Saint Mary's College President Roger J. Thompson is making a national case that Moraga's mid-major success story could be wiped out if Congress lets big-budget schools blow past the spending limits set by last year's landmark NCAA settlement.
Thompson and University of Dayton President Eric F. Spina co-authored an op-ed published Wednesday, July 22, in The Columbus Dispatch and Yahoo Sports under the headline "Cinderella may soon be a casualty of college basketball's money war." Their argument is simple: give the House v. NCAA settlement time to work before rewriting it.
"If we refuse to honor the agreements we make, we aren't just changing the rules of the game — we are ensuring Cinderella never even gets an invitation to the ball," the two presidents wrote.
The op-ed lands as Congress debates the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan bill that could add a $20-30 million "retention pool" on top of the settlement's $21.3 million revenue-sharing cap for 2026-27. That would let some schools spend upward of $50 million total on athlete compensation. The Senate Commerce Committee approved the bill 19-9 on Thursday, June 18, sending it to the full Senate. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Friday, July 24, that the legislation would not receive a floor vote before the August recess, which begins Monday, August 10.
Why Thompson's voice carries weight
The Gaels just finished the most successful athletic year in school history. Saint Mary's is the only Division I program in the country to win back-to-back conference championships in men's basketball, baseball, and softball in the same academic year, according to the school's athletics department.
The baseball team, coached by Eric Valenzuela, became the first four-seed to beat the No. 1 overall seed twice in the same NCAA Regional since the tournament expanded in 1999, knocking off UCLA before falling to Cal Poly 5-2. Softball, led by coach Sonja Garnett, finished 42-16, earned the program's first two NCAA Tournament wins, and ended the season ranked No. 24 nationally.
SMC Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Matoso said in the school's athletics year-in-review, published in June, that the Gaels resisted the urge to slash programs after the House settlement took effect.
"I was really careful not to knee-jerk and say, 'We're cutting sports' or, 'We're cutting scholarships,'" Matoso said. "I kind of equate it to Y2K: There was this big buildup, and then it came and you're like, 'Well, nothing happened.' … We just stayed the course with what we had been doing."
What's ahead for the Gaels
The men's basketball program enters a new era under first-year head coach Mickey McConnell, who replaced 25-year coach Randy Bennett after Bennett left for Arizona State in March. McConnell has already signed Darius Bivins, a McDonald's All-American point guard from Washington, D.C., and the highest-ranked recruit in Saint Mary's history. The Gaels will compete in a WCC without Gonzaga, which departs for the Pac-12 ahead of the 2026-27 season. Saint Mary's is also launching a Division I aquatics program with four new teams in swimming and water polo.
The broader spending debate moves to the Senate floor no earlier than Friday, September 11, when lawmakers return from recess.
