Illinois’ Bret Bielema is the second Big Ten coach in the last month to sound the alarms on exorbitant NIL spending in college football, and he echoed the estimates that some rosters could measure in the $40 million range during the 2025 season. Uncapped NIL expenditures may soon be a thing of the past as the House v. NCAA settlement nears with new guardrails, but in the interim, Bielema warned that the gap between the richest and poorest college football programs is as wide as ever.

Bielema’s outcry follows a similar warning from Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, who in April told CBS Sports that five or six programs have “unlimited NIL resources” and rosters commanding as much as $40 million. Cignetti specifically pointed to Ohio State, Texas, Miami, Notre Dame and Texas Tech as the biggest spenders.

“You’re going to see teams this year in college football — just because I know the landscape that I’m dealing with — that are probably in the neighborhood of 30-35, maybe even some of them close to $40 million rosters, which is insanity at its best, but it’s also awesome for our kids,” Bielema said on SiriusXM Big Ten Radio. “Last year, we finished fifth in our 18-team conference. We had about a $5 million pool that we were working off of, but the four teams ahead of us, I think, were north of $20 million. You can pull that off once in a while, but to pull that off year in and year out is just not in the deck of cards that we’re dealt.”

In his fourth season at Illinois, Bielema led the Fighting Illini to their best year in more than two decades. It was just the fifth 10-win season in program history and the first since 2001, and that success came within the context that Illinois spent far less in NIL money than some of its Big Ten counterparts.

“Whether we’re all shopping at Walmart or Louis Vuitton, as long as we’re all shopping in the same mall, I can live with that,” said Bielema. “But we have to be able to have some type of parameters to make sure that makes it consistent for everybody.”

Change is likely on the horizon and projects to level the playing field, fulfilling Bielema’s desires. The House settlement would allow schools to directly pay their student-athletes for the first time in NCAA history, starting on July 1. Each university’s revenue-sharing formula would be capped at $20.5 million, with the pool increasing by 4% annually during the 10-year agreement.

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The establishment of an NIL clearinghouse would then permit only legitimate endorsements and prevent schools from attempting to circumvent college football’s new quasi-salary cap.

Privacy Manager

The first pitches will be thrown this afternoon in the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament. From there, we’ll be off on a three week-long run towards a title series in the Women’s College World Series from OKC.

Action in the Regionals will begin over this weekend with 16 teams set to advance by Sunday. Eight will then advance from the Super Regionals into the WCWS at Devon Park.

With that, here’s an updated bracket with the latest results from the 2025 Women’s College World Series:

2025 NCAA Softball Tournament Bracket Regionals (May 16-18)

Bryan-College Station Regional

(1) Texas A&M
Saint Francis
Friday 3:30 p.m. ET – SEC Network

Liberty 10, Marist 5 (F/7)
Liberty jumped on top of Marist with a four-run second inning, and while the Red Foxes put together a bit of a comeback attempt with a three-run third inning, it wasn’t enough. Liberty plated another four runs in the fourth to take complete command. Leadoff hitter Savannah Woodard led the way with a 3-of-4 day at the plate, driving in one run with a solo homer and scoring twice herself.

Norman Regional

(2) Oklahoma
Boston University
Friday 6 p.m. ET – ESPNU

California 1, Omaha 0 (F/7)
There wasn’t much offense on Friday in the first game of the Norman Regional, with Cal and Omaha combining to produce only six hits. The Golden Bears were able to squeeze one run out of their four hits, with first baseman Tianna Bell plating a run with an infield single in the fourth inning. From there it was all pitching as Cal cruised to the 1-0 win.

Gainesville Regional

(3) Florida
Mercer
Friday 4:30 p.m. ET – ESPN+

Georgia Tech 5, Florida Atlantic 4 (F/8)
Florida Atlantic and Georgia Tech got things started off with an exciting first game in Gainesville that needed extra innings to be decided. Ultimately, the Owls advanced with a 5-4 victory after Kiley Shelton singled to right field to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth. FAU got two total home runs of the day, one from Ciara Gibson and one from Bella Cimino, and advanced to face the winner between Florida and Mercer.

Fayetteville Regional

(4) Arkansas
Saint Louis
Friday 6:30 p.m. ET – ESPN+
Indiana
Oklahoma State
Friday 4 p.m. ET – ESPN2

Tallahassee Regional

(5) Florida State
Robert Morris
Friday 2:30 p.m. ET – ACC Network

USF 12, Auburn 7 (F/9)
Auburn looked good against USF after the opening inning with a 5-0 start after a three-run home run this afternoon. The Bulls, though, battled back with two runs apiece in the second, third, and fifth to take a lead before this one went to extra innings. It was then at the top of the ninth that South Florida pulled away for good with five runs of their own, with a grand slam hit, to advance. The Tigers will instead then move into the loser’s bracket now with an elimination game coming tomorrow in Tallahassee.

Austin Regional

(6) Texas
Eastern Illinois
Friday 4:30 p.m. ET – ESPN+

Michigan 4, UCF 3 (F/7)
In a back-and-forth affair early, it was a Michigan slugger late that dealt the decisive blow. Designated player Lauren Putz blasted a somewhat controversial two-run home run over the wall, with officials checking to see if there was fan interference. They ruled there was not, giving the Wolverines a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning. From there, Michigan would hold on with a nervy seventh frame that saw two runners reach base.

Knoxville Regional

No. 7 Tennessee 17, Miami (OH) 0 (F/5)
The Lady Vols belted four home runs, including a grand slam from Laura Meeler during an 11-run third inning to run-rule Miami of Ohio in five innings Friday from the Knoxville Regional. McKenna Gibson, Alannah Leach and Sophia Nugent also accounted for home runs, including a three-run nail-in-the-coffin shot from Nugent in the bottom of the fourth inning.

North Carolina
Ohio State
Friday 4 p.m. ET – ESPNU

Columbia Regional

(8) South Carolina
Elon
Friday 5:30 p.m. ET – ESPN+

North Florida 2, Virginia 1 (F/7)
North Florida didn’t score in the first five innings, but quality pitching kept it alive. Then a two-run rally in the sixth inning gave the Ospreys a 2-1 lead. Virginia tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the seventh inning, but a huge call on a runner leaving early for a steal resulted in a costly out. The Cavaliers couldn’t rally from there, ultimately falling 2-1.

Los Angeles Regional

(9) UCLA
UC Santa Barbara
Friday 7:30 p.m. ET – ESPN+
San Diego State
Arizona State
Friday 10 p.m. ET – ESPN2

Baton Rouge Regional

(10) LSU
Southeastern Louisiana
Friday 5:30 p.m. ET – SEC Network

Nebraska 10, UConn 2 (F/6)
Cornhuskers two-way star Jordy Bahl went 2-for-2 at the plate with a pair of home runs and five RBI while also throwing three innings of no-hit ball in the circle. Olivia DiNardo went 1-for-2, beating out an infield single for two RBI in a four-run second inning to take an early 4-0 lead. The Cornhuskers coasted from there, moving into the winner’s bracket of the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament Baton Rouge Regional.

Clemson Regional

(11) Clemson
SC Upstate
Friday 4:30 p.m. ET – ACC Network

Northwestern 4, Kentucky 0 (F/7)
Kentucky came away with six hits in the contest against Northwestern but couldn’t scratch across a run, and that proved fatal. Northwestern managed to plate a pair of runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to take a commanding 4-0 lead in the contest. And that was all she wrote for the Wildcats from the Bluegrass State, who will now have to battle out of the loser’s bracket.

Lubbock Regional

(12) Texas Tech
Brown
Friday 5:30 p.m. ET – ESPN+
Washington
Mississippi State
Friday 8 p.m. ET – ESPN2

Tucson Regional

(13) Arizona
Santa Clara
Friday 7:30 p.m. ET – ESPN+
Grand Canyon
Ole Miss
Friday 10 p.m. ET – ESPNU

Durham Regional

Duke 12, Howard 0 (F/5)
This game wasn’t much of a challenge for Duke. While Howard enjoyed a tremendous season, the Blue Devils were in a different class, taking it to the Bison from the first pitch until the final out. After a 52-win campaign in 2024, Marissa Young has her team out for retribution, and that journey started with a bang on Friday afternoon in the Durham Regional. Cassidy Curd brought a no-hitter into the fifth for Duke as well, but she’ll settle for a two-hit, complete game shutout.

Georgia 6, Coastal Carolina 3 (F/7)
Senior southpaw Lilli Backes bounced back from a 3-run deficit in the first inning and tossed a one-hit shutout the rest of the way to send the Bulldogs to the second round of the Durham Regional. Backes tied a season-high with nine strikeouts while freshman Mua Williams plated a game-high 3 RBIs on a 2-for-3 day at the plate as Georgia responded with 3-run innings in the second and third for the win.

Tuscaloosa Regional

(15) Alabama
Jackson State
Friday 6 p.m. ET – ESPN+

Virginia Tech 1, Belmont 0 (F/7)
Virginia Tech showed up ready to roll on the mound in the NCAA Softball Tournament opener. The Hokies allowed only one hit in the game, keeping the Bruins from ever truly mounting a threat. A pair of home runs helped power the scoring, providing three of the team’s five runs in the contest as Virginia Tech moved on with a 5-0 win.

Eugene Regional

(16) Oregon
Weber State
Friday 7:30 p.m. ET – ESPN+
Binghamton
Stanford
Friday 5 p.m. ET – ESPN+

NCAA Softball Tournament – Super Regionals (May 22-25)

Winner of Bryan-College Station Regional vs. Winner of Eugene Regional

Winner of Norman Regional vs. Winner of Tuscaloosa Regional

Winner of Gainesville Regional vs. Winner of Durham Regional

Winner of Fayetteville Regional vs. Winner of Tucson Regional

Winner of Tallahassee Regional vs. Winner of Lubbock Regional

Winner of Austin Regional vs. Winner of Clemson Regional

Winner of Knoxville Regional vs. Winner of Baton Rouge Regional

Winner of Columbia Regional vs. Winner of Los Angeles Regional

2025 Women’s College World Series

May 29 through June 5 or 6 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

An SEC without the Tennessee Vols is exactly what college football needs. Greg Sankey should take bold and extreme action, that if the Tennessee program intends to avoid all efforts of control coming from the expected House settlement, the SEC will show them the door.

This is an opinion piece. Others, perhaps many others, will disagree. Before jumping to that conclusion, consider the facts. In recent legislation, the Tennessee State Legislature expanded its previous rejection of any oversight by the NCAA in regards to NIL, player payments, and roster sizes. Sports lawyer, Mit Winter, explained, “It appears to prohibit all of the House settlement’s limits on NIL comp (salary cap, collective restrictions, etc.) unless they’re part of a federal law, valid court order, or determined to be exempt from antitrust law.”

In the ever-evolving landscape of college football, few voices carry as much weight and provoke as much discussion as that of Nick Saban. The Alabama coaching legend, despite stepping down from his head coaching duties, remains a pivotal figure in the sport. His recent comments on the transformative impact of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals on recruiting and team dynamics have ignited a fiery debate, underscoring the complexities and challenges facing college sports today.

The NIL Controversy

At the heart of the controversy is Saban’s critical viewpoint on NIL deals. These agreements allow college athletes to profit from their personal brand, a significant shift from traditional NCAA rules. Saban’s concern is not with the concept of athletes earning from their name, image, and likeness per se, but with how these deals are being leveraged in the recruitment process. The implication is that the essence of college sports is at risk, with financial incentives potentially overshadowing talent and hard work.

Saban’s Perspective

Saban’s insights into the issue reflect a deep understanding of the sport’s intricacies and the potential pitfalls of unchecked NIL deals. His argument suggests a future where the balance of power could shift dramatically, with financial clout possibly dictating the success of college programs more than ever before. This perspective is not just about preserving the integrity of the game but also about ensuring a level playing field for all institutions, regardless of their financial prowess.

A Call for Regulation

Implicit in Saban’s critique is a call for clearer regulations surrounding NIL deals. The current landscape, according to the coaching legend, lacks the necessary safeguards to prevent the exploitation of these agreements for recruiting advantages. The debate thus opens up a larger conversation about the governance of college sports and the role of institutions like the NCAA in establishing fair and transparent rules that uphold the sport’s values while embracing the modern era.

Reflecting on the Future

Saban’s comments are more than just a critique; they are a reflection on the future of college football. As the sport stands at a crossroads, the decisions made now regarding NIL deals and their regulation will have lasting impacts. The challenge lies in finding a balance that allows athletes to rightfully benefit from their talents and hard work without compromising the competitive integrity and spirit of college sports.

In this light, Saban’s voice is not just one of criticism but of caution and foresight. His contributions to the debate highlight the need for thoughtful consideration and action to navigate the complexities of modern college sports. As the landscape continues to evolve, the insights of experienced figures like Saban will be invaluable in shaping a future that respects the traditions of the game while embracing necessary change.