Morning Edition
November 2, 2026
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The Bulletin Board...
“[My role as CFO is] ensuring that we’re constantly focused on prioritization of where we’re going to put our resources — not just dollars, but also time and energy."
Jim Lee
Target CFO on executing the company’s turnaround plan.
This and more, including PE maturity and AI guardrails, in this morning’s edition of CFO.ticker. (link)
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The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb breaks down the administrative gridlock surrounding Michigan's search for a new AD and reports that incoming President C. Cybele Raver and TurnkeyZRG have yet to establish a shortlist of candidates, despite donor enthusiasm for DePaul SVP of Advancement and Internal Relations Katie Fraumann and Iowa Deputy AD/former Colorado State AD Joe Parker, alongside national speculation regarding Duke AD Nina King and Vanderbilt AD Candice Lee. Because Raver faces several other high-profile university appointments upon taking office in December, the extended search timetable complicates critical offseason decisions for the struggling football program. While Webb expects Football HC Kyle Whittingham to return in 2027 due to donor reluctance to fund a coaching transition. Webb emphasizes that the delayed timeline diminishes the incoming AD’s power over the football roster and staff, noting that "the opportunity to meaningfully influence its immediate future may have already passed by the time that person arrives." Webb adds of Lee and King: “Neither has emerged as a candidate at this stage, but I expect Turnkey will at least look into both as the search develops.” (link)
Florida State has parted ways with Football HC Mike Norvell and named Director of Scouting Rick Stockstill to the interim post. According to Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger, Norvell is owed around $50M, which per numerous sources includes mitigation & offset. (link); According to On3’s Pete Nakos, FSU has retained Parker Executive Search to assist with finding Norvell’s permanent replacement as well as assist the Noles with their open AD chair. (link); Florida State President Richard McCullough said during an interview last night that the two searches will run concurrently with the AD hire process having technically started last Friday. (link) For those interested in leading the program in Tallahassee, make use of the D1.dossier for the opening. (link)
Kansas AD Travis Goff covers lots of ground on the CALS Report, including the Jayhawks’ financial evolution, the ongoing $800M Gateway District stadium project, the campus-wide benefits of college athletics and more. Here’s what you need to know…
➤ On the Gateway District project: "You know, the impact of football success, basketball brand has helped us create record-breaking enrollment that then helps force a need and a justification for two brand new residence halls on that site in that development. Then you have density and then you need some retail and some restaurants and then you have a chance with this brilliant, beautiful, brand new ground-up football stadium … to be more than a stadium and even more than a conference center.”
➤ Navigating the athletic department's budget deficit: "One of the most important learnings for me was … don't talk about a deficit and don't talk about solutions for a deficit or outside vehicles or capital or partnerships unless you've owned some of your own stuff. We did that a couple years ago. We stepped into that expense management exercise. Far more difficult than I could’ve imagined even though I knew it was going to be difficult. We're lighter by 40 people. Those are not fun, as everybody knows, conversations. But that was really important for us to go, ‘Okay, we've done a major part on our end to make us a more lean, efficient organization. … Now we get to chart the path forward.” (link)
We offer our most sincere condolences to the college athletics community following the passing of former AD Doug Woolard, who led departments at South Florida, Saint Louis & Southern Illinois. Doug will be deeply missed. (link)
Appalachian State AD Doug Gillin talks with the North Carolina Sports Network about the football program's impact on university growth, non-conference scheduling philosophy, and the overall evolution of the Sun Belt. Most notably…
➤ On how schedule upgrades drive season ticket sales: "One of the things that we did intentionally was we scheduled well early as soon as I got here. We said how do we get from at that time it was about 3,500 season tickets to 10,500 season tickets today? Well, part of it is we had to schedule opponents that folks wanted to come see. ... And then once our fans get here, you got to put on a show."
➤ On prioritizing brand value and facility investments amid conference realignment discussions: "I believe what we need to do is and I've said this since day one, be relevant. Have the best facilities in the Sun Belt, which we do right now. Top media brand in the Sun Belt over the last three years is App State. So continue to be relevant." (link)
Utah State Deputy AD/CRO Carter Young talks with Buying Sideline’s Kyle Hagan about the Aggies’ approach to premium hospitality, including the launch of new field-level suites slated for 2027. Key takeaways…
➤ On financing the field-level suites: "This is something that with the money we have set aside and things, we think we can pay off kind of in two to three years and stuff while making money really in year one with a pretty aggressive spike to pay these back quickly. ... This was something we knew we could get in relatively quickly and at a cheaper expense than, you know, expanding a stadium by 10K and adding more premium."
➤ "We added 50 new courtside seats for men's basketball for this coming basketball year. Same message I gave to a lot of people is if you want them, this is the year because we've renewed 100% of our courtside seats from last year to this year. So I anticipate us renewing 98% of those every year ... If you want it, you gotta get in now and then you can keep it for 30 years and really experience that joy as a family. But if you wait too long, the opportunities just get harder and harder."
➤ Future facility upgrades: "Our basketball arena is pretty old and stuff that needs a lot of work. So as we look at that, rather than just okay, how do we replace what's there? How do we modernize what's there? ... We have plans for more premium to be coming here in the next six months that we'll announce." (link)
People & Places…
➤ North Texas has tapped Southland Conference Assoc. Commissioner of Communications and Branding James Hill for its Assoc. AD for Athletic Communications role. (link)
➤ ECU Baseball HC Cliff Godwin is back with the program after taking a leave of absence and has resumed regular coaching duties. (link)
Wofford AD Scott Kull weighs in on the proposal for an academic-year soccer model in response to Maryland HC Sasho Cirovski’s argument for it: “In the last 4 champs 16 College Cup berths went to 16 diff programs. That includes Furman, Vermont, Marshall, Denver, Creighton and Saint Louis. Evidence that reaching the nat semis isn't limited to the traditional ACC and Big 10 powers. This is your effort to minimize us.” (link)
In the wake of the Milwaukee Brewers winning the World Series, College.town has published a special report explaining how college athletic departments can replicate the success of low-payroll MLB franchises like the Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays by investing in in-house analytics. At a high level…
➤ While a 40-person MLB data department costs roughly $5M annually, universities can build a tailored collegiate front office featuring four full-time analysts and proprietary software for roughly $490K. The report points to a 2025 MIT study on the NBA, which found that adding 0.8 of a data analyst yielded one extra win, generating the equivalent value of $9.6M in player salary.
➤ Furthermore, the report explains how athletic directors can apply professional evaluation models to navigate the financial constraints of the House settlement: "A collegiate athletics department now makes the same calls a baseball front office does: who to pay and how much, whom to develop rather than replace, and whom to let walk away. With the House settlement barely into its second year, many departments are still deciding how to staff around revenue sharing. A program that cannot match its conference's biggest spenders on roster pay may still be able to out-build them on the operation that decides how that money gets spent." (link)
New Mexico has experienced the largest football attendance growth over the last five years at 56.79%. The Lobos are followed by Temple (45.03%), Connecticut (43.18%), Massachusetts (41.24%), Western Michigan (38.63%), Northern Illinois (37.32%), Hawaii (37.12%), Sam Houston State (34.06%), Colorado State (30.45%) and Georgia Tech (28%). Lots more in the College.town FBS Attendance Tracker, which has been updated with data through Week 9. (link)
Nevada sold out 70 VIP deck seats for Thursday evening’s swimming matchup with UNLV at Lombardi Pool, and SwimSwam’s Sean Griffin notes: “At $150 per ticket, the sellout raised $10,500 for the quick dual meet. The team wrote personal letters to each ticket buyer and connected with them during and after the meet, and a complimentary open bar and dinner buffet were served on deck. A VIP hostess, an alum and grad student, walked around to look after guests, while a staff photographer took entrance photos that were emailed to attendees after the event, and guests also received team gear.” (link)
Morning Edition
November 1, 2026
The Athletic’s Justin Williams offers more perspective on the exit of Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. Here are some notable comments… (link)
➤ Williams on Yormark’s legacy: “His Big 12 legacy will forever be defined by one thing: He saved the conference. … There was no shortage of headlines in the years that followed [his 2022 hiring], some of them eyebrow-raising, but the fact that the Big 12 was around to make them at all is a credit to Yormark’s leadership.”
➤ One Big 12 AD on what the next commissioner must bring: “We need a personality that doesn’t get steamrolled when [SEC Commissioner] Greg [Sankey] and [Big Ten Commissioner] Tony [Petitti] are in the room.”
➤ Another Big 12 AD on what the next commish can improve upon: “It took Brett a while to understand campus dynamics. Having a better understanding of what goes on with presidents, chancellors, ADs and donors would be helpful.”
➤ A Power 4 administrator on what the new hire must do: “Brett’s aggressive nature was clearly helpful in major spots, but I wonder if he overplayed it at times and lost some backing. Recognizing when to push and when not to (will be important).”
Michigan State AD Dan Bartholomae outlined his department’s financial roadmap, telling the Lansing State Journal’s Graham Couch he is prioritizing donor outreach and the newly launched Spartan Ventures. Key notes…
➤ “We need a target, and we aren’t even close to that number right now. So for me, that's the number that would make us competitive in the Protect College Sports Act world, and B, all things being equal today, would put us in the top third. So that's what I'm focusing on right now, and if it's not enough, we'll find out and we'll continue working towards that top third number.”
➤ On Spartan Ventures: “We set up all of our revenue-generating entities under one business structure outside of the university structure. That's what it is. What is it not? It is not the solution today to our revenue woes. That problem hasn't been solved. ... What also is it not? It's not new. Like the [MSU] Research Foundation has a very similar setup, and they brought in $400M to the university.”
➤ Revenue sharing as it relates to the entire athletic department: “Not investing in revenue sharing doesn't mean you can't be competitive in those sports. Remember, there are 330 other schools who are making these same exact decisions. It's not like Michigan State's the only one sitting here saying, ‘Which six are we going to do revenue share in?’ So, once we figure that out, we’ll be honest with our coaches.”
➤ Utilizing Spartan Stadium assets to drive enrollment and secure recurring revenue: “So if we're recruiting students, I want the first place they see on campus to be the football stadium, for sure. And, oh by the way, we've got this beautiful premium area that can feed you and house you and put you in an auditorium, and that's your first stop on campus. And the university leases that space from us, so there are ways to utilize the stadium for recurring revenue, even within the auspices of Michigan State University.” (link)
More from Syracuse AD Bryan Blair during his visit with JohnWallStreet Founder Corey Leff and Playfly Sports Chairman Michael Schreiber on the Big Business on Campus podcast…
➤ On his effort to integrate the Rocket Youth Sports League with his department at Toledo, which he says was a six-figure revenue opportunity: “I thought getting youth onto our campus and turning them into Toledo Rockets fans from an early age benefited our entire campus. Toledo had some enrollment challenges, we had lots of space in terms of fields and facilities that were not being used 365 (days a year). We had student-athletes that needed NIL and were willing to lean in and possibly be coaches or assistant coaches or refs. You combine all of that and you say, ‘Golly, youth sports is a $40B industry. There are a lot of people paying a lot of money to send their kids all over the country to participate in these things. How do we get a start?’ … The sky is the limit. If I can go to a college campus that feels safe and [kids] are around tremendous student-athletes that serve as youth role models and I’m leaving with a t-shirt that has the Toledo or Syracuse logo, I am a walking ambassador for what Syracuse is. That feel-good in the community lasts, but also there is a clear revenue component.”
➤ Treating the JMA Wireless Dome as an economic engine and home-field advantage: "From a fan standpoint, an elite fan experience, try to remove as much friction as possible, but also generate as much revenue as possible. The dome is our financial engine of this department. ... All five of our ticketed sports are in that dome. Our outside event and ability to host outside events originate in that dome right now. ... We need to deliver a home field advantage unlike anything in the country. We're the only Power Four school playing in a dome where that noise is trapped inside. This should be the loudest venue in America and it will be the loudest venue in America." (link)
USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer criticized Miami (FL) President Joe Echevarria for suggesting a desire to leave the ACC for the Big Ten or SEC, arguing that the Echevarria fails to appreciate the competitive advantage of their current league. While Echevarria recently referred to the ACC as a "second tier" conference, Toppmeyer points out that the league's less grueling schedule has paved the way for the Hurricanes to secure a No. 1 national ranking. Pointing to programs like Oklahoma, Nebraska, and USC that traded competitive dominance for increased media rights revenue in tougher conferences, Toppmeyer notes that a move to the "Super Two" often brings increased losses and year-over-year volatility. Furthermore, the ACC's revenue distribution model allows playoff-qualifying teams to keep their postseason payouts rather than pooling them with peers like the SEC and Big Ten. Toppmeyer: “The Hurricanes became the nation’s No. 1 team while playing in the ‘second tier.’ That shouldn’t be motivation to leave for the Big Ten or the SEC. That’s reason to appreciate your gift horse.” (link)
East Carolina opened the $24.5M Isley Indoor Performance Center on Friday. The 90K-square-foot donor-funded building features a full-length indoor football field designed to eliminate weather-related practice disruptions and offer relief during humid summer workouts. Pirates AD Jon Gilbert explained that the project addresses a long-standing gap on campus: "This building was talked about well before I was the athletic director. For a variety of reasons, I think other things were built. I knew when I arrived that it would take a little time to get there, but I feel like it's an important piece." (link); Check it all out. (link)
Tiger Athletic Foundation SVP/COO Kaitlyn Vincek Cox visits with College.town’s Kristen Eargle to discuss how LSU rebuilt its fundraising foundation by getting “back to the basics,” collaborating with other league fundraising departments and more. Here are some takeaways…
➤ Resetting donor expectations around unrestricted giving upon arriving at LSU: "A lot of it was we got everything back to the basics. And so even before the craziness of the last couple years happened, it was really just resetting the tone for what we're expecting from our donors and unrestricted cash had just started making its turn. We really just from the bottom up said, 'Okay, what are our priorities and how are we going to get there?'"
➤ Messaging in maintaining donor relationships amid industry changes: "Be as transparent as we possibly can. This is the world that we're in and a lot of things that are out of our control. So we explain to them a lot of times, ‘here's what we can control, here's what we're going to do about it, and then can you help us get there?’ And so we've seen a lot of, I think there's the level of respect and trust that we have to maintain for a lot of longstanding relationships in order to close those major gifts."
➤ The shrinking planning horizons in college athletics fundraising: "I think the biggest piece is the dollar figure continues to grow and that's not changing, but really quickly where the money needed to be has changed exorbitantly quickly. You can't plan more than six months out is what it's felt like for the last couple years. So I think it's just, we're all trying to figure out where it's needed and what is needed." (link)
UC Santa Barbara extends Men’s Basketball HC Joe Pasternack through the 2030-31 season. (link)
College.town Senior Director of Integrated Marketing Brian Bowsher appeared on the NACMA Timeout Podcast with host Zach Dayton to break down findings from the company's latest college athletics job market report. Here are some key takeaways…
➤ The contraction of middle-management roles alongside entry-level and executive growth: "What we found is there is [slight] growth at the top. C-suites, ADs, Deputy ADs, Senior Associates grew about 16% from 2025 to 2026. Assistant Directors and Coordinators, that's actually where we saw the biggest growth, 38% increase year-over-year in those kinds of entry-level type full-time positions. And then interns and GAs, I guess the next highest growth at 24%. … Where we see some retraction is at the Associate AD and the Assistant AD level which has actually declined 9%. Really interesting and we can kind of speculate as to maybe some causes or some implications of that."
➤ The rise of C-suite titles in athletic departments: "One potential explanation or maybe factor in the relative increases at this top level compared to the middle level is the classification and even kind of the structuring of positions in athletics to increase the C-suite titles that I don't know that we saw a lot of five years ago, certainly not 10 years ago. You didn't really see people with a Chief Revenue Officer title or even a Chief Financial Officer title. ... Perhaps the role that previously was maybe an Associate AD for Revenue Generation is now being titled a Chief Revenue Officer."
➤ As for the multi-year decline of Associate and Assistant AD postings: "In 2024, those title layers accounted for 12% of all job postings. In the next year, 2025, that fell to 10%. … And then in 2026 so far to-date, 8%. That's a steady two-point decline year-over-year for three consecutive years now. So, a trend to monitor for sure." (link)
➤Read College.town’s latest jobs market report. (link)
Self-checkout technology provider Mashgin recently launched its new Power Counter and Mini Power Counter products, driving enough demand to sell out of initial stock twice. The company, which now operates in 65% of all professional sports stadiums, has secured large college and professional deployments for the scaled-down machines. According to SBJ’s Bret McCormick, Northwestern installed 62 Power Counters at the newly rebuilt, $870M Ryan Field, while USC added 16 Minis to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mashgin CRO Brandon Scott noted that venues previously tested a few machines before expanding, but are now placing high-volume initial orders akin to the 52 units purchased for the Buffalo Bills' new Highmark Stadium: "It’s like when an artist cuts a new record. You think the songs are great — put it on the radio, you find out. It was a lot of trepidation, so it’s very nice to see it well received." (link)
As part of its acquisition of Sam Green University and the AthleteCon event brand, TheLinkU is establishing a new AthleteCon HQ in Austin, Texas, that’s expected to debut in January 2027, creating a space where student-athletes can visit to shoot content, livestream and build their personal brands with hands-on support and resources such as brand pitch portfolios, rate sheets and personalized strategies, per Forbes’ Kristi Dosh. Founded by former DI student-athlete Sam Green, SGU has served more than 3K NCAA student-athletes across nearly three dozen athletic departments, while AthleteCon 3.0 in Las Vegas in 2026 drew 230 athletes, 30 administrators, and 55 brands, yielding 30 NIL deals and 15 internships. Under the deal, AthleteCon will serve as TheLinkU's athlete development arm, with plans to expand attendance at the event to 500 athletes in 2027. (link)
An estimated 75% of former NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 were diagnosed with CTE, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open by researchers at Boston University, Mass General Brigham, and the Concussion & CTE Foundation. The study, which evaluated 2,362 cases by combining data from 396 donated brains with records from 1,966 non-donors, aimed to mitigate previous selection bias criticisms by accounting for the fact that nearly 94% of donated brains showed signs of the disease. Researchers cautioned that the findings only estimate prevalence among deceased players and do not predict rates for living individuals or address players at the college and youth levels. The authors also noted that many identified cases may have been in the early stages and potentially symptom-free at the time of death. The NFL issued a response indicating that it “continuously strives to make the game of football safer, including by implementing strategies to reduce concussions and head impacts. We encourage former players to utilize these resources to identify and seek treatment when they are concerned about their health." (link)
Interested in advertising a job opening in D1.ticker on CollegeSports.jobs? Submit your position here. Jobs from the past 10 days are listed below.
(NEW!) Associate Commissioner for Basketball (American Conference / Irving, TX): The Associate Commissioner for Basketball leads the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball programs, providing strategic and operational direction for the sports and their championships. More details HERE.
Academics/Student-Athlete Services
Assistant Director for Football Academics, Department of Athletics (R0009219) (Wake Forest University / Winston-Salem, NC): More details HERE.
Athletics Counselor (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): More details HERE.
Business/Finance/Human Resources
Director of Business Intelligence (University of Arkansas / Fayetteville, AR): More details HERE.
Customer Success Manager – Collegiate Sports Connect (Collegiate Sports Connect / Remote): More details HERE.
Associate Athletic Director of Business Operations (Yale University / New Haven, CT): More details HERE.
Chief Operating Officer (RefQuest, LLC / Indianapolis, IN): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Indianapolis? Click HERE.
Assistant A.D., Accounting & Finance (University of Central Florida / Orlando, FL): More details HERE.
Associate VP Athletics Retail Ops (University of South Florida / Tampa, FL): More details HERE.
Coaching/Operations/Recruiting
Assistant Women's Soccer Coach (Fresno State / Fresno, CA): More details HERE.
Physical Education Instructor/North Platte Community College Men’s and Women’s Wrestling Head Coach (Mid-Plains Community College / North Platte, NE): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to North Platte? Click HERE.
Head Coach (Merrimack College / North Andover, MA): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to North Andover? Click HERE.
Assistant Track & Field Coach (University of Maine / Orono, ME): More details HERE.
Assistant Athletics Coach, Women's Soccer (Babson College / Wellesley, MA): More details HERE.
Communications/Marketing/Digital/Social
Associate AD, Marketing, Fan Experience & Engagement (University of Wyoming / Laramie, WY): More details HERE.
Director of Marketing and Fan Experience (Tennessee Technological University / Cookeville, TN): More details HERE.
Athletic Creative Services - Graduate Assistant (Creighton University / Omaha, NE): More details HERE.
Associate Director of Athletics Communications (Baylor University / Waco, TX): More details HERE.
Deputy Athletics Director - Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) (Iowa State University / Ames, IA): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Ames? Click HERE.
Compliance/Legal/NIL
Assistant Athletic Director, Compliance and Eligibility (Kent State University / Kent, OH): More details HERE.
Development/Fundraising/Alumni Relations
Assistant Director - Annual Giving (Purdue University / West Lafayette, IN): More details HERE.
Major Gift Officer - Athletics (Temple University / Philadelphia, PA): More details HERE.
Senior Athletic Development Officer (James Madison University / Harrisonburg, VA): More details HERE.
Assistant Director of Development, Athletics (Marquette University / Milwaukee, WI): More details HERE.
Executive & Senior Leadership
Director of Athletics (University of Alabama at Birmingham / Birmingham, AL): More details HERE. The D1.dossier for this position is available HERE. What would it cost to move to Birmingham? Click HERE.
Director of Athletics (Susquehanna University / Selinsgrove, PA): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Selinsgrove? Click HERE.
Chief Operating Officer (RefQuest, LLC / Indianapolis, IN): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Indianapolis? Click HERE.
Deputy Athletics Director - Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) (Iowa State University / Ames, IA): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Ames? Click HERE.
Facilities/Event Operations/Equipment
Lead Athletic Fields Groundsworker (San Diego State University / San Diego, CA): More details HERE.
Associate Commissioner, Sports Administration and Championships/Men’s Basketball (Mountain West Conference / Las Vegas, NV): More details HERE.
Assistant Director, Athletic Facilities and Operations (La Salle University / Philadelphia, PA): More details HERE.
Director, Sports Turf/Grounds (Georgia Southern University / Statesboro, GA): More details HERE.
Assistant Director of Athletics, Recreation (Brown University / Providence, RI): More details HERE.
Director of Facilities & Event Management (University of Arkansas at Little Rock / Little Rock, AR): More details HERE.
Technical Operations Coordinator (University of North Carolina at Charlotte / Charlotte, NC): More details HERE.
Facilities Assistant (University of Southern California / Los Angeles, CA): More details HERE.
General Administration
Health/Wellness/Performance/Training
Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Nutrition (Iowa State University / Ames, IA): More details HERE.
Resident Athletic Trainer - Track & Field and Cross Country (Virginia Tech / Blacksburg, VA): More details HERE.
Athletic Trainer - Tennis and Acrobatics and Tumbling (Baylor University / Waco, TX): More details HERE.
Associate RDN (Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist) (University of Nebraska / Lincoln, NE): More details HERE.
Athletics Counselor (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): More details HERE.
Sponsorships/Corporate Relations
Deputy Athletics Director - Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) (Iowa State University / Ames, IA): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Ames? Click HERE.
Ticket Sales/Ticket Operations
Assistant Athletic Director, Revenue Generation (Kent State University / Kent, OH): More details HERE.
Associate Athletics Director, Ticket Operations (Villanova University / Villanova, PA): More details HERE.