AUGUST 22, 2024 | written by STEVE ULRICH

The news that you need to know about DIII non-scholarship college athletics and those who love it.
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TOP STORY
1. High School Football Welcomes Some New Recruits: Girls

by Rachel Bachman, Wall Street Journal

“Football has long been the most popular high school sport. At the same time, girls’ sports have boomed in the past half-century.

Now, those movements are converging.

A record 4,094 girls played on 11-player high school tackle football teams last year, according to data released this week from the National Federation of State High School Associations. All-girls’ flag football is also thriving: The number of girls playing in high school more than doubled from last year, to nearly 43,000 players, making it the fastest-growing high school sport.”

» Situational Awareness. “What’s behind this upturn? Changing sensibilities about what kinds of sports girls should play—girls’ wrestling is also surging—are dovetailing with corporate interests eager to spread America’s favorite game to a largely untapped market.”

» Why It Matters. “Nationwide, the number of girls playing on tackle teams is still a tiny fraction—less than 1%—of the 1,031,508 boys who played on football teams. But it has more than doubled in five years.”

» The Big Picture. “Flag football, meanwhile, is enjoying multiple tailwinds—including from the biggest league of them all. The NFL has thrown its weight behind growing the sport, from youth leagues on up. “Fundamentally, it’s still football, but the non-contact aspect, for some parents, for some kids, that’s what they’re looking for,” said Stephanie Kwok, who was hired a few months ago to the newly created position of NFL Vice President, head of flag football.”

» Continue Reading

LSTREAMING

2. Empire 8 Announces Streaming Deal With Hudl

“The Empire 8 Conference has entered a three-year exclusive partnership with Hudl to be its home for livestreaming. Through this partnership, all 12 Empire 8 Conference member institutions will stream all their games exclusively on Hudl through the Empire 8 Network.

As a part of the partnership, Empire 8 will be the destination for all Empire 8 athletic events across the conference’s 26 sports. Certain games played at Empire 8 home stadiums will be automatically captured with AI-powered Hudl Focus cameras and uploaded to the Focus Exchange Network.”

» Driving The News. “Fans can watch at www.empire8network.com, with links to action from all 12 institutions. In addition, fans can download the Empire 8 Network Over-The-Top (OTT) media app and stream on their favorite television platforms.”

» What They’re Saying. “We are excited to partner with Hudl for our streaming platform,” said Empire 8 Executive Director Chuck Mitrano. “They have distinguished themselves amongst other platforms and will provide an excellent experience for our institutions, viewers in addition families and friends of our student-athletes.”

» Keep Reading

SOCCER (W)

3. Championship Streaks ⚽️ 

Five DIII institutions have seen their women’s soccer program qualify for the NCAA championship tournament each year for more than a decade.

Consecutive Appearances in NCAA Tournament

23 - Messiah (2000)
18 - Johns Hopkins (2005)
17 - Washington U. (2006)
16 - William Smith (2007)
14 - Trinity TX (2009)
7 - Christopher Newport, MIT, Scranton (2016)

courtesy of NCAA Stats

TRANSACTIONS
4. Comings and Goings

• EMERSON - Rob Rossi named director of athletic communications

• JOHN CARROLL - Daniel Tutskey named director of cross country and track and field

• MACALESTER - Rachel Leonard named head track and field coach 

• PACIFIC LUTHERAN - Quentin Posada and Kyra Balikov named assistant athletic trainers

• SOUTHERN VIRGINIA - Deidra Dryden stepped down as athletics director. Josh Monson named interim AD

• WOOSTER - Olivia Besancon named head women’s basketball coach

1 THING

5. DNC Dance Party

“If you didn't quite catch every state-specific song during the DNC's roll call vote Tuesday night — or if you just want to relieve one of the strangest DJ sets ever played — Axios has you covered.

Here's a playlist of all the songs.

The selections ranged from pretty straightforward — like the Alabama delegation choosing "Sweet Home Alabama" — to the inventive and surprising — most notably, Lil Jon performing a mashup of his songs "Turn Down for What" and "Get Low" on behalf of the Georgia delegation.

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