Edition #5
September 15, 2026
Van Wagner is a leading sports advertising and entertainment agency, with global expertise in live events, sponsorship sales, multimedia rights and aerial advertising. Van Wagner creates, advises and sells on behalf of world-class teams, leagues, brands and properties. An innovator in the sports and media business, Van Wagner is a global leader in high-impact broadcast visible signage throughout the NCAA, MLB, NBA, and international soccer, as well as collegiate multimedia rights and in-venue content production at the world’s biggest sporting events. For more information, visit www.vanwagner.com.
The Protect College Sports Act has surpassed the 60-vote threshold to proceed through the first of three procedural votes. Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger on next steps: “One day’s time (and 60 votes) is required between each vote. Leaders are targeting mid-next week for the final vote.” (link)
Iowa Western AD Shane Larson sat down with College.town’s Kristen Eargle to discuss leading the department coming off of a Ron Case Cup. Key takeaways…
➤ On his leadership approach: “I've always approached it as evaluate. I've never been a ‘put my stamp on something.’ I just want to find out what's working and if something isn't working, let's tweak it and make small changes. Everybody handles small changes better than big comprehensive changes. So really that's been kind of the the guiding force is just make sure everybody can come to work every day and focus on the kids and the athletes and practice and not worry about budgets and travel and scheduling and all these other things. Let them focus on the things that matter. If they can do that, then if we're getting the right kids and we have the right coaches in place, success should follow that.”
➤ The success for the Reivers: “This was the first year in five years that I didn't have to replace a head coach at some point during the year. I think what keeps coaches here though is we have a lot of positives. Obviously, we're not overly funded. I know a lot of people will think we have a money tree on the back side of campus that we can go pull bills off of anytime we need to buy something. But, we are limited on finances. … I think we have really good facilities. We probably have some of the best facilities for junior college athletics and that's because we've had amazing supporters in the community.”
➤ Looking ahead, Larson says phase two to the on-campus turf soccer field is to expand that facility to bring football to campus. That will require more seating, concession stand, restrooms and more. The department is also set to resurface its track next summer. (link)
We invite you to have at the brand new CFO.ticker, the latest offering designed to add value to each of your trips to College.town. CFO.ticker is tailored specifically for Chief Financial Officers and senior leaders steering the financial health of modern collegiate athletics and features high-level analysis on the macro forces shaping higher education and athletics, from endowment trends, bond ratings, and private capital to revenue-sharing models and the fiscal impact of AI. In the inaugural edition, we cover why several major university endowments are on pace to match or exceed the S&P 500's 20% annual return, reversing years of underperformance; Utah’s infrastructure modernization; why Colorado suffered its first enrollment decline in years and lots more. Have a look! (link)
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports the revised legislation features several alterations, including the narrowing of federal preemption, flexibility with pending lawsuits, a transfer portal carveout and contractual protections for College Football Playoff/league TV deals. More details from Dellenger…
➤ Athletes utilizing one of the exceptions to transfer for a second time can do so outside of the transfer portal window. Exceptions without penalty include: (1) discontinuation of sport; (2) HC change; (3) sexual assault/harassment by school employee; and (4) graduation.
➤ “[The bill] narrows federal preemption of state laws to leave more flexibility for state laws related to, for example, the participation of transgender athletes. A group of Republicans, including [Sen.] Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), raised concerns about the impact of transgender state laws.”
U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) have introduced a bill that limits the amount of international athletes on a college sports roster to 20%, per Dellenger, who notes the bill is called the “Training and Education for American Members in University Sports and Athletics Act” or TEAM USA Act. (link)
Pellissippi State signs its first-ever athletic department corporate partnership, inking a five-year deal with UT Federal Credit Union. The support will benefit all Panther athletics programs, travel, team uniforms, and facility upgrades. Pellissippi State President Anthony Wise: “This is a great opportunity to continue building the foundation for Pellissippi State athletics. I think part of it is just about growth. We have pretty good recreational facilities for a community college in the region, but we need resources in order to build excellent facilities for our student-athletes to compete, and this kind of partnership puts us at the next level of doing that.” (link, link)
Carroll is set to officially open its new James D. Ball Athletic Field Complex on Thursday. The facility includes a new FieldTurf, eight-lane track, bleacher seating, Musco lighting and more and was supported by $5.6M in country and fundraised contributions. (link)
Rock Valley debuts its new turf field project, with its women’s soccer team becoming the first to play an official game on the new field. Baseball and softball facilities are also part of the turf installation project, and will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 23 to dedicate those new fields. (link)
Butler will host the 2026 Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) 4A, 5A and 6A State Championships at its recently renovated BG Products Veterans Sports Complex. (link)
Delta officially dedicated and renamed its Pioneer Gymnasium to Carlyon Gym in honor of Delta's longest-tenured president, the late Don Carylon and his late wife, Betty. (link, link)
Coahoma introduces its new Coahoma Sports Network, where competition will be available via Tiger TV YouTube video, Facebook livestreaming and through audio broadcasts via the Tigers’ school radio station. (link, link)
Football remains the most popular spectator sport in the U.S. at 31%, though that figure sits at its lowest level since March 2001 (28%) due to lessened affinity among younger demographics, per a Gallup survey of 1,200 adults conducted over August 3-24. Just 20% of respondents aged 18-to-34 identified football as their preferred sport to watch, compared to 30% among those aged 35-to-54 and 38% for ages 55-and-older. Basketball remains second at 11%, down from its peak of 17% in 1997, while baseball sits at 10%. Soccer achieved its all-time poll high at 9%, placing it nearly on par with basketball and baseball. Overall, football has topped the annual measurement for 54 consecutive years since first surpassing baseball back in 1972, when 38% selected it as their preferred sport. (link)
