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16-year-old refugee loses father to heart attack, drops out of school to support family

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) – A 16-year-old refugee from Afghanistan is carrying a heavy burden as he seeks the American Dream. Shortly after he became the sole breadwinner for his family, his father died of a heart attack. Waliullah Drmann, a 16-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, recently dropped out of Des Moines’ Roosevelt High School in […]

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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) – A 16-year-old refugee from Afghanistan is carrying a heavy burden as he seeks the American Dream. Shortly after he became the sole breadwinner for his family, his father died of a heart attack.

Waliullah Drmann, a 16-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, recently dropped out of Des Moines’ Roosevelt High School in his sophomore year and found a job.

“I have to take care of my family now,” Drmann said.

Waliullah Drmann, a 16-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, recently dropped out of high school...
Waliullah Drmann, a 16-year-old refugee from Afghanistan, recently dropped out of high school in his sophomore year and found a job. He is the sole breadwinner for his family.(Source: Family photos, KCCI via CNN)

His journey to the United States in 2021 with his father, mother and three siblings was marked by aspirations of a better future, but circumstances forced his path to change drastically.

Drmann’s father lost his job, and his mother and older sister are not able to find work. Homeless since December, the family recently found an apartment – only to lose Drmann’s father to a heart attack last week.

“We got problems like this, you know. Well, I’m working right now for my family to take care of them and stay strong with them,” Drmann said.

Though Drmann has taken over the role of provider for his family, his paycheck barely covers rent. Genesis Youth Foundation, a nonprofit organization looking to empower immigrant and refugee families in Iowa, is trying to help.

The organization’s executive director, Sam Gabriel, has launched a fundraising page for Drmann and his family. Gabriel fears they could easily slip through the cracks and find themselves homeless once again.

Despite the challenges, Drmann is determined to achieve his goals. With dreams of eventually graduating from high school and attending college, he holds on to the hope of a brighter future.



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Services announced for Dauphin County judge following July 4 death

A viewing and celebration of life for longtime Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge Michael J. Smith will take place this week. Smith, 72, died of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease on July 4 while riding his bike in Lebanon County, the Dauphin County Coroner’s Office said. A viewing is scheduled at the Matinchek Funeral Home and Cremation […]

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A viewing and celebration of life for longtime Dauphin County Magisterial District Judge Michael J. Smith will take place this week.

Smith, 72, died of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease on July 4 while riding his bike in Lebanon County, the Dauphin County Coroner’s Office said.

A viewing is scheduled at the Matinchek Funeral Home and Cremation Services Inc. in Middletown from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, July 11.

A tribute to Smith’s life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 12, at The Forum Auditorium, located at 5000 Walnut St. in Harrisburg. Visitation will start at 10 a.m.

Smith, born in Harrisburg on April 18, 1953, served nearly 50 years in public service roles. He worked with Swatara Township police from 1977 to 2005, when he was appointed to Magisterial District Court 12-2-01 on July 29, 2005.

He was serving his third term at MDJ 12-2-01, which covers Lower Swatara Township, Paxtang and the bulk of Swatara Township.

Before his time as a judge, Smith earned degrees from Middletown Area High School, Harrisburg Area Community College and Virginia Commonwealth University.

During his time as an officer, Smith spent 11 years on the Dauphin County Crisis Response Team (SWAT) and primarily worked as a detective focused on sexual assault and child abuse cases.

He also worked as a physical fitness instructor at the Municipal Police Academy at HACC and previously served as a sniper, his obituary said.

According to his obituary, Smith was an avid cyclist who biked his age in miles on his birthday every year.

In 1988, he won a gold medal in cycling at the International police Olympics in Sydney. At the time of his death, he was a member of the South Mountain Velo Club and frequently competed in cycling events across the East Coast.

Smith was also an ice hockey enthusiast, holding season tickets for the Hershey Bears for many years and playing on the Swatara Eels hockey team, which primarily consists of police officers.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for contributions to be made in Smith’s name to PA Wounded Warriors or the Middletown Alumni Association. Condolences can be sent online at www.matinchekfuneralhome.com.

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Arts Fest 2025 Friday event, entertainment lineup | State College News

From live performances to a craft beverage expo, the 58th Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts has a variety of entertainment and activities slated for day two. Here’s what you can expect Friday. Art, of course The annual Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and includes a range of original […]

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From live performances to a craft beverage expo, the 58th Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts has a variety of entertainment and activities slated for day two.

Here’s what you can expect Friday.

Art, of course

The annual Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and includes a range of original works. Shoppers can browse paintings, ceramics, photography, jewelry and more.

Additionally, the festival’s street painting component will take place along Foster Avenue at South Allen Street. Artists are creating 6-foot by 4-foot chalk murals throughout the day.

Children can participate by creating their own 14-inch by 14-inch square painting in the Young Artists Alley for a $5 fee. Painting concludes at 8 p.m.

Silent auction

More than 160 items are available in this year’s Silent Auction, located on South Allen Street. The auction includes donations from participating festival artists, and raises money to support programs included in the festival.

Craft beverage expo

The Central Pennsylvania Tasting Trail is hosting a craft beverage expo from noon to 8 p.m. at Sidney Friedman Park. Attendees can sample regional craft beverages while listening to live performances in the park. Entry requires a $5 cover and valid photo ID.

For the kids

The Kids Zone in MLK Plaza offers a break area from the festival. Children can enjoy crafting, yard games and mural painting.

Live performances

  • 10 a.m. at Old Main Lawn- Yoga Lab
  • 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Allen Street- Chip Mock (additional cost involved)
  • 11 a.m. at Schlow Library- The Music Academy
  • Noon at Sidney Friedman Park- Adam Hallacher Septet
  • Noon at Pollock- Biscuit Jam
  • 1 p.m. at Schlow Library- The Music Academy
  • 1 p.m. at Willard- Jeff Mamett
  • 1:30 p.m. on Allen Street- Wanderlost
  • 2 p.m. at Pollock- Below Centre
  • 2 p.m. at Sidney Friedman Park- PennSoulvanians
  • 3 p.m. at Schlow Library- The Music Academy
  • 3 p.m. at Willard- Conner Gilbert
  • 3:30 p.m. on Allen Street- Making State
  • 4 p.m. at Pollock- Black Cat Belly Dance
  • 4 p.m. at Shell- Astral Shakedown
  • 4:30 p.m. at Sidney Friedman Park- The Triple A Blues Band
  • 5 p.m. at Willard- Big Red & Zoe Makenna
  • 5:30 p.m. on Allen Street- Urban Fusion
  • 6 p.m. at Pollock- Hops & Vines
  • 6:30 p.m. at Shell- Os Mutantes
  • 6:30 p.m. at Sidney Friedman Park- Chivalrous Crickets
  • 7 p.m. at Blue Brick Theatre- Happy Valley Improv (additional cost involved)
  • 7:30 p.m. on Allen Street- Ted McCloskey & the Hi Fi’s
  • 8 p.m. at State Theatre- Rosanne Cash with John Leventhal (additional cost involved)
  • 9 p.m. at Shell- Velveeta
  • 9 p.m. at Sidney Friedman Park- The Plate Scrapers
  • 9 p.m. at Blue Brick Theatre- Happy Valley Improv (additional cost involved)
  • 9:30 p.m. on Allen Street- Habbina Habbina

MORE ARTS FEST COVERAGE


'It was really beautiful and colorful' | Arts Fest 2025 in full swing

The sun beat down on the pavement, and the busy sidewalk bustled with people of all ages sto…

 

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Athlete NIL deals with donor-backed collectives rejected

Camp Randall Stadium is seen during an NCAA college football game between Wisconsin and Miami of Ohio, Sept. 12, 2015, in Madison, Wisconsin. (AP photo | Aaron Gash) The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools Thursday saying it had rejected deals between players […]

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Camp Randall Stadium is seen during an NCAA college football game between Wisconsin and Miami of Ohio, Sept. 12, 2015, in Madison, Wisconsin. (AP photo | Aaron Gash)

The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools Thursday saying it had rejected deals between players and donor-backed collectives formed over the past several years to funnel money to athletes or their schools.

Those arrangements hold no “valid business purpose,” the memo said, and don’t adhere to rules that call for outside NIL deals to be between players and companies that provide goods or services to the general public for profit.

The letter to Division I athletic directors could be the next step in shuttering today’s version of the collective, groups that are closely affiliated with schools and that, in the early days of NIL after July 2021, proved the most efficient way for schools to indirectly cut deals with players.

Since then, the landscape has changed yet again with the $2.8 billion House settlement that allows schools to pay the players directly as of July 1.

Already, collectives affiliated with Colorado, Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia and others have announced they’re shutting down. Georgia, Ohio State and Illinois are among those that have announced plans with Learfield, a media and technology company with decades of licensing and other experience across college athletics, to help arrange NIL deals.

Outside deals between athlete and sponsor are still permitted, but any worth $600 or more have to be vetted by a clearinghouse called NIL Go that was established by the new College Sports Commission and is being run by the auditing group Deloitte.

In its letter to the ADs, the CSC said more than 1,500 deals have been cleared since NIL Go launched on June 11, “ranging in value from three figures to seven figures.” More than 12,000 athletes and 1,100 institutional users have registered to use the system.

But the bulk of the letter explained that many deals could not be cleared because they did not conform to an NCAA rule that sets a “valid business purpose” standard for deals to be approved.

The letter explained that if a collective reaches a deal with an athlete to appear on behalf of the collective, which charges an admission fee, the standard is not met because the purpose of the event is to raise money to pay athletes, not to provide goods or services available to the general public for profit.

The same would apply to a deal an athlete makes to sell merchandise to raise money to pay that player because the purpose of “selling merchandise is to raise money to pay that student-athlete and potentially other student-athletes at a particular school or schools, which is not a valid business purpose” according to the NCAA rule.

Sports attorney Darren Heitner, who deals in NIL, said the guidance “could disproportionately burden collectives that are already committed to spending money on players for multiple years to come.”

“If a pattern of rejections results from collective deals submitted to Deloitte, it may invite legal scrutiny under antitrust principles,” he said.

On a separate track, some college sports leaders, including the NCAA, are seeking a limited form of antitrust protection from Congress.

The letter said a NIL deal could be approved if, for instance, the businesses paying the players had a broader purpose than simply acting as a collective. The letter uses a golf course or apparel company as examples.

“In other words, NIL collectives may act as marketing agencies that match student-athletes with businesses that have a valid business purpose and seek to use the student’s NIL to promote their businesses,” the letter said.



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Top 10 NHL scorers from Minnesota

At the end of each NHL season, Let’s Play Hockey looks at the top scorers who hail from the State of Hockey. These players were either born in or played youth and high school hockey in Minnesota. Former Woodbury youth player and Hill-Murray High School star Jake Guentzel led all Minnesotans for the second straight […]

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At the end of each NHL season, Let’s Play Hockey looks at the top scorers who hail from the State of Hockey. These players were either born in or played youth and high school hockey in Minnesota.

Former Woodbury youth player and Hill-Murray High School star Jake Guentzel led all Minnesotans for the second straight season with 80 points with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Guentzel was in his first full season with he Lightning and notched 41 goals. Former Edina two-sport star Anders Lee was second in goals with 29 and finished third in points. Warroad’s Brock Nelson turned in another solid year with 26 goals and 56 points for the New York Islanders and Colorado Avalanche.

Here is a list of the top 10:

No. 1 Jake Guentzel

Woodbury, MN – Tampa Bay Lightning

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Once again Jake Guentzel led all Minnesotans in scoring in the NHL after posting an impressive 80-point season in his first season with Tampa Bay. Guentzel led all Minnesotans in goals with 41 and assists with 39.

At age 30, Guentzel has now played in 600 career regular season games in the NHL and has scored 268 goals and added 303 assists for 571 points, almost averaging a point per game.

Guentzel is the son of former Gopher hockey assistant coach Mike Guentzel, and was born in Omaha, Nebraska, but played youth hockey in Woodbury. He played two seasons at Hill-Murray High School, notching 75 points in 2011-12 before joining the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL. There he had 29 goals and 44 assists in 60 games.

He played college hockey at Nebraska-Omaha and as a senior was an assistant captain and scored 19 goals and 46 points in 35 games.

He was drafted in the third round (77th overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013. He played in Pittsburgh for eight seasons and won a Stanley Cup with them in 2016-17.  He has also been named to the All-Star team twice. This past season was his third 40-goal season of his career. He signed a 7-year $63 million contract with the Lightning this past offseason. His 80 points this season ranked tied for 26th in the NHL.

 

Brock Nelson suited up for Team Tria in Da Beauty League opener Wednesday, July 9 after a stellar season with the NY Islanders and Colorado Avalanche.

No. 2 Brock Nelson

Warroad, MN – New York Islanders/Colorado Avalanche

80GP-26G-30A-56PTS

Nelson, a native of Warroad, finished second in scoring amongst Minnesotans with 56 points in 80 games splitting time between the New York Islanders and the Colorado Avalanche. Nelson scored 26 goals and added 30 assists. He ranked No. 101 in the league in scoring.

The 33-year-old graduated from Warroad in 2010 where he notched 39 goals and 34 assists in 25 games as a senior. That summer he was choses in the first round (30th overall) by the New York Islanders. He transitioned directly to the University of North Dakota where he played for two seasons before signing a pro contract. He played a season at Bridgeport in the AHL before joining the Islanders full time in 2013-14. He played parts of the next 12 seasons with the Islanders, serving as assistant captain the past four. He had three straight 30-goal seasons form 2021-2024.

This past season he was traded to Colorado late in the season. He has also been a member of Team USA in international competition. In his career, Nelson has played 920 games in 14 seasons and scored 301 goals and added 286 assists for 587 career points. If he plays a full season in 2025-26 he will surpass the 1,000-game mark, something that has been achieved by 13 other Minnesotans. Nelson signed a 3-year contract with the Avalanche on June 4, reportedly worth $22.5 million.

No. 3 Anders Lee

Edina, MN – New York Islanders

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Anders Lee continues to be a consistent force for the New York Islanders and was a longtime teammate of Brock Nelson before Nelson was traded to Colorado late last season. Lee scored 29 goals this past season and added 25 assists for 54 points, ranking 106th in the league.

The 34-year-old played two seasons with Edina High School graduating in 2009 where he scored 20 goals and added 46 assists. He was drafted that summer in the sixth round (152nd overall) by the Islanders. He played one season in the USHL for Green Bay and had 35 goals and 66 points in 59 games.

He attended the University of Notre Dame where he played three seasons before joining the Islanders late in the 2014 season. He has played 13 seasons for the Islanders and served as team captain for the past seven. He has nine seasons where he has scored 20 or more goals and has scored more than 30 once and 40 once. In his career he has played in 841 games and has 289 goals and 218 assists for 507 points. Lee will be in the final year of a 7-year $49 million contract during the 2025-26 season. He will become an unrestricted free agent after next season.

 

Boeser, a native of Burnsville, was recently resigned by Vancouver.

No. 4 Brock Boeser

Burnsville, MN – Vancouver Canucks

75GP-25G-25A-50PTS

Boeser had another stellar season with the Canucks, notching 25 goals and matching with 25 assists in 75 games, ranking 127th amongst NHL scorers. A native of Burnsville, MN, Boeser played at Burnsville High School for two seasons before joining Waterloo of the USHL where he racked up 35 goals and 68 points in 57 games. He was drafted in 2015 in the first round (23rd overall) by Vancouver.

After playing two seasons at the University of North Dakota, Boeser jumped to the big club in Vancouver late in the 2017 season. This past season was his ninth with the Canucks where he has played in 554 games and scored 204 goals and added 230 assists for 434 points.

Boeser recently re-signed with he Canucks for seven years and $50.75 million. He is a six-time 20-goals scorer and had a career-high 40 goals in 2023-24.

No. 5 Bobby Brink

Minnetonka, MN – Philadelphia Flyers

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Minnetonka native Bobby Brink finished his third season with the Flyers and finished fifth amongst Minnesotans in scoring in the NHL with 12 goals and 29 assists in 79 games.

Brink played at Minnetonka through 2018 and was part of the state championship team, and then joined the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL as well as played in the USNDTP. In 2019 he was drafted in the second round (34th overall) by the Flyers after being named Forward of the Year in the USHL after scoring 35 goals and 68 points in 43 games.

He attended the University of Denver where he put up solid numbers and was a member of the 2022 National Championship team, scoring 57 points and becoming a Hobey Baker Award Finalist. He signed with the Flyers after the title win and played 10 games late in 2022 notching four assists. The next season he played in the AHL and had 28 points in 41 games. He played 57 games for the Flyers in 2023-24, scoring 11 goals and adding 12 assists. This past season was his first full season with the Flyers, playing in 79 games.

Brink, 23, is currently signed to a two-year, $3 million contract through next season.

No. 6 Casey Mittelstadt

Eden Prairie, MN – Boston Bruins

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Former Mr. Hockey winner Casey Mittelstadt is with his third NHL team having been traded to the Bruins form the Colorado Avalanche last season. Between the two clubs he played in 81 games and had 15 goals and 25 assists.

Mittelstadt was one of the top prospects to come out of Minnesota in the past decade. After a great career at Eden Prairie High School, he was drafted No. 8 overall in the 2016 draft by the Buffalo Sabres. He went on to play the University of Minnesota for just one season in 2017-18 before joining the Sabres late in the 2018 season. He played parts of seven seasons with the Sabres before joining Colorado where he played a season and a half before joining the Bruins this past season. At age 26, he has played in 438 NHL games and scored 81 goals and added 155 assists for 236 points. Mittelstadt is in the second year of a three-year contract worth $17.25 million. He will be an unrestricted free agent in 2027.

No. 7 Neal Pionk

Hermantown, MN – Winnipeg Jets

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Pionk, a native of Hermantown, MN, is the top-scoring defenseman amongst Minneosta players with 10 goals and 29 assists this past season for the Winnipeg Jets. Pionk played two seasons at Hermantown High School and then joined the USHL in 2013-14 and played two full seasons for Sioux City, serving as captain in year two. He went on to play at the University of Minnesota-Duluth for two seasons.

Undrafted, he was signed by the New York Rangers and played 28 NHL games in 2017-18. He played 73 games for the Rangers in 2018-19 and then was signed by the Winnipeg Jets for the 2019-2020 season. He has played in 536 NHL games and notched 44 goals and 212 assists for 256 points and is a +22 for his career. He recently signed a six-year $42 million extension with the Jets.

No. 8 Noah Cates

Stillwater, MN – Philadelphia Flyers

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Noah Cates went viral when he scored a spin-o-rama game winning goal against Hill-Murray in the section finals to lift the Stillwater Ponies to the state tournament. The team crashed the glass and the post-game celly became a must-see for hockey fans everywhere.

Since then Cates has done nothing but gotten better. After his career at Stillwater, he was drafted in the fifth round by the Flyers, 137th overall. He played two seasons for Omaha in the USHL and then played four years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he was captain his final two seasons and won a national title in 2019. He was signed by the Flyers in 2022 and played 16 games with the parent club and scored five goals and added four assists.

Cates, 26,  just finished his fourth season with the Flyers and in his career has played in 235 games and has 40 goals and 62 assists.  On June 3 he signed a 4-year $16 million contract with the Flyers.

No. 9 Jackson Blake

Eden Prairie, MN – Carolina Hurricanes

80GP-17G-17A-34PTS

Blake is the youngest player to crack the top 10 in scoring for Minnesota players. At age 21 he scored 17 goals and added 17 assists in 80 games played for the Carlina Hurricanes.

Blake played two seasons at Eden Prairie High School before joining the Chicago Steel of the USHL where he put up strong numbers (61-27-50-77) in his second season there. He joined the University of North Dakota in 2022-23 and played two seasons for the Fighting Hawks with 102 points in 79 games and being named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award in 2024.

Blake played one game for Carolina following his season at North Dakota, and just finished his first full season with the Hurricanes, suiting up for 80 games. He is currently signed to a 3-year, $2.72 million contract.

No. 10 Brady Skjei

Lakeville, MN – Nashville Predators

82GP-10G-23A-33PTS

Skjei is a native of Lakeville, MN who spent a good portion of his amateur career in USA Hockey’s development program. He was drafted in 2012 by the New York Rangers in the first round (28th overall) by the New York Rangers. He played three seasons for the University of Minnesota and made his NHL debut for the Rangers during the 2015-16 season. He played five seasons with the Rangers and then five seasons with Carolina before joining Nashville this past season, appearing in all 82 games for the Predators.

He has played in 691 NHL games and scored 78 goals and added 202 assists for 280 points. He is currently signed to a 7-year, $49 million contract with the Predators.

 

 

 

 

 



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College football news: Deion Sanders calls for salary cap for NIL

Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com. Deion Sanders may just be the biggest star in the college football world, yet even he believes NIL needs a facelift. Sanders jumped from Jackson State to Colorado ahead of the 2023 season, and last season, the Buffaloes controlled their own destiny in the College Football Playoff in the […]

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Deion Sanders may just be the biggest star in the college football world, yet even he believes NIL needs a facelift.

Sanders jumped from Jackson State to Colorado ahead of the 2023 season, and last season, the Buffaloes controlled their own destiny in the College Football Playoff in the penultimate week of the regular season.

Despite having two of the top players in the sport in son Shedeur and Travis Hunter, it seems Sanders believes his squad would not have had much of a chance in the playoffs.

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Deion Sanders runs on field

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders runs onto the field before a game against the North Dakota State Bison at Folsom Field. (Ron Chenoy/USA Today Sports / IMAGN)

At Big 12 media day this week, Sanders called for a salary cap in college athletics to regulate NIL.

“That’s what the NFL does. The problem is, you’ve got a guy that’s not that darn good, and you could give him a half-million dollars, and you can’t compete with that. That don’t make sense,” Sanders said.

“All you have to do is look at the playoffs and see what those teams spent, and you understand darn near well why they’re in the playoffs. It’s kind of hard to compete with somebody that’s giving $25, $30 million to a freshman class. It’s crazy. We’re not complaining. … But what’s going on right now don’t make sense.” 

Deion sanders in boulder

Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes jogs around the field before a game against the Oregon State Beavers at Folsom Field Nov. 4, 2023, in Boulder, Colo. (Dustin Bradford/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Sanders added that a recent court settlement is not enough to regulate deals.

“I wish it was truly equality,” he said. “Now they go back to doing stuff under the table. They go back to the agents. Now you’ve got parents trying to be agents. You’ve got the homeboys trying to be agents. You’ve got the friends trying to be agents. You got a lot of bull junk going on. And, quite frankly, we’re sick of it. I’ll say it for everybody: We’re sick of it.”

Sanders’ Colorado program has had some of the most player turnover since his arrival.

Deion Sanders coaching

Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes celebrates a touchdown against the TCU Horned Frogs during the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium Sept. 2, 2023, in Fort Worth, Texas.  (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Colorado went 4-8 after winning its first three games in Sanders’ first season, and they went 9-4 in his second season.



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Schlossman: College hockey’s arms race has pushed its resources way beyond the CHL’s – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — When the NCAA announced a rules change last November that would allow Canadian Hockey League players to retain college eligibility for the first time in decades, the Medicine Hat Tigers were on a nine-day road trip. They played five games in 11 days. Star prospect Gavin McKenna had virtually no opportunity for […]

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GRAND FORKS — When the NCAA announced a rules change last November that would allow Canadian Hockey League players to retain college eligibility for the first time in decades, the Medicine Hat Tigers were on a nine-day road trip.

They played five games in 11 days.

Star prospect Gavin McKenna had virtually no opportunity for practices or workouts due to the bus rides and games.

It was way back then — long before he started fielding six-figure name, image and likeness (NIL) offers — when the idea of playing college hockey began to become real for McKenna and those close to him.

McKenna largely pushed his NCAA recruitment aside during the season, keeping his focus on winning a championship with Medicine Hat.

After the season ended June 1, McKenna did four Zoom calls, made two on-campus visits and ultimately announced Tuesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter that he will play for Penn State this fall.

The ensuing swarm of media coverage has been focused on McKenna’s NCAA hockey-record NIL deal. The Herald confirmed with sources that the deal hit at least $500,000.

Penn State also had the largest offer.

But McKenna’s decision to leave the CHL for college was about much more than NIL.

NCAA athletics programs have been in an arms race for more than two decades now.

College teams build their rosters entirely through recruiting. They have to convince the best players to come to their school.

To do that, they try to offer players what they want — the best life experience possible and a developmental infrastructure to help them achieve their goals beyond college.

Schools have invested big money to try to one-up their rivals.

In the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, Omaha and Colorado College have built new arenas in the last 10 years. St. Cloud State (2013), Miami (2014), Denver (2018) and North Dakota (2014 and 2022) have had multi-million dollar renovations recently.

Minnesota Duluth’s arena is only 15 years old. Western Michigan has a new one on the way.

The arms race goes beyond arenas.

North Dakota, for example, has a nutrition program and a cook at Ralph Engelstad Arena to make meals for the players. It has a sleeping area, a cryo chamber, a hot tub, a cold tub, a sauna, one of the largest high-altitude training rooms in the world, a puck-shooting room and a state-of-the-art weight room.

UND has a sports scientist, a strength coach, a sports dietician, a sports psychologist and academic advisors on staff.

“Let’s face it,” Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas said on the ’32 Thoughts’ podcast last month, “in Ottawa, where I live, there’s a lot of North Dakota alums that play there now. What they had at NoDak, it was a step down in terms of facilities and resources going to the NHL. And that’s not a shot at Ottawa. That just speaks to the different world that a place like the University of North Dakota hockey setup is compared to everything else. You can’t think of ‘How can we compete with it?’ Because you’re not going to get very far there.”

UND has two or three bus trips in the NCHC. The rest of the time, it travels by charter airplane. The players are often home after games by 1 a.m., even if they’re playing across the country.

Not every college hockey team charters flights to road games, but the traditional powerhouse teams do.

CHL teams, on the other hand, largely build their rosters through drafts.

Sure, at times, they recruit against the NCAA and United States Hockey League for players, but their rosters are draft-based and trade-based.

Medicine Hat did not have to win a fierce recruiting battle for McKenna. The Tigers had the No. 1 pick and drafted him. Erie did not have to win a recruiting battle to get Connor McDavid. They drafted him.

The CHL has benefited from a system that keeps players there, too.

CHL players don’t become free agents. They can’t tour the league and pick their favorite spot. They can’t advance to the American Hockey League until age 20 (or if they’ve played four years in major juniors). They’ve been ineligible for college.

There haven’t been many viable alternatives for those who can’t make the NHL as teenagers — and very few can.

So, there hasn’t been a need for an arms race in junior hockey — nor is it set up to handle one.

NCAA hockey teams are less like traditional hockey teams and more like massive academic institutions that sponsor athletics. They have dozens of people who raise funds from thousands of donors for the university and its athletic department. State schools receive state funding, too, and are non-profit organizations.

Funding for junior hockey teams is up to the owner or ownership group. People aren’t keen to donate money to owners.

As the arms race ignited in college athletics, it has lapped the CHL in a lot of areas.

When CHL players come on college visits, they are blown away by the setups. Few, if any, CHL players who take college visits are opting against the college route.

In February 2012, after UND lost a few high-profile committed recruits to the CHL, former UND head coach Dave Hakstol told the Herald the NCAA should examine the possibility of opening up the CHL. Hakstol felt, with all of UND’s amenities, he would be able to lure top CHL players to Grand Forks.

Almost nobody in the NCAA backed Hakstol and there was no serious discussion about it.

But Hakstol was right.

And in Year 1 of the CHL being open, UND will have a first-round pick (Cole Reschny) and a future first-round pick (Keaton Verhoeff) on its roster from the CHL.

The buzzword you’ll hear from both sides is “development.”

For decades, CHL personnel and fans proclaimed it was the best developmental league in the world, the only place for high-end future stars, and many scoffed at people who suggested that top players could develop just fine in college.

That should have ended when Jonathan Toews, the No. 1 overall pick in the Western Hockey League Draft, opted to go to UND, was a captain in the NHL at age 19, won three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals and became the youngest member of the Triple Gold Club in hockey history. But it didn’t.

There will continue to be arguments and debate about which route is best — even though players don’t have to choose, they can do both.

It will come back to “development.”

So, what makes a place ideal for development? It’s coaching, competition and resources.

There are terrific coaches at both levels.

The competition is tougher in the NCAA — the players are older and stronger. Last year, Alex Weiermair tallied two points in nine games at Denver and was healthy scratched at times. He went to the CHL midseason and averaged more than a point per game. Meanwhile, McKenna had 129 points in 56 games. What good is going back to that league for him? He’s outgrown it.

When it comes to resources, the college athletics arms race has pushed NCAA teams way beyond the CHL — and it’s not just the traditional powerhouses. Bemidji State has tremendous training facilities. Sacred Heart has one of the nicest arenas in the country. Canisius shares facilities with the Buffalo Sabres.

This week, Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino made another age-old argument in support of staying in the CHL over playing college hockey: “I think it’s important you get as many games as possible at this age.”

But fewer are thinking that way.

McKenna played 86 games last year and rode a bus throughout Western Canada. It left little time for practicing and developing strength.

This season, he’ll play around 45 games while he flies charter planes. Utilizing a college strength program will help him at the next level. It’s something that would have benefited Connor Bedard.

There’s another important element about the NCAA and CHL battle that few discuss: The life experience in college is fun. It entails so much more than hockey. You’re on a vibrant campus with thousands of other people your age. You live with your best friends. You have countless options for activities.

Word will soon get back to others in the CHL about the away-from-the-rink college experience and lifestyle.

McKenna’s NIL deal, the hot talking point, is an extreme anomaly. Nobody else is in his ballpark.

If people think CHL players are choosing college strictly because of NIL money, they’re missing the point. It helps. But there’s so much more to it than that.

College hockey teams haven’t spent the last two decades telling everyone they have the best developmental league in the world. They were building the infrastructure to make it so.





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