July 8, 2025

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Gavin McKenna’s Decision Puts an Exclamation Point on an Old Hockey Debate

by Adam Wodon/Managing Editor (@chn-adam-wodon)

Gavin McKenna’s commitment to Penn State is college hockey’s “drop the mic” moment.

It was already building, and there will be other big names after him, but when, for the first time ever, a so-called “generational talent” decides to leave Canadian Major Juniors for the NCAA, then it’s game over.

When the rule changed allowing Major Junior players to still be eligible for the NCAA, everyone knew it would open up the door to hundreds of 20-year olds to come to college hockey programs. It would flood the NCAA with more talent than ever before.

But initially, no one was quite sure what to expect out of 18-year olds. Would Canada’s top talent want to come to the NCAA? Would college hockey continue to get players like Macklin Celebrini, Owen Power and Adam Fantilli — guys who spent a year in the USHL to retain NCAA eligibility because they wanted to play college hockey? Instead, would that kind of player just go to Major Junior and never step foot in the NCAA?

Well, we have our answer. At first it was a trickle. Then it was a flood. Then McKenna put the exclamation point on it.

Young players, their families, their agents, and even most of the NHL executives are saying loudly and clearly — the NCAA is the best next-level progression for a player’s development path.

To someone who has been around college hockey for 35-plus years, this is somewhat mind-blowing.

Do you know how many times I’ve heard over the years — especially from Canadians — that Major Junior was “obviously” the best route to the NHL. They played more games, there were better players, and that’s just the way it is. It was considered a given, and to challenge this dogma, was to receive nothing but sneers. Obviously I wasn’t the only one hearing this, this was the widespread prevailing wisdom in hockey for decades.

In Canadian Major Junior inner circles, they’re still saying it. But no one is listening now.

When I was working in the minor leagues, our coach was a former NHL center. I was hired for a broadcasting job based off a resume tape of the 1997 NCAA semifinal between BU and Michigan. I didn’t hide my fondness for NCAA hockey, and didn’t think I had to. I wasn’t saying anything negative about any other path, or the minor leagues. But these old-school NHL guys just couldn’t contain themselves, giving me constant grief about college hockey. This coach said flat out to me that college hockey players were — and I quote — “junior B pukes that couldn’t make major junior.”

Mind you, we had about six or seven former NCAA players on our roster, and won a league championship, so … insert shrug emoji.

I don’t know if everyone in pro hockey was that extreme, but it was closer to what most NHL execs thought than not.

In 1998 — just 1 NCAA player was taken in the entire first round of the NHL Draft.

Gradually over the years, the quality of play in the NCAA improved, and for better or worse, more and more blue chip talent came in. (I say “better or worse,” because … see below.)

Next year, it’s expected that McKenna and Keaton Verhoeff will go 1-2 in the NHL Draft. Verhoeff is another 17-year old who is going from the WHL to North Dakota next season. College hockey has had 1-2 in the NHL Draft before, including 2024 with Macklin Celebrini and Arytom Levshunov, and 2021 with Owen Power and Matty Beniers.

But this is different, because these players are making a conscious decision, after already being in Major Junior, to leave those teams, because they believe playing in the NCAA for one season is better for their hockey development.

I never believed that old conventional wisdom myself. But the exodus of Major Junior’s top-end talent to the NCAA, in their draft year, or draft-plus-one season, completely obliterates that belief once and for all. It’s over. Hockey people now believe that the NCAA model — fewer games, more practices, competition against older, bigger players — is better for development after those initial junior years. This may become even more obvious in the next couple weeks if NHL teams that just drafted CHL players, steer them towards the NCAA for one year, as is being discussed.

It’s hard not to be a bit smug about it all at this point, given all the grief absorbed over the years. 

And who can forget all the poaching of NCAA players to Major Junior over the years, with some players reportedly enticed by under-the-table money. The NCAA was never able to fight back. Now it can, and it’s winning. So no one south of the border is shedding a tear for the CHL teams.

I have no idea what the future holds. It’s possible, if not likely, that the CHL adjusts and finds ways to keep these players in the future. But for right now … 

Drop the mic.

* * *

Of course, beside the insanity of hockey’s next likely superstar choosing to play in college, the conversation has also revolved around the money, for better or worse.

We don’t know if Gavin McKenna is coming to college because of the NIL money, or if he would have come anyway — like Celebrini, etc… — because it’s genuinely a better path. We’ll probably never know that, and at this point, it probably doesn’t matter. But do you really think any of these guys would leave Major Junior if they thought playing in the NCAA would hurt them? In many cases, NHL teams are openly encouraging them to go.

Some may find the whole enterprise distasteful, but no one should be singling out Penn State in particular. It’s playing by the same new crazy set of rules as everyone else. It’s trying to make a splash, and parlay last year’s Frozen Four appearance into something bigger. And why not?

Penn State has always been a program on track to eventually play in the big-boy recruiting pool with the likes of Michigan, Wisconsin, Boston College and Boston University. No reason why, even without all these changes, it wouldn’t have happened eventually.

The Frozen Four appearance, and the ability to give out all this NIL money, may have fast-tracked this trajectory, but it was coming.

So, feel free to lament the overall state of affairs if you find it distasteful. But targeting Penn State specifically over this, is foolish and unfair.

It is fair to ask, however, what this all means for the national championship aspirations of Penn State, or any of the teams targeting this high-end talent.

As is well-discussed by now, no team that relies on a good amount of one-and-done type of player, has ever won a national championship. Many Big Ten schools, and BU and BC, have come close in recent years, but it still hasn’t happened. There’s been a constant debate of whether those schools should not rely so heavily on that type of player. You need depth. You need the commitment and passion of four-year players. By the same token, it’s hard to say no to those blue chippers if they want to play for you.

So now we’ve just ratcheted that up to another level. And all the teams bringing in these high-end Major Junior players are going to be in the same circumstance as teams that brought in “regular” first-round type talent in recent years.

There’s another aspect to this too: Some teams are bringing in these players really late in the game. School starts next month, for heaven’s sake. That means players who had already been recruited and committed, sometimes for years, and were aching to play for that university, will now be cast aside at the last minute. That is not fun at all to those players and families.

And how do you manage a roster of players, who now know how much money their teammate is getting, in a one-and-done situation? Will these locker room issues cause a problem? Are you better off without that?

Will the talent be amped up so high with these teams, that one will finally get over the hump anyway, despite the drawbacks? Or will the schools like Denver, Western Michigan and Quinnipiac — who, let’s face it, are also bringing in Major Junior players, but not at that level — continue to win national championships with older rosters, with more four-year players?

* * *

To many, the idea that college hockey has “won,” may be an empty victory. Everyone talks about “growing the game,” but at what cost?

As excited as many in college hockey may be to have this influx of talent, there are others who are put off by how things have become. I can totally understand that. Which side you fall on, is a personal choice. Maybe you’re torn.

I honestly wish it were different. I believe in amateurism and the traditional college athletics values. I’ve never been naive to the bevy of issues in college sports, but the underlying principles I always have believed in — playing for a school, being part of the student body, staying for four years through thick and thin. 

Now with the money, and even moreso, the unlimited transferring, college sports has gotten turned on its head. It’s fascinating, but for many, also not the same. That’s not an “old man yelling at the cloud” opinion, that’s a genuine love for what made college sports different than pro sports.

Frankly, in my perfect world, there’s no such thing as NIL money, cutthroat recruiting, and one-and-done players.

But, as a life-long hockey fan, as well, I’m not gonna lie: Having all these big-time players coming through college hockey is pretty exciting. And it will be fascinating to see all the dynamics play out.

The free agent frenzy is here in college hockey, and it won’t end any time soon. Either jump ship and stop caring about the sport as a fan, or embrace the ride.

Drop the mic puck.

After a Hobey Baker-winning season, two consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, numerous game-winning goals and two memorable years with the Michigan State Spartans, junior forward Isaac Howard has signed his entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers. He will forgo his senior year of college hockey to begin his professional career.

Following MSU’s postseason loss to Cornell in the NCAA regional, discussions emerged about Howard potentially signing his entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who drafted him 31st overall in 2022. However, Howard and the Lightning could not reach an agreement, ending the possibility of a contract. Tampa Bay ultimately traded him to the Edmonton Oilers in a one-for-one deal for a first-round prospect.

Howard’s junior season with the Spartans was one for the record books. He tallied 52 points, including 26 goals and 26 assists, helping MSU capture back-to-back Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles, along with consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. Howard was a dominant force in the green and white.

The Wisconsin native played a crucial role in MSU’s recent success and collected an impressive list of postseason honors. He was named to the First Team All-Big Ten, earned Big Ten Player of the Year, was the Big Ten Scoring Champion, and took home Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. He was also recognized as Academic All-Big Ten.

Beyond the conference, Howard became the first Spartan since Ryan Miller in 2001 to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. He was also named an AHCA First Team All-American and received the Jim Johannson College Hockey Player of the Year award.

As part of the trade, the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired Sam O’Reilly, Edmonton’s late first-round pick in 2024, taken 32nd overall. O’Reilly played 62 games for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, recording 28 goals and 43 assists, and helped the team win the Memorial Cup.

Howard’s next step will be joining the Oilers for training camp in September, where he will have the chance to earn a spot on the opening-night roster and officially begin his professional career.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Isaac Howard, the 2025 Hobey Baker Award winner, will forgo his remaining eligibility at Michigan State and sign a three-year entry level contract with the Edmonton Oilers beginning in 2025-26. Originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the 31st overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Howard was traded to Edmonton late Tuesday night.
 
Howard is set to become the 80th Spartan to play in the NHL, and joins Artyom Levshunov (Chicago Blackhawks), Karsen Dorwart (Philadelphia Flyers), Mason Appleton (Detroit Red Wings), Mackenzie MacEachern (Vancouver Canucks), Torey Krug (St. Louis Blues) and Jeff Petry (Florida Panthers) as a former Spartan currently under NHL contract.
 
“All of us within the Michigan State hockey program want to congratulate Ike on signing with the Edmonton Oilers and thank him for his two years as a Spartan,” said Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale. “Growing up, every young hockey player dreams of reaching the NHL and we’re incredibly proud of Ike for achieving that dream.”
 
Howard is coming off a junior campaign in which he turned in one of the most impressive individual seasons in program history. His career-best 26 goals and 52 points helped him rank first nationally in points per game (1.41) and third in goals per game (0.70). He was the third Spartan all-time to hoist the Hobey, joining Ryan Miller and Kip Miller, and was the fourth Spartan to earn USA Hockey’s College Player of the Year Award. Howard’s season ended with laundry list of accolades that also included First Team AHCA All-American, Big Ten Player of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors.
 
In Howard’s two seasons at Michigan State, he helped guide Michigan State to a monumental turnaround. MSU became the first team in conference history to win the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in the same year in back-to-back seasons. MSU compiled a 51-17-7 record (.740) in those two seasons and earned back-to-back No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. In 2023-24, the Spartans returned to NCAAs for the first time since 2012 and picked up their first NCAA win since 2008.
 
At the conclusion of his junior season, Howard was named to Team USA ahead of the 2025 IIHF World Championships where he aided the United States in winning a gold medal for the first time in 92 years.
 

The special place that high school sports and performing arts has in the hearts of millions of Americans was celebrated last week at the 106^th NFHS Summer Meeting in Chicago.

Heading those events was the induction of the 42^nd class into the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame. As with many previous groups, the accomplishments of the inductees were extraordinary, but their love, appreciation and dedication to high school sports were even more compelling.

As Caryn Schoff-Kovatch said, being involved in high school spots “was a magical time.” Schoff-Kovatch, who played basketball at New York’s St. Johnsville High School in the 1990s and remains the state’s all-time leading scorer in girls basketball, was one of four former high school athletes in the 2025 class.

Others included Anna Maria Lopez, a multi-sport athlete who led St. Mary’s Academy in Portland, Oregon, to two state volleyball championships; Tim Dwight, who helped City High School in Iowa City, Iowa, to its first state football championship and won 12 individual track titles before outstanding college and professional careers; and Prince Amukamara, a three-sport standout at Apollo High School High School in Glendale, Arizona, before his days in the NFL.

While these athletes had stellar college and professional careers, they were all about celebrating their accomplishments in high school and how high school sports set them up to succeed in life – not just sports.

“The excitement of going to school at City High School was something special,” Dwight said. “Now, to go into the school and see the trophies for our state championships is special. You’re proud of what the teams you were on accomplished. It’s special to win a state football championship. It was special to win a state track championship.”

“Playing for your high school – one word that comes to mind is pride – putting on your school colors,” Amukamara said. “I really cherished the time in high school and built a lot of long-lasting friendships.

“Sportsmanship is very important and says a lot about your character. It’s not saying you can’t play with “swag,” but you have to do it in a respectful manner. I learned about that at the high school level. If you can’t get sportsmanship down in high school, it’s going to affect your college and professional careers because coaches are looking for good guys.”

There were three high school coaches in this year’s class with a combined total of 133 years of experience and 39 state championships. The consistent message from all three coaches was their love for helping high school students succeed in life as well as on the court or field.

And one of those coaches remains active at 83 years of age. Jim Ciccarello has been coaching girls track and field in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for more than 55 years and has led teams at Manzano and La Cueva high schools to 11 state titles.

“My immediate family is myself and my two brothers, but my extended family is the 70,000 kids I’ve taught all these years,” Ciccarello said. “That’s my motivation. I consider these kids as part of my family. I’m so proud that I’ve been in high school track and field for 56 years. I’ve coached thousands of athletes, and they keep coming back. I never jumped 7 feet in the high jump, but I taught others to do that. And I’m proud of all our teams have accomplished over the years.” 

The other coaches in the class were Linda Lampkin, who was the most successful girls volleyball coach in Missouri history with 13 state championships at Hermann High School, and Phil Savitz, who retired last year after 44 years as the winningest soccer coach in South Carolina history with 15 state titles at Irmo and River Bluff high schools.

“What I love about high school soccer is the relationships you get to develop and how deep the relationships become,” Savitz said. “When you get to see these players every single day, and when you get to talk to them about academics, commitment, character, communication. You see them every day – in the weight room, at practice and games, and in team meetings – it really resonates with me. Club sports, I like, but high school sports, I love. I feel what players can get from high school sports every day is greater than the club scene. Both are important, but the benefits of high school sports you take on the rest of your life.”

Others in the class were Lloyd Hisaka, a leader in officiating in Hawaii for more than 50 years; Ron Laird, who won two state basketball titles as a coach in Wyoming before leading the Wyoming High School Activities Association as executive director for 19 years; Jane Berry-Eddings, the performing arts inductee in the class from Salem, Oregon, who has directed the Oregon state speech and debate championships for 40 years; and Diane Wolf, a coach and state administrator from Idaho who for 25 years was one of the biggest contributors to the development of NFHS national spirit rules.

The ability of high school programs other than sports to make a difference and change lives was evident at last week’s conference as well. The Opening Ceremony featured the presentations of the NFHS National High School Spirit of Sport Award and the National High School Heart of the Arts Award.

Jack Punswick, a state champion swimmer from Blue Valley West High School in Overland Park, Kansas, who battled cancer, received the National High School Spirit of Sport Award. Punswick, who won the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) Class 6A state title in the 100-yard breaststroke as a junior in 2024, began his senior year at Blue Valley West with a cancer diagnosis that suddenly threatened his promising future as a swimmer.

During his months of treatment, his connection to the school’s swim team provided Punswick with the determination to rally and attempt to defend his state title at the 2025 KSHSAA Swimming Championships. He continued to practice even though his body was struggling to maintain his elite level of performance.

At the state championship in February, Punswick swam to a second-place finish in the 100 breaststroke. Although unable to claim a repeat title, he celebrated the fact he was even at the meet and able to compete. While cancer presented Punswick with a formidable challenge, he also viewed his ordeal as an opportunity to appreciate “daily wins” for himself and others. It has inspired him to pursue a career in physical therapy, where he can devote his life to improving other people’s lives by helping them rebound from their setbacks.

The recipient of the Heart of the Arts Award was Eden Coppersmith, a student at Paxton High School in Nebraska. Amazingly, through the speech program at Paxton and the school’s coach, Crystal Fox, Coppersmith was able to alter the course of her life that had been defined by silence and, by her senior year, become a confident speaker, participant and medalist at meets.

Coppersmith was born with Spina Bifida and selective mutism, an anxiety disorder, and faced significant challenges from a young age. In addition to life in a wheelchair, her journey to speak began with a single word. By fifth grade, she managed only three words in class the entire year. In sixth grade, her voice disappeared entirely. She wanted to speak and be heard, but her mind refused to let her talk.

And then came the decision that would open the door to a new life – Eden announced that she wanted to join the school’s speech team. Although she had never spoken in class, she wanted to be heard. And thanks to the opportunity to be a part of the Paxton High School speech team, it happened.

Truly, high school sports and performing arts are much more than games, concerts and championships – they are helping to shape high school student participants into successful citizens and leaders for years to come.

Read all NFHS Voice columns here.

Steve Spurrier has spent his life scoring points and taking shots at opponents. The Old Ball Coach turned Florida into a college football force, and pissed off a lot of people along the way. He has a way of turning a seemingly straightforward statement into a passive-aggressive barb, and that has not changed since he stepped away from the sidelines.

It took Kentucky almost 20 tries before the Wildcats finally defeated Spurrier in 2010. One loss to the Wildcats didn’t force Spurrier to pull any punches. After a 54-3 blowout win over Kentucky in 2011, Spurrier said, “Kentucky has a heck of a punter, I know that.”

Kentucky forced Spurrier into early retirement. The Wildcats beat South Carolina in consecutive seasons. Four weeks after a 26-22 defeat at Williams-Brice Stadium, Spurrier abruptly announced he was stepping away from the program.

The Old Ball Coach is spending his retirement life as an advisor for the Florida Gators. He can’t stay away from a microphone, speaking regularly on Pat Dooley’s podcast.

During this week’s show, Kentucky was a topic of conversation. The Wildcats just successfully flipped wide receiver Denairius Gray from Auburn, who was the third four-star talent Hugh Freeze lost in ten days.

“Kentucky fans are pointing out that their coach doesn’t play golf,” Pat Dooley pointed out on Another Dooley Noted Podcast.

“Kentucky?” Spurrier interjected. “They don’t have a lot of wins to brag about right now.”

I feel partially to blame for this stray from the Old Ball Coach. In late June, AL.com took a closer look at Hugh Freeze’s golf game following the rash of decommitments and found that Freeze was logging more scores than any other coach in the SEC. They also pulled Mark Stoops’ scores from Lexington Country Club, where he only played two 18-hole rounds in the month of May. It led me to make a quip, “Mark Stoops is too motivated to play golf.” Deputy Doofus ran with it, and now the joke has entered Spurrier’s crosshairs.

Let Spurrier make all the jokes he wants from the sidelines. It’s only going to give Mark Stoops one more reason to be motivated ahead of the 2025 season.

Sign up for the KSR Newsletter to receive Kentucky Wildcats news in the most ridiculous manner possible.

FRISCO, Texas — Within a small booth three stories above the practice field of the Dallas Cowboys, Kenny Dillingham crosses his legs, leans back in a swivel chair and details exactly what’s happening across the current college football recruiting landscape.

“We don’t know the rules,” the Arizona State head coach says. “The settlement passed, but who knows what Deloitte is going to clear. Until there is clarity, you’re living in limbo.”

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And there’s something else.

“You are seeing a lot of people lie and promise fake things,” he says.

The Big 12 on Tuesday kicked off three weeks of conference football media days from the Cowboys’ domed practice facility just north of Dallas, its head coaches, administrators and players jaunting across the turfed field to various media stations on Day 1 of a two-day event. It unfolded in front of a backdrop of what happened a week ago: the implementation of the NCAA’s historic settlement of an antitrust case — a move that has ushered in direct athlete-revenue sharing.

A similar theme emerged from the eight head coaches here Tuesday, one likely shared by the eight others who get their turn Wednesday: The Wild West, they say, remains wild.

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The finger pointing has already begun.

Schools are making big enough contract offers to recruits that they cannot possibly remain under college football’s new compensation cap, some coaches believe. Others are guaranteeing third-party NIL deals as part of the total compensation package to athletes — something against new revenue-share rules.

A few are doling out cash from their collectives to high school players in an attempt to induce their commitment — also against new rules. And those schools rich enough to have front-loaded millions of dollars in the spring to compensate this year’s roster — while perfectly within the rules — now hold an advantage in building next year’s roster.

“I don’t understand what rules everybody is playing by,” Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield says. “The whole point of this was for us all to be playing by the same rules, but we are not. We are not playing by the same rules, particularly this past spring when everybody is apparently front-loading where others are having to now spend their [revenue-share] cap.”

Meanwhile, the newly minted entities charged with enforcing these policies, the College Sports Commission and its Deloitte-run NIL clearinghouse, are bogged down in legalities tethered to the settlement, those familiar with the process tell Yahoo Sports. In fact, dozens and potentially hundreds of submitted third-party NIL deals — some, perhaps, from booster collectives — remain under review as college leaders negotiate with House plaintiff lawyers over a final set of cap-circumvention rules and penalties. Plaintiff lawyers, most notably co-lead attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and Steve Berman, hold authority and approval rights to a variety of settlement enforcement concepts, including rules and penalties that, in the end, are likely to determine final decisions from the College Sports Commission.

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These rules identify a variety of possible ways schools may attempt to circumvent the cap, including the guaranteeing of third-party NIL compensation in offers to athletes, NIL contracts struck with those in high school and particulars around the NIL clearinghouse’s primary enforcement mechanisms for booster-backed contracts — that they are required to be within a “fair market-compensation range” created by Deloitte and must be for a “valid business purpose.”

Contacted this week, Kessler told Yahoo Sports that attorneys are working with major conference administrators to finalize the approval of what some term as “anti-circumvention” or “gamesmanship” rules.

How new NIL deals are processed

In the meantime, certain submitted NIL deals remain in limbo. That doesn’t go for all of them.

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Of the more than 1,200 deals submitted to the clearinghouse so far, about one-third have been approved — many of them with little to no issue, those with knowledge tell Yahoo Sports. About 80 have been denied and are likely, if they haven’t already, to be resubmitted (deals can be resubmitted once).

Kessler says that no deals have advanced past the second denial stage and into the appeals phase, where athletes present their case before a neutral arbitrator. College executives and attorneys are finalizing a group of eight arbitrators — many of them former judges, Kessler says — to serve as an independent arbitration group.

As college administrators and attorneys embroil themselves in legal negotiations, football coaches and general managers are preparing for the first-ever Aug. 1 official NCAA “offer date,” when schools can formally offer revenue-share contracts to prospects (some have already, informally).

On the recruiting trail across the country, Big 12 coaches say they are witnessing schools finding new ways, in the revenue-share era, to circumvent the cap and skirt the rules — perhaps even in their own league.

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“I’ve seen these agents coming out and saying, ‘It’s a guaranteed three-year deal for a high school kid.’ One in our league right now,” Satterfield said. “How?”

Said UCF head coach Scott Frost: “Only comment I have is about some of the offers going out to freshmen. Those people must not be planning on there being a cap because they wouldn’t be able to spend that.”

How do schools use front-loading?

In what’s been no secret, Texas Tech has used riches to fuel what’s become a recruiting juggernaut. The athletic program has spent more than $50 million on its athletes in both front-loaded money this past spring plus revenue-share dollars this coming academic year. That’s at least the front-loading of $30 million plus $20.5 million in rev-share.

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Front-loading refers to the literal loading upfront of player contracts as school collectives paid out all or a majority of deals before the settlement’s implementation date of July 1. Deals paid out on July 1 and after are subject to the new enforcement system specifically created to prohibit booster and collective compensation.

Joey McGuire, the Texas Tech head coach, describes his recruiting approach as the byproduct of high-level university support, careful planning and an “aggression” that all schools should be taking to compete with the bluebloods of college football.

“What we do as a conference is so important, but we also got to do it off the field,” he told Yahoo Sports in an interview. “We’ve got to recruit at this level if we are going to continue to be in the same conversation as the SEC and Big Ten. We’ve got to understand as a conference that we’ve got to commit to that. We have committed to that at Texas Tech and eliminated any people saying, ‘Well, they can’t do it there.’”

They are far from alone in front-loading. Booster collective spending on athletes in June was more than 800% higher than last June, according to Opendorse, an NIL platform used by dozens of collectives. According to another NIL platform, Teamworks, collectives distributed a whopping $71 million to athletes in June using their system.

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“When you front-load, that gives you the ability to have money in the rev-share this year to make big-time payments and close out guys,” says Baylor head coach Dave Aranda. “That’s what I’m seeing right now. There’s a fair amount in our league that did it. There are a couple of schools here today.”

There is a downside, Dillingham says.

“Most places are so win now and most coaches aren’t at a place they want to stay at,” he said, “Either you’re at the top, and it’s win now or as long as you can. Or you’re at a place where it’s win now and you can leave and get out. The front-loading allowed coaches to win now to take another job.

“But at the end of the day, all these people who front-loaded, eventually, you’re gonna have to tell players they have to take less. You may have set a standard for what people should be paid. Your starters may expect a certain amount of money when in reality they cannot functionally earn that amount of money if you want to build a team.”

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All of that, of course, is contingent on the College Sports Commission and Deloitte-operated NIL clearinghouse policing deals strictly enough.

“I don’t know how Deloitte is going to act,” Dillingham said, “but I know there are some future challenges where people don’t get the money that they were told they’d get.”

Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman didn’t have the luxury to front-load, he said.

“There are schools [that will] have $50 million rosters,” Klieman said. “You can’t be mad about it because it was legal, but that’s why this first year will be interesting once we end the season. What will happen moving forward? That’s where it’s going to get really interesting. That’s what we are concerned about: How do we reel this in? Is Deloitte going to really stay on top of that?”

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Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, one of the people intimately involved in decisions around the new enforcement entity, holds confidence that the system will work.

“In theory, the settlement should create a more level playing field and enforcement will effectively determine if that’s the case or not,” he told Yahoo Sports. “I think the onus is on the commissioners to reinforce that there needs to be a change in behavior.”

So what’s next?

Already, there are cap-circumvention issues emerging in contracts and promises made to athletes.

For instance, at SEC spring meetings in May, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart told Yahoo Sports that schools are promising high school recruits and transferring players third-party NIL deals as part of their compensation package despite an important fact: None of those deals have been approved by the clearinghouse.

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Some school-affiliated booster collectives are currently compensating high school players — upward of $20,000 a month — to remain committed and eventually sign with their school, Smart and other coaches say.

Dillingham said he’s seen contracts that also permit schools to end or reduce a player’s salary over the course of the deal, something reported earlier this spring by Yahoo Sports via Illinois law professor Michael Leroy, who uncovered more than 90 different player contracts through open-records requests.

“These NIL contracts read like employee handbooks that reserve a right of employment at will for employers,” he said. “They don’t use ‘at will’ but the concept is, they can terminate the contract.”

In one ACC revenue-share contract obtained by Yahoo Sports, the school includes in the total compensation to the player a figure for “NIL” of $25,000 annually. Next to that figure is a line: “Subject to the Deloitte Clearinghouse.”

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“You don’t know if your NIL collective deals will go through and the school can change your rev-share dollar amount at any time,” Dillingham said. “Well, then what are we actually doing?!”

Many coaches are asking that question and plenty more.

Asked Tuesday if he’s heard feedback from the NIL clearinghouse, Frost smiled: “No. Have you?”