Photo submitted to the Times Observer
Members of the Warren Area High School bocce team are pictured. The school’s Leadership Club will host a Color Run on April 30 to raise money for the bocce team and show support for inclusivity in the high school.
A burst of color will sweep across the Warren Area High School track on Wednesday, April 30, as students and teachers come together for the school’s inaugural Color Run hosted by the Warren Area High School Leadership Club.
The run shows support for school inclusion and the school`s Special Olympics bocce team.
Students will gather in the cafeteria and make their way over to the track behind the Warren County Career Center for the one-mile run. Along the route, volunteers from the Key Club and Warren Area Elementary Center students will throw colors on the runners at four designated stations around the track.
The Color Run is organized by the Leadership Club, a student-led organization founded this year to promote inclusion and bring students from special education and general education together through meaningful events. Proceeds from the $15 entry fee and community donations will directly benefit the Special Olympics bocce team at Warren Area High School.
“This event is about more than just running,” said Grady Corey, a senior and founding member of the Leadership Club. “It`s about showing that everyone belongs. Inclusion matters, and we wanted to create something fun that brings people together while supporting a great cause.”
The event also attracted local businesses, churches, and organizations as sponsors, raising more than $1,000 to help cover shirts, food and drink, and other expenses of the Color Run.
Sponsors include First Methodist Church and Cornerstone, who were both Gold Level Sponsors. Other Silver Level sponsors include Betts, Oneida Lumber, Anderson Construction, United Refining Co., Whirley, and the Moose Club. Sliver Level sponsors who donated food and drink are Shurfine, Calvert and Pearson, and Little Caesars.
Butkus Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner Jacob Rodriguez was tabbed the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Defensive Player of the Year, in addition to being selected as one of Texas Tech’s four First-Team All-Texas Defense picks. Joining the standout linebacker on the first team were defensive end David Bailey, defensive tackle Lee Hunter, and cornerback Brice Pollock. That quartet played a key role in elevating the Red Raiders to top-five national rankings in turnovers gained (1st, 31), rushing defense (1st, 68.5 yards per game), scoring defense (3rd, 10.9), total defense (5th, 254.4), and sacks (T-5th, 3.0 per game).
Defensive end Romello Height, an integral part of Tech’s pressure-heavy front, was named to the Second-Team All-Texas Defense. Height recorded 54 pressures this season, according to Pro Football Focus, the seventh most in the FBS. Bailey led all of college football with 74 pressures.
On the offense, running back Cameron Dickey and offensive lineman Howard Sampson were each named First-Team All-Texas Offense, while running back J’Koby Williams was tabbed to the second team.
A total of 56 players were selected, with 28 on offense and 28 on defense. Texas Tech’s eight selections led all teams, followed by seven for Texas A&M, and six for the Texas Longhorns. The six Group of Five programs had a combined 16 players on the list, led by North Texas with six.
Eddie Robinson and George Munger Coach of the Year finalist Joey McGuire was named the DCTF Co-Coach of the Year alongside Texas A&M’s Mike Elko. Both head coaches have their teams in this year’s College Football Playoff, with the Red Raiders earning the No. 4 seed and the Aggies the No. 7 seed.
DCTF 2025 ALL-TEXAS COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM (Texas Tech selections)
First-Team All-Texas Offense
RB: Cameron Dickey, So.
OL: Howard Sampson, Jr.
First-Team All-Texas Defense
DE: David Bailey, Sr.
DT: Lee Hunter, Sr.
LB: Jacob Rodriguez, Sr.
CB: Brice Pollock, Jr.
Second-Team All-Texas Offense
UTL: J’Koby Williams, So.
Second-Team All-Texas Defense
DE: Romello Height, Sr.
Defensive Player of the Year: LB, Jacob Rodriguez
Co-Coach of the Year: Mike Elko (Texas A&M), Joey McGuire (Texas Tech)
To view the complete 2025 All-Texas College Football Teams, visit TexasFootball.com.
– TECH –
Four years after being fired by LSU, Ed Orgeron has not been shy about his desire to get back into coaching.
Plenty has changed in the college football landscape in those years, most notably players being able to get paid via name, image and likeness deals and now through revenue sharing directly from the schools themselves. That’s an adjustment every coach has had to make, and some have adapted to the new way of the college football world better than others.
In a recent appearance on “Bussin’ With The Boys,” Orgeron joked that after all his years coaching in the SEC, paying players via NIL will only require a “minor adjustment.”
“They say, ‘Hey coach, you been out of coaching for awhile. How you gonna adjust to NIL?’ Orgeron said. “I said, well, it’s a minor adjustment. ‘What do you mean?’ Well, back then we used to walk through the back door with the cash. Now we just gotta walk through the front door with the cash.”
Orgeron has long been known as an elite recruiter and that’s not a title one could get without knowing how to get things done in the shadows. Now all those conversations and negotiations happen above the table, and Orgeron is pretty confident he can make that small adjustment if he were to land back on a sideline soon.
Orgeron, of course, coached LSU to a national title in 2019 but was let go following the 2021 season. In all, Orgeron had a 51-20 record leading LSU, but went just 11-11 combined in the two years following the national championship. He has not coached since, but the 64-year-old is looking to get back in the action — perhaps even back in Baton Rouge with the Tigers.
I’m emptying my notebook on the football coaching searches at Washington State and Portland State. Also, I have thoughts on the bowl game opt-outs by a growing number of schools. And I have some information on James Madison University, Oregon’s first-round opponent in the College Football Playoff.
Plus, a cameo in today’s installment by the front-desk manager at Planet Fitness.
Let’s go…
Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and Fox Sports NFL color analyst Troy Aikman wanted to help UCLA football through name, image and likeness donations, but his experience has made him apprehensive about contributing again.
Aikman shared his experience on Monday’s episode of “Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch,” hosted by The Athletic’s sports media reporter Richard Deitsch.
“I gave money to a kid,” Aikman admitted. “I won’t mention who. I’ve done it one time at UCLA. I never met the young man. He was there a year, but he left after the year. I wrote a sizable check and he went to another school. I didn’t even get so much as a thank-you note, so it’s one of those deals where I’m done with NIL. I want to see UCLA be successful, but I’m done with it.”
NIL has become big business in college football. According to 247 Sports, the top five schools in spending (Texas, Ohio State, LSU, Georgia and Texas A&M) spent a combined $98 million in NIL money in 2025, and the number will likely increase next season.
Aikman still believes NIL money should go to players, but he says the system needs changes that benefit the sport without creating a convoluted mess.
“There has to be some leadership at the very top that kind of cleans all of this up, starting with players who accept money. There has to be some accountability and responsibility on their behalf, to have to stick to a program.”
Few recruiters in college football worked harder than Ed Orgeron. No matter which school he was representing, Orgeron did a great job bringing in some great talent. However, most of his work came in the pre-NIL era, meaning he could not, technically, use money in the process.
So when talking about how he would adapt with NIL now legal, Orgeron hilariously said there would just be a slight difference. He does not have to be subtle about the aspect of giving certain recruits a bag to help gain a commitment.
SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter
“You know what?” Orgeron began on Bussin’ With The Boys. “They say, ‘Hey, coach. You know, you’ve been out of coaching for a while. How are you going to adjust to NIL?’ I said, ‘Well, it’s a minor adjustment.’ They said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘Back then, we used to walk through the back door with the cash. Now, we just got to walk through the front door with the cash.’”
The question began by specifically mentioning SEC programs. Orgeron has worked for four of those throughout his career, one of which likely involved zero recruiting. His first job within the SEC came at Arkansas as the assistant strength coach. But as Orgeron climbed up the ladder in his career, prominent roles became available.
None more memorable than being LSU‘s head coach from 2016 through 2021. Everyone remembers the famous national championship in 2019, led by Joe Burrow, and backed by one of the best rosters college football has ever seen. Orgeron was also in charge at Ole Miss beginning in 2005, lasting three seasons.
Lane Kiffin employed Orgeron as the assistant head coach, defensive line coach, and recruiting coordinator at Tennessee in 2009. Everyone knows how that ended, infamously leaving for USC, only for Orgeron to follow him.
Getting back to the present — reports indicate Orgeron might be interested in getting back into the coaching world. He has not held a position since getting fired by LSU, making it four seasons now. One even suggested Orgeron might be a candidate to link back up with Kiffin in Baton Rouge.
If something does come to fruition, a great recruiter will be joining the program. Orgeron is one of the best, even when paying players was not totally legal. But now, his job is a whole lot easier with a direct parth through the front door.
SMU has launched Mustang Partners, a new revenue-generating division focused on pursuing revenue and brand opportunities to benefit both athletes and the athletic department.
With the full-service revenue, NIL and brand unit, SMU becomes the latest school to launch such a program in recent months — joining Clemson, Kentucky and Michigan State — as athletic departments look to expand revenue streams.
Mustang Partners’ portfolio will include sponsorships in collaboration with media and technology company Learfield, philanthropy, exclusive gameday experiences and ticket sales, and it will add commercial NIL, special events and trademark and licensing.
“Mustang Partners is a bold new chapter in the story of SMU athletics,” SMU Athletic Director Damon Evans said in a statement. “Today’s rapidly evolving collegiate athletics marketplace demands programs to be more innovative, more adaptable and more resolute in pursuing new opportunities and ideas. This new venture will position SMU at the forefront of the next era of collegiate athletics.”
SMU closed the 2025 fiscal year with “historic momentum,” according to its news release, led by a record-breaking year for the Mustang Club. The club raised $65,058,040 in cash gifts from 6,158 donors, the highest single-year cash total in SMU history.
The Mustangs also sold a record number of football season tickets in 2024, doubling 2023’s total and increasing revenue 157%. SMU also saw substantial increases in concessions (108%), parking (98%) and licensing revenue (120%).
Mustang NIL is a strategy to drive financial and branding opportunities for SMU athletes.
The division will focus on the development of new premium amenities within Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Moody Coliseum and other athletic venues. The school completed a market study to evaluate new premium areas within Ford Stadium this fall.
Mustang Partners expands on trademark and licensing activities, including the addition of the university’s first full-time director of trademarks and licensing.
The division will also focus on booking special events and concerts into SMU venues, as well as rentals of premium hospitality areas for corporate retreats, meetings and private events.
Brian Ullmann, executive director of athletics, will lead Mustang Partners’ staff of 60. The senior leadership team will include Alex Gary, deputy athletic director of external relations; Lauren Adee, deputy athletic director/chief marketing officer/chief revenue officer; and Sean Penix, senior associate athletic director/commercial strategy.
Why a rising mid-major power with an NCAA Tournament team opted out of revenue-sharing — and advertised it
NBA Legend Michael Jordan to Join NBC Sports as Special Contributor
Falcons mailbag
Portal Update – Basketball and Gymnastics Take Hits
has always dreamed in Mercurial. Now his initials are on the boots.
The new Kyl…
First Tee Winter Registration is open
Fargo girl, 13, dies after collapsing during school basketball game – Grand Forks Herald
CPG Brands Like Allegra Are Betting on F1 for the First Time
F1 Las Vegas: Verstappen win, Norris and Piastri DQ tighten 2025 title fight
Two Pro Volleyball Leagues Serve Up Plans for Minnesota Teams
Utah State Announces 2025-26 Indoor Track & Field Schedule
Sycamores unveil 2026 track and field schedule
Redemption Means First Pro Stock World Championship for Dallas Glenn
Bowl Projections: ESPN predicts 12-team College Football Playoff bracket, full bowl slate after Week 14
Texas volleyball vs Kentucky game score: Live SEC tournament updates
