Sports

The Bold Type, with Commissioner Dan Butterly – June 2, 2025

Story Links Good morning to all!   The past week has been a blur of energy and purpose—from watching our student-athletes compete for a championship to pushing back against proposals that could sideline the voices of conferences like ours (FCS. I-AAA, and even Group of 6). Between the Big West Baseball Championship, future […]

Published

on


Good morning to all!  

The past week has been a blur of energy and purpose—from watching our student-athletes compete for a championship to pushing back against proposals that could sideline the voices of conferences like ours (FCS. I-AAA, and even Group of 6). Between the Big West Baseball Championship, future membership discussions, NCAA governance shifts, and conference membership requirement proposals, it’s been a defining moment for reflection and resolve. 

Song of the week is “Angry Young Man” from Billy Joel.  The lyrics feel personal this week. I may not be angry, but I’m energized. As we face down proposals that threaten the inclusive and competitive spirit of Division I, I’m using every ounce of that piano-driven urgency to advocate for the institutions that do more with less—and do it for the right reasons. 

“There’s a place in the world for the angry young man 

With his working class ties and his radical plans 

He refuses to bend, he refuses to crawl, 

And he’s always at home with his back to the wall. 

And he’s proud of his scars and the battles he’s lost, 

And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross 

And he likes to be known as the angry young man.” 

Not sure if the song title fits, but if other conference commissioners are not going to publicly voice their thoughts on the proposed future governance structure, I am the one being quoted in the media.  I do so, however, on behalf of The Big West, our institutions and student-athletes.  If so, it is a title well-earned.  

Let’s get to The Bold Type.  

  

   CONGRATULATIONS!   

  • To Cal Poly and UC Irvine for their performances in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship regional round. Both teams advanced to the regional final last night before falling to foes UCLA and Arizona. Find recaps about each game of the weekend here >>> 
  • To all our student-athletes who punched tickets to the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene after successful performances in College Station, Texas, at the NCAA West Preliminaries. Read more: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 
  • To the twenty-two Big West student-athletes representing seven member-institutions who were honored as members of the College Sports Communicators (CSC) 2025 Academic All-District® Softball Team. Read more >>>
  • To the 16 Big West women’s water polo student-athletes from six programs who were voted as ACWPC All-Americans! Read more >>> 
  • To UC Santa Barbara senior Amelia Honer who was named an All-American by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) for the second year in a row! Read more >>> 
  • To University of Georgia Provost S. Jack Hu who was named the new chancellor at UC Riverside on Wednesday! Read more >>> 
  • To Hawai’i alumna and 2022 Big West Player of the Year Amber Igiede who is one of the 30 players selected for the U.S. Women’s National Team as it prepares for the 2025 Volleyball Nations League (VNL), the world’s premier annual international tournament. Read more >>> 

  NCAA DIVISION I AND “SMALLER DIVISION I SCHOOLS” OR LESS RESOURCED – NOT LESSER   

On Wednesday, Peyton Barish wrote a guest column for “Extra Points by Matt Brown”.  I greatly appreciate Peyton using his voice to try to bring media attention to what is being proposed by the NCAA Working Group focused on future governance.  However, as Peyton sent a note to me after the article posted seeking thoughts and feedback, I took the opportunity to respond, thank him, and clarify something in the headline. 

Many Big West programs sponsor more sports than some CFP-4 peers and except for the Big 10, The Big West has, on-average, larger student bodies. 









Conference # of Schools Total Enrollment Avg. Enrollment

per School
Big 10 14 ~643,977 ~45,999
SEC 16 ~514,012 ~32,126
ACC 15 ~407,594 ~27,173
Big 12 14 ~285,180 ~20,370
Big West 11 383,816 34,893

Yet media use of headlines like ‘smaller schools’ undermines what we do. Referring to our institutions as “Smaller Schools” diminishes all that we do to provide an outstanding education and experience for our student-athletes.  As many of you are aware, many Big West institutions rank in the Top 20 public institutions in the nation.  Our academic stature and large enrollments are not definable at “smaller schools”.   

Additionally, we are nationally competitive in NCAA Division I, sending multiple teams to NCAA Championships and as noted last week, sending four teams to three Final Fours and winning a national championship last month.  We work harder to provide for our student-athletes and athletic programs. We are not given a billion dollars by TV entities to broadcast our football games, nor can we create millions of dollars more by adding four more teams to a football playoff.  

We must use our voice to continue to fight for those of us that are a little less resourced, and focus on the education and experience of our student-athletes. We are the institutions that are collegial, love to watch our student-athletes compete for their institution, and even more so watch our student-athletes earn their diploma, start a career,  and come back to campus to excitedly tell us of their success and appreciation. 

 

   MEDIA REPORTS ON NCAA MATTERS AND LEGAL ISSUES   

  • According to Sportico’s Daniel Libit, FARs’ “traditionally modest foothold is all but gone” as the industry changes, and outgoing Tennessee FAR Don Bruce notes: “Nowhere are academics in the conversation right now. And it’s really disappointing. It’s really frustrating because we [FARs] do show up for work to support student-athletes, to protect our institutions, and to preserve what we believe is worth preserving—and that is the collegiate model.” Lots more. (link) 
  • The NCAA’s partnership extension with Genius Sports, which was announced earlier this year, comes with a caveat, according to NCAA President Charlie Baker: “For them to continue to access our data moving forward, there can’t be any sportsbook betting on negative props. So all the stuff that literally translates into a lot of the worst behavior that’s directed at young people and student-athletes generally under this agreement is going to be off the table.” (link) 
  • Georgia President Jere Morehead tells ESPN/SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum he expects there to be more litigation after the House settlement. “I think ultimately if we don’t get a congressional solution, we may never solve this issue. But I’m hopeful that the House settlement will put some parameters around future litigation and give us a better place to litigate whatever issues some plaintiff’s attorney comes up with next. And there are plenty of plaintiffs’ attorneys that will come up with new theories. (link) 

 

   QUOTE OF THE DAY   

From SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey:  “I think I have a responsibility to push, and I think my [SEC] membership has a responsibility and a desire to push me. And that is a hard issue if you want to go inside what it’s like to sit in this role. I think about the responsibility I have here [to the league] and I think about the responsibility more broadly all the time. We’ll continue to try to provide perspective and information to our members and help them guide the decision. And ultimately, I recognize I’m the one who ends up typically in front of a podium explaining not just myself but ourselves. So good luck to me.”  (link) 

  

Every commissioner feels the pressure. Pressures in The Big West just feel different—and requires different courage. 

  

   LET’S CLOSE IT OUT   

We continue to wait for Judge Claudia Wilken to make a decision on the proposed NCAA-House settlement.  Many NCAA staff members thought it would have been last week.  Some commissioners thought this week.  I have been saying it will be during NACDA week, as Judge Wilken knows when major NCAA events are being conducted. Remember, she held the larger settlement hearing on the day of the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Game – for nearly 6.5 hours! 

  

That is all for this week. Be Bold. Be courageous.  Take care of those that take care of our student-athletes.  Have a great week. 

Dan 



Link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending

Exit mobile version