• The current track and field stadium is unsuitable for competitive use and hasn’t hosted a home meet in years.
• While other universities have cut track and field programs, ASU remains committed to all 26 of its sports.

While Olympic sports at the NCAA level across the country face upheaval following the approval of the House settlement bringing revenue sharing and roster limits, Arizona State appears headed in the opposite direction.

PITTSBURGH – Olivia Babcock was tabbed an ESPY nominee for best college athlete in women’s sports, announced on Thursday. She is one of four recipients in the category including JuJu Watkins (University of Southern California, basketball), Kate Faasse (University of North Carolina, women’s soccer) and Gretchen Walsh (University of Virginia, swimming). She is the first Pitt female athlete in history to receive a nomination.

Hosted by Shane Gillis, The 2025 ESPYS will air live from The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and will stream live on ESPN+. The ESPYS will also be available to stream on-demand the next day on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. The star-studded ceremony will relive the best moments of the year, honor leading athletes and performances, and bring together the sports industry’s fan favorites and biggest stars. 

Top celebrities from sports and entertainment will gather to recognize nominees and honor winners in categories such as “Best Athlete – Men’s Sports,” “Best Athlete – Women’s Sports,” “Best Breakthrough Athlete,” “Best Record Breaking Performance,” “Best Championship Performance,” and “Best Comeback Athlete.”

Per tradition, The 2025 ESPYS will also showcase the achievements of inspiring and courageous athletes who embody the spirit of The ESPYS through three pillar awards – the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and The Pat Tillman Award for Service. Honorees for each of these awards will be announced in the coming weeks. The show supports ESPN’s ongoing commitment to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, launched in 1993 by ESPN in partnership with the late Jim Valvano.

Babcock is tabbed an ESPY nominee after winning the Honda Award for volleyball and being named an AAU Sullivan Award Semifinalist and the AVCA National Player of the Year. 

She led the Pitt offense and averaged 5.94 points per set, 4.72 kills per set, 1.82 digs per set and 0.62 aces per set. Babcock won two AVCA National Player of the Week and three ACC Offensive Player of the Week awards last season. 

ESPYS Release

BALTIMORE, MD – Johns Hopkins placed five individuals on the 2025 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Women’s Track and Cross Country Team it was recently announced. 
 
Nominees must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA and be a starter or significant reserve.  First, Second and Third Team Academic All-America Women’s Track and Cross Country Teams will be announced on July 15.
 

Including the five selections this season, the Johns Hopkins women’s cross country/track & field teams have now produced 56 Academic All-District selections since 2003.  Three Blue Jays – Sara Bartlett, Annie Huang and Mackenzie Setton are making their second consecutive appearance on the team.
 
Johns Hopkins’ 2025 CSC Academic All-District Selections
Sara Bartlett (Sr.)
Major:  Public Health
• 8x Centennial Conference medalist with 2 gold and 6 silver
• All-American in the triple jump 3x (indoor-1, outdoor-2) with one 1st team and two 2nd team finishes
• 2025 Centennial Conference Indoor Champion in the Long Jump and Triple Jump
• 11 top-five finishes at Centennial Championships in career
• Rhodes Scholar Finalist
 
Annie Huang (Gr.)
Major: Molecular & Cellular Biology (UG), Biotechnology (G)

• 5 career 1st Team All-American at NCAA Indoor & Outdoor Championships
• 9x NCAA Qualifier with top-13 finishes in all 9 events

• 6x Centennial Conference Champion (individual & relay) and 7x medalist (top-3 finisher)
• Holds the 2nd-best time in school history in indoor 800 (2:09.33) and outdoor 800 (2:07.48)
• 2025 Centennial Conference Indoor Track Athlete of the Year
• 5x Centennial Conference Champion in 2024-25:  Indoor:  400-meter, 4×400, DMR. Outdoor:  1500, 4×40
 
Lianne Saussy (Jr.)
Major: Molecular & Cellular Biology
• Member of fourth-place DMR team at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track Championships
• 11x medalist at Centennial Championships with 8 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze
• Seven top-4 finishes at Centennial Championships in 2024-25:  Indoor:  DMR (1^st), 4×400 (1^st), 400-meter (4^th), 200-meter (4^th).  Outdoor:  400 Hurdles (3^rd), 4×100 (1^st), 4×400 (1^st)
• Member of 4×400 and 4×800 indoor relay teams and 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams that hold JHU records
 
Harrinee Senthilkumar (Sr.)
Major: Neuroscience
• 12x Centennial Conference medalist with 8 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze
• 3x NCAA Qualifier
• 2025 Centennial Conference Champion in the Indoor Mile and third place in the Outdoor 1500
• Member of JHU-record-holding 4×800 relay teams (outdoor and indoor) and DMR team (indoor)
• Six-time Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll selection
 
Mackenzie Setton (Jr.)
Major:  Molecular & Cellular Biology
• Earned Second Team All-America honors in the Mile with a 14^th-place at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track Championships
• Member of the 4x800m relay team that set a Division III national record at the 2025 Penn Relays
• Six-time medalist at the Centennial Championships with one gold, three silver and two bronze
• Member of First Team All-America DMR team at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track Championships
 

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CONWAY, Ark. _  The Atlantic Sun Conference announced today a groundbreaking strategic alliance creating a consortium of two conferences (Atlantic Sun and United Athletic Conference), bringing together three Texas universities which are currently part of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with the five football-playing ASUN schools to create an all-sports United Athletic Conference beginning July 1, 2026.

The WAC announced Wednesday that Southern Utah and Utah Tech will be leaving the conference to join the Big Sky Conference, effective July 1, 2026, leaving UT Arlington, Abilene Christian and Tarleton State as the only three full members of the WAC. ACU and Tarleton State were already competing in the football-only incarnation of the UAC.

The new alliance is expected to strengthen and improve operational efficiency across both conferences and across the university campuses. It will create new growth opportunities across the southeast, and position both conferences for continued success in the future. The consortium will be led by current ASUN Commissioner Jeff Bacon, who will serve as its Executive Director, providing experienced leadership for this new venture. Current WAC Commissioner, Rebekah Ray, will assume a leadership role within the consortium.

“The landscape of collegiate athletics has changed rapidly in recent years, and this strategic alliance creates innovative opportunities for collaboration and increased efficiencies for all of the institutions involved,” said Matt Whiting, UCA director of athletics. “I am excited for what this means for the University of Central Arkansas and our Athletics Department as we enter a new era of college athletics.”

“As we navigate the changing world of collegiate athletics, I am excited about the opportunities presented in this strategic alliance and further strengthening our partnership and future with our current United Athletic Conference peers,” said UCA President Dr. Houston Davis. “This alliance positions the University of Central Arkansas well geographically, creating greater experiences for our student-athletes and fans.”

In 2026, the WAC will rebrand to the United Athletic Conference (UAC), which is the brand currently used to recognize the ASUN-WAC Football Alliance. This rebrand will better recognize the new membership composition of the Conference with all seven (7) UAC football-playing members housed within one conference, and the shift in geographic footprint.

The UAC will welcome new members Austin Peay State University, the University of Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky University, the University of North Alabama and the University of West Georgia. The addition of five football-playing members (identified above) will bring total UAC membership to 8 members, including 7 football-playing members along with UT Arlington.

Remaining ASUN membership will include Bellarmine University; Florida Gulf Coast University; Jacksonville University; Lipscomb University; the University of North Florida; Queens University of Charlotte, and Stetson University.

 

Both the ASUN and the UAC will continue to operate separate championships as independent conferences. Championship formats and locations will be determined at a later date for sports that are not already contracted. The ASUN basketball tournament will remain in Jacksonville, Fla., and the UAC basketball tournament location is to be determined.

The UAC and the ASUN will remain independent conferences, each with their own automatic qualifiers (AQ’s) for NCAA postseason play. Both conferences will also continue to meet the NCAA sport sponsorship and membership standards.  Membership will continue to be a top priority for both conferences. Through the President’s leadership the Consortium will evaluate potential opportunities for growth and best alignment of Institutions.

Sport sponsorship for the conferences will be as follows: 

ASUN:

• Men’s Sports: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swim & Dive and Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field

• Women’s Sports: Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swim & Dive, Tennis, Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball

UAC:

• Men’s Sports: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Football, Tennis and Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field

• Women’s Sports: Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball

“As many in the media and the public have mentioned, and as many other Division I conferences have discussed, the Division I Conference membership landscape at our level has become unsustainable and confusing,” the ASUN said. “We now have conferences that stretch from coast to coast, and conference membership often consists of a mix of football and non-football playing member institutions, public and private institutions, or institutions whose geography does not align well. 

“In addition, conferences and institutions are looking for ways to reduce or streamline expenses, unlock new revenue streams, forge scheduling alliances, and prepare for the modern world of intercollegiate athletics.

“Through the formation of a consortium, this alliance allows two similarly situated conferences to partner together to resolve many of these challenges at once: better aligning our membership; reducing expenses; collectively leveraging assets such as media rights; providing members of both conferences games

and home games in multiple sports; and situating both conferences for streamlined decision making.”

“This is not a merger, but a forward-thinking alliance. We are proactively building a modern structure for intercollegiate athletics that benefits everyone involved. This alliance provides great leverage for two conferences and long-term stability amongst like-minded and similarly situated institutions.”

ASUN RELEASE