FRISCO, Texas — It’s been close to two weeks since revenue-sharing officially became a dynamic element in college athletics as part of the groundbreaking House settlement, and everyone involved is still getting their feet under them.

It’s become a significant moment in intercollegiate athletics, with a Big 12 athletic director comparing it to historic events like the creation of the NCAA (1906), the introduction of athletic scholarships (1956), Title IX (1972), the NCAA v. Board of Regents case (1984), and the Fair Pay to Play Act for NIL (2019).

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Institutions across the country had been working around the clock to prepare for the introduction of rev-share on July 1. That mandated educating athletes on the challenges they’ll face, including handling NIL through an online clearinghouse called NIL Go.

Schools now can directly pay athletes, with a cap set at $20.5 million. Most Power 4 programs will allocate a significant portion of that revenue pool toward football, approximately 75%, although this varies from school to school. Those institutions aren’t required to reveal what they’re paying players.

While the topic of money can be a sensitive subject, the players know they’re prepared.

“The topic of money is never really a discussion we intended to have, but they do a good job educating us on the changes or what’s to come,” said UCF linebacker Keli Lawson.

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For many institutions, education extends beyond traditional academics, embracing a holistic approach where player-development personnel collaborate closely with athletes to equip them for the multifaceted challenges they will encounter in their lives and careers.

“These life skills developments are about putting us in situations to be able to develop a part of our life that we probably weren’t taught growing up, such as creating an LLC [Limited Liability Company]. How do savings work? How does credit work? How are you able to build your credit when you’re trying to buy a home? How do you go about doing something like that? What is the difference between a lease and renting?” said Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels.

Revenue-sharing payments, like NIL deals, are taxable income that athletes must report on their tax returns.

“They’re not just giving money and saying, ‘Here, do whatever you want with it.’ They’re putting us in situations to build a plan and find out what we can do with our finances rather than just going out and saying, ‘Oh, dang, I just got this much money. Let me go ahead and blow it all,’ and then realize that you’ll have taxes later down the line,” Daniels added.

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The Big 12 recently has entered into a multi-year partnership with PayPal, which will facilitate revenue-sharing payments from universities to their athletes through the popular online payment platform. This agreement will also enable athletes to receive NIL payments seamlessly.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said West Virginia was one of the first schools in the conference to utilize PayPal’s HyperWallet.

UCF AD Terry Mohajir talks NIL, construction, Space Game and International games

“Two weeks ago, they brought in a couple of people to talk to us about the revenue sharing because there have been so many changes,” said West Virginia receiver Jaden Bray. “We have to switch to a whole new app. We’ve got to upload everything. There’s so much stuff. So they do a great job of teaching us.”

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Daniels believes this new opportunity will prepare him for a possible career in the NFL.

“It’s a better chance, a better time for you to learn in college when you’re making hundreds of thousands of dollars than when you go to the NFL and you start making 10s of millions of dollars. What are you going to do with it then?” he said.

That said, some coaches warn their players against falling prey to unsavory third-party elements, especially like an agent.

“Some of these guys are taking 20-to-25% [of their income] from these guys,” said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. “That’s outlandish. It should be 3-to-5% just like the NFL, and certification would be an absolute step in the right direction.”

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Originally from Germany, UCF offensive lineman Paul Rubelt faces limitations with NIL and revenue-sharing due to his status as an international student. However, he remains unfazed by the opportunities his teammates can seize that are often more lucrative.

“I’ve gotten so much through the school,” Rubelt said. “We get gear. We get free food. We receive disbursements, such as scholarship money and housing. That’s a lot of stuff and a free degree. I’m on my second degree now, so that’s more than I can ask of being an international student.”

Bianchi: How Scott Frost’s 5-word truth bomb blew up the Nebraska Cornhuskers

Rublet sees a significant advantage to revenue-sharing.

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“It’s awesome for players to get,” he added. “Can it be out of control? Probably. So there are good [things] and bad [things].”

Throughout it all, it still comes down to what is accomplished on the field, according to Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy.

“The teams and coaches who can put that aside will focus on coaching and playing football and find a way to come together to get the best chance to win. That’s the only way I think we can handle the monetary side of college football at this time,” he said.

Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.

Connor Stalions Goes On Wild Rant Responding to Sonny Dykes

In the history of great written works lost to time, it seems a tragedy nearly on par with the Library of Alexandria’s burning that the thousand-plus page Connor Stalions manifesto may never see the light of day. However, early in the hours of Saturday morning, the college football world received a glimpse into just how unhinged Stalions can present himself in print.

On the morning prior, acclaimed Amazon shopping cart detective Brett McMurphy posted a story with new quotes from TCU head coach Sonny Dykes regarding his knowledge of Michigan’s sign stealing antics ahead of the 2022 College Football Playoff. The article relays that Dykes’ staff was “inundated with phone calls and texts” regarding the Wolverines’ operation to steal opponent signals. Dykes himself said that, “everybody does it to an extent, but we had some intel that it was kind of next level there.”

Tipped off about Michigans sign stealing system in 2022, Sonny Dykes told @On3sports TCU changed its play calls before their College Football Playoff semifinal. Everybody does it to an extent, but we had some intel it was kind of next level there.https://t.co/R1x45SBtpu

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 11, 2025

Dykes went on to say that because TCU anticipated Michigan would heavily lean on the intel they had for a competitive advantage, the Horned Frogs were able to exploit what “we knew they knew.” He believed the Wolverines ultimately became frustrated enough about the situation in the second half that “they quit worrying about it.”

Just shy of 1 a.m. ET on Saturday morning, with his pride wounded by Dykes, Stalions felt compelled enough to respond directly to the story from his X account despite his acknowledgement of the NCAA’s ongoing investigation into his conduct.

To be tipped off that your next opponent is good at stealing signals is like saying you were tipped off that you had an upcoming game.

— Connor Stalions (@cpstalions) July 12, 2025

Not merely satisfied with his brief response, Stalions came unglued over the next seven minutes and fired off six paragraphs in which he proceeded to make a series of wild admissions and statements. Those included throwing Michigan players under the bus for their performance against TCU, that he’s never been “fooled” by anyone, and that he knew “almost every signal” against at least seven high profile opponents in games between 2021 and 2022.

To save everybodys time so we can move on from the same recycled story from Coach Dykes, Ill provide some more details and we can wrap this up:

We lost because we turned the ball over & had a poor game tackling. And TCU played well. Congratulations. The same way we won the

— Connor Stalions (@cpstalions) July 12, 2025

Stalions also called it “funny” that anybody would attempt to correlate stealing signs to any wins and losses at Michigan. When asked by an Ohio State fan about committing NCAA violations, getting a game ball if he offered no value and his invasion of the Central Michigan sideline, Stalions claimed he can’t discuss details of an ongoing investigation.

Hey DPH! Id love to answer your questions, but unfortunately Im not allowed to discuss details of an ongoing NCAA investigation. And answering a few of those questions directly would be doing exactly that.

But Im looking forward to being able to address those questions (if

— Connor Stalions (@cpstalions) July 12, 2025

This is the first time Stalions has commented publicly on the sign-stealing scandal since the NCAA’s hearing with Michigan last month in which president Charlie Baker indicated a ruling would release within the next 30 to 90 days afterwards. The behavior from the former Wolverine analyst certainly appears curious given not only Michigan’s attempt at a preemptive punishment for head coach Sherrone Moore, but also his previous efforts to protect the program’s image at all costs. The criticism of player performance in losses particularly seems irregular given how often Stalions has attempted to redirect blame for Michigan’s problems onto himself as opposed to athletes or other staff.

Michigan opens its season on August 30th against New Mexico, which Moore will miss due to suspension before temporarily returning to coach against his alma mater Oklahoma the following week. Given the NCAA hearing took place last month across June 6th and 7th, a punishment could possibly arrive as late as two days prior to the road trip to Norman given the window established by Baker. Stalions indicated he’s “glad the truth will finally emerge” when the investigation concludes.

Paul Finebaum Guarantees Texas Beats Ohio State in 2025 Opener

As the beginning of the 2025 college football schedule finally draws near, infamous SEC apologist Paul Finebaum has already achieved midseason form with respect to drawing the ire of Buckeye fans.

Friday morning, Finebaum outright stated that he “not probably — definitely” believes Texas will beat Ohio State in the season opener for both schools while declaring his love for Longhorns quarterback Archie Manning. His profession included the statement that, “I am as married to Arch Manning as an old geezer like me can be.”

Paul Finebaum: “I am as married to Arch Manning as an old geezer like me can be to a young, great college quarterback… the experience of being an understudy to Ewers and understanding Sark’s system is what’s going to get them over the top and probably well, not probably pic.twitter.com/AcJkJNkIH5

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 11, 2025

Finebaum previously picked Ohio State to beat Texas in last season’s CFP semifinal round due to a belief that the Buckeyes did not, “have to play that well, they just have to play consistently.” However, this time around he believes that Manning having, “experience of being an understudy to [Quinn] Ewers and understanding [Steve Sarkinian]’s system is what’s going to get them over the top.”

Manning threw for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions in three starts for the Longhorns last season, but also only faced one Power Five opponent in the form of Mississippi State. The Bulldogs finished 2024 with a 2-10 record and lost all eight of their SEC games. The opener in Columbus will also serve as Manning’s first start on the road in his college career.

SCORE Act Could Reshape NIL in College Sports

On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the “Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Edorsements (SCORE) Act” that could significantly alter the chaotic name, image and likeness landscape for college athletes and programs.

Here’s the announcement of the bi-partisan SCORE Act, which has several co-sponsors.

Full bill text – https://t.co/kg8SylYFXN https://t.co/KwBbhzUdoX pic.twitter.com/VKhkQ5IrLs

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) July 10, 2025

Several components of the bill would place parameters around how universities manage both the structure and financial support of their athletic departments. One mandate would require schools to maintain at least 16 varsity sports teams for what many speculate serves as a protection on behalf of Olympic programs. Another provision that would primarily impact Big Ten and SEC institutions appears to be that schools making at least $50 million in media rights revenue will not be able to allocate student fees towards supporting athletic endeavors.

As for new legislative measures impacting athletes themselves, players will not have permission to sign deals that would conflict with university codes of conduct or existing agreements between schools and other companies. This would effectively nullify the deal Jeremiah Smith signed with Adidas earlier this month given Ohio State’s preexisting relationship with Nike.

The SCORE Act would also require one of the collegiate associations with oversight to publicly disclose previously anonymous details of these deals — such as finite figure amounts — and would also create a one-time transfer rule.

The Act authorizes an association, such as the NCAA or CSC, to require athletes to disclose deals and aggregate & share publicly anonymized data of those deals.

Important: the bill allows establishment of a 1-time transfer rule & eligibility standards – both under legal attack.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) July 10, 2025

Although a vote on the bill has yet to receive an announcement, Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger relayed at its introduction that the SCORE Act, “is on track to progress further than any all-encompassing athlete compensation legislation.” Pete Nankos of On3 said last Wednesday that the first subcommittee markup for the bill could happen as early as July 15th, with a subsequent committee markup by the end of the month.

ICYMI

Brice Sensabaugh Sets New Summer League Scoring Record

Tuesday night, former Ohio State basketball player Brice Sensabaugh scored 37 points in a 112-111 win over the Memphis Grizzlies to set a new scoring record in the NBA’s Salt Lake City Summer League. Sensabaugh will look to carry that momentum into his third season with the Jazz after averaging just shy of 11 points per game across 71 appearances last regular season.

EA Sports CFB 26 Releases, Overall Ratings for Buckeyes Now Known

The second installment in the return of college football video games released this past week, as the standard edition of EA Sports College Football 26 became available to the public on Thursday. While Jeremiah Smith did not end up receiving his rumored 99 overall to start the game, he and Caleb Downs still find themselves as the two highest-rated players to begin the season and OSU boasts six total players with ratings in the 90s.

Reflecting on Illibuck Over a Century Later

When Ohio State travels to Memorial Stadium in October to play Illinois, it will mark a 100-year celebration of sorts for the second-oldest rivalry trophy in the Big Ten: Illibuck. Many already know that the tradition began with a live turtle, but few were aware of the facts around his demise in the care of the Fighting Illini or how the Buckeyes avenged his legacy in 1926 — until now.

What’s Next

• 48 Days: Buckeye football season opener vs. Texas
• 111 Days: Jim Knowles returns to Columbus
• 139 Days: The Game

Somehow, it feels like just yesterday and a lifetime ago that the Florida Gators cut down the nets in San Antonio. A lot has happened since that memorable night in early April. Coaches have changed schools, rosters have reshuffled, the House vs. NCAA settlement was approved and Cooper Flagg was officially drafted No. 1 overall.

It’s hard to believe how much action has been packed into just three months. The new college basketball landscape has made the offseason far busier and more chaotic, leaving us with an abundance of burning questions. We’ll gradually work through them over the summer as we look ahead to what should be a fascinating 2025-26 campaign.

1. Will the ACC bounce back after a lackluster season?

The ACC is coming off a historically bad season in which it received just four bids to the NCAA Tournament. Outside of No. 1 seed Duke, no ACC team advanced to the Round of 32. In the second annual ACC-SEC challenge, a series of matchups between the two conferences, the ACC went 2-14.  

The league’s struggles can be attributed to a number of factors. There has been heavy turnover among its coaches, as Hall of Famers like Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Roy Williams and Tony Bennett retired, ushering in new eras for their respective programs. The ACC was also slower to adjust to the sport’s changing climate, shaped increasingly by the transfer portal and NIL. 

In 2025-26, the conference has the potential to bounce back. Duke should be a powerhouse once again, and programs such as Louisville, NC State, Virginia, North Carolina, Syracuse and more appear on the rise. When I spoke with Syracuse coach Adrian Autry in June, he expressed confidence that the ACC will turn things around in a major way. 

“I think our whole conference kind of (had to adjust),” Autry told me. “Obviously Duke, they were the only ones who were kind of immune to it. It’s funny, you felt like they’ve always kind of operated on that level. Our league had to make that adjustment. I think this year, this will be the ACC that everyone is accustomed to. You look around the league, you look at these rosters, this league is going to be back to what it used to be. And I think it took our league a couple years from a basketball standpoint to make those adjustments.”

2. Will the SEC’s reign continue?

While the ACC floundered in 2024-25, the SEC had perhaps the greatest men’s basketball season ever for a conference. Before league play, it posted a winning percentage of 88.9 percent. The SEC went on to earn a record-breaking 14 bids to the NCAA Tournament. Four of those teams reached at least the Elite Eight (Florida, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee), with the Gators going on to win the national championship.

There is no doubt which conference currently sits atop the throne in college basketball. The top SEC schools are loaded once again, led by Florida, Auburn, Kentucky, Arkansas and Alabama. But the Big 12 and the Big Ten have arguably gotten stronger, with Purdue (more on the Boilermakers below) and Houston among the contenders for preseason No. 1 overall. Seven of the top 15 freshmen in the 2025 recruiting class picked a Big 12 school, including AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and Darryn Peterson (Kansas), and five Big Ten schools are featured in the top 10 of Hoops HQ’s ranking of the best transfer classes (Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Washington and USC). 

3. Can Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn deliver Purdue its first national championship?

Purdue has a solid chance to open the 2025-26 campaign ranked No. 1 in the country. The Boilermakers are returning three standouts from last year’s team which finished fourth in the Big Ten and lost a nailbiter to Houston in the Sweet 16: 6-foot senior point guard Braden Smith, 6-foot-9 senior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn and 6-foot-5 senior guard Fletcher Loyer. Smith, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, will be one of the frontrunners for the Wooden Award; Kaufman-Renn made the All-Big Ten First Team with averages of 20.1 points and 6.5 rebounds; and Loyer, a three-year starter, averaged a career-high 13.8 points and shot 44.4 percent from three.

Coach Matt Painter’s squad had one glaring weakness in 2024-25: a lack of size. After 7-foot-4 freshman center Daniel Jacobsen suffered a season-ending injury in early November, Purdue had little rim protection and struggled immensely on the boards, ranking 362nd in the nation in blocks per game and 309th in rebounds per game. The Boilermakers will not only get Jacobsen back this season — they signed 6-foot-11 senior center Oscar Cluff, who averaged 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds at South Dakota. The Portal Report ranked Cluff as the 10th best transfer (and No. 1 center) available this year. Purdue also added promising Israeli guard Omer Mayer, who played for Maccabi Tel Aviv last season. Mayer starred for Israel at the FIBA U19 World Cup, averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2 steals in four outings.

The Boilermakers have reached the Final Four three times, most recently in 2024, but they have never cut down the nets. The 2025-26 roster has all the ingredients to finally get the job done: size, experience, depth and multiple All-American candidates. 

4. Will BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa live up to the hype in an uber-talented freshman class?

The hype around incoming freshman A.J. Dybantsa, the No. 1 player in the class of 2025, has been building for years now. The 6-foot-9, do-it-all wing out of Utah Prep is finally set to make his college debut for the Cougars. He’s considered an early favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and should contend for the Wooden Award if he lives up to expectations. Dybantsa caught the eye of NBA reps during U19 USA Basketball trials a month ago. “He was so damn good this week, it’s ridiculous,” one NBA scout told Hoops HQ’s Krysten Peek. “A.J. has a combination of physicality and depth when we’re looking at modern NBA play. He has the potential to excel on both sides of the floor and can deepen a team’s two-way versatility with his length, athleticism and IQ. I’ll be surprised if he’s not the No. 1 pick next year.”

Dybantsa is one of several freshmen with the potential to steal the spotlight in 2025-26. The new crop of rookies is just as loaded as last year’s class, which accounted for nine of the top 10 picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. Hoops HQ’s draft expert Jonathan Wasserman currently projects 11 freshmen to be taken in the lottery of next year’s draft. Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, Duke’s Cameron Boozer and Tennessee’s Nate Ament are all believed to be in the running for the No. 1 pick. Other names to monitor in the Freshman of the Year race include Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou, Arizona’s Koa Peat, North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., Houston’s Chris Cenac Jr., Arkansas’ Darius Acuff and more. 

5. Will the uptick in international players continue to shake up college basketball?

Since NIL and eligibility rules changed, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of international players joining college basketball. The reason is simple: top schools are offering more lucrative contracts than what’s available overseas. High-level prospects also get the opportunity to transition to life in the U.S. before moving on to the NBA. 

The influx of talent from countries around the globe has already had a profound impact on the sport. Last season, stars like BYU’s Egor Demin and Illinois’  Kasparas Jakucionis — both of whom were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft — helped their teams reach the NCAA Tournament.

Many more elite foreign players are entering the mix for the 2025-26 campaign. We got a peek at some of them at the FIBA U19 World Cup in early July. In addition to the aforementioned Omer Mayer, Hannes Steinbach, a 6-foot-9 forward from Germany who will play at Washington next year, was sensational, averaging 17.2 points and 14 rebounds per game. Argentinian Tyler Kropp, a 6-foot-8 forward, was the tournament’s leading scorer at 21.8 points per game. There are numerous other international recruits who could wind up being the X-factors for their respective programs, such as Italian wing Dame Sarr (Duke), Montenegrin guard Luka Bogavac (North Carolina), Serbian guard Andrej Kostic (Kansas State), Greek wing Neoklis Avdalas (Virginia Tech) and German forward Sananda Fru (Louisville). Illinois coach Brad Underwood has assembled a roster with five players from the Balkan region, headlined by Serbian guard Mihailo Petrovic, who was an MVP candidate in the Adriatic League.