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Sampson, Barnes and Izzo still love coaching in NIL era even after many of their peers have retired

And while some critics contend the sport has lost something in this world of de facto player free agency, Barnes disagrees. “I still think the game is a pure game, a beautiful game, and I love coaching it,” he said. “I think with the NIL, I can see it if you’re at a university where […]

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Sampson, Barnes and Izzo still love coaching in NIL era even after many of their peers have retired

And while some critics contend the sport has lost something in this world of de facto player free agency, Barnes disagrees.
“I still think the game is a pure game, a beautiful game, and I love coaching it,” he said. “I think with the NIL, I can see it if you’re at a university where the administration doesn’t get it. We all want to win. The rumors I’m hearing, it’s absolutely mind-boggling, but that’s not going to keep us from doing our job, and I couldn’t care less about it right now.”
They’ve also learned how to manage rosters and how to deal more regularly with university administrators. They are about to learn the nuances of how to operate under what amounts to a salary cap of about .5 million next season.
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Together, the trio remains part of the shrinking old guard of coaches. The profession becomes increasingly younger with each successive retirement, a list that includes national championship winners Roy Williams, Jay Wright, Mike Krzyzewski, Tony Bennett and Jim Boeheim.
“Rick’s one of a kind. I wish we had more like him,” Sampson said. “He’s just a jewel among jewels. He’s one of the great ones. I’ve spent a lot of time with that guy, different places, on the road, recruiting. If we don’t win it, I hope he does. That’s how much I respect him.”
Barnes, whose 836 wins are the most among active coaches and include a Final Four trip in 2003 with Texas, is trying to get Tennessee into its first national semifinal.
Sampson may not embrace every new development, but he’s not complaining because he believes the ever-changing game is as healthy as it’s ever been — warts and all.
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All three would rather develop players through their own programs over multiple years, though each has dabbled in the portal to plug holes. They just choose not to completely overhaul their teams each season.
Sampson is one win away from making the third Final Four trip of his career, two wins from reaching his first title game and three victories from celebrating win No. 800 in his career, win No. 300 at top-seeded Houston and his first national title.
The reason is simple: There’s still a championship at stake.
Izzo is on the cusp of a ninth Final Four bid, his first since 2019, and would like to add his second national title a quarter-century after winning his first.
At age 69, Sampson is still drawing up terrific plays like the game-deciding inbound pass in Friday’s 62-60 victory over Purdue, which set up Sunday’s Midwest Region championship game between the top-seeded Cougars and second-seeded Tennessee. The Volunteers are led by Sampson’ longtime friend, the 70-year-old Rick Barnes.
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Barnes added: “I’ve known Kelvin a lifetime. He and I have kind of grown up together, kind of grown old together, too. I love him. I love Kelvin Sampson, and he and I will be friends until the day we die.”
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — It’s hard sometimes for Kelvin Sampson to recognize the sport he’s coached more than 40 years.
“We have a great game, we still have great kids. Our kids do well in NIL and I’m thankful it hasn’t changed our kids,” the longtime Houston coach and Big 12 coach of the year said Saturday. “I hear the horror stories. I think the horror stories are more the minority, but it’s still a great game. It’s a game where you can teach good values, teach kids it’s OK to make mistakes, it’s OK to get up when you get knocked down. While everything is growing exponentially in areas I had no idea even existed, it’s still a great game.”
While college basketball’s continuing evolution may have chased some former coaches off the recruiting trail, Sampson, Barnes and Izzo have stuck around and adapted — even if they don’t always agree with what’s happening.
“You have to talk to players differently. You have to make adjustments. You’ve got more people,” Izzo said Saturday, two weeks after joking at the Big Ten Tournament there are no longer any NCAA rules to enforce. “But when it gets down to that locker room before the game, it’s all the same.”
And whoever wins Sunday in Indy will have more than just a rabid fan base in his corner. Sampson and Barnes hope one of them wins this year to prove one of the game’s elder statesmen can still cut down the nets.
He sees name, image and likeness money, the transfer portal, the soon-to-be ending NIL collectives and the soon-to-be start of revenue sharing, and he knows he must adapt to college basketball’s new world if he intends to keep winning recruiting battles and games.

Seventy-year-old Michigan State coach Tom Izzo also will be chasing a Final Four spot Sunday when his second-seeded Spartans face top-seeded Auburn in the South Region.

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College Basketball Tournament Rankings: Big 12 Edition (2025)

Share Tweet Share Share Email So far, 11 of the 16 Big 12 men’s basketball teams have lined up non-conference tournament in November later this year. Also called multi-team events, these tournaments give teams the chance to get multiple games at the same site without extra travel.   Blogging the Bracket is publishing a running […]

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So far, 11 of the 16 Big 12 men’s basketball teams have lined up non-conference tournament in November later this year.

Also called multi-team events, these tournaments give teams the chance to get multiple games at the same site without extra travel.

 

Blogging the Bracket is publishing a running list of the MTEs (Multi-Team Events) that have been scheduled based on reporting, as most Division I schedules aren’t made yet. In fact, most conference schedules won’t be announced until at least August.

But, for now, we rank each of the MTE’s that Big 12 teams are reportedly involved in.

1. Players Era Festival

Set for Nov. 24-30 in Las Vegas, it’s the runaway winner here. Baylor, Houston, Iowa State and Kansas have all been invited to the tournament that features an NIL component. Houston played in the tournament last year and lost two games.

That’s because the field is brutal — Alabama, Auburn, Creighton, Gonzaga, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State, St. John’s, Saint Joseph’s, Syracuse, Tennessee and UNLV.

If last year’s format is used, each Big 12 team is going to get three significant tests while in Sin City over the Thanksgiving holiday.

2. Rady Children’s Invitational

Set for Nov. 27-28 in San Diego, this one features the defending national champions, the Florida Gators, along with a pair of tough programs in Providence and Wisconsin. The fourth team is TCU, which is remaking its roster after a bumpy offseason in the transfer portal. This should be a great event for late-night hoops watchers.

 

3. Shriners Hospitals Charleston Classic

The event will be played before Thanksgiving in Charleston, S.C. It features three NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago in Clemson, Georgia and Xavier, along with one team that should have been an NCAA Tournament team in West Virginia. Each team is guaranteed two games. Like the Rady Children’s Invitation, everyone is going to get tested.

4. Hall of Fame Classic

Set for Nov. 20-21 in Kansas City, this is one of the most balanced four-team MTE’s you are likely to find. Kansas State could face Mississippi State, Nebraska or New Mexico as each team is guaranteed two games. None of these teams jump off the page, but it should be highly competitive.

5. Acrisure Series

Played in Palm Desert, Calif., from Nov. 25-28, Colorado and Utah are the Big 12 teams committed to the event, which features a huge field, like the Players Era.

It’s not known who Colorado or Utah will play, but the rest of the field includes Cal Baptist, Grand Canyon, Iowa, Loyola Chicago, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Nevada, Northern Iowa, Saint Louis, San Diego, San José State, Santa Clara, Stanford, Tulsa and Washington.

 

It’s an intriguing mix of power programs and dangerous mid-majors. It’s hard to determine the competitiveness until brackets are released.

6. Maui Invitational

Set for Nov. 24-26 in Lahaina, Hawai‘i, this used to be the gold standard for pre-Thanksgiving Tournament. This year the field feels lacking. Arizona State is the Big 12 entrant, along with Boise State, NC State, Seton Hall, Texas, USC, Washington State and Division II host Chaminade.

7. ESPN Events Invitational

Set for Nov. 27-28 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., this looks like the weakest field among the MTE’s that are reportedly set up. To me, BYU and Dayton are the best teams here and should meet in a game the second day, assuming both win their first games. The rest of the field is Georgetown and Miami (FL).

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.





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Jedd Fisch on spring games: Don’t know why teams ‘waste’ opportunity

The Washington Huskies have wrapped up their second spring under head coach Jedd Fisch. That included hosting a spring game, despite several other programs around the country and in the Big Ten backing away from them. After the spring game, Fish was incredibly happy with how things went. He’d reflect on the spring game and […]

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The Washington Huskies have wrapped up their second spring under head coach Jedd Fisch. That included hosting a spring game, despite several other programs around the country and in the Big Ten backing away from them.

After the spring game, Fish was incredibly happy with how things went. He’d reflect on the spring game and explain that Washington wanted to make their game entertaining and balance that with improving as a team.

“I thought it was great,” Jedd Fisch said. “I loved having the music playing throughout. I thought we had a really good turnout of people. It gets bigger. It gets more fun. I think we continue to add new parts to it, to incorporate the gymnastics teams, to incorporate the two soccer teams, to have Mike [Penix Jr.] fly in, to have Donald [Butler] fly in, to be able to let the non-kickers kick, and we were trying to get Big Logan [Sagapolu] and Geirean [Hatchett] to field some punts, but there were no punts in the fourth quarter.”

Among the Big Ten schools to cancel their spring games were Nebraska and USC. Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule attributed potential tampering with the Transfer Portal set to open as a major factor. Several other coaches pointed out similar circumstances. Then, coaches like Steve Sarkisian at Texas pointed out the length of their postseason runs. Despite all of those arguments, Jedd Fisch wondered why teams wouldn’t embrace an opportunity to improve.

“We want to keep growing it. We want to make it a celebration of spring football. We also want to be able to get better while we’re doing it. So, to me, you go and play a two-hour game. I don’t know the total amount of snaps but there were probably 85-90 snaps. There were interceptions, there were touchdowns, there were tackles, there were fumbles, there were a lot of things you could coach off of,” Fisch said. “And I don’t know why anyone would want to waste their 15th practice and not be able to coach off of it.”

The reality is that practice time is severely limited in college football. Spring only allows for 15 practices in total. So, time is limited, and different coaches are going to want to use that time differently. As of now, it would appear that Jedd Fisch believes hosting that scrimmage is the best way to use that time. So, it’s not leaving Washington soon.



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NIL frustrations mount as Rick Barnes discusses recruiting setbacks for Tennessee

There have been several big-name transfers and recruits Tennessee basketball has been in on this offseason. The Vols landing Nate Ament continues to be news that’s celebrated across the state. However, there have also been players UT has missed out on. The list includes Rodney Rice, who seemed like he’d be a lock to play […]

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There have been several big-name transfers and recruits Tennessee basketball has been in on this offseason. The Vols landing Nate Ament continues to be news that’s celebrated across the state. However, there have also been players UT has missed out on.

The list includes Rodney Rice, who seemed like he’d be a lock to play for Tennessee after his buddy Ja’Kobi Gillespie made that call. Rice picked USC, but he wasn’t the only one who spurned the Vols in order to play for another team.

While Barnes didn’t speak about Rice in particular, he did admit this week that there have been several players who have wanted to play for him, but one main thing prevented that from happening: NIL deals offering more money:

Rick Barnes opened up on NIL forcing him to miss out on top targets

“We have a limit we’re going to,” Barnes said. “It has happened this year. We’ve been involved with guys that truly wanted to come to the University of Tennessee, but they were looking for more money than we were able to provide because of us trying to build our roster the best we could.”

This makes sense. Sometimes, it doesn’t come down to Barnes and his staff not doing a good enough job recruiting a target and selling him on the kind of impact he can make with the program. Instead, it comes down to a different team putting a bigger bag in front of him. We get it, so does Barnes.

According to multiple reports, Rice ended up signing a $3 million NIL package to sign with the USC Trojans. This was a number that Barnes and Tennessee were never going to come close to. Can you blame Rice for taking that kind of dough? Absolutely not.

Rice and others were offered more money to not suit up in Knoxville and at the end of the day, no one can be upset with them over that. This is the new world we live in with college athletics. Barnes knows this is the direction things are going, but at the same time, he’s still done a strong job landing playmakers this offseason and it’s looking to be another strong campaign for the Vols in 2025-26 after an Elite Eight run this past March Madness.





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LSU Women's Basketball Transfer Portal Update

Kim Mulkey and the LSU Tigers continue navigating a pivotal offseason in Baton Rouge with the staff reconstructing the roster ahead of the 2025-26 season. The program will have four returning players from last year with Flau’Jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams, Kailyn Gilbert and Jada Richard set to be back in the purple and gold. Mulkey […]

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LSU Women's Basketball Transfer Portal Update

Kim Mulkey and the LSU Tigers continue navigating a pivotal offseason in Baton Rouge with the staff reconstructing the roster ahead of the 2025-26 season.

The program will have four returning players from last year with Flau’Jae Johnson, Mikaylah Williams, Kailyn Gilbert and Jada Richard set to be back in the purple and gold.

Mulkey and Co. have seen six players from the 2024-25 roster make the decision to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason in search of new homes.

Now, all the departing Tigers have found new homes after short stints in the free agent market.

Where are the ex-Tigers heading for the 2025-26 season?

The First Entry: Sa’Myah Smith [Forward]

LSU redshirt-sophomore Sa’Myah Smith entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on March 31 after three seasons in Baton Rouge.

After suffering a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in her knee early in the 2023-24 season, Smith bounced back for the Kim Mulkey’s program late in the Tigers’ recent season.

She posted averages of 6.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game this year, but her production skyrocketed in the tournament after posting double-doubles in both the Round of 32 and Sweet 16.

Smith joined the LSU Tigers during Mulkey’s second season at the helm of the program where she earned limited minutes during LSU’s 2023 National Championship run.

Now, after three seasons in Baton Rouge, Smith is headed to join the Virginia Cavaliers, she announced.

The Second Entry: Last-Tear Poa [Guard]

Poa, a member of Kim Mulkey’s 2023 National Championship squad, has played a pivotal role for the Tigers across her trio of seasons in the Bayou State.

During the 2024-25 season, Poa appeared in 30 games and made 15 starts for LSU.

She averaged 2.0 points and 1.9 assists across 12.8 minutes a night while playing a role in the Tigers’ run to the Elite Eight.

Poa joined LSU ahead of the 2022-23 season after transferring in from Northwest Florida State as a JUCO prospect.

She has since signed with the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Poa will exercise an extra year of eligibility due to the new JUCO ruling the NCAA passed recently.

The Third Entry: Aalyah Del Rosario [Forward]

The former five-star prospect in the 2023 Recruiting Cycle showed flashes during her freshman campaign with the Tigers, but was unable to take that next step in her second year.

The 6-foot-6 frontcourt piece averaged 4.7 points per game with 3.5 rebounds during the 2023-24 season.

Fast forward to this past year and Del Rosario averaged 2.0 points and 2.0 rebounds a night on 41.7 percent shooting in six minutes per game.

She has since signed with the Vanderbilt Commodores and will remain in the Southeastern Conference.

The Fourth Departure: Jersey Wolfenbarger [Forward]

Wolfenbarger entered the NCAA Transfer Portal in April after spending one season with the purple and gold.

The 6-foot-5 forward recently wrapped up her first season in Baton Rouge as a rotational piece for Mulkey and the Tigers after transferring in from Arkansas.

In her first year with the program, Wolfenbarger served primarily as a backup center for LSU with averages of 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game with 24 blocks in total on the season.

She played 13.2 minutes per game with nine starts after handling minutes behind both Aneesah Morrow and Sa’Myah Smith.

Wolfenbarger has since signed with the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Fifth Departure: Mjarcle Sheppard [Guard]

Sheppard made the move to Baton Rouge last offseason after playing her true freshman campaign with the Mississippi State Bulldogs the season prior.

The Kent (Wash.) native played in 32 games for the Tigers with two starts after helping lead the LSU program to an Elite Eight appearance.

Sheppard averaged 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game on the season with 32 steals and 21 total assists on the year.

Now, after stints with Mississippi State and LSU, Sheppard will head to her third school in as many years after committing to the Cal Bears on Wednesday.

The 5-foot-10 sophomore will make the move back to the West Coast where she will be closer to home for the 2025-26 season.

The Sixth Departure: Amani Bartlett [Forward]

In April, backup forward Amani Bartlett revealed her intentions of hitting the free agent market for her final season of eligibility.

Bartlett, a reserve piece for Kim Mulkey and the Tigers during her time with the program, suited up in 17 games last season as a senior.

A member of Mulkey’s first roster in the Bayou State, Bartlett became the first player to play four years under her at LSU.

Out of high school, Bartlett was labeled as the No. 3 player out of Texas by Premier Basketball and had a 93-scout grade from ESPN HoopGurlz as well.

Bartlett has since signed with the Houston Cougars.

LSU Football Wide Receiver Donating NIL Money Back to High School for Title Rings

LSU Football Holds Commitments From a Pair of Top-10 Wide Receivers in America

Brian Kelly’s Take: LSU Football Searching for Ideal Starting Offensive Line Rotation

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU Tigers.

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Tennessee Reacts to Historic College Football Program’s Rumored $40 Million Payroll

As͏ ͏t͏he NIL͏ era͏ ͏continues to reshape college ͏footbal͏l, the Tennes͏see͏ Volunteers have found themselves right in the th͏ick of it. The first half of 202͏5 has already seen ͏major cha͏nge͏s in Knoxville, highlighted͏ by the sudden departure of quarterback Nic͏o Iamaleava. The for͏mer College F͏oot͏ball Playoff s͏tarter reportedly left the program following͏ a dispute […]

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As͏ ͏t͏he NIL͏ era͏ ͏continues to reshape college ͏footbal͏l, the Tennes͏see͏ Volunteers have found themselves right in the th͏ick of it. The first half of 202͏5 has already seen ͏major cha͏nge͏s in Knoxville, highlighted͏ by the sudden departure of quarterback Nic͏o Iamaleava.

The for͏mer College F͏oot͏ball Playoff s͏tarter reportedly left the program following͏ a dispute ove͏r NIL, eve͏n skipping͏ the fin͏al sprin͏g͏ p͏r͏act͏ice. His exit͏ reflects t͏he growin͏g impact of NIL͏ and the transfe͏r portal on team͏ stability.

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In͏ res͏ponse to rumors͏ that Texas operates with a͏ staggering ͏$40 million ͏N͏IL budget, Tennes͏see͏ Athletics ͏Direc͏tor D͏anny White didn’t hold back.

Tennessee athletic director Danny White before a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game between the Lady Vols and Texas at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday, March 29, 2025.Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee athletic director Danny White before a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game between the Lady Vols and Texas at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday, March 29, 2025.Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I thi͏nk it’s hard to kn͏ow what’s true,”͏ White ͏sai͏d͏. “There’s so many numbers bein͏g ͏thrown ͏out.” Still, he emphasized t͏ha͏t ͏Tennessee has no intention of falling ͏behind in͏ t͏he NIL race.

“We are as co͏mpetitive as anyone,” White added. “I think in͏ ͏the NIL s͏pace, we came͏ out t͏he͏ gat͏e a͏s a ͏leader and we’re going to con͏tin͏u͏e to have͏ our ͏foot ͏o͏n the gas.”

W͏hi͏te pointed ͏to Tennessee’s g͏row͏t͏h ͏as͏ pro͏of of th͏eir commitment͏. “In the last four years,͏ we͏’ve ͏gro͏wn from $140 million in annual revenue͏ ͏an͏d will cl͏ose the b͏o͏oks this y͏ear close͏r to $2͏80 [mill͏ion],” he sai͏d͏.

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H͏e made it c͏lear that all reve͏nu͏e is ͏be͏ing us͏ed to sup͏port th͏e program. ͏“W͏e’r͏e͏ no͏t generating all ͏this revenue t͏o put ͏it ͏in some ͏coffers to ͏make me f͏eel good. We’͏re͏ generating ͏revenue to rei͏nv͏est in our programs to win at a hig͏h level͏.͏”

“I’m happy that the kids are getting a piece of the pie now, and we’ll continue to evaluate how we can organize it better and have more controls over it,” he added.

Whi͏te͏ also ack͏nowl͏edg͏ed ͏the need for fut͏u͏re N͏IL ͏structure an͏d ͏accountability.

Related: Major NIL Announcement Made on Friday After Tennessee-Iamaleava Situation



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Trump considers executive order to limit NIL after meeting with Nick Saban

President Donald Trump may be preparing to enter the college athletics debate by exploring an executive order related to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation. This follows a recent meeting with former Alabama football coach Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump and Saban met Thursday night before the president returned […]

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President Donald Trump may be preparing to enter the college athletics debate by exploring an executive order related to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation.

This follows a recent meeting with former Alabama football coach Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump and Saban met Thursday night before the president returned to Mar-a-Lago. The two reportedly discussed the current state of college sports and the chaos surrounding NIL payments. The landscape of amateur athletics has shifted significantly since their legalization in 2021.

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Saban has long been vocal about the negative impact he believes NIL has had on college sports. According to the WSJ report, Saban told Trump that the influx of unregulated money has damaged the integrity and competitive balance of college athletics. The timing of this is notable. Most schools are scrambling to finalize NIL deals before a July 1 deadline. That’s when House settlement could impose new revenue-sharing caps and roster limits.

Related: Quinn Ewers suffers major blow following the NFL Draft

While Trump hasn’t officially announced any action, his aides are reportedly beginning to explore what an executive order might look like.

This would be a significant move as Congress has yet to move forward with any legislation to govern NIL. College figureheads have spent the past two years lobbying for federal guidance, hoping to create a level playing field and avoid further legal battles. Their fear is that without clear rules, NIL will continue to create inequalities and expose the NCAA to antitrust lawsuits.

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Related: South Carolina QB turns heads with latest NIL deal

The potential for executive action is good on paper but lacks significant backing across the board. Any attempt by the federal government to place limits on athletes’ earnings or restructure NIL frameworks could face strong legal opposition.

Despite the legal risks, some believe that if Trump were to frame an executive order as providing “guardrails,” rather than restrictions, it could gain political traction.

Related: Livvy Dunne catches everyone’s attention with all-pink Kentucky Derby outfit

In the meantime, college athletic departments are in serious limbo. They’re preparing for a post-settlement world without a clear rulebook. At the same time, the rules might be amended again. What’s certain is that the NIL era is forcing everyone to reconsider the future of college sports. For better or worse, it’s happening.



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