Presidents Council Recap

The MVB Final Four; How DIII Athlete Became Coach 30; What We're Watching

Author

Steve Ulrich
April 28, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

APRIL 28, 2023 | written by STEVE ULRICH

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TOP STORY
1. Presidents Council Recap

by Justin Whitaker, NCAA

“The Division III Presidents Council on Wednesday discussed several topics and approved actions related to the Division III Enrichment Fund, the philosophy statement review and more.

Following the foundation laid by the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee and the Management Council, the Presidents Council approved the process for hiring a third-party vendor to conduct an assessment of the Division III Enrichment Fund initiatives, programs and resources.

The council discussed the recently created Financial and Risk Management Working Group, specifically its charge, timeline and initial areas of review.”

» Update: “President Charlie Baker spoke with the council to discuss Tuesday's Board of Governors meeting, congressional engagement and other Association-wide and Division III-specific topics.”

» Comings and Goings: “Kate Foster is leaving the council after resigning as president of The College of New Jersey. Maryville President Bryan Coker joins the Presidents Council for a term lasting until January 2027.”

A MESSAGE FROM BRIGHT CELLARS

The Wine Club for Real People

Bright Cellars believes that anyone can be a wine person. Learn what you like with our simple and fun wine taste quiz, and experience the joy of wine delivered to your door. No commitment. No fine print. Just wine your way.

VOLLEYBALL (M)
2. The Final Four

The first spring national championship takes place this weekend at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Md., as Division III crowns its men’s volleyball champion.

#1 Vassar (26-1) vs. #5 North Central Ill. (24-3), 5:00

The Brewers are led by National Player of the Year Andrew Kim, who posted a .411 hitting percentage with 3.94 kills and 4.67 points per set. Senior MB Gavin van Beveren and junior S Jacob Kim (no relation) were also named first-team All-Americans. It is Vassar’s fourth trip to the national semifinals. The Cardinals also had a pair of first-teamers in senior OH Jared Moser and junior S Tyler Donovan. NCC makes its first-ever Final Four appearance.

#2 Stevens (33-3) vs. #4 Messiah (27-5), 7:30

The Ducks have won four in a row from the Falcons. Stevens turns to seniors Percy Bickford and Louden Moran, along with sophomore Koby Sherman to trigger the offense. All three were named second-team All-America. Messiah is making its first appearance in the national semifinals and looks to first-team All-American OH Mason Nissley to lead the offense. He averaged 4.93 kills and 5.57 points per set.

» Elite 90 Winner: Stevens sophomore OH Brandon Rogers was named the recipient of the NCAA’s Elite 90 Award, presented to the student with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site.

» Final - Sunday, April 30
semifinal winners, 2:00

A MESSAGE FROM THE GIST

Sports, sans mansplaining

The GIST is a forever-free newsletter that provides a refreshing female perspective on the most important headlines in sports. They’re inclusive, progressive, and not afraid to talk about anything—even the sexist bs 👀

#WhyD3
3. How DIII Athlete Became ‘Coach 30”

Brenden Clinton, McDaniel

by Rhiannon Walker, The Athletic

“ “Class Clown” was the only award Brenden Clinton ever won in school. He received it, ironically, at the end of his lone year in the Laurel (Md.) High School Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), which his parents enrolled him in to get his act together.

Not only did Clinton, a Laurel native, not “straighten up” as his parents hoped, he refined his jokes and storytelling during that time.

Clinton is thankful he didn’t lose his sense of humor, because he eventually turned it into a career he loves, as well as a successful social media persona: “Coach 30.”

» Field Awareness: “Whenever there’s a big sports event, people seek out the 24-year-old’s film-study breakdowns. Athletes across sports have commented on Clinton’s videos and consigned them as being spot-on interactions between players and coaches. This is by design, as Clinton is a former Division III football player — a wide receiver at Salisbury University (Salisbury, Md.) and then a defensive back at McDaniel College (Westminster, Md.) — and has first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to be in the film room — particularly after a bad game.”

» D3 Appeal: “Football was always at the heart of it. I was recruited to play at Salisbury, and when I got there, I didn’t like the scheme they were running, so I transferred to McDaniel. I was playing receiver, and they were running this triple-option offense, which basically all you do is run the ball, and the receivers are skinny linemen on the outside. I didn’t want to be a part of that, so I left. (McDaniel) ran a spread offense, so they were throwing the ball a lot more. The funny thing is I moved to defensive back when I got over there, so it didn’t matter.”

» Inspiration: “It was inspired by my defensive coordinator (at McDaniel). He was a defensive coordinator when I was there, and he was also the DBs coach. That’s where that whole thing came from. That was how he would talk to us. Some of the lines were lines that he would say to us.”

» What They’re Saying: “Some of the players … were commenting (and) talking about, “Oh, this dude must be in our meeting rooms.” People were in the comments sharing their experiences with their coaches, and it was a big thing. That’s what I talked about (with) the relatability.”

STREAMING
4. What We’re Watching

⚾️ BSB: #16 UW-Oshkosh (22-6) vs. #18 UW-La Crosse (22-6), Fri., 2/5:00; Sat. 1/4:00

🥍 MLX: RIT (15-1) vs. St. Lawrence (11-4), Sat. 12:00

NEWS
5. Lightning Round ⚡️

⚾️ Baseball. Congrats to Bates who ended a 31-game losing streak to Southern Maine, downing the Huskies, 6-5.

🏃🏻‍♀️ Track and Field. The Loras 4×800 relay set a Division III record at the Drake Relays. The quartet of Wyatt Kelly, Ryan Harvey, Carter Oberfoell and Mike Jasa covered the distance in 7:22.17.

🏒 Hockey (M): Misericordia joins the United Collegiate Hockey Conference

🎂 Happy Birthday. Cake and candles for Ralph Turner, Erik Scherer (Fri.), Janet Lohmann and Anthony Terry (Sat.), as well as Meredith Meier and Joey Kuhl (Sun.)

Do you know of someone celebrating an upcoming birthday? Drop us a line at [email protected]

TRANSACTIONS
6. Comings and Goings

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