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Inside Kim Mulkey’s call for NIL support at LSU: Baton Rouge | Entertainment/Life

On Thursday, LSU basketball coach Kim Mulkey did something unexpected: she asked for help. In a back room at Mansurs on the Boulevard, she met with eight Baton Rouge women — not to talk about X’s and O’s but about money. Some of the women were die-hard fans. At least one admitted she didn’t know […]

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On Thursday, LSU basketball coach Kim Mulkey did something unexpected: she asked for help.

In a back room at Mansurs on the Boulevard, she met with eight Baton Rouge women — not to talk about X’s and O’s but about money. Some of the women were die-hard fans. At least one admitted she didn’t know “what a free throw does.” That didn’t matter. Mulkey was there to explain how women’s sports survive in today’s world.

Thanks to the transfer portal and the rise of name, image and likeness — which allows athletes to earn money while still in school — recruiting has become a high-stakes game.

Lori Brocato LeBlanc, Rose Marie Fife, Kim Mulkey, Jennifer Waguespack, Lisette Prieto, Alli Sims Roberts, Lexie Polito, Jennifer Roberts and Kim Wampold met for lunch on Thursday, May 1, at Mansur’s on the Blvd. to discuss the changing landscape of women’s basketball — and what local women can do to help.  BY JAN RISHER | Staff writer

Once the ladies took their seats, Champagne in hand, Mulkey — who has “never had a drop of alcohol or coffee” — told them she’s not a fundraiser and doesn’t enjoy playing that role.

To stay in the game, in every sense, Mulkey has got to figure out a way to supplement the money the women’s basketball program gets from the LSU athletic department.

“I want to educate you in a way where you understand what’s going on. LSU takes care of me, OK? Our coaches are well paid, I’m well paid,” Mulkey said. “But this NIL, here’s the deal …”

Mulkey gave a crash course on college sports economics — the tectonic shifts of NIL and the power and reach of “television money.”

LSU coach Kim Mulkey is flanked by Rose Marie Fife and Jennifer Waguespack at a private luncheon to raise awareness about the fund raising involved to recruit. The luncheon was held at Mansur’s on the Blvd. in Baton Rouge. BY JAN RISHER | Staff writer

“For all of us in athletics, we’ve got to pull for football, and we’ve got to pull for men’s basketball because the NCAA Tournament is where the men in basketball get the money and we reap it. When we get to the College Football Playoffs, we reap it.”

Mulkey explained that none of the big women’s basketball programs make money — not LSU, not UConn, not Tennessee, not even South Carolina, a program that generated nearly $5.9 million in revenue in fiscal year 2024. The program’s expenses, however, were at $11.5 million, resulting in a $5.6 million loss. 

“Even though you win national championships and you get to the tournament, there’s no dollar value from TV that they’re paying the same way they do for the men, right?” Mulkey said.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey gets a hug from LSU former player and current Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) before the game against the Brazil National Team on Friday, May 2, 2025 at the PMAC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON

Most of the women gathered previously had understood NIL to mean that an individual player can get a contract with a sponsor — like Olivia Dunne and Flau’jae Johnson have done — and not that university athletic programs had to guarantee top dollar to athletes to persuade them to sign on the dotted line.

For star players, Mulkey explained, the program itself has to offer what amounts to an annual salary — $400,000 or more for top women’s players, and even higher for the men.

Recruiting wins like LSU getting former South Carolina player MiLaysia Fulwiley don’t come cheap. When asked what a player like Fulwiley costs, Mulkey said that “some kids can be $400,000. Some kids can be $500 grand.”

LSU director of player personnel and influence Jennifer Roberts on the court in an exhibition game against Loyola, Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at the LSU PMAC in Baton Rouge, La. STAFF PHOTO BY HILARY SCHEINUK

Jennifer Roberts, an LSU assistant coach who has been with Mulkey since her days at Louisiana Tech, said she organized the lunch to help get the word out. 

“Kim is the only boss that I’ve ever had,” Roberts said. “I went straight to work for her (after college) and she is tired.”

These were seasoned lunch-goers, but this gathering wasn’t a typical midday meet-up. The conversation zigzagged. At times, it was hard to follow the many tangents. There were questions about how to ensure that the money they give to the Tiger Athletic Foundation goes to support the women’s program. They started brainstorming ways to reach the fundraising gap.

LSU director of player personnel and influence Jennifer Roberts coaches in an exhibition game against Loyola, Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at the LSU PMAC in Baton Rouge, La. STAFF PHOTO BY HILARY SCHEINUK

Then someone tossed out a name that made everyone perk up: Britney Spears.

Mulkey is a big fan. She and Spears both grew up in Tangipahoa Parish. Both played point guard on their high school basketball teams. The group wondered aloud whether Spears might be willing to lend her celebrity to the cause.

Lexie Polito attended the luncheon because she’s been a longtime Mulkey fan. Originally from Ruston where Mulkey played college ball and became an assistant coach, Polito said that “shocked” was not the right word to describe her takeaway from the lunch. 

She added that she was happy to be part of a group of women who want to help, “not only for LSU women’s basketball, but primarily for coach Mulkey.”

Lexie Polito, center, celebrated her birthday at the luncheon with LSU coach Kim Mulkey. From left to right, Allie Sims Roberts, Polito, Jennifer Roberts and Kim Wampold.  BY JAN RISHER | Staff writer

“I’m more in awe of coach Mulkey and her genius in coaching — and that she has to raise money to recruit more,” Polito said. 

Mulkey explained that the pay-to-play conundrum is the reason Nick Saban left coaching. He didn’t sign up to raise money that would allow him to recruit student-athletes. Even though everyone involved wants the athletes to get their due, Mulkey says the current system isn’t sustainable.

Mulkey said Roberts arranged the luncheon not just to educate — but “to keep me from retiring.”



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Boulder law firm files appeal of House v. NCAA settlement – Boulder Daily Camera

A law firm in Boulder representing a group of female athletes filed an appeal of the House v. NCAA settlement on Wednesday. The firm of Hutchinson Black and Cook (HBC) is arguing that the landmark settlement, which was approved on Friday by Judge Claudia Wilken in Northern California, violates the gender equity statute in Title […]

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A law firm in Boulder representing a group of female athletes filed an appeal of the House v. NCAA settlement on Wednesday.

The firm of Hutchinson Black and Cook (HBC) is arguing that the landmark settlement, which was approved on Friday by Judge Claudia Wilken in Northern California, violates the gender equity statute in Title IX.

According to FrontOfficeSports.com, this is the first appeal of the House settlement. There are expected to be more appeals in the coming months based on Title IX.



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BSB | Madrigal Named NCBWA Second Team All-American, Program’s First Since 2019

Story Links 2025 NCBWA All-American Teams DALLAS, Texas. – Eddie Madrigal was the lone West Coast Conference All-American as he was named to the NCBWA Second Team for his first career All-American selection. Madrigal put together one of the most complete seasons individually in […]

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DALLAS, Texas.Eddie Madrigal was the lone West Coast Conference All-American as he was named to the NCBWA Second Team for his first career All-American selection. Madrigal put together one of the most complete seasons individually in program history, finishing with a .368 batting average, 21 home runs, 78 RBI, a .698 slugging percentage and a conference leading 1.160 OPS. 

Madrigal was named to the All-WCC First Team and was a Player of the Year candidate all season long, hitting .396 and belting eleven homers in the team’s 24 conference games. Madrigal was also named the WCC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after finishing the postseason tournament with a .455 average, ten hits, 13 runs scored, two home runs and a team high eleven RBI. 

Madrigal played a huge role in the Gaels historic season as they won their second ever WCC Tournament Championship and secured their first NCAA Regional win in program history after upsetting eighth ranked Oregon State. Madrigal became the first Saint Mary’s All-American since 2019 when Tyler Thornton was named an NCBWA Freshman All-American as well as the NCBWA Freshman Pitcher of the Year. Thornton finished his rookie season with a 10-2 record, a 2.71 ERA and 94 strikeouts. Head coach Eric Valenzuela has now produced five ABCA All-Region selections and three NCBWA All-Americans in his eight seasons leading the Gaels baseball program. The complete All-American teams can be found HERE or at sportswriters.net. 

About the NCBWA…

There are 17 different conferences and 16 conference championship squads represented among the ’25 standouts. The three All-America squads are also made up of 16 conference players or co-players of the year, 12 conference pitchers of the year, five conference relief pitchers of the year, and nine Division I loop defensive players of the year.

All 84 student-athletes on the teams took their teams to the pinnacle of NCAA Championship competition this spring or helped them qualify for the NCAA World Series. There are 14 All-America stalwarts competing in the 78th NCAA Division I World Series, and dozens of others played in NCAA Regionals or Super Regionals.

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association’s official Web site, www.ncbwa.com.

Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary’s athletics updates and information.

#GaelsRise

 



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Memphis Football Coach Explains NIL and Transfer Portal Challenges | Chris Vernon Show

Memphis football coach Ryan Silverfield joins today’s episode of the Chris Vernon Show to talk all things recruiting, transfer portal, and NIL in today’s college football landscape.If you have any questions about how things work for a head coach in college football, he answers them.#chrisvernonshow#collegefootball#cfb#memphistigers#memphis#transferportal#nil Link 0

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Memphis football coach Ryan Silverfield joins today’s episode of the Chris Vernon Show to talk all things recruiting, transfer portal, and NIL in today’s college football landscape.
If you have any questions about how things work for a head coach in college football, he answers them.
#chrisvernonshow
#collegefootball
#cfb
#memphistigers
#memphis
#transferportal
#nil



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John Calipari gets 100% real on ‘expectation’ that comes with lucrative NIL numbers

The post John Calipari gets 100% real on ‘expectation’ that comes with lucrative NIL numbers appeared first on ClutchPoints. The NIL era has accelerated recruiting into becoming a bidding war on what schools offer the most money in NIL. The numbers circulating in college basketball recently have been massive, and one of the game’s best […]

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The post John Calipari gets 100% real on ‘expectation’ that comes with lucrative NIL numbers appeared first on ClutchPoints.

The NIL era has accelerated recruiting into becoming a bidding war on what schools offer the most money in NIL. The numbers circulating in college basketball recently have been massive, and one of the game’s best recruiters, Arkansas’ John Calipari, recently spoke up about how that shapes the expectations for transfers and recruits who come into their new schools.

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As one of the best recruiters in college basketball and potentially all college sports, Calipari has firsthand experience with NIL. While NIL has not changed Calipari’s status as an elite recruiter, it has emboldened him even more, bringing in top recruits at Kentucky and Arkansas. However, big-time players come with big-time money, and Calipari admitted that he and his staff tread lightly even more now due to that aspect of recruiting.

Calipari was on an episode of Golic & Golic on FanDuel Sports Network this week and elaborated on how they navigate this new landscape.

“Did you see the interview with the Kansas State player (Coleman Hawkins) after last year’s season, where he cried? Cried. ‘They paid me $2 million and I couldn’t live up to it.’ There’s one thing about being the star on any team,” Calipari said. “You guys did it, that star makes the most and, wow, but the most is expected from them. So, some guys in college basketball this year are making between $ 3 million and $5 million. Teams are spending 20 million on rosters. Now there’s an expectation. You better win a national title, or you better be a guy, Calipari said.

“If one of you paid a college player four million, would you expect that $4 million player to drag us to the Final Four?”

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In some cases, the risk might not outweigh the reward when programs like Arkansas basketball offer millions of dollars to recruits. Calipari continued to elaborate on how this is impacting the current recruiting landscape.

“That’s different than a seasoned professional dealing with it. So, trying to keep that away from what we do, but social media brings it right back,” Calipari said. “This guy’s making $3 million, and this is the best he is. So, you know, it’s — I think we gotta protect our kids, but some of it, you can’t. You want to be paid a lot. You’re now a professional. You need to perform.”

Thanks to the House settlement being approved, some NIL numbers should be curbed, and at least the field in college sports should be leveled. However, this new era of recruiting is a bidding war, and Calipari and other coaches need to adapt to navigating the potential expectations that come with that.

Related: Fans debate possible NBA-like change in college hoops

Related: LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson gets brutally honest on Angel Reese relationship: ‘We’re not friends’



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There Looks To Be a Lot of Competition in the Front Court for Oklahoma State

STILLWATER – Steve Lutz and Co. are looking to have some success this season in order to try and have some stability with the roster moving forward in this new era of college basketball with NIL and the transfer portal. Now, success doesn’t/won’t always equal a stable roster as there will always be players who are […]

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STILLWATER – Steve Lutz and Co. are looking to have some success this season in order to try and have some stability with the roster moving forward in this new era of college basketball with NIL and the transfer portal.

Now, success doesn’t/won’t always equal a stable roster as there will always be players who are either unhappy with their current playing time/money situation, or any other number of factors which will always be there.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Robert Jennings II against Baylor last year.

As for this year’s roster, it looks nearly completely different from last year’s as only two scholarship players returned in Robert Jennings II and Andrija Vukovich. There have been seven transfers, three high school players and an older international freshman added. In keeping things with last year and this year different, this year’s roster has more youth on it. So, hopefully with success and wins comes more players willing to stick around after the season, allowing Lutz and Co. to create some stability.

Now, a good chunk of the youth is at the forward and center positions. Lutz brought in two high school bigs in Ben Ahmed and Mekhi Ragland, international freshman Lefteris Mantzoukis and transfer F/C Parsa Fallah to go with Vukovic who has improved physically from last year.

I’ve talked to someone close to the program who believes Fallah to be the main big right now based on experience, fitness and talent. But this summer will hopefully make it a much tougher position as the high school players get into better shape and used to the speed and physicality of the college game.

Oklahoma State Athletics

Fallah in practice.

Fallah checks in at 6-9, 260 pounds and is in Stillwater by the way of Oregon State. He averaged nearly 13 points per game as a junior for the Beavers on 60% shooting from the floor, with four rebounds and one assist per game. 

“Parsa’s been great,” said Lutz. “He’s been one of those guys that’s tried to lead. He has an infectious personality, he doesn’t ever have a bad day when he walks in the room, he brings the energy level up. He adds to the room and he’s great. He needs to get a little bit better shape right now, but we expect big things from him. But I’m telling you, I really think that there’s gonna be a lot of competition along that front line. I really do because those two freshman, man, they don’t know what they’re doing yet, but there’s a lot of talent and a lot of ability. Then like you say, Mili [Vukovic] is coming back for his second year, so he’s lightyears ahead of where he was last year.”

Pokes Report

Ahmed on his official visit to Stillwater.

Both Ahmed and Ragland are roughly 6-10 and need to trim up, put on some muscle and get stronger. No one really knows what Mantzoukas can/will bring to the table as he won’t be in Stillwater for the foreseeable future to due student visas being paused. OSU is working with the state government and Washington to get it cleared up. 



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John Calipari gets real on lucrative NIL ‘expectations’

The NIL era has accelerated recruiting into becoming a bidding war on what schools offer the most money in NIL. The numbers circulating in college basketball recently have been massive, and one of the game’s best recruiters, Arkansas’ John Calipari, recently spoke up about how that shapes the expectations for transfers and recruits who come […]

Published

on


The NIL era has accelerated recruiting into becoming a bidding war on what schools offer the most money in NIL. The numbers circulating in college basketball recently have been massive, and one of the game’s best recruiters, Arkansas’ John Calipari, recently spoke up about how that shapes the expectations for transfers and recruits who come into their new schools.

As one of the best recruiters in college basketball and potentially all college sports, Calipari has firsthand experience with NIL. While NIL has not changed Calipari’s status as an elite recruiter, it has emboldened him even more, bringing in top recruits at Kentucky and Arkansas. However, big-time players come with big-time money, and Calipari admitted that he and his staff tread lightly even more now due to that aspect of recruiting.

Calipari was on an episode of Golic & Golic on FanDuel Sports Network this week and elaborated on how they navigate this new landscape.

“Did you see the interview with the Kansas State player (Coleman Hawkins) after last year’s season, where he cried? Cried. ‘They paid me $2 million and I couldn’t live up to it.’ There’s one thing about being the star on any team,” Calipari said. “You guys did it, that star makes the most and, wow, but the most is expected from them. So, some guys in college basketball this year are making between $ 3 million and $5 million. Teams are spending 20 million on rosters. Now there’s an expectation. You better win a national title, or you better be a guy, Calipari said.

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“If one of you paid a college player four million, would you expect that $4 million player to drag us to the Final Four?”

In some cases, the risk might not outweigh the reward when programs like Arkansas basketball offer millions of dollars to recruits. Calipari continued to elaborate on how this is impacting the current recruiting landscape.

“That’s different than a seasoned professional dealing with it. So, trying to keep that away from what we do, but social media brings it right back,” Calipari said. “This guy’s making $3 million, and this is the best he is. So, you know, it’s — I think we gotta protect our kids, but some of it, you can’t. You want to be paid a lot. You’re now a professional. You need to perform.”

Thanks to the House settlement being approved, some NIL numbers should be curbed, and at least the field in college sports should be leveled. However, this new era of recruiting is a bidding war, and Calipari and other coaches need to adapt to navigating the potential expectations that come with that.






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