On Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, the first domino fell.

That day, the College Football Playoff board voted unanimously to expand the current field of four teams to 12 by 2026 with the hope of it being implemented by 2024 — a wish that ended up coming true.

Fast forward three years, and a second domino is close to its tipping point. Higher ups continue to debate the idea of once again expanding the playoff to 14 or 16 teams in the bracket, a change Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said he’s “not against” back in February — but Kraft wants some other snags in college football smoothed out before that happens.

“The more teams in and the more kind of tournament you have, I think it’s great,” Kraft said. “We got to continue to look at all the other aspects of that. If you have 16 going on playing into like March, be going to February, I mean, my football players do go to class. They got to go to school. So what are we doing? And so I think we have to understand the bigger impact of that.”

It doesn’t seem like any of Kraft’s concerns are en route to being amended, but there are other aspects of a potential expansion that find themselves at the forefront of these debates. The Big Ten and SEC have both expressed desire to have four automatic qualifiers in each conference.

The pair’s argument dates back to the fall when debates were swirling over which conference was better in 2024 and which one deserved to have more teams in the playoff. As someone who’s been a head coach in both, James Franklin addressed those comments directly on Nov. 20.

“The right thing to be talking about is the two best conferences in all of college football are the Big Ten and the SEC and we should have the most teams in,” Franklin said. “I don’t think we need to take shots in the Big Ten at the SEC because that’s been proven over time. And I don’t think the SEC should be taking shots at the Big Ten.”

Franklin’s comments suffice as foreshadowing for the now ongoing debate about altering the format of the playoff. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said plainly Wednesday that the Big Ten should have four automatic bids.

“We’re in the Big Ten, and we have 18 teams and some of the best programs in the country,” Day told ESPN. “I feel like we deserve at least four automatic qualifiers.”

Speaking with the media for the first time since the Blue-White Game, Franklin was asked right off the bat if he agrees with the comments made by one of his rivals. While the Nittany Lions’ head coach indirectly declined to give an answer, Franklin did share some thoughts on the matter.

“It’s an interesting discussion with a lot of different perspectives and a lot of people that have very, very strong feelings in terms of what’s in the best interest of college football, what’s in the best interest of fans, what’s in the best interest of the sport. And I get all of it,” Franklin said. “The majority of people that have strong opinions have an agenda and are biased based on what’s good for them, right?”

As for the Big Ten and SEC specifically, Franklin pointed to the “discrepancies” he notices across college football. Some teams play less conference games, while others aren’t even in a conference, things Franklin feels are reasons why the pair are fighting to have their way with the playoff.

“When you have some conferences playing nine games, some conferences playing a conference championship, some teams not in a conference. It makes it really difficult,” Franklin said. “The other issue you’ve had in the past, every conference and every team or every AD would have the same vote. Well, if we have more teams in our conference now, and have a greater level of competition week in and week out. Why should it be balanced?”

Former Temple head coach and Penn State running backs coach Stan Drayton gave his thoughts on the matter as well, sharing Franklin’s sentiment that there are a lot of different ways to decide who makes the playoff and college football just needs consistency across the board.

Regardless, the debate remains scorching hot, and it’s unclear whether a decision will be made any time soon. One thing is clear, though — the College Football Playoff could look very different come 2026, and more dominoes might keep falling to create a world where the Big Ten and SEC run the sport.

“Our conferences are built differently. Everybody shouldn’t get the same vote… A Penn State vote shouldn’t be the same vote as a school X,” Franklin said. “The way it worked in the old NCAA structures, everybody got the same vote, all the conferences got the same vote, and I guess what I’m saying is I agree with it the way it sits right now, because it’s not even, but let’s spend as much time as we possibly can on trying to get it consistent across the board.”

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Typically, at the Baptist Health IcePlex, there are Panthers on the ice. Well, today, there are kittens and cubs.

It’s part of the Learn-to-Play Program, where they teach the game’s basics to kids.

In previous years, there have been around 750 children in the program, but this year, that number has increased to an estimated 1,000 children.

For the next two weeks, all eyes in the South Florida sports world will be on the Panthers as they look to win back-to-back Stanley Cups.

While the defending champions aim to win the series against the Edmonton Oilers, a group of youngsters seeks to help grow the game.

“It’s cool,” said Mason Bobo, a Learn to Play athlete.

“It’s very cool,” said Sloan Munoz, a Learn to Play athlete.

That very cool enthusiasm from the kids is courtesy of the Learn to Play Program.

The Program is for boys and girls from five to nine, aiming to provide cost-effective hockey lessons to kids while also offering free equipment.

While the kids love the gear, there was one problem for Bobo. “I don’t have a number,” when asked what number he’d like to wear, “19.”

That’s right, the fan favorite is Matthew Tkachuk, and these young hockey stars get on-ice training with Florida Panthers Alumni and USA Hockey-certified coaches—the same people who trained Tkachuk.

Now for the goods: what do these kids love most about the program?

“I really like skating and shooting the puck in the goal. It’s just a really fun sport,” said Munoz.

The program allows each kid to share the same practice facility as the defending Stanley Cup champs.

“It’s exciting, and it’s really fun. Hockey is probably one of my favorite sports,” said Munoz.

It’s reactions like that that make parents so happy to have the Panthers reaching back to the youth and growing the game in South Florida.

“It’s a great program to get the kids started. We love the Panthers, and it’s awesome to be sponsored by the Panthers and NHL. It’s great to be in our neighborhood and to be able to interact with Stanley and Victor,” said Mason’s dad Barrett Bobo.

Very late on Friday afternoon, we got a massive end-of-the week news dump when a judge officially approved a settlement in the NCAA v. House case. With the ruling, the landscape of college athletics will soon look very different than it has prior. The goal of the settlement is to provide structure to the NIL landscape in college football, which is currently effectively a free-for-all. Following the ruling, On3 discussed some of the ramifications of the ruling.

“Since the NCAA was founded in 1906, institutions have never directly paid athletes, On3’s Pete Nakos wrote. “That will now change with the settlement ushering in the revenue-sharing era of college sports. Beginning July 1, schools will be able to share $20.5 million with athletes, with football expected to receive 75%, followed by men’s basketball (15%), women’s basketball (5%) and the remainder of sports (5%). The amount shared in revenue will increase annually.

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“Power Four football programs will have roughly $13 to $16 million to spend on rosters for the 2025 season. Many schools have front-loaded contracts ahead of the settlement’s approval, taking advantage of contracts not being vetted by the newly formed NIL clearinghouse . . .

“ . . . The settlement also imposes new restrictions on college sports. An NIL clearinghouse will be established, titled ‘NIL Go’ and run through Deloitte. All third-party NIL deals of $600 or more must be approved by the clearinghouse. If not approved, the settlement says a new third-party arbiter could deem athletes ineligible or result in a school being fined. In a gathering at the ACC spring meetings last week, Deloitte officials reportedly shared that 70% of past deals from NIL collectives would have been denied, while 90% of past deals from public companies would have been approved.”

It remains to be seen exactly how the new rules will affect USC specifically. Given the Trojans’ recent hire of Chad Bowden and the subsequent revamping of their recruiting operation, USC seemingly has the right people in place to bring the program into college football’s new era.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: NCAA House settlement approved, as college sports braces for impact

Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles is going head-to-head with one of the most vocal opponents of transgender girls and women competing in female sports, former college swimmer Riley Gaines.

Biles — the most decorated Olympic gymnast is history — called the former college athlete “sick” and a “sore loser” in a post on X Friday night.

“You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports,” Biles, 28, wrote. “Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!!”

“But instead… You bully them,” Biles continued. “One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!”

As a college swimmer, Gaines tied for fifth place in a competition with then-University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who is transgender, in 2022.

Since then, Gaines has largely built a career as a pundit in conservative media advocating against trans women competing in female sports, arguing that it is unfair to include them in competition and their inclusion is at times unsafe for other competitors.

Gaines, 25, has also built an enormous following on social media, with over 1.5 million followers on X, where she regularly lambastes and mocks transgender athletes.

On Friday, Gaines posted an image of a Minnesota girls high school baseball team, which supposedly includes a trans player. She appeared to taunt the player, referring to her as a boy, which appears to have elicited Biles’ response.

Gaines almost immediately responded to Biles’ criticism in a series of posts on X.

“This is so disappointing. My take is the least controversial take on the planet,” Gaines wrote. “Simone Biles being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls’ dreams? Didn’t have that on my bingo card.”

The issues of trans girls and women competing in female sports has become a lightning rod issue in the United States in recent years.

In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aiming to prohibit transgender women and girls from competing in female sports.

Before that, at least 27 states already had laws, regulations or policies banning transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identities, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank.

GATES MILLS, Ohio — Gilmour Academy’s valedictorian and salutatorian for the Class of 2025 are residents of Gates Mills and Pepper Pike, respectively.

This year’s top academic honors went to Ian Miller and Carter Richmond. Both delivered remarks at the school’s commencement ceremony held May 25.

Gates Mills’ Miller, the valedictorian, earned the highest grade point average, not just in his class, but in Gilmour’s last eight years of graduating classes. He was named a National Merit Finalist, scored just a few points shy of a perfect SAT score, had a perfect score on the PSAT, and earned a perfect score on every one of his AP exams, to date. Miller was named an AP Scholar of Distinction by the College Board.

Recognized by his teachers with awards for excellence in math, English, Latin, science and social studies. Miller is the recipient of the Phi Beta Kappa Award, the Oliver Seikel Award for Excellence in Science, the University of Rochester Bausch and Lomb Science Award, and the Yale Junior Book Award.

He received Highest Honors all four years at Gilmour, and has been inducted into the National Honor Society and the Cum Laude Society.

In completing Gilmour’s Catalyst program, Miller worked as part of a research team in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Cleveland State University, where he focused on loading and measuring the efficiency of polymer nanoparticles infused with blood pressure medication.

He also participated in Gilmour’s VECTOR program in the Engineering & Design cohort, where his capstone project combined creativity and cutting-edge Meta AI technology to develop a Gen Alpha slang translator.

Miller served as captain of Gilmour’s Academic Challenge quiz bowl team, which won the TV show’s season championship, and he earned first place individually at the 2024 National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT) Northeast Ohio Fall Tournament.

He was an active member of Gilmour’s robotics team, and served as co-president of the St. Adalbert’s Service Club, accruing more than 80 hours of community service during his four years.

In the fall, Miller will attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he plans to study chemical engineering.

The salutatorian, Pepper Pike resident Richmond, also demonstrated exceptional dedication in the classroom, earning top grades while actively participating in campus life.

He was named a National Merit Commended Scholar. His transcript reflected 11 AP courses along with Multivariable Calculus and completion of the Catalyst program, where he worked in Case Western Reserve University’s Two-Phase Flow and Thermal Management Lab, focusing on the cryogenic fluids used in space missions.

He is a member of the National Honor Society and Cum Laude Society, and is a three-time recipient of the Head of School Award.

Over the years, he has been awarded for his achievements in AP Spanish, Biology, AP Physics C, and AP U.S. History. He was the recipient of the Paul Primeau Award in Science, the Br. Richard Keller Service Award, the Basil Moreau Award, and the Robert B. Tomaro Award, which recognizes a student for their keen mind, and sense of justice and passion for doing what is right.

At the Senior Awards ceremony, Richmond was presented with Gilmour’s highest honor for a graduating senior, The Gilmour Trophy.

Richmond is passionate about flight and spent a summer at Brown University studying space travel systems and space tourism. As a member of the Gilmour VECTOR program’s Engineering & Design cohort, he built a sonar system for his senior capstone that is capable of detecting an object’s direction and distance.

Outside of the classroom, Richmond was a four-year starter for the varsity soccer team and served as team captain. He served as president of the Jewish Heritage Club, sharing his Jewish culture and tradition with the Gilmour community, and was a co-president of the Investment Club, whose investment fund of real dollars outperformed the S&P 500.

He also served as a member of the school’s Honor Council.

Richmond will continue his education in the fall at the University of Virginia, where he will major in aerospace engineering.

Members of Gilmour’s Class of 2025 were admitted to 20 of the Top 30 colleges and universities, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. These include Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, University of Chicago, UCLA, Rice, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Carnegie Mellon, University of Michigan, University of Virginia, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Southern California, UC San Diego, NYU, University of Florida and University of Texas.

Ten members of the class earned full-tuition scholarships. Additionally, 34 students, or 26 percent of the class, made commitments to continue their athletic careers at the next level in baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, track and field and volleyball.