Biggest Stories of 2025

[Kuiper]

These are the 5 biggest stories (at least to me) of 2025.  Feel free to post yours!

1.  Tufts beats Trinity (TX) to win the National Championship

"The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" 

Tufts scores with 4 seconds left in regulation and goes on to beat Trinity in OT to win the National Championship

If ABC ever brings back the Wide World of Sports, the opening could be highlights from this game.

2.  Messiah's start and end to the season

"They had us in the first half, not gonna lie"

It started 2-8-1 (0-5 to start the season, which was reportedly the worst start since 1987) in its first 11 games, but it finished 10-1 in its second 11 games, losing to Tufts in the Sweet Sixteen.

3.  Franklin & Marshall ends its streak(s)

"How the mighty have fallen"

Franklin & Marshall finished 2025 with a 3-11-3 record

- first losing record since 2003
- first time not qualifying for the Centennial Conference tournament since 2008
- first time not qualifying for the NCAA tournament since 2012
- finished 240 in the NPI

4.  Lewis & Clark extends its winless streak to 67 games

"Does losing ever get easier?"

A lot of people in D3 don't appreciate how difficult it is to go 67 games without winning a single game.  That's because most schools are located in areas of the country where it's not that difficult to "schedule a win" given the number of D3 (or lower) opponents nearby.  In the Northwest Conference, however, you have to play every team twice (home and away), leaving only 4 non-conference games.  And there are no other D3 teams within about 650 miles (and there's only one of those - UC Santa Cruz).  That means the only options tend to be decent NAIA schools.  Nevertheless, Lewis & Clark's futility streak is growing to historic proportions.  Maybe someone else has had a similar or longer stretch of futility in D3 history, but as far as I can tell this is the longest current streak. 

On the positive side, they did tie three games this year, including two in NWC games, so there is hope for the future!

5.  FloSports grows its roster of D3 conferences

"The Empire will grow as more planets feel the call"

Conferences signing exclusive deals with FloSports in 2025

LEC
UAA
NWC
ODAC
OAC

They join those conferences that have preceded them

Landmark
NEWMAC
SCIAC
SCAC

Plus, Texas Lutheran opted into the SCAC's deal in 2025 and the WIAC started charging a streaming fee for conference tournament games.

That's approximately 25% of all D3 schools that are tied to FloSports contracts

This isn't the thread for this, but it's a pretty easy to predict that other conferences will sign FloSports deals (or perhaps deals with rival streaming companies) in 2026.  It's just a question of which ones.

Happy New Year everyone!!

[Ejay]

I would add The Return of the UAA.

"They're baaaack"

A year after the league as a whole was 60-44-28, no team won more than 9 games, and only an 8-6-2 Emory made the tournament due to their AQ, the 2025 edition was spectacular....

• 81-37-30 as a league
• 4 teams in double digit wins
• 4 teams qualified for the tournament
• 5 teams spent time ranked in the Top 20, including multiple weeks where 4 were ranked in the Top 12.