to a lead. Whatever combination we put out, they were working and there was a lot of effort. It didn’t always work but credit to all the guys for enduring, for rolling with all the changes we threw at them.”

A perfect Pasteur pass led to a second consecutive kill by Ensign to give the U.S. a 16-10 lead in the first set. The U.S. was passing at a 71 percent efficiency at that point. The lead was still six points, 18-12, when China went on a 6-1 run to close the lead to one point.

A Pasteur kill made it 20-18 and with a 21-19 lead, Pasteur’s strong serve led to a well-placed tip by Ewert. Ensign followed with a block on an attempted tip for a 23-19 lead. China fought off two set points after falling behind 24-20 but a kill on a back row attack by Pasteur ended the set. Ensign led the team with seven points on six kills and his late block.

Strong serving sent China out to a 6-3 lead in the second set. The U.S. called a quick timeout and rebounded to even the set 7-7, but China scored the next three points and led by at least two points the remainder of the set. Pasteur led the U.S. with five kills in the set.

Trailing 21-17 in the second set, the U.S. suffered a big blow when three-time Olympian Shoji landed awkwardly after going up for a jump set and had to be assisted off the court.

The teams split the first 12 points of the third set before China ran off six consecutive points and forced the U.S. to use both of its timeouts. A block by Cooper Robinson after a strong serve by Matthew Knigge brought the U.S. within two points, 18-16. China scored five of the next six points to put the set out of reach. Through three sets, China was serving at 54 percent.

Champlin and Hobus entered the match in the fourth set and keyed a 7-1 U.S. start that forced China to use both its timeouts early in the set. The lead quickly grew to eight points 12-4 on a Champlin kill. China pulled no closer than five points the rest of the set.

Middle blocker Shayne Holdaway made his U.S. National Team debut in the set and served an ace for a 21-13 lead. Champlin ended the set with his seventh kill, hitting .545. Holdaway added two blocks for three points and Ewert recorded three kills.

Ewert scored the first two points of the deciding set, one on a tip and another on a block, and a Gabi Garcia kill put the U.S. ahead 3-0. Champlin made a perfect pass and then scored on a back row attack and Garcia pounded a ball as the U.S. scored five of the first seven points in the set.

China pulled within two points three times but could get no closer. With a 9-7 lead, the U.S. scored three consecutive points. After a net violation on China, Jeff Jendryk came up with a block and then Robinson put a ball away after a great dig by Ma’a and a set from Dagostino.

A Holdaway kill and Champlin’s 10th point in just a set and a half gave the U.S. five match points at 14-9. China scored two points before Garcia sealed the comeback win with a kill. Jendryk, Garcia and Champlin each scored three points in the set which saw six different U.S. players score.

U.S. Men’s Week Two Roster for 2025 VNL

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
4 Jeff Jendryk (MB, 6-10, Wheaton, Ill., Loyola Univ. Chicago, Great Lakes)
5 Kyle Ensing (Opp, 6-7, Valencia, Calif., Long Beach State Univ., Southern California)
6 Quinn Isaacson (S, 6-2, Plainfield, Ill., Ball State, Great Lakes)
7 Jacob Pasteur (OH, 6-4, Westminster, Md., Ohio State Univ., Chesapeake)
9 Gabi Garcia (OPP, 6-7, San Juan, Puerto Rico, BYU)
10 Kyle Dagostino (L, 5-9, Tampa, Florida, Stanford Univ., Florida)
12 Shane Holdaway (MB, 6-6, Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach State, Southern California)
14 Micah Ma’a (S, 6-3, Kaneohe, Hawaii, UCLA, Aloha)
15 Kyle Hobus (OPP, 6-7, San Pedro, Calif., CSUN, Southern California)
18 Cooper Robinson (OH, 6-7, Pacific Palisades, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
22C Erik Shoji (L, 6-0, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford Univ., Aloha)
25 Ethan Champlin (OH, 6-3, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA, Southern California)
26 Matthew Knigge (MB, 6-7, New Egypt, N.J., Vassar, Garden Empire)
29 Jordan Ewert (OH, 6-5, Antioch, Calif., Stanford, Northern California)

Head Coach:  Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Luka Slabe
Assistant Coach: Javier Weber
Performance Analyst: Nate Ngo
Physiotherapist: Aaron Brock
Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach: Tim Pelot
Senior Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Mental Performance Coach: Andrea Becker
Team Manager: David Dantes
Consultant Coach: Chris McGown
Consultant Coach: Marv Dunphy
Team Doctors:  Eugene Yim, Mark Hutchinson, Michael Shepard, Warren Young

2025 Volleyball Nations League Schedule for Week 2
NOW Arena
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
All times PDT; Matches will be shown live on VBTV and either CBS Sports Network or Big Ten Network

June 25 USA def. China, 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-11)
June 26 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Canada
June 28 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Poland
June 29 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Italy

Week 1 Results
June 11: Ukraine def. USA, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23)
June 12 USA def. Iran, 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23, 17-15)
June 14 Slovenia def. USA, 3-1 (25-22, 27-25, 20-25, 25-23)
June 15 USA def. Cuba, 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 18-25, 25-23)

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