NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma Athletics Department and Learfield announced Tuesday that Sooner Sports Properties will now be the exclusive, centralized Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) marketing partner for Oklahoma Athletics. Sooner Sports Properties, Learfield’s local team managing multimedia rights for Oklahoma Athletics, and 1Oklahoma, OU’s current NIL partner, are merging all OU NIL operations into a single entity backed by Learfield.

This combined team will continue under the 1Oklahoma brand and builds upon the momentum that Sooner Sports Properties, 1Oklahoma and OU Athletics have realized with innovative Learfield Impact NIL programs. Streamlining NIL operations into one organization will allow Oklahoma Athletics to maximize NIL dealmaking efforts for its student-athletes.

“As the landscape and rules governing college athletics continue to evolve, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to stay ahead of the curve and create significant NIL growth opportunities to our student-athletes,” said University of Oklahoma Vice President and Athletics Director Joe Castiglione. “Centralizing efforts through our trusted partner, Learfield/Sooner Sports Properties, allows us to immediately expand what we already have in place and deliver pioneering NIL opportunities that build long-term value for our athletes and our program.”

Consolidating NIL operations will deliver organizational efficiencies for all involved. The integrated team will enable streamlined marketing and communications efforts and standardized processes for NIL partners, fans and athletes. All the highly successful 1Oklahoma initiatives, including the membership program and Inspiring Champions Fund events hosted in partnership with OU’s Sooner Club, will continue to support OU Athletics through the merged organization.

Under the leadership of Kelly Collyar, Vice President and General Manager of Sooner Sports Properties, Oklahoma Athletics has experienced significant NIL momentum, including groundbreaking programs with Fowler Automotive, State Farm, Devon and Planet Fitness. Sooner Sports Properties helps brand partners integrate student-athlete storytelling with school intellectual property, including OU marks and logos, leading to next-level brand engagement with Sooners fans.

Sooner Sports Properties will leverage Learfield Impact NIL services centered around three foundational pillars: people, content and technology. The culmination of these pillars delivers Oklahoma Athletics the greatest NIL opportunities for its organization and athletes. Sooner Sports Properties will further tap into extensive existing partnerships and leverage Learfield’s Compass NIL platform to facilitate NIL dealmaking with brand partners.

“Oklahoma Athletics and Sooner Sports Properties have implemented best-in-class NIL marketing campaigns over the past four years with Fowler Automotive, State Farm, Devon Energy and many other brand partners positively impacting hundreds of Sooner student-athletes,” said Solly Fulp, Executive Vice President, NIL Growth and Development at Learfield. “Our new centralized partnership with Joe and his team will allow Oklahoma to maximize student-athlete marketing opportunities through our industry-leading people, content and technology solutions.”

With this expanded partnership, Sooner Sports Properties will add more dedicated NIL resources to its award-winning team. Bobby Nash, an accomplished college athletics executive, will join the Norman operation as Director of NIL Revenue and Activation, cultivating new partnerships and generating incremental NIL opportunities for the Sooners. Nash earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Oklahoma and held various, external positions at OU and the University of Colorado, and most recently served as Deputy Athletic Director of External Engagement at Utah State University. The centralized team will continue delivering powerful student-athlete storytelling campaigns through on-campus Learfield Studios personnel who develop custom NIL content with brand partners. Creating these original content campaigns for OU student-athletes helps to build their brands by connecting them with more fans through social media and digital channels.

“It’s an incredible honor to return home to the University of Oklahoma with Sooner Sports Properties,” said Nash. “OU has played a deeply meaningful role in my life and career, and I’m thrilled to contribute to the unified NIL strategy that will create long-term value, for our student-athletes, brand partners and the university. Oklahoma’s tradition of excellence is unmatched, and I look forward to building impactful, authentic partnerships that elevate the NIL experience.”

FILE – LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) passes in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Less than two weeks after terms of a multibillion-dollar college sports settlement went into effect, friction erupted over the definition of a “valid business purpose” that collectives making name, image likeness payments to players are supposed to have.

The new College Sports Commission sent a letter to athletic directors last week saying it was rejecting deals in which players were receiving money from collectives that were created solely to pay them and don’t provide goods or services to the general public for profit.

A lead attorney for the players responded by saying those instructions went against settlement terms and asking the CSC to rescind the guidance.

“This process is undermined when the CSC goes off the reservation and issues directions to the schools that are not consistent with the Settlement Agreement terms,” attorney Jeffrey Kessler wrote to NCAA outside counsel Rakesh Kilaru in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

Yahoo Sports first reported details of the letter, in which Kessler threatens to take the issue to a judge assigned with resolving disputes involved in the settlement.

Kessler told AP his firm was not commenting on the contents of the letter, and Kilaru did not immediately respond to AP’s request for a comment.

Yahoo quoted a CSC spokesman as saying the parties are working to resolve differences and that “the guidance issued by the College Sports Commission … is entirely consistent with the House settlement and the rules that have been agreed upon with class counsel.”

When NIL payments became allowed in 2021, boosters formed so-called “collectives” that were closely tied to universities to work out contracts with the players, who still weren’t allowed to be paid directly by the schools.

Terms of the House settlement allow schools to make the payments now, but keep the idea of outside payments from collectives, which have to be approved by the CSC if they are worth $600 or more.

The CSC, in its letter last week, explained that if a collective reaches a deal, for instance, for an athlete to appear on behalf of the collective, which charges an admission fee, that collective does not have a “valid business purpose” because the purpose of the event is to raise money to pay athletes, not to provide goods or services available to the general public for profit.

Another example of a disallowed deal was one an athlete makes to sell merchandise to raise money to pay that player because, the CSC guidance said, the purpose of “selling merchandise is to raise money to pay that student-athlete and potentially other student-athletes at a particular school or schools, which is not a valid business purpose.”

Kessler’s letter notes that the “valid business purpose” rule was designed to ensure athletes were not simply being paid to play, and did not prohibit NIL collectives from paying athletes for the type of deals described above.

To prevent those payments “would be to create a new prohibition on payments by a NIL collective that is not provided for or contemplated by the Settlement Agreement, causing injury to the class members who should be free to receive those payments,” Kessler wrote.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

FILE – Tennessee pitcher Liam Doyle (12) throws to a batter during an NCAA regional baseball game against Miami on May 30, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)
(AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)

SEC Network’s Peter Burns and Chris Doering gave their 2025 SEC and college football predictions ahead of the season. It was during SEC Media Days on location in Atlanta.

The two hosts went through five categories featuring coaches, teams and individuals. It was pretty carpeted to the conference, except for one pick.

However, there are some surprises from the pair as well. Let’s dive in, starting with the SEC Coach of the Year.

SEC Coach of the Year

Peter Burns: Brian Kelly, LSU
Chris Doering: Brent Venables, Oklahoma

Burns opted for Kelly to finally put it all together for the Tigers this season. Going into Year 4, a lot of LSU fans are uneasy and want to see at least a College Football Playoff berth.

Venables is a bit under the gun, so he needs to succeed in the SEC this year. But this 2025 Oklahoma team might have the most firepower of previous Venables’ teams.

SEC Offensive Player of the Year

Peter Burns: Arch Manning, QB – Texas
Chris Doering: John Mateer, QB – Oklahoma

Burns went with Manning to break out in his first year as a starter. He’s got the weapons, the talent and the coaching, so Manning has a chance to be the SEC’s best quarterback.

For Doering, he likes Washington State transfer John Mateer. That won’t be the last time you read the dual threat QB’s name on this list.

SEC Champion

Peter Burns: Georgia
Chris Doering: LSU

Georgia will return to the mountaintop of the SEC for the second straight year, per Burns. After beating Texas last year, the Bulldogs will repeat as champs and be one of the top seeds in the CFP.

Doering is high on LSU this year, despite not picking individual awards for the Tigers in the previous categories. It appears this’ll be Kelly’s best year as head coach.

Heisman Trophy Winner

Peter Burns: Cade Klubnik, QB – Clemson
Chris Doering: John Mateer, QB – Oklahoma

Burns picked the only non-SEC player or team on this list by going with Klubnik out of the ACC. The Clemson QB is slated to have the best year of his career and could be the No. 1 overall pick in 2026.

Doering already picked Mateer to win the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, so naturally, he has a chance to win the Heisman. If he improves upon last year’s stat line, it’ll be hard to deny the new Sooners’ quarterback.

National Champion

Peter Burns: N/A
Chris Doering: LSU

Here’s where TV gets fun. Burns didn’t pick an SEC team. In fact, he didn’t even pick a team at all for preseason predictions! What are we doing?!

Doering opted for LSU and Brian Kelly gets his first national championship, a long awaited goal. He’s been to the game before, but has fallen short. It seems like LSU is all in for 2025.

Longtime ESPN analyst and SEC pundit Paul Finebaum predicts one of the game’s top powers to falter in this season due to challenges stemming from the Name, Image and Likeness world of college football.

Schools have been forced to adapt to a new NIL era in the aftermath of the House settlement. The revenue-share model, allowing schools to allocate up to $20.5 million to athletes this year, is the new status quo.

Despite the settlement’s proposed intention to reign-in the unsustainable NIL spending, those lofty deals, sometimes undeserved in terms of on-field performance, continues to a sticking point.

In an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take,” Finebaum revealed his questions of Georgia and two-time national champion head coach Kirby Smart after an uncharacteristic 2024 campaign.

After not losing a regular season game for the better part of three seasons, the Bulldogs suffered regular season losses to both Alabama and Ole Miss. Smart and Co. responded with their third SEC championship before falling to Notre Dame, 28-10, in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

Georgia enters the 2025 season with questions at quarterback after Carson Beck’s transfer to Miami on a reported NIL package worth $4.5 million.

Gunner Stockton is the favorite after replacing an injured beck in the SEC title game and playoff appearance. And his first season as the full-time starter features matchups against playoff contenders like Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas.

Those matchups will come at home, but Finebaum isn’t high on Stockton, or Georgia as a program in the current NIL landscape.

“This year they have those games at home, so they have a chance,” Finebaum said during SEC Media Days. “But I don’t think Georgia has a quarterback, which is what is going to be their undoing. Gunner Stockton did not show me anything in the just epic loss and loss of not only the game, but loss of composure and maybe loss of traction.”

“So I think Kirby Smart has a lot to answer for when he gets here this week,” Finebaum said. “But, NIL is the reason just to double up on what everybody else has said, there’s just so much going on you, you can’t hold on to your rosters, so you’re going to lose critical backup people or starters that may be the difference between an undefeated season and losing two or three games.”

Georgia’s decision to move on from Beck, stick with Stockton and not sign a transfer quarterback will be a talking point all season.

What Smart and his staff do have, as Stockton progresses, is the nation’s No. 2 roster. Only Texas ranks higher than the Bulldogs in blue-chip ratio this year.

That’s due, in part, to dominant recruiting. While talking heads wonder if Georgia can keep up with the NIL surge, the Bulldogs have yet to finish outside of the top five in recruiting in the last nine years and are coming off the No. 2 class in the 2025 cycle.

The talent will be there for Stockton to be successful, and it’s up to the redshirt junior and the Bulldogs to silence the doubters.

That journey will begin in the season opener against Marshall on Aug. 30 at 3:30 p.m ET (ESPN).

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