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DECEMBER 17, 2025
composed by STEVE ULRICH
We cover DIII lacrosse like no other publication. #d3lax #whyD3

🌲 Wednesday. Eight days ‘til Christmas

🎶 Your Morning Pick-Me Up. Run Run Rudolph. Chuck Berry

🗞️ In Today’s Edition. Trump Calls NIL 'Disaster,' Reiterates Willingness to Get Involved. Could Financial Aid Previews Level the Early Decision Playing Field? Athletic Director Simulator 4000. Previous Conference Champions Pt. 3.

📬️ Attention Coaches. We’re preparing our 2026 season preview, so be on the lookout for an email from us to assist us on your team.

✅ Support our work. Subscribe for free today at D3Lacrosse.net.

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TOP STORY

1. President Donald Trump Calls NIL 'Disaster,' Reiterates Willingness to Get Involved

“Speaking from the Oval Office on Friday while honoring the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team, President Donald Trump called NIL a “disaster” in college sports. He also further signaled his willingness to get involved.

Trump has been vocal about settling the landscape in college athletics. He signed an executive order earlier this year called “Save College Sports” to prohibit third-party, pay-for-play payments and directs the Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board to clarify that athletes are amateurs and not employees.

But as dollars continue to fly through NIL and revenue-sharing, Trump called for a “strong salary cap” and said colleges are putting themselves in tough financial shape as a result. He stressed the need for action and reiterated he’d step in, if necessary.”

» Driving The News. “President Trump’s assessment of college athletics centers around Olympics sports, which he has said multiple times are caught in the middle of the current landscape. He said Friday schools have been cutting those non-revenue sports, calling them “training grounds” for the Olympics.”

» Quotable. “I think that it’s a disaster for college sports,” Trump said of NIL. “I think it’s a disaster for the Olympics. We’re losing a lot of teams. Colleges are cutting their, they would call them, sort of the lesser sports. They’re losing them at numbers nobody can believe. And they were really training grounds, beautiful training grounds. Hard-working, wonderful young people. They were training grounds for the Olympics, and a lot of these sports that were training so well would win gold medals because of it. Those sports don’t exist because they’re putting all that money into football.”

2. Could Financial Aid Previews Level the Early Decision Playing Field?

“With the imminent arrival of early-decision results comes a new round of hand-wringing about the admissions practice, which affords students a better chance of getting accepted to their top institution but requires them to commit if admitted.

Critics argue that the practice disadvantages low- and middle-income students, who fear being locked into attending a college before they know if they can afford it—although many colleges with an early-decision option allow students to back out over financial constraints. It also prevents applicants from comparing financial aid offers across multiple institutions.”

» State of Play. “Because there is so much uncertainty, families with high incomes are more likely to choose early decision and therefore benefit from its more favorable odds. It’s the perfect tool for maximizing revenues at schools positioned as luxury products, with price tags to match,” wrote Daniel Currell, a former deputy under secretary and senior adviser at the Department of Education from 2018 to 2021, in a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday that argued for the end of early decision.”

» Driving The News. “Early financial aid offers are among the various steps institutions have taken in recent years to improve cost transparency and, in many cases, show students that their institutions are affordable. Others include improved cost estimators and campaigns offering free tuition for families under a particular income limit. Institutions hope that such innovations will help prevent students from writing off their institutions - particularly selective institutions that offer significant aid - due to their sticker prices.”

» Quotable. “I think raising awareness of early decision as a viable option for more students is one step that higher education could take to make it a little bit more equitable,” said James Murphy, a senior fellow at Class Action, an advocacy organization focused on “reimagining elite higher education,”

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3. Athletic Director Simulator 4000

“Do you have what it takes to be an Athletic Director? Find out with ADS4000, a computer game meant to simulate what it’s like to actually run a D-I athletic department. Climb the ranks as an AD as you deal with real life scenarios.”

» State of Play. “ADS4000 is a computer game meant to simulate what it’s like to actually run a D-I athletic department. Players are asked to respond to dozens of scenarios that an AD might face, from hiring new coaches to fundraising, talent management to broadcast rights questions, facility improvements to angry parents, and more. Players must manage the department’s budget, their Directors’ Cup ranking, and their support on campus and among fans.”

4. Previous Conference Champions

Part 3 in our series looking back at the history of NCAA Division III lacrosse. Today, we begin with men’s conference champions for five current conferences and one no longer in business.

5. Lightning Round

» Finances. “Dickinson (Pa.) College has announced that it will offer free tuition for all domestic students whose families earn $125,000 or less annually, effective with the incoming class of 2030. The move significantly broadens the reach of the Dickinson Promise initiative, which was launched in May at the conclusion of the successful $75 million Campaign for Scholarships.”

» Giving Back. “A group of college lacrosse players on Long Island shifted their focus from athletics to giving back as they delivered toys to children with disabilities. "Seeing their smiles after they get the presents. It really just warms my heart," captain Joseph Forchelli said. Farmingdale State College's lacrosse team hand-delivered holiday presents to students at People's Arc of Suffolk Elementary School.”

6. Comings and Goings

BABSON - Named Kyle Laforge assistant men’s lacrosse coach
REGIS - Named Krystal DePaolo head women’s lacrosse coach
STEVENSON - Named Emmaleen Regan assistant women’s lacrosse coach

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