NIL

Mark Wasikowski defends playing midweek games: ‘The system’s broken’

There have been teams known to cancel midweek games in college baseball. That’s done, oftentimes, to help avoid a game that would hurt the team’s RPI rankings. Despite that, Oregon Ducks head coach Mark Wasikowski has no intention of canceling games. Following Oregon’s pair of midweek wins against Saint Mary’s, Wasikowski defended playing midweek games. […]

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

There have been teams known to cancel midweek games in college baseball. That’s done, oftentimes, to help avoid a game that would hurt the team’s RPI rankings. Despite that, Oregon Ducks head coach Mark Wasikowski has no intention of canceling games.

Following Oregon’s pair of midweek wins against Saint Mary’s, Wasikowski defended playing midweek games. That’s because he sees that the system is broken and doesn’t want to take away opportunities to play simply because of that system.

“Well, the system’s broken,” Wasikowski said. “So, I’m not going to complain about the system being broken and start canceling games. I mean, if the geniuses can’t figure out that the system’s broken, the RPI is screwed up, and you shouldn’t be canceling games.”

The Oregon Ducks currently rank 23rd in the RPI, a key metric in deciding postseason seeding. That makes them the second-highest ranked Big Ten team. Right now, nine of the top 10 teams in the RPI rankings come from the SEC or ACC, adding value to their conference games. Still, even with the chance that midweek games could hurt Oregon’s RPI, Wasikowski wants to compete.

“Tonight was a great opportunity for guys to get a chance to play. We got a chance to play in two really good baseball games. We got some guys in — we got a lot of experience out of those two games,” Wasikowski said. “And if we’re canceling games because of some magical RPI formula that is so messed up it’s not even funny, we’re taking opportunities away from student-athletes that they deserve. That’s why they came to the University of Oregon. To play baseball. So, to take the opportunity to play baseball away from them for anything other than weather-related or some sort of act of God or any of those clauses that are in those contracts, I think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s repulsive and, for me, the student athletes suffer when that happens.”

Oregon just took two games from Saint Mary’s. That makes the Ducks 6-3 on midweek games this season. Those are games that, regardless of outcome or impact on BPI, Wasikowski wants to maintain.

“I don’t fault the coaches, I fault the fact that the system isn’t right,” Wasikowski said. “And until they get their arms around it and have the courage to make some changes to that, no, we’re not gonna cancel games. We’re gonna play the games that are on our schedule because I really respect the team that we just got done playing. They’re a good team. They’re trying to win a league championship. Then, tonight, all the way down to the last pitch of the game, you have Tanner Bradley in the last inning. You see how good Tanner Bradley is, and without the opportunity to play that game tonight, he doesn’t get a chance to pitch and show how good he really is. So, I’m a big proponent of playing baseball.”

Oregon wraps up the season series against Washington and Iowa. There, the Ducks look to build momentum for the postseason and round out their resume. They have no midweek games remaining.

Link

NIL

Can the House-NCAA settlement clean house on NIL? Don’t bet on it

Paul W. Bryant Museum: Exploring Alabama football legacy Discover the legacy of Alabama football through artifacts, memorabilia and state-of-the-art displays at the Paul W. Bryant Museum Gary Cosby Jr. and Chase Goodbread Athletic directors from the Power Four conferences have been pinching budgets for months in preparation for last week’s settlement of the House vs. […]

Published

6 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Athletic directors from the Power Four conferences have been pinching budgets for months in preparation for last week’s settlement of the House vs. NCAA lawsuit, which has ushered in revenue-sharing payments to athletes that have been estimated at $20.5 million beginning this year.

It’s a whopping sum on even the biggest of athletic department budgets, drawn from the average of Power Four revenues from things like TV contracts, ticket sales and sponsorships. It’s also not static; the figure will climb incrementally over the next decade and could easily reach $30 million by then. But as fat a number as that might look to the school accountant, it’s a pie that will be be cut into hundreds of slices from the athlete’s perspective.

And the math says it won’t be nearly enough to drown out the impact of third-party NIL deals.

Because football is the primary revenue driver in college athletics, football players are expected to get a lion’s share of the rev-share windfall. Texas Tech, for instance, has already made public its intention to commit more than 90% of its $20.5 million to football and men’s basketball. In time, legal challenges under Title IX are sure to test that logic. But for now, let’s call it $15 million for football. With 85 players on scholarship, that’s an average of $176,470.58 per player, per year. Compared to the cost-of-living stipend athletes got in the pre-NIL era, that’s an exponential boon. But compared to what third-party NIL deals were already delivering to top football players — $2-3 million or more for elite quarterbacks, for instance — it seems unlikely to disrupt third-party NIL as the engine of recruiting and transfer movement.

The House settlement, of course, includes provisions to curtail “pay for play” NIL deals that never reflected, nor were ever intended to reflect, a player’s true endorsement value. The accounting firm of Deloitte will operate an NIL Clearinghouse called NIL Go, with the task of accepting or rejecting third-party NIL deals with a newfangled algorithm that will help inform decisions on each athlete’s fair market value. The idea is to prevent boosters from paying both recruits and college athletes far more than what their name, image and likeness is worth; rather, pay-for-play rewards nothing but athletic prowess, which is an entirely different measure. But until NIL Go proves itself as a steady arbiter that can all but eliminate pay-for-play deals — the clearinghouse, to be sure, will be challenged in court as well — I’ll remain skeptical of its impact.

At the same time, the House settlement has unquestionably created a new era in college athletics. In three weeks, when revenue-sharing payments begin on July 1, the original NIL era will end with a lifespan of exactly four years. The floodgates first opened on July 1, 2021, and flood is certainly the right word for what followed. If the House settlement is ever going to mark the new beginning that the powerbrokers of college athletics are hoping for, it will have to deal a deathblow to pay-for-play.

But until further notice, third-party NIL is still the dog, and revenue-sharing is the tail.

Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.

Link

NIL

Former Maryland basketball star reportedly suing over canceled NIL payments

With NIL money flying and deals being broken often, it’s a wonder more lawsuits haven’t been filed by college athletes or the schools paying them. But the first such scenario at Maryland has arrived, with former star basketball player Ja’Kobi Gillespie suing for NIL payments he claims he’s owed. The Baltimore Sun’s Taylor Lyons reported that […]

Published

35 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

With NIL money flying and deals being broken often, it’s a wonder more lawsuits haven’t been filed by college athletes or the schools paying them. But the first such scenario at Maryland has arrived, with former star basketball player Ja’Kobi Gillespie suing for NIL payments he claims he’s owed.

The Baltimore Sun’s Taylor Lyons reported that the former Terps point guard, who transferred to Tennessee after the season, is suing Blueprint Sports — the outside company that manages much of the school’s NIL operations — because did not receive the final payments for his deal, despite that it has no clause stating the deal wouldn’t be paid out if he transferred elsewhere. He wrote:

“Blueprint, which says on its website it works with more than 70 college athletic departments, has partnered with Maryland since 2023. The school announced a “multiyear partnership extension” with the collective last month.

Connor and Byron Gillespie told The Sun that Blueprint is refusing to honor Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s NIL contract that he signed with the collective before last season. They said the contract did not have a clause that terminated the agreement if he entered the transfer portal, which he did days after Willard left to become the coach at Villanova on March 30.”

Ja’Kobi Gillespie was one of Maryland’s best players, earning second-team all-Big Ten honors after averaging 14.7 points and 4.8 assists per game on 45.3 percent shooting overall and 40.7 percent from three. His deal was worth around $600,000 for the year, leaving an unpaid balance of $100,000, sources told InsideMDSports. Lyons reported that Blueprint offered to settle for one-quarter of the remaining amount; the company says there was a clause that negated the remainder of payments because Gillespie transferred, while the player’s camp says there was no such deal.

Byron Gillespie referenced the issue to IMS in April, when he also criticized Willard for how his departure went down.

“We were smart and our lawyer/agent kept the original contract. They added language in [after the fact], because his wasn’t like the other agreements. Most said once you enter the portal, it nulls the agreement. Ours didn’t,” he wrote in a text.

What I’m Hearing: Early reviews of new-look Maryland basketball and the deal with Zion Elee

On Willard’s sketchy departure, he said in that April interview: “The coaching circle talks … I knew he was gone when we were in Seattle. I understand taking a job that’s better for you and your family. I just wish it didn’t come out and cause a distraction during such a great run … Over and over he told them that. [That] he was using it for leverage [to get a new deal from Maryland]. All the way ’til the last game. He told Ja’Kobi that Saturday night [two days after the Sweet 16 loss] he had decided to take it.”

The elder Gillespie told Lyons that Blueprint’s failure to pay gives credence to Willard’s complaints before he left, about Maryland not having enough NIL money. And Gillespie’s mother, Heather Johnson, told IMS: “We loved it there and I’m just so disappointed in a few different ways. Ja’Kobi did his job.”

But the best quote of the story came from booster Harry Geller, who ran the point on the basketball program’s NIL negotiations before Willard left, bout Willard and former AD Damon Evans, now both gone.

“There was always a rift,” Geller told the Sun. “Willard had an attitude about it the whole time and Damon didn’t do much to help it. The two of them went at it. They butted heads from the beginning. In the end, they both had exit strategies and Maryland got screwed.”

Geller said in an April radio interview that Maryland’s NIL budget was significant.

“We had a pretty competitive NIL, all donor-based fundraising, and I think his his biggest complaint was a lot of other schools were assisting the NIL collectives and Maryland wasn’t. They kind of left us, myself and the other guys that run and women that run the Turtle NIL and the athletic foundation, to ourselves to run it,” he said. “as far as dollars spent this year, we were probably in the lower part of the top half of the Big Ten. There was schools certainly ahead of us. Indiana spent a lot more money than we did, and look where that got them. And some schools spent less, but I would say we were probably five, six, seven in the Big Ten out of 18 schools.

“And I think Buzz is coming in into a better situation. I think he was a very good hire. He’s won everywhere he’s been. I really applauded the administration for moving quickly on it because there’s – this year is an unusual year for NIL because there, the NCAA is phasing out all collectives July 1, including ours. Until then, you have an opportunity to raise money and sort of pre-pay for next year. So the player amounts are hyper-inflated right now, and it should level off to more of a de facto salary cap next year. But I thought, and I went to the administration and said, ‘Look, if you want us to pre-spend the money next year, we only have a few weeks to do it. So you really got to get moving on this hire.’ And to their credit, they were proactive about it.”

Before you go …

— Get the latest Terps news delivered to your inbox FREE! Sign up for our email newsletter here and stay informed on Maryland basketball, football, recruiting and every other Terps storyline.

— Support Maryland basketball’s recruiting and player-retention efforts by joining TurtleNIL!

— Follow IMS on Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok and Instagram.

— Don’t miss any of our new video Terps content: Subscribe to InsideMDSports on YouTube and hit the notification bell so you know when new videos drop.

Link

NIL

Florida Atlantic University Athletics

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Accolades for Autumn Courtney, Florida Atlantic softball’s fifth All-American in program history, continue to pour in. On Monday, the junior pitcher was ranked No. 79 in Softball America’s Top 100 players. Courtney is the second highest ranked player in the American Athletic Conference and 22nd among all pitchers in Division I. […]

Published

37 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Accolades for Autumn Courtney, Florida Atlantic softball’s fifth All-American in program history, continue to pour in. On Monday, the junior pitcher was ranked No. 79 in Softball America’s Top 100 players.

Courtney is the second highest ranked player in the American Athletic Conference and 22nd among all pitchers in Division I. Appearing in her first season with the Owls, she earned more than half of the team’s victories on the way to its second consecutive AAC regular season title. The Tappahannock, Virginia native finished with a record of 24-4, the 11th most wins in the nation, tossing 172 strikeouts, 30th nationally, and held a 2.03 ERA, 32nd in the nation. Additionally, her 3.97 hits allowed per seven innings was the fourth lowest in Division I.

Not only was she unanimously voted AAC Pitcher of the Year and to the All-Conference First Team, Courtney received a spot on the All-Conference Tournament team after seven strikeout performance that saw her yield just one hit and no earned runs in the AAC Semifinals. She followed this up the following week with seven more punchouts in Florida Atlantic’s 5-4 victory over Georgia Tech for the team’s first NCAA Regional victory since 2016.

FOLLOW THE OWLS
To follow the team socially, visit @fausoftball, or for the most up-to-date information, go to www.fausports.com.

Link

NIL

Report

Penn State and UCLA are “making college sports history” by being the first two athletic departments to take on private capital. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Penn State and UCLA are the “first two clients” of Elevate’s $500M college private capital fund — signing eight-figure deals with the College Investment Initiative, according to sources. Penn […]

Published

50 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Penn State Nittany Lions Tight End Tyler Warren (44) runs with the ball against UCLA Bruins Defensive Lineman Siale Taupaki — Penn State and UCLA are “making college sports history” by being the first two athletic departments to take on private capital. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Penn State and UCLA are the “first two clients” of Elevate’s $500M college private capital fund — signing eight-figure deals with the College Investment Initiative, according to sources. Penn State and UCLA are “making college sports history” by being the first two athletic departments to take on private capital, but it is “only the starting point” for the investment fund in its efforts to “provide schools with money and resources to develop revenue-generating projects” (ON3, 6/9). Schools will use the capital “for infrastructure and commercial projects ranging from modernizing venues, expanding premium seating and enhancing multimedia and digital rights and to investing in name, image and likeness platforms for athletes” (CNBC.com, 6/9).

NIL

Ohio State launches group to support NIL opportunities

The university’s Department of Athletics and Learfield’s Ohio State Sports Properties have formed the Buckeye Sports Group. COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State University announced it’s launching a new strategic group that’s designed to support, streamline and enhance Name, Image and Likeness opportunities for student-athletes. The university’s Department of Athletics and Learfield’s Ohio State Sports […]

Published

59 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The university’s Department of Athletics and Learfield’s Ohio State Sports Properties have formed the Buckeye Sports Group.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State University announced it’s launching a new strategic group that’s designed to support, streamline and enhance Name, Image and Likeness opportunities for student-athletes.

The university’s Department of Athletics and Learfield’s Ohio State Sports Properties have formed the Buckeye Sports Group, according to a release.

“By creating a dedicated team of NIL leaders, this strategic partnership will empower Buckeye student-athletes to maximize their brand value while competing at the highest level,” the university says.

The announcement comes after a federal judge approved the terms of a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement last week, which will allow schools to directly pay players through licensing deals.

Ohio State says a key part of the settlement is the implementation of a Fair Mark Evaluation process and a “range of compensation” designed to establish standardized benchmarks for NIL deals across sports and institutions. The Buckeye Sports Group intends to serve as a centralized hub for NIL brand deal facilitation, corporate partnerships, student-athlete storytelling and NIL support.

The Buckeye Sports Group will have access to Learfield’s Compass NIL technology to facilitate deal transactions and gain insights into student-athlete interests.

The group will support Ohio State student-athletes with a focus on three areas: deal facilitation and management, content creation and storytelling and support services.

“Ohio State has always been a leader in college athletics, and this initiative is another step forward to build upon our strong NIL foundation,” said Ohio State’s Deputy Director of Athletics Carey Hoyt. “By combining the power of our athletic brand with Learfield’s expansive network, we are creating an innovative, full-service approach to NIL that directly benefits our student-athletes.”

In a move to streamline and optimize NIL operations, the group will work to consolidate existing NIL collectives under a single marketing team. The founding members of THE Foundation and The 1870 Society, two existing NIL collectives, will remain engaged and serve in an advisory capacity to the new group.

“We’re incredibly thankful for everything our NIL collective’s leadership, businesses and donors have done to support our student-athletes,” Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation-Eugene Smith Endowed Athletics Director Ross Bjork said. “Their commitment has helped shape the landscape in powerful ways. As we move forward with a more unified approach, we’re excited to combine efforts and further strengthen the NIL success of our student-athletes.”

To read more about the new group, click here.

Link

NIL

Softball America Reveals Its Top 100 Players of the 2025 Season

The 2025 NCAA Softball season has come to an end. There are plenty of players that stood out from star pitchers to home run hitters, with plenty of names to remember. Here are the Top 100 players according to Softball America. Who were the Top 100 college softball players of the 2025 season? Find out […]

Published

1 hour ago

June 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Who were the Top 100 college softball players of the 2025 season?

Find out here: https://t.co/lGIElFgCXl pic.twitter.com/zIf6icR32I

— Softball America (@SoftbalAmerica) June 9, 2025

The top three players come with no surprise as NiJaree Canady, Bri Ellis, and Jordy Bahl were all named finalists for USA Softball’s player of the year.

No. 1: NiJaree Canady – P (Texas Tech)

NiJaree Canady led Texas Tech to its first-ever WCWS in school history, making it all the way to the championship series. She made quite a name for herself with both her stellar performance in the circle and her million-dollar NIL deal. Canady held a nation-leading 34 wins on the year to go along with a 1.11 ERA while pitching 240 innings on the season.

NiJaree Canady closes out the win for @TexasTechSB!

A winner-takes-all Game 3 of the Women’s College World Series awaits tomorrow night

(: @ESPN) pic.twitter.com/eGHqLwpHSt

— MLB (@MLB) June 6, 2025

No 2: Bri Ellis- 1B (Arkansas)

Bri Ellis was first in the country in on-base percentage (.639) and was third in home runs with 26 on the year, which set a new Arkansas single-season record. She was also named Player of the Year by both USA Softball and Softball America. The Razorbacks nearly missed out on their first-ever WCWS appearance, falling to Ole Miss in Super Regionals.

pic.twitter.com/0JHfxcRciF

— Arkansas Softball (@RazorbackSB) June 9, 2025

No. 3: Jordy Bahl- P/UTL (Nebraska)

After transferring from Oklahoma and sitting out all of the 2024 season with an ACL injury, Jordy Bahl has put her home state back on the map. This year with the Huskers, Bahl became one of the best two-way players in the nation. She is just the fourth NCAA softball player to have hit 20-plus home runs and have 20-plus wins in the circle in a single season.

THE BEST TWO WAY PLAYER IN COLLEGE SOFTBALL.

WELCOME TO THE 20/20 CLUB JORDY BAHL pic.twitter.com/GJCrcbak15

— Nebraska Softball (@HuskerSoftball) May 16, 2025

No.4: Karlyn Pickins- P (Tennessee)

Karlyn Pickins rounds out the three pitchers in the top five. Pickins had a stellar year in the circle for Tennessee going 25-10 overall with a 1.17 ERA. She pitched in 220 innings and had 297 strikeouts with opponents hitting .185 against her. The Vols season came to an end after a loss to Texas in the WCWS.

with a career-best 306 strikeouts this season, Karlyn Pickens is the first Tennessee pitcher with 300+ Ks since Monica Abbott in 2007

oh yeah… and she’s got one more year left pic.twitter.com/Iw73DEHlcO

— Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball) June 4, 2025

No. 5: Cori McMillan- OF (Virginia Tech)

Rounding out the top five is Virginia Tech’s Cori McMillan. McMillan had a breakout year for the Hokies leading the nation in home runs with 31 on the season. She was a Top-10 finalist for USA Softball’s Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American selection by Softball America, as well as being selected as the ACC Player of the Year in 2025.

Yup, @corimcmillan_

Cori is an NFCA First Team All-American!!

– https://t.co/6eaVo7AiM7#Hokies pic.twitter.com/tMatoV5z1f

— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) May 28, 2025