Looks like the future of D1 athletics involves cutting or downgrading in status teams in a lot of non-revenue sports.  In some cases, D3 will be the beneficiary.

https://x.com/NILvsNLI/status/1916963013338534071

QuoteGrand Canyon University announced today that it is dropping its Men's Volleyball program to club status.

At least 183 NCAA Olympic sports programs have been slated for elimination or downgrading in just the past 5 months.

https://x.com/NILvsNLI/status/1917352259765314041

QuoteOne NCAA Division 1 non-revenue Olympic sports program has been eliminated or downgraded in status every 4-5 days, on average, since last November...

Lakeland

Adds Cornell College, Martin Luther, Hamline, and Aurora instead of Wisconsin-Stout, Elmhurst and Beloit

Cross-posting an update on Mike Singleton from the Coaching Carousel thread:

Not exactly a new coach announcement, but I thought people might appreciate to know that Mike Singleton, former head coach at W&L men's soccer and Goucher women's soccer, was elected to the Board of Directors of United Soccer Coaches and named Vice President of Education

Not exactly a new coach announcement, but I thought people might appreciate to know that Mike Singleton, former head coach at W&L men's soccer and Goucher women's soccer, was elected to the Board of Directors of United Soccer Coaches and named Vice President of Education

Tyler Gallagher Named head Coach at Saint Vincent

QuoteSaint Vincent College is proud to announce the hiring of Tyler Gallagher as the new Head Coach of the Saint Vincent Men's Soccer Program.
 
Gallagher brings a wealth of experience and a proven record of success at the collegiate soccer level.
 
Gallagher most recently served as Assistant Men's Soccer Coach at Denison University, where he played a pivotal role in leading the Big Red to an NCAA Tournament Elite 8 appearance in 2024, back-to-back conference tournament appearances, and national rankings as high as No. 10. His contributions helped the program secure numerous accolades, including three All-American selections, two conference Players of the Year, and an impressive 26-6-9 record over two seasons.
 
Prior to his time at Denison, Gallagher was Director of Soccer and Head Coach at the Hoosac School in New York, where he operated a residential soccer academy and led the program to a GESP League Championship and a top 15 national ranking among U.S. prep schools. His leadership placed the school's first student-athletes into NCAA Division I programs.
 
Gallagher has also held assistant coaching roles at St. Lawrence University and SUNY Canton, consistently producing all-conference players, All-Americans, and contributing to multiple conference championships. He has a deep commitment to player development and academic excellence, with his teams regularly achieving high academic standards.
 
***
 
Gallagher holds a Master of Science in Sports Administration from Canisius College and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Sports Management from SUNY Canton. He also holds multiple coaching certifications from United Soccer Coaches and the U.S. Soccer Federation, including a USSF "D" License.

Rose-Hulman

Travels to Ohio Northern on a return trip in a home-and-away, plays at Greenville after last year's opener was cancelled.

I think I didn't post this in the fall when it came out, but I thought it was pretty cool to read that Capital University will be hosting the Men's and Women's soccer national championship games at historic Crew stadium in 2026

https://athletics.capital.edu/news/2024/10/2/general-capital-selected-as-host-institution-for-2026-mens-and-womens-soccer-ncaa-division-iii-national-championships.aspx

Las Vegas might have been cool for the players and families last year, but it didn't allow for many others to travel and watch the games and UNLV's soccer stadium is pretty underwhelming for spectators.  Plus, the fact that it's not a DIII institution gave it an odd feel.  It's nice to have a DIII school taking ownership of the event, while still giving it a major league facility.  Only downside to the facility is that the stadium might be too cavernous even if one of Ohio's many strong soccer programs qualifies for the Final Four.  The other potential downside is weather that time of year, although I don't know if it's that much different from Salem, VA.

QuoteCapital University has been selected as the host institution for the 2026 Men's and Women's Soccer NCAA Division III National Championships to be held at Historic Crew Stadium. Capital will serve as hosts alongside the Greater Columbus Sports Commission.

"Capital University is excited to have been selected alongside our partners at the Greater Columbus Sports Commission as the hosts of the DIII Men's and Women's Soccer National Championships in 2026," said Dr. Darrell Bailey Sr., Director of Athletics at Capital. "We were very proud to host the Division III Women's Basketball Championship in 2024, and we look forward to serving as the host institution again very soon. Our athletic department strives for excellence on and off the field of competition, and this is another great opportunity to put our campus, department, and facilities on display on a national level."

This will mark the first time that Columbus has served as the host city for the Division III men's and women's soccer championships.

Interesting transfer news from Texas.  Concordia (TX) announced that both Thomas Saylae, a forward who has started every game he has played at Hardin-Simmons in his freshman and sophomore years, and Andres Munoz, who played forward/midifield for H-S in 2023, and sat out in 2024, are both joining Concordia as a transfer. 

Last season, Saylae scored 5 goals and had 3 assists for H-S, which placed him third on the team in overall points and third as well in both goals and assists.  The two players above him in overall points, Jakob Fiol and Jack Sisson, and the one other player who scored one more goal than him, Maxwell Winneker, were all graduate students, so Saylae was poised to take on the goal scoring mantle for the H-S offense. 

Saylae scored the game winning goal for H-S in a 2-1 victory over Concordia in late September, handing Concordia their first loss of the season, so I'm sure they were pleased to get him to switch sides.  His speed up top will definitely help Concordia, which has a chance to make noise in the SCAC with Trinity and Southwestern departing for the SAA, especially since one of its top two scorers from last season - Theo Givens - was a graduate student and is out of eligibility and the other - Jose Aguirre - was a senior and is likely out of eligibility too unless he received an exemption for his junior college years.

Munoz had less of an impact at H-S during his one year on the team, but he did start three games his freshman year.

Russell Sage merging with Albany College of Pharmacy

QuoteCreating one of the region's largest private higher education institutions with the broadest catalog of programs in the health professions and strong programs in education, business, criminal justice, the sciences, pre-med, pre-health, and arts and humanities, Russell Sage College and Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) plan to merge.

A memorandum of understanding, approved by both institutions' boards of trustees, calls for a merger upon approval by regulatory bodies, with an estimated completion date of fall 2027. All students will have the opportunity to complete their degree programs at their respective colleges prior to the merger and at the combined institution after the merger, and will see expanded academic, student life, and athletic opportunities after the merger is final and approved by all regulatory bodies.

The combined institution, to be known as Russell Sage, with an anticipated enrollment of approximately 4,000 students on campuses in Albany and Troy, New York, as well as online, would likely become the third-largest private institution for higher education in the Capital Region, based on current publicly available enrollment data. The merger will result in a unified institution with combined assets of approximately $246 million, including $115 million in endowment investments.

Leo Barbosa Promoted to Head Coach at St. Mary's University of Minnesota

QuoteSaint Mary's University of Minnesota is pleased to announce the elevation of Leo Barbosa to the position of Head Men's Soccer Coach. After serving as the assistant coach for two years, Barbosa has demonstrated dedication and a deep commitment to the growth and success of the program.

"We are thrilled to elevate Leo to our head coaching position. His passion, attention to detail, and familiarity with our program, the region and conference will all serve our student-athletes and program well," said Athletic Director Brian Sisson. "He is relationship-focused, and his presence and accountability will greatly benefit our community. We look forward to the upcoming season and the stability Leo will bring."

During his tenure as assistant coach, Barbosa has been instrumental in the team's growth both on and off the field. Under his leadership, the team has made significant strides each season. Last year, they achieved their best start since 1983 with a 5-0 record. Barbosa also coached 18 Academic All-MIAC players, with three earning All-MIAC honors.

***

Originally from Brazil, Barbosa brings a wealth of experience to the head coaching role as he also serves as the Technical Director for Minnesota Rush, based out of Rochester, Minnesota, and served as the goalkeeping coach for Med City FC, helping them earn an NPSL North Conference Championship in 2022.  Additionally, he was the Director of Coaching for the Kasson-Mantorville Soccer Club from 2016-18, while also serving as the Head Coach of Kasson-Mantorville's High School Team.

I thought this profile in a W&L publication on 2nd team All-American Weyimi Agbeyegbe was interesting, particularly about how he came to W&L for soccer when DI didn't work out and how the experience exceeded his expectations

QuoteWhat do you like about being a DIII athlete?

It's tough to put into words how much I have enjoyed my time playing soccer at W&L, and I know I will look fondly on my time spent on the team for the rest of my life. However, I still remember when I wasn't even planning on coming to W&L and, instead, going to a DI school to play soccer. I had been planning on going to a DI program, preferably an Ivy until COVID-19 hit and created some issues for my recruiting process. Suddenly, spots that were available were closing up, and schools couldn't come see you play due to travel restrictions. W&L was always one of the schools that was clear with me upfront that they wanted me, and after much thought, I committed — before I had even visited the school. Turned out to be one of the best decisions I could've made.

Coming here, I was able to be a large contributor to the team from the minute I stepped on campus, while being able to enjoy my social life and meet as many people as I wanted to. During my career, we've traveled to Las Vegas, Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, the Appalachian Mountains and so many other cool spots, and I still had time for my studies and social activities. I guess what I'm trying to say is how great of a balance DIII sports offers, especially W&L. Being able to genuinely be a student-athlete is an experience a lot of DI athletes are not able to have, as it can become similar to a full-time job, while their academics and social lives take a back seat. I will say, it does help to play on a high-performing team with great teammates and a great coaching staff, but that only makes the moments off the field that much more enjoyable, as we're winning but having fun while doing it.

St. Joseph's (CT)

In addition to playing @Wheaton (MA) on the return trip of a home-and-away, they add Trinity (CT) and Springfield instead of Fisher, Bridgewater, and John Jay.

A few more notes of Region X interest from the scheduling thread:

Kalamazoo is traveling to San Antonio to play Trinity and Southwestern on 9/5 and 9/7

Lyon is playing a bunch of ASC and SCAC opponents. This year, it had one more spot to fill in its conference schedule in the SLIAC with Fontbonne's closure and it added University of Dallas, Centenary (LA), and East Texas Baptist.  It also travels to Jackson, MS for a pair of games against Belhaven and Millsaps.

Pacific Lutheran is traveling to Minnesota to play St. Olaf on Aug. 29 and Gustavus Adolphus on Aug 31. That's an imposing opening weekend for the Lutes, who are likely trying to up their SOS to offset the presumably weak NPI rankings of their NWC foes in conference play. 

Lyon

Lyon plays a lot of ASC and SCAC eams in its non-conference games that it might as well join them (and it did for football as an affiliate of the SCAC).  This year, it had one more spot to fill in its conference schedule in the SLIAC with Fontbonne's closure and it added University of Dallas, Centenary (LA), and East Texas Baptist.  It also travels to Jackson, MS for a pair of games against Belhaven and Millsaps.

Kalamazoo

They are opening the season at home with consecutive games against NAIA foes - UM Dearborn and Aquinas (a team that beat Kalamazoo 5-0 last season), but that might be because they wanted to stay at home in preparation for a long trip to Texas to play some very tough games in San Antonio against Trinity and Southwestern.  That's followed by three straight away games (Illinois Wesleyan, Loras, and Oberlin), home against North Park, and then another away trip to Chicago and Wheaton.  Pretty challenging non-conference schedule!

Macalester

As I suggested, Linfield is playing Macalester as the second game in its Minneapolis trip to play Augsburg. Playing Nebraska Wesleyan instead of Grinnell and St. Norbert instead of Central.  Also switched Wisconsin-Superior for Wisconsin-Whitewater.

St. Norbert

They open with Augsburg and Macalester, but it doesn't get easier as they play Calvin and Carthage.  They could be 0-4 before playing Wisconsin-Stevens Point on 9/9.