• For the next two days, I will hear from some of the foremost athletics administrators in the country at the 18th annual NCAA Gender Equity and Issues Forum. I first attended this event in New Orleans three years ago, and have learned a great deal each time I've come. There are some great panel discussions taking place throughout the next couple of days and I will share details in tomorrow's coffee.

• Since I'm in Boston for a couple of days, I get to reconnect with some old college teammates, and we'll go out for dinner tonight. Every time we get together is a blast, but we never talk about the games we played. When we reminisce, wins, losses, hits and strikeouts are never part of the equation. Four years later, those aren't the things we remember about our student-athlete experience, although at the time, we wanted to win more than anything in the world.

• How about the NFL draft this weekend? While you may have been cheering for players from your favorite schools, I was fastidiously checking the draft board to see if FCS, Division II and Division III players were making the jump to the professional ranks. I wasn't disappointed - Tennessee State's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was the first non-FBS player selected in the draft, going 16th overall to the Arizona Cardinals. Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco was taken two picks later by the Baltimore Ravens.

• Five Division II players were selected in the draft, including Grand Valley State's Brandon Carr, Northwest Missouri State's Xavier Omon, Washburn's Cary Williams, St. Augustine's Alex Hall and Bentley's Mackenzy Bernadeau. You may remember Omon from his ridiculous performances in the Division II national semifinal last fall, when he ran for 292 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Grand Valley State.

• Don't think Division III players can hang in the NFL? Think again. Wheaton (Illinois) defensive end Andrew Studebaker, no relation to the car, was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round. Two picks later, Mount Union wide receiver Pierre Garcon was taken by the Colts.

• Want to see if your favorite team is doing well in the classroom? Now you can. The NCAA honored 712 Division I teams last week with public recognition awards for their latest multi-year Academic Progress Rate scores. The teams recognized posted APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports.

• College kids are smart, and they recognize that it's getting more and more expensive to go to college. Students at Wesleyan (Connecticut) have decided to create an endowment for funds not used by campus groups each year - monies that have typically just gone over to next year's budget. The students hope that the endowment can eventually grow enough that it can replace some student fees. How's that for foresight and fiscal responsibility from 18- to 21-year-olds?