MSOE is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (800) 621-7440, (www.ncahlc.org). Additional program accreditation includes the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission of ABET, (www.abet.org), Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Individual match tickets for the 2025 UNI volleyball season are now available for purchase through the UNI Ticket Office.

Single-match tickets, as well as new season tickets can be purchased HERE through the UNI Ticket Office, or by calling 319-273-4849.

The Panther volleyball schedule this fall will feature 11 home matches, including eight Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) home contests inside the McLeod Center as UNI chases its fourth consecutive regular season conference championship.

Fans will also have the opportunity to take advantage of several high-profile promotions throughout the season, including a 2024 championship ring giveaway, shirt giveaways, player autographs and more. Click HERE to see this season’s Panther Promotions.

Northern Iowa will open the 2025 home slate and regular season Aug. 29 and 30 as it hosts a pair of reigning conference champions in Arizona State and South Dakota State as part of its home tournament. The Panthers will also welcome in-state rival Iowa State to Cedar Falls for the first time in four years on Sept. 9.

UNI will host a three-match conference homestand starting with a homecoming matchup with Murray State on Oct. 4, while also taking on Evansville (Oct. 10) and Bradley (Oct. 11). The Panthers return home on Oct. 24 to face off against Illinois State, with Indiana State coming to town on Oct. 25 and Belmont on Oct. 30. Northern Iowa will close out its home schedule hosting Drake on Nov. 4 and UIC on Nov. 7.

Panther fans are encouraged to see the team early in preseason action with their annual Purple and Gold Scrimmage on Aug. 16 at 3 p.m. CT inside the McLeod Center. The event is free and open to the public. Concessions will not be available, but fans are welcome to bring their own snacks, as well as non-alcoholic beverages. UNI’s clear bag and cashless game day policies will be in effect as well.

 

UNI volleyball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Volleyball), X (@UNIVolleyball) and on Instagram (@univolleyball). The full 2025 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● “The venues got a lot of noise. The political body was disagreeing on a couple of very big ones and that didn’t help, but they got that out of the way and frankly, seven years to go, we have our plans, and I’m happy with where we are.

“Seven years is enough time, but we don’t have a lot of wiggle room.”

That’s Andrew Liveris (AUS), the President of the Brisbane 2032 organizing committee and former worldwide chief executive and Board Chair of Dow Chemical, telling Reuters that progress is being made according to plan:

“With 84% of our venues being existing or temporary, we’re mostly in good shape. But the 16% includes the stadium, includes the aquatic centre, it includes a few very important venues. That would be the biggest challenge we have.”

He also sees the Games helping Queensland as one of the growth areas of the country, explaining, “What Queensland is going through, southeast Queensland in particular, is growing pains.

“I think a lot of people want to see better infrastructure, want to see their lives getting better. And I think this is where the Olympics can enable that by accelerating that infrastructure.”

● U.S. Center for SafeSport ● The Center for SafeSport announced the departure of chief executive Ju’Riese Colon on 22 April and on Thursday (24 July):

“The Board of Directors of the U.S. Center for SafeSport announced today that it has begun the formal search for the organization’s next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The non-profit tasked with safeguarding the nation’s athletes has retained global organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry to lead the search.”

The 22 April statement noted that “The board of directors has initiated the search for new leadership,” apparently now getting started in earnest. As for the positions:

“[T]he Board has established two search committees, one for the CEO and one for the CFO, comprising Board members and advisors with relevant expertise. Korn Ferry has completed stakeholder interviews and is currently conducting organizational assessments and confidential outreach to identify candidates who exemplify both executive acumen and a people first philosophy. This inclusive approach integrates staff feedback, recent strategic evaluations, and market analysis to shape the leadership profiles. Final candidates will be evaluated not only on qualifications but also on their ability to lead with courage, transparency, and care in a time when public trust is essential.”

Those interested are asked to apply on or before 12 September.

● Russia ● World Sailing is continuing its formalized “ban” on Russian and Belarusian boats, but with a significant modification that creates new opportunities:

“The World Sailing Board met on 23 July 2025 to review the decision and determined that there was no material change in the circumstances giving rise to the suspensions and that they would therefore remain in place until the next review which will be on or before the 23 October 2025. This includes the suspension of the participation of any boat owned or effectively controlled or managed by a Russian or Belarusian individual or entity.

“However, following today’s vote, Russian and Belarussian sailors, support personnel and race officials will be permitted to participate as neutrals in World Sailing owned and sanctioned competitions and events, in line with IOC guidance. Boats owned by individuals who are sailing as neutrals under the World Sailing Neutrality Policy are also permitted.

“The policy was supported with 29 votes for, five against, with two abstentions.”

Under World Sailing’s 2024 Neutrality Policy for the 2024 Olympic Games, World Sailing’s legal department carried out neutrality reviews of Russian or Belarusian sailors or officials who applied for eligibility.

● Aquatics ● The Spanish men’s water polo team won its fourth World Aquatics Championships gold with a 15-13 win over Hungary in the final of the 2025 Worlds in Singapore.

The sides were tied at 5-5 at the quarter, with Spain up 7-6 at the half. But the Hungarians, four-time champions and as recently as 2023, were up by 10-8 after three quarters. But six Spanish goals were too much in the final quarter and led to the 15-13 final. Bernat Sanahuja (who was red-carded with 3:50 left!) and Alvaro Granados each had five goals in the victory, and Felipe Perrone, playing in his 14th (and last) Worlds, scored Spain’s 15th goal with 18 seconds left.

Greece took the bronze with a 16-7 pounding of three-time defending Olympic champions Serbia; the U.S. finished eighth, losing 8-7 to Italy in the seventh-place final.

¶

In Artistic Swimming, Spain’s Iris Tio and Lilou Lluis won the women’s Duet Free final, scoring 282.6087 points to 278.7137 for Italy’s Enrica Piccoli and Lucrezia Ruggiero.

It’s the second gold for Tio (also in the Solo Free) and fifth medal of the Championships, with three bronze medals.

¶

Swimswam.com reported that all USA Swimming World Championships team members are now in Singapore, after as much as half of the team had food poisoning issues at its training camp in Phuket (THA).

Swimming will begin on Sunday, with U.S. broadcasts available only on the Peacock streaming channel.

● Cycling ● The 112th Tour de France was not settled for sure, but almost for sure, as Ben O’Connor (AUS) attacked with 16 km to go on the brutal, final climb on the Col de la Loze to the Courchevel ski resort on Thursday to win stage 18.

He finished the triple-climb, 171.5 km route in 5:03:47, for his second career stage win in the race, unaware of the drama playing out behind him. Tour leader and three-time winner Tadej Pogacar (SLO) was repeatedly challenged by two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard (DEN), trying to make up ground … but unable to.

In the final 500 m, Pogacar passed Vingegaard and increased his lead, finishing 1:45 behind O’Connor, in second place, with Vingegaard in third at +1:54. That means Pogacar now has a lead of 4:26 on Vingegaard with three stages left, and 11:01 on German Florian Lipowitz in third.

Friday is another climbing stage, but not as difficult and only 95 km from Albertville to La Plagne – another ski resort – with a major climb in the first half and then a 19.3 km uphill finish from 668 m to 2,062 km at the top. It’s Vingegaard’s last chance, essentially.

Saturday’s 20th stage is hilly and the ride into Paris on Sunday has some early hills and cobblestones, but is fairly calm. Pogacar will, barring a major incident, win his fourth Tour on Sunday.

¶

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For our updated, 699-event International Sports Calendar for 2025, 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!

2025 USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Awards

In the 2024-25 season, the Hillsdale College men’s and women’s track and field teams continued to excel — both on the track and in the classroom.

Earlier this week, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association recognized the Chargers with a variety of awards that all reflect the programs’ academic success. Both men’s and women’s teams earned Team All-Academic honors from the USTFCCCA, and 13 athletes from both programs were individually recognized as well. 

In order to receive the Team All-Academic distinction from the USTFCCCA, programs must have an average cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher across all athletes in the program.

It’s a mark both programs easily exceeded in 2023-24. The Charger men had a cumulative GPA of 3.30 , while the women’s mark of 3.43 also passed the required threshold for the honor with plenty of room to spare.

Hillsdale’s success in competition — 14 total berths to NCAA DII Indoor and Outdoor championships, five combined first-team All-American honors, and the program’s first two individual national championships on the men’s side since 2015 — showed the Chargers’ athletic strength, and many of those athletes also excelled academically, with several of them receiving All-Academic recognition from the USTFCCCA individually.

In order to qualify for All-Academic honors, an athlete must post a 3.25 cumulative GPA and achieve at least one provisional qualifying mark during the 2024-25 indoor and outdoor seasons.

On the men’s side, two-time national champion Ben Haas was one of four Chargers honorees, adding All-Academic distinction for the second straight season to a long list of accolades that included titles in the weight throw indoors and the hammer throw outdoors at the NCAA DII Championships. NCAA DII Outdoor Championship qualifier Richie Johnston received his third All-Academic honor, while Ross Kuhn, an All-American in the 1,500m run, earned the award for the first time, as did teammate and distance runner Gabriel Phillips.

On the women’s side, mid-distance runner Reese Dragovich earned All-Academic honors for the fourth straight year, claiming the maximum number of the honor possible for her career at Hillsdale, while pole vaulter and NCAA DII Outdoor qualifier Kaylee Jackson also earned All-Academic honors for the third straight season, and junior sprinter Francesca Federici earned the distinction for the second time in her career.

Six women’s track and field athletes received All-Academic honors from the USTFCCCA for the first time in 2025 — freshman distance runner and All-American Allison Kuzma, senior sprinter Josee Behling, senior pole vaulter Katie Clifford, sophomore thrower Olivia Newsome, sophomore mid-distance runner Megan Roberts, and freshman jumper Baelyn Zitzmann.

RHINE-RUHR, GERMANY– With mid-morning fully engaged in the scenic Rhine landscape, Evelyn Bliss, clad in her glorious Red, White, and Blue Team USA jersey, began her run for her first throw of the 2025 FISU World University Games Qualifying Round Group A. The Team USA thrower took a deep breath, revved her engine, installed the javelin in its locked-and-loaded position, set a determined face, galloped down the runway, and heaved the weapon across the robin’s egg blue sky. She stopped inches short of the fault line and watched the trajectory. As she backtracked to the bench, the spotters arrived for the measurement, while Bliss carried a cautiously optimistic smile. The result arrived: 60.81m (199-5). Bliss let loose a triumphant “LET’S GO!,” knowing she unlocked advancement to tomorrow’s finals by easily surpassing the qualification benchmark of 57.60. With that information, she declined to take her remaining two throws. 

SCHOOL RECORD!

Throwing at the FISU World University Games this morning, Bliss, ON HER FIRST THROW, tossed 60.81m (199-5) to break her school record!

She finished first in her qualifying section and advances to tomorrow’s championship!#rayBucknell | #FeelingBlissful pic.twitter.com/DDAjBLht70

— Bucknell Track & XC (@Bucknell_TFXC) July 25, 2025

The mark reset her school record that the rising junior established at the 2025 NCAA East First Round, nabbed her first place in the qualifying round, and slotted into tenth in USA women’s javelin history. The distance held up after Qualifying Round Group B as the supreme mark of the morning. 

“Going into qualifying rounds I had a good feeling, practices all week felt very strong,” said Bliss. “Coach Protzman and I worked on being consistently in the 50m for practice. I was excited to compete today. Having the chance to compete internationally against these very competitive women is always a blessing. Looking towards tomorrow I want to replicate what I did today and I think that will put me in a very nice place.”

Bucknell throws coach Ryan Protzman, Bliss’ dedicated and expert mentor, was unable to make the expedition. He and her wife recently celebrated the birth of their firstborn child – a strapping baby boy, but he was up at 3:35 a.m. Eastern Time to watch his protege. 

“60 meters is such a massive benchmark in women’s javelin,” said Protzman. “I’m so happy for her. The challenges I’ve presented her with the last couple of years haven’t been all technical. Recently, we have just been pushing training throws a little more. Never has she focused on how far she threw a javelin in training with me until after NCAAs a month and a half ago. Today was special, and I think there is much more to go chase tomorrow in the final!”

Bliss was the only thrower to hit 60 meters in the qualifying round. Lianna Davidson (Australia) placed second, throwing 57.83, and Turkey’s Esra Turkmen finished third at 57.48. The best javelineer in Group B, Australia’s Mia Gordon, hit 56.39.

Twelve throwers advanced in all to the finals. Group A was more top heavy but Group B sent the quantity – seven. 

Bliss has carved a name for herself in the javelin community, despite only reaching her twentieth year. Appropriately, the USA thrower shares her birthday with the United States Army on June 14 – Flag Day. She has reached the part of the hike where her heroes have become rivals and realistic goals to surpass. American legend Kara Winger represents that mark in Bliss’ journey. 

Winger holds the American record for women’s javelin when she threw 68.11m (223-5) at the 2022 Diamond League and has won the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships eight times. She and Bliss shared the stage at the 2024 United States Olympic Trials where Winger finished second and Bliss, threw, at the time, a personal best of 55.82m (183-2), placing sixth. 

Winger, like all great athletes, understand and cultivate the importance of building the sport for the next generation. She sees those same qualities in Bliss and offered her thoughts on the budding star’s best traits:

“The thing that stands out to me about Evie is her focus, joy, and community building in her javelin career,” said Winger. “Whenever I’ve seen her, she’s sharing enthusiasm about the sport and event with someone in her camp, growing her love for the process alongside someone she cares about. Today, watching her celebrate with those people means to me that she’s here to stay: She’s building a foundation, and I look forward to watching her continue to thrive! I’ll always be glad I got to share the runway with her once.”

The finals begin tomorrow at 8:20 a.m. Eastern Time/2:20 p.m. German Time and will be streamed on FISU TV.