South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers isn’t just rewriting the Gamecocks’ playbook—he’s changing the NIL game, one action figure at a time.

Fresh off a breakout 2024 campaign, Sellers has signed a unique and headline-making NIL deal with Collegiate Legends, becoming one of the first players in the country to be immortalized as a collectible action figure. The $3.7 million On3 NIL Valuation attached to the redshirt sophomore now places him at No. 5 in college football and solidifies his spot among the sport’s most marketable names.

Gamecock Icon Turned Collectible

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As part of the deal, Sellers will receive a custom, poseable action figure available exclusively through Gamecock Traditions. Priced at $99.99, it’s already creating buzz online and in Columbia. “This is more than just a toy – it’s a celebration of Gamecock greatness,” said Collegiate Legends president Holly Tanory. With features including a Heisman pose and lifelike detailing, the collectible connects fans, alumni, and young supporters to the rising star in a tangible way.

Giving Back Through NIL

Sellers isn’t pocketing the spotlight for himself. He’s using the deal to give back, gifting a portion of the figures to local children—a heartfelt move that adds depth to his brand and resonates well with fans and future sponsors alike. It builds on a growing trend of NIL athletes turning endorsements into community impact. Sellers previously partnered with Cheez-It for the Citrus Bowl and made a splash in EA Sports College Football 25. Now, he’s proving that NIL can be about more than personal gain—it can be a platform for connection and purpose.

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With a stellar 2,274 passing yards, 17 touchdowns through the air, and another 655 rushing yards in 2024, Sellers is already on NFL Draft radars. But off the field, this latest NIL deal signals something bigger: LaNorris Sellers isn’t just building a brand—he’s becoming one.

Related: Livvy Dunne stuns in her latest business venture

Related: Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola turns heads with new NIL deal

Janet Briggs

Ascending past the Polar Bear statue to the entrance of Sargent Gymnasium, the echoes of bouncing balls guide you to a vast room patterned by an expansive matrix of court lines. Sargent is a dynamic space hosting a variety of student sports teams throughout the year, including varsity and intramural basketball, the fencing team and the ultimate frisbee teams. Sometimes, the space is even converted into a makeshift dance studio.

Sargent was named after Dudley Sargent, a gymnastics coaching recruit who later became a student of the College and who helped establish indoor exercise at Bowdoin. Beyond attaining his degree in 1875, Sargent established a legacy of promoting physical education in New England at both Yale University and Harvard University and even started the Sargent School of Physical Training in Cambridge, Mass.

The title of Sargent Gymnasium originally belonged to a structure now utilized as the primary heating plant for Bowdoin. (Today, Sargent is located within Smith Union, and has been there since 1913.) The original complex, which was constructed in 1886, redefined exercise for the student body. Although physical activity is now widely deemed a staple of a healthy lifestyle for young adults, Sargent’s first location was established in the decades following an era when indoor exercise was widely considered an “ungentlemanly” practice for men who attended college in the United States and an overall obstacle to the ideal learning environment.

When, under the leadership of President William De Witt Hyde, the College was prepared to erect its own gymnasium, Sargent advocated for the project. Other influential figures in the history of sports at Bowdoin, like Frank N. Whittier, class of 1885, also helped establish academic requirements for activities in the building, such as classes in boxing and hygiene.

During a period when Collegiate Gothic style was the predominant architectural design at Bowdoin, the architect behind Sargent Gymnasium, Charles Collens, opted for Colonial Revival architecture. Collens argued the style would honor the College’s New England roots. At the entrance to Sargent, characteristics like a triangular pediment and classical door define the building’s façade.

Today, the College no longer demands that all students take physical education courses to graduate, but community members still take advantage of various opportunities in Sargent for their own leisure and fitness.

Sonia Katahdin ’28, who is enrolled in an art history course dedicated to the study of material culture, has expressed interest in Sargent’s unique position on campus in her course research.

“I have a lot of interest in historical buildings. I’ve been making a documentary about the history of Howell House [for an art history course], and the architect, Arnold Berton, did architectural work for the original Sargent Gymnasium, so that has taken me a little bit into this neck of the woods,” Katahdin said.

With its direct location above both the Mail Center and the Bowdoin Music Collective, its presence has wide-ranging impacts on student life.

Maya Funez ’28, who is a member of the student band Pariah and frequently utilizes the music practice rooms, noted that she sometimes feels frustrated with the upstairs noise from Sargent.

“If we’re songwriting, it’s hard to focus with the noise, assuming we haven’t already turned on all our gear,” Funez said. “For the most part, it’s just loud.”

Current students who use Sargent have expressed their desire for modifications to the space in years to come. Alex Krauss ’28, a member of the fencing, co-ed volleyball and intramural pickleball clubs, has suggestions for how to improve Sargent Gymnasium.

“It would be cool if there were pickleball lines or a new paint job,” Krauss said.

With the current campus layout, Sargent is also a frequent point of comparison with newer facilities on campus, like Morrell Gymnasium, a sports complex completed in 1965 that hosts the varsity basketball and volleyball teams. However, students still appreciate Sargent’s role in the day-to-day athletic activities of the community.

“I think Sargent is a great alternative to Morrell Gymnasium, and I’m glad we have it on campus,” Krauss said.

NASHUA, N.H. –The Saint Joseph’s College of Maine softball team wrapped up its 2025 season on Friday night with an 18-10 loss to Albertus Magnus College in GNAC Tournament Pod Play at Raider Diamond.

Saint Joseph’s got off to a fast start, jumping ahead 2-0 in the first inning thanks to aggressive running on the bases and a couple of defensive miscues by Albertus Magnus. The Falcons quickly turned the tide in the second inning, scoring four runs to take a lead they never gave back to the Monks.

Albertus added three more in the third and later put the game out of reach with a big eight-run seventh inning.

Down by a wide margin in their final at-bat, the Monks didn’t go quietly. They rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh, highlighted by a three-run homer off the bat of Sadie Tirrell (Naples, ME).

Sadie Tirrell paced the Monks at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs, and two runs scored. Monks catcher Chantelle Bouchard (Biddeford, ME) also went deep, finishing 2-for-5 with an RBI. Shortstop Charlotte Cloutier (Lewiston, ME) added two hits and drove in a pai of runs for the Monks.

Albertus Magnus was powered by Barreiro’s 3-for-4, five-RBI performance. Schwipper added three hits and two RBIs, and Rubino capped the scoring with a three-run homer in the seventh. Jabs picked up the win for the Falcons. 

The college athletics landscape continues to shift.

Almost daily, fans see countless names enter the transfer portal from all sports, more controversy from name, image and likeness dollars and news on even more conference expansion.

Issues are being decided through mediation and even a multibillion-dollar antitrust settlement before a federal judge.

There is much to dissect, including UNLV’s place in a system that has become more and more about the professionalization of college sports.

The Review-Journal is beginning a new series entitled “College Sports Chaos” to report on and bring depth to those issues and more.

Here is just some of what the series will cover:

Mountain West vs. Pac-12

The conferences are likely headed toward mediation to resolve a lawsuit the Pac-12 filed over $55 million in poaching fees the Mountain West says it is owed.

The dispute dates to five Mountain West schools — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State — announcing in September 2024 that they were joining the Pac-12.

There is also the issue of media rights dollars and what they mean to athletic departments in both conferences — and what the outlook is for each league when it comes to their next television contracts.

The Pac-12 still needs to add an eighth football-playing member to be considered a conference, and it has been reported that such a move might not occur until after its media rights deal for 2026 and beyond has been established.

The Mountain West, on the other hand, can likely expect to make less on its next deal than the newly formed Pac-12, not to mention leagues such as the Big 12 and ACC.

What is in store for the Mountain West and Pac-12? Could a program like UNLV ultimately end up in the Pac-12 should it not receive the millions of dollars promised it to remain in the Mountain West? Could it possibly bring legal action to get out of the Mountain West deal?

Stay tuned.

Transfer portal

There is good and bad to all of it, major challenges that still need to be considered when athletes make the decision to jump into such a pool.

Many see up to 70 percent of their academic credits lost.

The calendar for when the portal opens and closes each year also has come under great scrutiny.

But in a world where coaches can switch jobs on a whim, the idea that athletes also have the freedom to search for better opportunities is a good one.

Locally, we will break down the portal with UNLV men’s and women’s basketball coaches Josh Pastner and Lindy La Rocque.

In his first months leading the Rebels, Pastner has had to rely heavily on the portal to build a roster.

La Rocque, who has established her program as tops in the Mountain West, saw three of her best young players enter the portal following last season.

It’s a never-ending cycle of movement that only appears to be getting bigger and bigger as each season passes.

House vs. NCAA

This is the class-action lawsuit brought in 2020 by former Arizona State swimmer Grant House and former TCU women’s college basketball player Sedona Prince.

The basis of it: to lift restrictions on revenue sharing of media rights revenues.

It would create a system in which schools can pay athletes directly beginning this summer, a number expected to start at $20.5 million per school.

It would also guarantee retroactive payments to former athletes who were not able to profit off their name, image and likeness.

Group of Five schools would likely pay much less to their athletes than those from the Power Four, but some level of revenue sharing will be required from programs like UNLV.

The question then becomes, how would the Rebels come up with funds for a system that essentially becomes free agency in college sports? At what level could UNLV compete with other schools paying much more to their athletes?

The lawsuit is near a final conclusion, but U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken wants both sides to agree on the implementation of roster limits. Wilken has been opposed to the immediate elimination of thousands of athletes from NCAA sports.

The final ruling will also have its effect on the NIL world by allowing direct payments from schools to athletes and changing many of the deals signed with collectives.

Or will future lawsuits following such a ruling keep a final determination from occurring for years to come?

NIL

How competitive is a school like UNLV in this highly significant area of college sports? How competitive is it with other schools in the Mountain West and newly formed Pac-12?

Power Four schools through NIL collectives now pay some of their athletes — the quarterback, the star point guard — millions of dollars annually.

One local example is former UNLV basketball player Dedan Thomas Jr., who entered the transfer portal and ultimately signed with LSU for a hefty raise in his NIL deal.

Group of Five schools find it nearly impossible to keep up. It will likely be the same reality once the House settlement is official.

The rich keep getting richer, is right.

Key UNLV questions

Will the Rebels ever receive an invite to a power conference?

Realignment and expansion aren’t over, and it’s the charge of a program like UNLV to position itself in the best possible light once things begin to again shift within the Power Four leagues.

The arrival of a legitimate football team certainly helps UNLV’s cause. So would Pastner turning around a basketball program that hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2013.

The Rebels have facilities good enough to be considered on par with Power Four programs.

But is Las Vegas ready to support big-time college athletics in every manner? And if not, what does that mean for the future of UNLV sports?

All of it and more will be covered in “College Sports Chaos.“

Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.

The UW-La Crosse logo lit up on the wall of Mitchell Hall. Photo by John Gaynor.

On Tuesday, April 29, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Athletics Department hosted the 11th annual ESSLYs, the annual award show designed to celebrate the achievements of UWL student-athletes in school, in sport and in life. 

Because many student-athletes get caught up in schoolwork, workouts, practices and competitions, the ESSLYs are an opportunity for everyone involved with UWL Athletics to be recognized for their achievements.  

“We all get busy and don’t recognize the work our student athletes put in often enough. The ESSLYs give you the opportunity to see the incredible athletes here at UWL, and everything they’re doing,” said Volleyball Head Coach Deb Sazama.  

At the ESSLYS, UWL student-athletes in each university-sponsored athletic discipline are recognized for their accomplishments, by recognition of team captains, community service hours, scholar athletes and 4.00 GPA students. All-Americans, academic All-Americans, four-year participants, as well as individual and team national champions are recognized as well

Individual athlete awards are also recognized during the event. Such awards include the Male and Female Athlete of the Year, Student of the Year, Male and Female Newcomer of the Year, Comeback Athlete of the Year, The Eagle Award and the Outstanding Career Award.  

A faculty member is also recognized as Faculty of the Year.   

In addition to the individual awards, there are two team awards given out during the ceremony. One of these awards is given to the team with the highest cumulative grade point average (GPA) and the other is Team of the Year, for the team with the most success within the past year.   

This year, the team with the highest cumulative GPA was the Women’s Cross Country team and the Faculty of the Year award was given to Biology Professor, Jennifer Miskowski.  

The UWL Athletics Department has three pillars. The department aims for its student-athletes to excel in school, in sport and in life.  

For the school pillar, the UWL Athletic Department handed out the Student award. The award is given to the student-athletes who performed the best in the classroom, with all three athletes who received the award having earned a 4.0 GPA.   

This year’s winners were Justine Bastyr of Volleyball, Reilly Eiynck of Women’s Swim & Dive and Addie Pauling of Soccer.  

Bastyr is currently pursuing her CPA license and is a double major in accounting and finance. Eiynck will be attending graduate school at Yale on a full scholarship to pursue a PhD. Pauling is currently working at an internship in Colorado.   

To Sazama, the awards represent an opportunity to motivate her squad. “Historically, our program hasn’t been in that position, lifting the trophy. I hope seeing others do it makes my team say, ‘that can and should be us.’”  

Over the past year, UWL Athletics has seen an unprecedented number of teams compete and find success on a national level, a feat many Division III schools could only dream of.   

The ESSLYs celebrated Men’s Track and Field winning a national title in its 2024 Outdoor season, Men’s Cross Country getting their revenge and winning a national championship during their 2024 season, Gymnastics winning an National College Gymnastics Association (NCGA) national title in March of 2025 and Men’s Track & Field winning an Indoor National Championship title in March of 2025.  

During the past year, UWL Athletic have also secured nine Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championships. One of the teams to take home a WIAC title over the past year was Wrestling, who came home with the Upset of the Year award after winning a regional title and sending nine of ten weight classes to the national meet.  

“What happens here doesn’t happen anywhere else,” said Head Coach of UWL Wrestling Dave Malecek.

Across all National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) schools, sports and divisions, UWL has the 11th-most team national championships in the nation with 51 national titles.

On March 22, the UWL Gymnastics team captured the program’s 18th NCGA title and UWL’s 79th overall national title, about a week after the UWL Men’s Track & Field team concluded its 2025 Indoor season with winning a national championship, the 21st in program history.  

“Other schools would throw a ticker-tape parade if they won just one national championship, but we had cake and coffee for our 78th and 79th,” said Malecek.  

While not every team can win a national championship every year, there were many programs that stood out. Men’s and Women’s Basketball both had record-breaking seasons, each making the national tournament.  

Under Head Coach J.T. Gritzmacher, the Men’s Basketball team completed the winningest season in program history. The team won 22 regular-season games and three in the postseason before being eliminated by Missouri’s Washington University.  

For the Women’s Basketball team, this year wasn’t just about accomplishments, but rather pushing forward and giving back. The team was faced with a setback early in the year, with the tragic loss of UWL Women’s Basketball Head Coach Moran Lonning’s son, Charlie Lonning Weber.  

The Women’s Basketball team and the entire UWL community surrounded Lonning and her family with thoughts, prayers and love. Over a thousand people showed up in November to stand in support with the team when they hosted Bubba’s Youth Night in memoriam of their ‘Forever Sixth Man’.  

In Webber’s honor, Athletic Director Kim Blum’s True Grit Award was renamed to The Charlie Award and given to the Women’s Basketball team.  

Following the Charlie Award, Blum highlighted each team’s service efforts within the La Crosse community, emphasizing the perpetual effort from UWL student-athletes on every team to step up and support a good cause.   

During their off-season, each athletic discipline sponsored by the UWL Athletic Department participates in community service efforts, whether on-campus or anywhere in La Crosse County.  

UWL Football Head Coach Matt Janus chimed in on Blum’s remarks. “To see and to hear about the ways our UWL student-athletes were able to help the La Crosse community and to be a part of that community as well is something special. It’s not just about sports for our teams. It’s using sports to provide a platform to provide an experience,” said Janus.  

Each year, the UWL Athletic department recognizes an athlete who has overcome one or more significant obstacles or injuries to return to competing at a high level. This year’s winner of the Comeback of the Year award is UWL Gymnastics’ very own, Sara Beck.  

Beck lost a year of her college career to multiple injuries in her leg, but persevered and scored a 9.750 on the uneven bars to place third at the NCGA National Championships and help UWL bring home its first NCGA title since 2016.  

For the third pillar, the department created The Life Award. The Life Award encapsulates being successful in all areas of student-athlete life and was awarded to two athletes. Recipients of the 2025 Life Award are Men’s Swim and Dive’s Connor Cleveland and Women’s Cross Country’s Sierra Rabe.  

Each year, thousands of athletes arrive onto new college campuses to compete in various sports. Whether it is through being a transfer or first-year student-athlete, the Newcomer Award recognizes individuals who have been successful in their first year at UWL and have excelled in their athletic discipline.  

The 2025 Newcomer Award winners are Men’s Tennis’ Ty Schneider and Women’s Swim and Dive’s Zoey Rank. This past season, Schneider went 15-7 in singles and 16-5 in doubles, tied for second in overall victories on the team. Rank was victorious in the 200-meter individual medley at the WIAC Championships and won the WIAC’s Newcomer of the Year Award.  

While many athletes have done great things during their time competing at UWL and post-graduation, the 2025 Career Award recognizes four UWL Athletes for their accomplishments during their time at UWL. The 2025 Career Award was given to Soccer’s Ellie Arndt, Baseball’s Mac Born, Softball’s Kyra Lard and Men’s Track and Field’s Sam Blaskowski.  

During her time at UWL, Arndt has earned All-Region and All-American honors three times, appearing in 90 games and starting 84 of them.  

As Baseball’s captain, Born is a four-time All-WIAC selection and is a three-time selection to D3Baseball.com’s All-America Second Team and ABCA All-Region Team.  

Lard suited up 153 games for the Eagles throughout her career, with a .421 batting average over her career and earning an All-WIAC selection three times.   

Throughout his career at UWL, Blaskowski has proven himself as one of the greatest sprinters in Division III history, holding records in the 60m, 100m and 200m. Blaskowski has won 11 national titles and has earned 20 DIII All-American honors in his career. In 2024, Blaskowski competed in the Team USA Track and Field Olympic Trials where he ran 10.17 in the 100m semi-final.  

For the last awards of the night, the UWL Athletics Department handed out the Male and Female Athlete of the Year Awards. The awards exemplify the best student-athletes in each gender, regardless of discipline.  

For the men, Football’s Jack Studer and Track and Field/Cross Country’s Grant Matthai received the award. For the women, Track and Field’s Lauren Jarrett and Basketball’s Lauryn Milne took home the award.  

Studer was a semi-finalist for The Gagliardi Trophy, Division III football’s highest honor. Studer is UWL’s all-time leading receiver in catches and touchdowns and received an invitation to the Green Bay Packers’ 2025 Rookie Minicamp.  

Matthai helped lead both Men’s Cross Country and Track and Field to National Championships, placing third at the National Cross-Country Championships in November and first in the 5k at the NCAA Track and Field National Championships in March.  

Jarrett holds the NCAA Division III record indoors for the 60m and outdoors in the 100m dash. Jarrett is the only sprinter in UWL history to take home indoor titles in the 60m and 200m dash at the Indoor Championships and has won six national titles.  

Milne is a 2025 All-WIAC First Team selection and is one of three players in UWL history to score over 1,200 career points and record more than 500 rebounds. Milne suited up for the Eagles nearly one hundred times in her career, averaging 11.2 points and 4.7 assists per game.   

The 2025 ESSLYs recognized all the aforementioned individuals and teams for their unparalleled accomplishments this past year, encapsulating the work put in by UWL student-athletes, coaching staff, athletic trainers, and volunteers.   

UWL Women’s Basketball Team receives the Charlie Award From Athletic Director Kim Blum during the 2025 ESSLYs in Mitchell Hall, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Photo by John Gaynor.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women’s ice hockey will officially welcome seven new faces to the program next season as a part of its highly touted recruiting class. The strong class, made up of three forwards, three defenders and one goaltender, gives the Crimson balance across the ice and will help the team continue to develop under the Landry Family Head Coach for Harvard Women’s Ice Hockey, Laura Bellamy.
 
This exciting group of incoming student-athletes will join the Harvard class of 2029 when it arrives on campus this Fall and will look to make an immediate impact when they join the program for the upcoming 2025-26 season. Learn more about each of the seven new players who pull on the Crimson and White below.
 

Emi Biotti

Defense | Cambridge, Mass. | Buckingham, Browne and Nichols | East Coast Wizards
Before Harvard

• Skated at the 2025 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship.
• Represented Team USA in the Under-18 Series vs. Canada in 2024.
• Helped lead BB&N to its first ISL Championship since 1991 in her senior season.
• 2023-24 ISL League All-Star Selection.

Bella Finnegan

Defense | Orono, Minn. | Minnetonka High School | Elite League
Before Harvard

• Earned a spot on the All-State Tournament Team in 2023-24 season.
• Named Second Team All-Metro in 2024.
• Two-time All-Conference selection in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.
• Named to the All-State team in Minnesota after the 2024-2025 season.
• Ms. Hockey honorable mention selction after the 2024-25 season.
• Helped lead Minnetonka to three consecutive State Tournament appearance in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
• Recorded 90 points with 36 goals and 54 assists in her high school career.

Morgan McGathey

Forward | Braintree, Mass. | Thayer Academy | East Coast Wizards
Before Harvard

• Member of the IIHF USA U-18 Member of Gold Medal Team in Switzerland in 2024.
• Played on the USA U-18 Team in the series vs. Canada in 2023.
• Recipient of Prestigious Boston Bruins John Carlton Memorial Trophy in 2025.
• Two-time ISL League MVP in 2024 and 2025.
• Four-time ISL All League First Team selection (2022-2025)
• Three Time All- NEPSAC First Team Selection (2023-2025)
• Thayer Team MVP- 2021 in all four years of varsity hockey.
• Holds Thayer Academy Record for Most Points (169) and Goals (116)

Carla McSweeney

Forward | Chicago, Ill. | The Latin School of Chicago | Chicago Mission Hockey
Before Harvard

• USA Hockey National Development Camps attendee from 2021-2024.
• Attended the USA Hockey Women’s National Festival in 2023
• Member of the USA Hockey U-18 Select Team in 2023
• Named All-State in Illinois during all four years of high school 
• Awarded the Illinois Girls High School Ice Hockey Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season.
• Named the World Selects Invitational MVP in 2019.

Alex Paulsen

Defense | Orono, Minn. | Orono High School | Elite League
Before Harvard

• Recorded 131 points in five seasons with the Orono varsity hockey team.
• Named a team captain in her junior and senior seasons at Orono.
• Helped lead Orono to the State Tournament in her first-year season.
• Selected to the All-State team after her senior season in 2024-25.

Elle Sproule

Forward | Old Greenwich, Conn. | Shattuck St. Mary’s
Before Harvard

• Member of a National Championship winning U19 Girls Hockey team in 2024.
• Minnesota State Champion for the U19 Shattuck Girls Prep team in 2024 and 2025.
• U18 Girls National USA Hockey camp selectee in 2023 and 2024.
• Scored 63 goals and notched 126 points in three seasons at Shattuck.
• Uncle Doug Sproule played hockey at Harvard and graduated in 1998.

Izzy Whynot

Goaltender | Newmarket, Ontario | Sir William Mulock Secondary | Central York Panthers
Before Harvard

• Posted 12 shutouts and 31 wins in two seasons as a starter.  
• Recorded a 1.51 goals against average (GAA) and a .937 save percentage to lead her team to the playoffs in her senior season.
• Played club hockey with the Central York Panthers (2017-2025) and the Newmarket Renegades (2012-2017).
• Also lettered in flag football and badminton in high school.