JANUARY 30, 2025 | composed by STEVE ULRICH

News and notes on the largest and best Division in the NCAA. #whyD3
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Headlines
👎️ Abruzzo Out As Counsel for NLRB
🤼‍♂️ New Teams Ascend to Top of Polls
💊 Saving and Reviving Liberal Arts Colleges
🏈 Middlebury’s Perry Impressing at Shrine Bowl

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TOP STORY
1. Trump Fires NLRB’s Abruzzo, an Ally for NCAA Athlete Employment

by Daniel Libit, Sportico

“Jennifer Abruzzo, the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, was dismissed Tuesday by President Donald Trump as part of an anticipated shake-up of the federal agency responsible for overseeing the rights of private-sector employees.

Abruzzo’s tenure as the NLRB’s top in-house lawyer began in July 2021, just weeks after the NCAA adopted its interim NIL policy, and was defined by her influential role in shaping the national conversation on college athlete rights.

Two months after taking office, Abruzzo issued a landmark memorandum, asserting that college athletes should be recognized as employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). While the NLRB’s jurisdiction is limited to the private sector, Abruzzo’s memo highlighted the concept of a “joint employer” theory of liability, which could potentially hold the NCAA and athletic conferences accountable for unfair labor practices by schools.”

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