President Donald Trump played golf with two prominent college sports figures last weekend.

[Editor’s Note: The House v. NCAA settlement was signed by Judge Wilken the evening of Friday, June 6. Universities can begin paying its athletes directly on July 1 with an annual cap of $20.5 million per school and increase every year over the next decade.]

WILMINGTON — UNCW is in the early stages of developing a new basketball arena and potential concert venue, a step-up for a team increasingly gaining more recognition on the national level.

READ MORE: In its infancy, UNCW NIL program is providing athletes money but also real-life work experience

Last fall, UNCW Athletics launched a feasibility study into upgrading Trask Coliseum, either through renovation or a new replacement stadium. The UNCW Board of Trustees approved either option as part of the university’s new 10-year master plan in August 2024.

UNCW hired Conventions, Sports & Leisure Internationl to conduct the study — the evaluation of a new tennis is also included in the scope of work — and provide a report of its funding; the contract is for $90,000. 

UNCW’s men’s and women’s basketball teams compete in Trask, built in 1977, only six years after the opening of the college’s oldest dorm Galloway Hall, which was torn down last year. 

The most recent improvements to the 5,200-seat venue have been a $2-million renovation in 2011, which included the installation of a video board and LED courtside boards; new LED lighting was installed in 2013. Though structurally sound, the building remains dated, UNCW Athletics Director Mike Oblinger told Port City Daily in an interview on May 30.

“Some of the amenities that other buildings, newer buildings, enjoy — we just don’t have that capability,” Oblinger said. “Mostly it’s around the fan amenities. It’s concessions, it’s food quality; we don’t really have a true area for fans to buy gear and team-shop and things like that.” 

Oblinger noted Trask doesn’t offer premium seating options either, such as suites or club seats that offer an enhanced viewing experience for a higher ticket price. As the teams gain more acclaim — the men’s basketball team made it to the first round of this year’s NCAA championship, where it lost to Texas Tech — these coliseum enhancements are aimed at further enriching the fan experience.

The vision for UNCW’s new arena aims to be similar to other NCAA Division I schools in the UNC System, such as UNC Chapel Hill’s Dean. E Smith Center (opened in 1986) and N.C. State’s Lenovo Center (opened in 1999). Both offer multiple concession and merchandise areas surrounding the court, along with other food vendor stands dispersed throughout. The Lenovo Center is also home to the Carolina Hurricanes ice hockey team and regularly books A-list music artists, including Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Post Malone.

CSL is exploring hosting concerts at the new arena, as Trask has done in the past. It has hosted Frank Sinatra, The Righteous Brothers, Darius Rucker and the Goo Goo Dolls.

Oblinger said the team has not decided yet on a new build or renovation, which would displace the teams. Any new structure would have to fall in the general vicinity of Trask’s current 15,000-square-feet footprint at the front of campus.

In fact, UNCW hasn’t decided if it’s moving forward with a new arena at all. Oblinger said a lot of financial decisions, not just at UNCW but across NCAA athletics, are riding on what’s called “the House decision.” 

Grant House and Sedona Prince v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, et al is a class action lawsuit against the NCAA and five athletic conferences. Two student athletes sought name, image, and likeness (NIL) damages and an injunction to force the NCAA and affiliated athletic conferences to lift restrictions on revenue-sharing from broadcast rights. 

The NCAA voted to settle the lawsuit for $2.75 billion in May 2024 and agreed to a revenue-sharing model, allowing member institutions to distribute up to $20 million to Division I athletes that have played since 2016. It would also allow direct payments from schools to athletes and increasing regulation of NIL deals.

The settlement is an attempt to level the playing field four years after NIL compensation was legalized, meaning student athletes can now make brand deals and get paid. The settlement will curtail high-profile programs from outspending opponents in attempts to attract players and likely reduce the amount of money athletes can earn, particularly from collectives organized by school booster clubs. 

Judge Claudia Wilken is expected to rule on validating the settlement any day now. It is supposed to take effect July 1. 

“I think if you talk to my peers throughout the country, a variety of facility projects would either be put on hold or paused or eliminated altogether because of the revenue-sharing potential that the House settlement might bring,” Oblinger said. 

If approved, athletes will essentially be able to take a cut of the money that comes in from media rights deals, sponsorships and revenue generated from tickets, food and merchandise sold at sports arenas. 

“If we’re going to continue on and do a renovation of a building, well, then, that can’t be at the detriment of not having the ability to compete with NIL in that space,” Oblinger said. 

In the meantime, CSL and UNCW have sent out a survey to college alumni, season ticket holders and others in the UNCW Athletics database to gauge what they would like to see in a new arena.

Oblinger said they are still reviewing feedback from the survey now and didn’t give many details about it last week. Oblinger did share overall there were positive responses, with everyone in agreement that an update to the coliseum should be made.

Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.

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President Donald Trump played golf with two prominent college sports figures last weekend.

HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) – Summer may be here, but that isn’t stopping hockey players from getting onto the ice.

“My last time on the ice was April, and I broke my collarbone,” 8th grader Isacc Haugland said. “This is my first time back on the ice after that.”

Haugland has been itching to play hockey again. He’s played since he was four years old and has wanted to play for even longer.

“It’s kinda just been a family thing,” Haugland continued. “Both my older brother and older sister played hockey. I’ve just wanted to play hockey since I was, like, two.”

The BR.ICE Hockey Development program is letting him get back in the game. The program started last year in Houghton and wrapped up its first program in Marquette last month. Haugland is joining 175 other players between 6 and 18 years old to sharpen their skills across several programs.

“Each program is different,” BR.ICE Hockey Development Owner Raymond Brice. “Our elite programs are progression programs for varsity athletes only. We want to push those kids to move on to the next level, teaching super detailed skills… and then for our younger groups, we’re trying to teach foundational skills. We want to preach good habits.”

The program is being held at Michigan Tech University’s MacInnes Student Ice Arena this year. Haugland is no stranger to the arena. He moved to the area from Ohio two years ago after already attending MTU hockey camps for several years. While currently playing on Calumet’s middle school hockey team, he hopes one day to wear the black, yellow and white.

“I’d like to go play college hockey, hopefully for Tech,” Haugland added. “One of the reasons we moved up here is multiple people in my family are looking towards going to Tech. I want to see if I can get a scholarship or at least play some juniors hockey.”

There is a very limited number of open slots still open for this year’s program, which runs until August. Costs vary depending on which program you sign up for, ranging from $300 to $610. To view openings, click here.

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Congressman Michael Baumgartner ripped the recent House Settlement and called for President Donald Trump to “save college sports.” He called it an “unsustainable model” for college athletics.

The argument is that this new settlement will only enrich the power conferences, such as the Big Ten and SEC. Baumgartner’s new act claims it’ll be the roadmap to fixing college athletics.

As The Athletic’s Chris Vannini pointed out, Baumgartner is from Spokane and a friend of late-coach Mike Leach. It appears the call for President Trump to help in this process is of utmost importance.

“The House settlement locks in an unsustainable model that enriches the power conferences at the expense of everyone else – walk-ons, women’s teams, Olympic sports,” Baumgartner said in a statement. “And just like Teddy Roosevelt saved college football in 1905, President Trump can step in to save college sports today. My Restore College Sports Act is the roadmap, with fair revenue-sharing, rationalized conferences, and reasonable student compensation.”

President Trump has been involved in trying to change college athletics for the better. He created a commission on college sports and recently played golf with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua. What comes of it remains to be seen considering Baumgartner claimed the power conferences, such as the one Sankey is in charge of, will be the downfall of the rest of college athletics.

Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported President Trump’s meeting with Sankey and Bevacqua could ultimately lead to action from the White House or even expedite Congressional negotiations over college sports legislation. The president created a commission and selected a chair group that would oversee the look to solve the issues in college athletics. President Trump even wanted to tap former Alabama head coach Nick Saban to lead the charge. The commission work was paused two weeks ago.

All of this is on the heels of the House Settlement which now allows colleges and universities to directly pay their athletes. It was a near $3 billion settlement.