A fight to save beach volleyball and Utah athletics' 'disheartening' answer
SALT LAKE CITY — Coming off the best season in program history, Utah’s beach volleyball players were called into a mandatory meeting on April 29. Many went into the meeting thinking it was a conversation about the future, especially with the team’s head coach retiring just days before. Maybe there would be a conversation about […]
SALT LAKE CITY — Coming off the best season in program history, Utah’s beach volleyball players were called into a mandatory meeting on April 29.
Many went into the meeting thinking it was a conversation about the future, especially with the team’s head coach retiring just days before. Maybe there would be a conversation about the hiring process or talk about the values the players wanted to see from a new coach.
Instead, the University of Utah decided to cut the program entirely.
“I’d say it was disheartening,” said Maeve Griffin, a graduate senior on the team who was not a part of the meeting since she wasn’t a returner for the 2026 season.
Griffin didn’t learn of the decision until her teammates informed all the seniors of the meeting’s purpose. But she was not alone, members of the support staff — including the team’s nutritionist and therapist — were left in the dark, too.
Some incoming recruits also first learned of the change in news articles and social media posts, though Utah contacted each recruit personally minutes after the meeting with the team.
“They’re heartbroken, like, absolutely heartbroken,” senior Sonja Wessel said. “We all came off such a high, and then in two days, our whole world got flipped upside down; and knowing that our family that we’ve created is going to be broken apart and we’re never going to be together ever again is devastating.”
The decision to discontinue the beach volleyball program came after “significant and appropriate amount of thought, consideration and consultation,” Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan said in a statement as part of the announcement to the public.
The university didn’t see a path forward for the program, “with little evidence of the sport expanding at this time” at Utah, he added.
“With the sport’s growth stunted, and without the home facilities with amenities that allow us to host championship-level events, we are not providing the world-class experience that we seek to provide to our student-athletes,” Harlan said.
The athletes, though, felt those reasonings didn’t make much sense for a program that has grown since its start as a sanctioned sport at Utah. Even being one of the lowest-funded sports, the athletes felt they could still compete for a national championship.
This last season, Utah recorded its first 21-win season and a spot in the top 25, setting the team up for a potential wild card spot in the tournament.
Utah was doing more with less.
BOOOOOOOOOM
After winning 4-1 over CSU Bakersfield, the 2025 Utah Beach Volleyball Squad sets a new bar for MOST WINS IN A SEASON
The Utes end the regular season with a 20-12 record and look towards the Big 12 Tournament next week.#GoUtespic.twitter.com/Jiit7xJftZ
And though former head coach Brenda Whicker, who retired shortly before the news in an unrelated move, advocated for more resources — like asking to up the two scholarships that were distributed between 18 women — all were content with their situation at Utah.
“Keep in mind, we are very content with the facilities,” Griffin said. “There’s nothing wrong with our facilities. We have a nice locker room, we have courts. We hadn’t complained about our facilities. We’re beach volleyball, like, we’re just happy.”
That fact added further doubt to the argument that beach volleyball’s growth was “stunted,” and that Utah — and teams in the Big 12 by extension — had no future in the sport, Griffin said.
“There clearly is a future in Big 12 volleyball, like TCU just won the national championship for the first time ever,” Griffin said. “It’s always been UCLA and USC that have gone back and forth, and this is the first time someone else has won it. And so that right there shows growth in beach volleyball, alongside the statistics that this year was the most Division I beach volleyball teams to play in the NCAA ever.”
“It’s just frustrating,” Wessel added. “Removing, cutting our program, we’re also impacting the Big 12, as well.”
The beach volleyball program brought in just shy of $223,000 in revenue for the 2024 fiscal year, while having an operating expense of $380,000 for a loss of $157,000, according to the latest financial reports.
That loss pales in comparison to the $2.17 million loss in baseball, or the $844,565 loss in golf and $803,658 in lacrosse, to name a few. Outside of football and men’s basketball, though, no other program at Utah brings in more than their operating expenses.
Those figures don’t take into account an incoming proposed NCAA court settlement that will require athletic departments to pay student athletes if they opt in — a max of $20.5 million for the entire department — this coming year.
In March, Utah announced a $14 million gift that was given to the athletic department to support women’s sports. But even as the lowest profile women’s sport, in terms of financial impact, Utah didn’t see a path forward and decided to no longer invest in beach volleyball.
Seeking answers
Looking to get more answers beyond a quick session with Harlan and Deputy Athletic Director Charmelle Green, the 18-member volleyball team asked for a follow-up meeting to have a conversation about the change.
The athletic department agreed and held a meeting that went about an hour as the two parties addressed the end of the program. That follow-up meeting, though, left the team more frustrated about the decision and by Harlan and Green’s response.
“We’re a group of 18 girls that just had our entire lives turned upside down,” Griffin said. “We’re 18 to 22 years old, and we are trying to go about it in the best way that we know how. And then you have two people in a power position that should be pretty well equipped to deal with these kind of situations that walk in and appear like they don’t know what they’re doing or why they made this rash decision.”
“We were coming from a place of just — we just wanted answers,” Wessel added. “We came in very calm, very almost, like, emotionless, because we don’t want to make things worse. So we’re like, we’re just going to go in with facts and want answers, and they were just not giving us the time of day.”
The two athletes described the meeting as “disrespectful,” with Wessel adding that the two athletic leaders were “scoffing at us when we would ask just basic questions.”
“I mean, everything that you think could go wrong went wrong,” she added, while also noting that neither leader knew any of the athletes’ names.
Griffin said there was “some sort of disconnect” in how the department responded to “speaking about the values that they have in the athletic department and the way they actually are treating the student-athletes on the inside.”
“I think we kind of called them on that, and that did not go over well,” Griffin said. “The more questions we asked, the less answers they had, and the more defensive and deflective they got over things.”
Speaking to KSL.com, a spokesperson for the athletics department acknowledged the sensitive nature of the meeting, citing the “difficult decision for the department” to discontinue the sport and the associated feelings from its athletes.
“We fully understand the student-athlete emotions that come with receiving this news. We have continued to have open dialogue with them, including a follow-up meeting that lasted more than an hour, to listen to their concerns and reiterate our commitment to supporting and assisting them through this process. We will continue to support them and do all we can to help.”
But for Griffin and Wessel, it was just the final blow to a team who didn’t feel like they were supported by the athletics department and didn’t see their top athletic leaders much at all. As such, the athletes felt like an afterthought.
Utah beach volleyball seniors pose for a picture as part of senior day festivities on March 29, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Photo: Jackson Bilawa, Utah Athletics)
“He has not shown up to a single practice, a single game,” Wessel said, speaking about Harlan. “We have one home game a year, we don’t ask for a lot, and they never have ever supported us in any way.”
“We have one home game a year that’s on campus, as in, like, a two minute walk from his office, and neither he nor Charmelle even made the time,” Griffin added.
A university spokesperson told KSL.com that Harlan was at the team’s first match (on Friday) but was “out of town” for the second day.
“Mark was present at a home match on the first day of their one home weekend, but he was out of town on that second day when they recognized their seniors,” the spokesperson said. “Sports supervisor Delaney Reilly was the formal representative for athletics.”
Despite that, the athletes said they loved being at Utah. They knew there were limited resources when they committed to Utah, but each came because they wanted to play at a school like Utah for the love of the game. Wessel and Griffin said it was the same for every other member of the team.
But a little more support would have gone a long way, Wessel said.
“It’s frustrating when (Harlan) makes this business decision that we need to cut our program when he has yet to show up,” Wessel said. “And I feel like it was just like an easy write-off for him.”
“I transferred into the University of Utah this year for my master’s program, and at the new student orientation, Mark Harlan promises each and every single student-athlete the best student-athlete experience in the country; and I can’t say I’ve had that here, like I don’t feel like he’s had our back or advocated for us in any capacity,” Griffin added.
And after that second meeting, hope for a reversal of the school’s decision has dwindled and become a reality to the athletes. But they remain optimistic for a change in direction.
Utah beach volleyball players Sonja Wessel (14) and Maeve Griffin (22) celebrate after winning a point against Boise State on March 28, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Photo: Jackson Bilawa, Utah Athletics)
Fighting to reinstate the program
Sitting in her hotel room in the Philippines, professional beach volleyball player and University of Utah alum Melissa Powell was frustrated by the news.
Earlier that day — just minutes before her competition, in fact — Powell saw the news that her former school was discontinuing the beach volleyball program.
“I was shocked, like this must be fake,” Powell recalled. “I kind of thought it was like a satire thing. And then I was like, of course they’d cut it, they don’t even care about the program at all. It’s not super shocking that they would take this decision.”
Powell had to shake the emotions off before her match, but said the feeling of shock never left her in the days that followed. “I just kind of let the anger kind of fester for a couple days,” she admitted.
“It was a mix of emotions — of not super shocked, because they don’t really care about the program, but also shocked because they just had their first top-25 year. And for a program with zero money, that’s really insane to accomplish,” Powell said.
And as someone who has followed her hometown collegiate program — even after following her husband, who played football, to the Houston area — Powell said she remained close to the program. For Powell, it’s the place she credits for her professional career.
“I don’t want to seem ungrateful, because I am grateful that they had the program,” Powell said. “It changed my life, because I would have quit volleyball if they didn’t have this program, and I wouldn’t be a professional athlete, and I wouldn’t have my business without them. So I don’t want to come off as like, ‘They never gave us anything,’ because they did give us a platform for the athletes.
“Even if they don’t give us a huge budget, just having a platform to play at such a big school as the University of Utah — it’s such an awesome school — is really great.”
Regardless of the decision, though, Powell had an offer for the University of Utah that could help the team: If the program could be reinstated, she’d let the team use her new Olympic facilities in Pleasant Grove for free to offset the perceived reasons to cut the team entirely.
They’d have world-class facilities, free coaching and training support, and a place to study while continuing their pursuit of the sport at a Division I school.
“It’s going to be a championship level facility, so if I have the means to host their trainings for free and not have the university have to worry at all about paying — if this is a money thing why they’re cutting,” Powell said. “I don’t see why getting a facility for free wouldn’t help the cause.
“I know the girls wouldn’t mind — cut the program or drive 30 minutes out of the way, right?”
But having off-site facilities not be a part of the campus community, where Utah could host tournaments or championship events, was part of why the athletic department felt the need to discontinue the program, according to Harlan’s initial statement.
Still, Powell believes her solution would solve most the problems the university faces in relation to keeping beach volleyball as a sanctioned sport. Upon returning to Utah, Powell formally submitted the offer to Harlan while also publishing it to Instagram, where it has picked up attention from the beach volleyball community.
But outside of the university confirming that the offer was received, Powell said she hasn’t heard anything more from the school and that it remains a waiting game.
The university, however, told KSL.com that “we’ve received a letter and have sent a response.”
While still in a sort of limbo, Powell made her case:
“Let me handle this,” Powell said, as if speaking to Harlan. “If this has been a headache for you or whatever is happening with this program, I can handle it for you. Like, let me take this off your plate. I would love to keep this dream alive and help these young women get the same experience I got. This is very important to me that women’s sports isn’t canceled.
“Is what we want really just men’s basketball and men’s football? Like, is that all we want to see in the collegiate level? Because that is kind of where we’re headed if we just look at it as a money perspective here. So I would really, really, really like the opportunity to show you, Mark, my facilities, my vision for this and how I can help.
“I can help give these athletes the championship experience that you’re looking for, and I’m offering this completely free, so I would love to talk at least; and if it doesn’t work out, at least we had a chance to sit down and chat about it and figure out a way to continue the dreams of these athletes and the recruits coming in.”
A compilation of 3D renderings of Beach Box, an indoor beach volleyball facility in Pleasant Grove. (Photo: Melissa Powell)
Hope for tomorrow
With the offer from Powell on the table, the beach volleyball athletes remain optimistic — especially as 5,300 individuals have signed a Change.org petition to help bring attention to the cause — but each recognizes that a reversal of the decision seems unlikely.
They’ll continue to fight, though, and work to help all those who put in the work at Utah.
“We have nothing to lose at this point — like we’re graduated, we’re done with our program, we’re moving on to the next chapter of our lives,” Wessel said. “It’s our duty to fight for these young women who have sacrificed so much for this team, for this university. They’ve never been in it for money. They’ve never gone to Utah being like, ‘Oh, I’m playing for the money.’ Like, they play for the pure love and joy that the sport brings and the sacrifices that they give for the organization.”
“I think at the end of the day, the best outcome for us is to be heard and to make sure that we’re advocating for the people that we love and for the people that are working hard and are representing the University of Utah,” Griffin said.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Federal budget bill could strip Pennsylvanians of Medicaid coverage, push rural hospitals to the brink
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown. HARRISBURG — President Donald Trump’s […]
This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at spotlightpa.org/newsletters/talkofthetown.
HARRISBURG — President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget bill could have a disastrous effect on the health of rural Pennsylvanians and the operations of the hospitals and other medical centers that care for them.
The federal budget proposal, which passed the U.S. House by a one-vote margin in May, calls for nearly $800 billion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade. It also includes a new 80-hour-per-month work or service requirement for Medicaid recipients between the ages of 19 and 64 who aren’t caregivers or who have disabilities. Among other changes, the bill would require verification of coverage eligibility every six months rather than annually.
While supporters of the budget bill argue that it will slow spending and safeguard government programs, critics say the cuts and new requirements will create more paperwork for states and make it harder to access essential care. Opponents also argue the changes would push struggling rural hospitals and other providers to the brink, and force them to scale back services or close entirely.
More than 3 million people in Pennsylvania — 23% — are covered by Medicaid, according to data from the state Department of Human Services, which administers the program. The agency estimates that more than 300,000 would lose Medicaid coverage under the proposal.
Val Arkoosh, secretary of the department, said the bill would not only hurt those losing coverage but “all of us who would face the real-life consequences of crowded emergency departments, increases in the cost of health insurance, and the catastrophic effects on economies and health systems in rural areas.”
More than 737,000 Medicaid recipients live in rural counties, where residents are typically older and more reliant on government-funded insurance programs. Such programs reimburse at lower rates compared to private insurance companies and haven’t kept up with inflation.
Cameron County Commissioner James Moate, a Republican, said the Medicaid reimbursement rate should have never been less than 100%.
“That’s why we have struggling hospitals,” he told Spotlight PA.
On average, Pennsylvania hospitals absorb a loss of 18 cents on the dollar for care provided to Medicaid patients, said Nicole Stallings, president and CEO of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, which represents more than 230 hospitals statewide. In rural communities, the average loss is 26 cents on the dollar, she added in a May statement.
“Medicaid plays a vital role in the health of rural residents, and it is important to preserve this funding so that families can continue to access the care they need for healthier lives,” said Douglas Winner, chief financial officer for Penn Highlands Healthcare, a nonprofit system with nine hospitals in rural counties.
Penn Highlands President and CEO Steve Fontaine has told lawmakers that consolidating with other health systems and expanding into new areas has helped facilities survive. This strategy, which has helped Penn Highlands diversify its patient and insurance bases, is why the system expanded into Centre County, where resident numbers are expected to grow, he told lawmakers last year.
Still, the health system has shuttered services and reported operating losses over the past year.
Winner said Penn Highlands is “greatly concerned” about the proposed Medicaid cuts.
“Rural hospitals have experienced substantial cost increases for labor, drugs, and supplies,” he said in a statement. “Coupled with decreasing volumes, inadequate reimbursement rates, and ongoing staffing shortages — recruitment and retention — we are struggling financially.”
Advocates worry the cuts in the federal budget will force rural hospitals to slash services even more or close altogether. And once facilities end a service or shut down, they rarely reopen, Stallings told Spotlight PA.
Community health centers could also be strained. These facilities, also known as federally qualified health centers, provide services regardless of someone’s ability to pay and primarily see patients who use Medicaid and PENNIE, the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace.
More uninsured people will likely lead to an increase in uncompensated care, said Eric Kiehl, director of policy and partnership for the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers. And these facilities are already strapped for resources, he told Spotlight PA.
A surge in demand could cause these health centers to shutter core services — such as medical, dental, or behavioral health — reduce hours, or close, Kiehl said.
Pennsylvania’s U.S. House delegation voted along party lines on the federal budget bill, with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing the proposal.
Medicaid spending totaled roughly $44 billion in fiscal year 2023. The federal government provided almost $28 billion of those dollars.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has said the state won’t be able to make up those dollars to support the Medicaid program. In a statement, Shapiro said he hopes “common sense and a concern for the people of Pennsylvania” will prevail in the U.S. Senate, where Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick disagree on aspects of the bill.
McCormick did not respond to a request for comment for this story. He has expressed support for the budget bill, which he says will reduce and slow government spending. During a Fox News forum, McCormick said he isn’t advocating for taking benefits from “vulnerable people” but is trying to ensure “people for whom the program was designed” benefit.
Fetterman called the plan “a bad bill,” telling Spotlight PA in a statement: “Republicans want to put more money in the pockets of the ultra-rich at the expense of hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who will lose access to Medicaid if this disastrous bill is passed.”
SUPPORT THIS JOURNALISM and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results.
SUPPORT THIS JOURNALISM and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results.
ACRE program in State College scales back amid funding cuts | Penn State, State College News
The Alliance for Creative Rural Economies (ACRE) program at The Rivet in State College lost nearly $70,000 in federal funding last month, ending a major source of support for local creative entrepreneurs. The funds, which were part of the Capital Readiness Program (CRP), a grant initiative administered by Bridgeway Capital and supported by the Minority […]
The Alliance for Creative Rural Economies (ACRE) program at The Rivet in State College lost nearly $70,000 in federal funding last month, ending a major source of support for local creative entrepreneurs.
The funds, which were part of the Capital Readiness Program (CRP), a grant initiative administered by Bridgeway Capital and supported by the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), were used to provide business development resources like expert coaching in business and management, webinars and stipends for each participant.
ACRE was designed to offer structured support to rural arts-based business owners, with federal support making this possible. While the program will continue in a reduced capacity, Janet Dillon said the loss of federal support poses challenges in maintaining the same level of service.
“Those service stipends would give participants an opportunity to work directly with an expert in a specific field,” Dillon, ACRE’s program coordinator, said. “They would have had a really terrific opportunity to get coached in areas that they might need the most help in developing their business, so that’s a really big loss to our cohort.”
While ACRE managed to salvage remaining virtual sessions with subject-area experts, various resources embedded into the program, much like the stipends, were collaterally cut through the budget being slashed.
Leigh Moore, of State College, Pa., works on a project in the workshop in The Rivet at Discovery Space on Thursday, May 29, 2025 in State College, Pa.
Alex Fischer
Since the cut, ACRE has had no communication with any officials. They were also given no early warning.
“We were caught off guard,” Dillon said. “Everyone has been reading the news, listening to the news (and) understanding that the federal government is making some very serious cuts to funding, to grants, but we didn’t have notice ahead of time that this was going to be affected.”
Michele Crowl detailed similar losses already being seen within the cohort. According to Crowl, ACRE has “already heard from participants that these losses are creating real setbacks in their progress and confidence.”
“Members of our ACRE cohort are skilled, talented artists striving to have their small businesses succeed,” Crowl, Discovery Space’s executive director, said. “This program allowed them to level up their business understanding.”
Ann Tarantino is a current member of the State College ACRE cohort. As a visual artist, Tarantino spent much of her life in urban areas, and the last twenty years in central Pennsylvania.
She described her first time walking into a room with the other ACRE cohorts as “edifying” — an immediate creative community that provided support otherwise rare in rural areas.
Tarantino said the stipend given to cohort members who completed the ACRE program was around $2500 per member, and she described it as similar to a “graduation gift.”
Now that the stipend is gone, Tarantino said she is readjusting her business plans.
“I was really excited to work on some marketing research for the particular market niche that my work lives in,” Tarantino said. “That was how I had planned to propose to use my service stipend, so I was really sad to lose that.”
Community members work on their pottery in the ceramics room in The Rivet at Discovery Space on Thursday, May 29, 2025 in State College, Pa.
Alex Fischer
Tarantino said this budget cut showed “a lack of understanding of the breadth and scope and nuance” of how artists make a living and merely exist in the world. She said ACRE “completely changed” how she operates the face of her business.
Similarly, BJ Watson said she had “a lot to gain” from engaging with ACRE. Watson is a potter and sculptor who within her work focuses on textural variety.
Watson said the unexpectedness of the budget cuts left no time to apply for other opportunities, subsequently leaving her with no backups to further benefit herself for the year.
“I don’t think (people) understand how little opportunity there is for rural entrepreneurship to begin with,” Watson said. “Adding in the creative element makes it so much more difficult.”
Watson also said ACRE is “special,” in that it focuses on the business behind the craft. The other opportunities she would have applied for would have been craft fairs, solo shows and fellowships, but “nothing that was concentrating on trying to further (her) art business as a small business owner.”
Margot Bevington is a full-time educator who works primarily in children’s and family music. As a new mother, she’d been in the process of switching gears to focus more on her business.
Bevington was hoping to develop a marketing campaign with ACRE for her upcoming album. With the impact of the budget cut rolling in, Bevington said she was discouraged by the loss of resources.
Though trying to stay optimistic about the funding cuts and her own business’ future, opportunities are scarce in rural areas, and the resources given by ACRE were irreplaceable, according to Bevington.
“I think for people working in rural areas, it’s especially hard because it does take a little bit more creativity and effort to be successful,” Bevington said.
ACRE is currently pursuing new grant opportunities and alternative funding sources to help offset the loss.
The Rivet is maintaining core elements of the program where possible, and continuing to support the current cohort through community engagement, like CentreGives, and remaining internal resources.
The cohort members all detailed the sense of artistic community within ACRE. Beyond marketing support and financial assistance, most of their emphasis was placed on the collective encouragement that came from working alongside like-minded artists.
For the cohort, that fellowship outweighs funding. The budget cut threatens both.
MORE NEWS CONTENT
Ruby Bjalme was selected as the next Penn State student trustee in May 2025. She will serve …
If you’re interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here.
Paul Finebaum Names College Football Teams With ‘No Chance At Success’ Amid NIL Changes
After months of speculation, Judge Claudia Wilken approved the House v. NCAA settlement on Friday night. It has set the stage for multiple changes that will alter the landscape of college football. It marks the beginning of the revenue-sharing era of college athletics, which will begin on July 1. Programs will be able to share […]
After months of speculation, Judge Claudia Wilken approved the House v. NCAA settlement on Friday night. It has set the stage for multiple changes that will alter the landscape of college football.
It marks the beginning of the revenue-sharing era of college athletics, which will begin on July 1. Programs will be able to share $20.5 million with student athletes, with each sport receiving a set percentage of that total amount. It is expected that the total amount will increase in future seasons.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum shared his thoughts on the future of college football during an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. Finebaum started by questioning the authority of the NCAA and the lack of enforcement that has plagued the sport over the past few seasons.
“To me, the most significant thing that is easy to digest is the NCAA is no longer in the enforcement business,” Finebaum said. “This is not a surprise because they really haven’t been in a long time, which makes me wonder, and I know this new attorney that’s in charge talks a good game just like the last group talked a good game, but is anyone really going to be serious about enforcement? And the answer is no.”
Since the settlement was approved, the College Sports Commission will be in charge of enforcement. The commission named former MLB executive Bryan Seeley as CEO shortly after the settlement was approved. Seeley is a former U.S. attorney and has served as the senior executive vice president of investigations since 2014.
Finebaum also hinted that the rich will continue to get richer, offering a bleak outlook for programs that are not among the traditional powers in the sport.
“Because there’s still loopholes, there’s still ways to cheat, and ultimately, I don’t think much has happened here except the top of the pyramid is going to continue to succeed,” Finebaum continued. “And if you’re in the middle or the bottom, you have virtually no chance at success.”
Finebaum’s pessimistic outlook prompted McElroy to ask if this signaled the end of an even playing field for mid-major programs.
“Greg, no one will ever admit that, but you’re 100 percent correct. And I really don’t know how most colleges will be able to stay in this lane,” Finebaum said. “I think we’ll see another big bang explosion. I’ve heard people talk about it’s time for the conferences to leave the NCAA, and that’s already happened.”
Bill Belichick Says He’s ‘Focused on Doing My Job’ at UNC amid Jordon Hudson Rumors
UNC football head coach Bill Belichick said he’s “really focused on doing my job” amid news and rumors regarding his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, per a news conference with reporters on Tuesday (h/t Ben Sherman of Inside Carolina). “Yeah, I don’t know. Look, I’m really focused on doing my job here at Carolina, to help our […]
UNC football head coach Bill Belichick said he’s “really focused on doing my job” amid news and rumors regarding his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, per a news conference with reporters on Tuesday (h/t Ben Sherman of Inside Carolina).
“Yeah, I don’t know. Look, I’m really focused on doing my job here at Carolina, to help our football team, and just to get better every day, to stack those days together, training days, preparation days, days out on the field. And we’ve done that. And our staff’s, again, done a great job of working hard to do that. So that’s my big focus. I mean, is there noise out there? We’ve always dealt with that. Really our job is to build the football team also build their individual career. So that’s really where we’re at.”
Last week, Meadowlark Media’s Pablo Torre’s went on Bill Simmons’ podcast and noted that people close to Belichick are questioning Hudson’s involvement with the program.
“What if I told you that [Belichick’s] inner circle of actual coaches on staff, including a certain Mike Lombardi, is deeply concerned about Jordon Hudson and her presence in the building?” Torre stated. Lombardi was named the general manager of the UNC program after Belichick became the Tar Heels’ head coach last December.
Torre, who has reported about Hudson and Belichick at great length over the past few months, also said in May that she was banned from UNC’s football facility.
That prompted this response from UNC.
There was also the now infamous and bizarre interview that Belichick had with CBS News in April to promote his new book, in which Hudson was in the background interrupting during various portions.
Hudson’s reported insistence on being involved in a previously planned project for Hard Knocks to cover UNC apparently put that to an end as well.
“Jordon Hudson, Belichick’s girlfriend, played an instrumental role in stopping the production, related to her request to be heavily involved in the project, according to multiple industry sources briefed on the negotiations,” Matt Baker, Andrew Marchand and Brendan Marks of The Athletic wrote in part on April 30.
Belichick was asked whether Hudson would be on the sidelines during games this year at the press conference (h/t David Ubben of The Athletic), and he provided this response.
“No, she doesn’t have any role in the UNC football program. But again, there’s been noise out there about a lot of different things. Our focus is day to day, getting better, stacking good days together.”
Belichick, an eight-time Super Bowl champion (six as a head coach, two as a defensive coordinator), is coaching in college for the first time in his life after nearly five decades in the pros. He’s looking to turn around a UNC program that went 6-7 (3-5 in ACC) last year. His first test will be at home against TCU on Monday, Sept. 1.
Paul Finebaum declares winner in House settlement case, warns of next step
The long-awaited House Settlement was finally approved by Judge Claudia Wilken early in June. Now, ESPN pundit Paul Finebaum sees that there is a clear winner of the agreement. For the short term, at least, Finebaum explained on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, that for the time being the Power Four commissioners won with […]
The long-awaited House Settlement was finally approved by Judge Claudia Wilken early in June. Now, ESPN pundit Paul Finebaum sees that there is a clear winner of the agreement.
For the short term, at least, Finebaum explained on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, that for the time being the Power Four commissioners won with the House Settlement. However, there is reason for concern on the horizon still.
“Today they did,” Paul Finebaum said. “And I think that’s why you see such bullishness from the four Power Four commissioners. I think what’s behind the curtain is what always concerns and keeps people that run college athletics up at night. If something is challengeable, you know enough and play golf with enough attorneys, it will be challenged. I don’t suspect, I know attorneys are sitting around right now — they’re not sitting, they’re actively moving — trying to figure out where the best route is, where the best lawsuit lies.”
In part of Judge Wilken’s decision, she shared that all the decisions in the House Settlement are challengeable in the court of law. That’s why Finebaum is concerned about further lawsuits, which could undo aspects of the settlement.
“I don’t mean to cast aspersions on the entire legal profession, although I will. They’re in business to make money as opposed to what I always thought they were supposed to do, which is protect people, defend people, and seek the truth and justice. But there will be a bevy of lawsuits and the same cats who filed this lawsuit are the ones I think you need to keep your eyes on,” Finebaum said. “And I think that’s where this is gonna get uncomfortable. Everybody’s speculating on where it goes.”
Even with the House Settlement, there has been a push for further changes within the sport. In particular, federal government involvement to set further laws regarding college sports. That even recently included Donald Trump meeting with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua. Still, even with all of that, one thing Finebaum doesn’t expect is more help from Congress.
“I think the second part of it is Congress. I heard everyone yesterday talk about the need to get Congress involved. Well, I don’t believe we’re any closer to that than we were the day before or a year ago or three years ago,” Finebaum said. “Because Congress is not a body made to make decisions. The reason why people like divided leadership is nothing ever gets done because people in business really don’t want anything to get done.”
The House Settlement is going to bring with it several major changes to the college sports world. That, notably, includes revenue sharing with athletes. It’s also going to impose roster limits on sports, new NIL restrictions, and lead to back damages being paid.
“Despite some compromises, the settlement agreement nevertheless will result in extraordinary relief for members of the settlement classes,” Wilken wrote in her 76-page final opinion. “If approved, it would permit levels and types of student-athlete compensation that have never been permitted in the history of college sports, while also very generously compensating Division I student-athletes who suffered past harms.”
Plenty of questions linger over college sports, even with the House Settlement in place. It forms a new enforcement agency called the College Sports Commission. On top of that, it contradicts several state laws, including one in Tennessee that allows schools and their NIL collectives to continue to pay above the cap. How successful it slows down third-party NIL deals also remains to be seen.
SB Nation Reacts: How will Arizona Wildcats baseball do at the College World Series?
2025 College World Series schedule (Charles Schwab Field; Omaha, Neb.; all times PT) Friday, June 13 Game 1: Arizona (44-19) vs. Coastal Carolina (53-11), 11 a.m., ESPN Game 2: Louisville (40-22) vs. Oregon State (47-14-1), 4 p.m., ESPN Saturday, June 14 Game 3: Murray State (43-15) vs. UCLA (47-16), 11 a.m., ESPN Game 4: Arkansas […]
WCF set as Thunder blow out Nuggets in Game 7 | SportsCenter
(via @nbcsportsauthentic/TT)
