The aura has been lost, and in year two of the DeBoer era, it is more important than ever for some of that to return to the Alabama football program. With the NIL and transfer portal era, there is a lot more parity in college football, and because of that, we’ve seen Alabama be less dominant and opponents having more confidence than ever before that they can beat Alabama. We saw that in 2023 with how Quinn Ewers came into Bryant-Denny Stadium and dominated, and it was seen far too much last season.

This summer so far, we’ve seen Diego Pavia’s social media response to Ryan Williams, and the newest hot topic this week is what Thomas Castellanos had to say about the week one matchup. I get it, players should have confidence in their abilities and teams being able to beat Alabama, but it’s a different world when Vanderbilt legitimately feels like they are on the same level, or a team coming off a 2-10 season has any bulletin board material to give going into the season. The jury is still out on the Crimson Tide going into this season, and because of that, now more than ever, teams feel like it’s time to get their licks back.

Everything seems to still revolve around what Nick Saban did and what he still does to help the program. Though his presence is important and his run will always be held in high regard, it is important that in Kalen DeBoer’s second season that we start to see less of that focus on the past. The big question is, how do you do that? And the simple answer is to win games, and that starts with winning convincingly in Tallahassee, winning all three revenge games at home in 2025, and ending the season much stronger than 2024 with at least one playoff game. The path of transition is far from easy, but if Duke was able to transition from Coach K to John Scheyer without much, if any, drop off, there is no doubt the same can be done in Tuscaloosa.

Rick Pitino took St. John’s from being a team that was nowhere to be found in the NCAA Tournament conversation to a No. 2 seed in just two seasons.

How did Pitino get the Red Storm to rise to prominence so quickly? Living in the reality of NIL and the transfer portal, rather than fighting it.

“I felt the change was here and quitting, resigning, complaining is of no value,” Pitino said about NIL on Wednesday’s edition of “The Herd.” “You have to win the day. You have to get the job done, and I just felt that ‘Okay, we’re going to use it to the best of our abilities at St. John’s.’ 

“So, we’re an urban school; we’re a computer school; we play in Madison Square Garden as our home court: How can we maximize our potential by embracing the NIL and the transfer portal? We went away from high school basketball players, although we have taken one or two to develop, but by and large we’ve gone after older players.”

Pitino also expressed that parents have never been more involved in the recruiting process than now.

On the basketball front, Pitino explained what his practices look like.

“We have player development sessions every morning, Monday through Friday, where we go three-to-four different sessions with four players, and we try to take players like a Donovan Mitchell, a Terry Rozier who maybe’s not ranked top-20 or 25 in high school, and they’ve got a little bit of a weakness. Donovan Mitchell had a weakness with the arc on his jump shot. Everybody’s got a weakness coming out that’s not top 10, so we try to take those player development sessions and make the players better,” Pitino said.

“Our practices, yes, are very difficult, but I will say this: They’re not long. We don’t go more than two hours, but we go hard for two hours. We’re up and down for two hours. If I make a comment or a correction, it’s going to be within 12 seconds, and then we’re moving on because conditioning is a gigantic part of our style of play.”

After going 20-13 in the 2023-24 season, Pitino and the Red Storm put together a 31-5 campaign highlighted by winning the Big East regular-season title with an 18-2 conference record, winning the Big East Tournament and claiming a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. While St. John’s was upset in the second round by No. 10 seed Arkansas, the 2024-25 season marked the first time in six years that the program had made the NCAA Tournament and the first time in 10 years that it had done so without having to play in the First Four round.

On the personal front, Pitino won the 2024-25 Naismith, AP and Big East Coach of the Year awards. St. John’s is Pitino’s sixth full-time men’s college basketball head-coaching gig, with the Hall of Famer previously coaching three seasons at Iona before leaving for Queens in March 2023. 

St. John’s had a gargantuan transfer portal class this offseason, reeling in former five-star recruits and now sophomores Ian Jackson (previously of North Carolina) and Joson Sanon (previously of Arizona State), former Providence forward Bryce Hopkins, former Cincinnati forward Dillon Mitchell and former Stanford wing Oziyah Sellers, among others. 247Sports ranks St. John’s transfer class as the best in men’s college basketball.

While the Red Storm have minimal returning players, they have big man and 2024-25 All-Big East honoree Zuby Ejiofor back for his senior season. Next season, St. John’s will square off against SEC powerhouses Alabama and Kentucky, among other notable out-of-conference matchups.

Rick Pitino on the 2025 NBA Draft, Caitlin Clark’s Impact, Cooper Flagg

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The analysis explores how college football players would have financially benefited from Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals had they been available since 2000. Writers ranked players like Johnny Manziel, Reggie Bush, and Tim Tebow based on their hypothetical NIL earnings, reflecting on the lucrative potential of their marketability. Manziel leads with an estimated $35 million, followed by notable players such as Bush and Tebow, showcasing how the rise of NIL could have dramatically changed athletes’ financial landscapes. This retrospective illustrates the growing tensions between athlete compensation and traditional NCAA policies.

By the Numbers

• Johnny Manziel: $35 million
• Reggie Bush: $25 million
• Tim Tebow: $22 million
• Cam Newton: $20 million
• Vince Young: $15 million

Yes, But

There are contrasting views on whether NIL benefits would have truly leveled the playing field or just enhanced disparities among programs with existing resources. Some argue that while top-tier schools benefit more from these arrangements, lower-tier programs might struggle to compete for top talent.

State of Play

• NIL policies are now a game-changer in college athletics, allowing players to monetize their brand.
• The debate surrounding compensation in college sports continues to evolve as more athletes seek financial opportunities.

What’s Next

Future developments may involve more stringent regulations around NIL deals to address concerns regarding equity among athletes. Additionally, the impact of NIL on recruiting strategies and team dynamics is likely to reshape how colleges approach athletic programs.

Bottom Line

The exploration into past athletes’ potential NIL earnings underscores significant shifts in college athletics, highlighting how financial opportunities could redefine the landscape, empower athletes, and create lasting impacts on the NCAA’s structure.

So, the South Dakota Coyotes will now get to pay athletes directly starting July 1, thanks to USD athletic director Jon Schemmel’s June 17 decision to “opt in” to the NCAA-House Settlement, allowing revenue sharing to athletes for the first time.

How does it all work? How much money will there be to share with athletes this year? Which athletes get the money? How much do they get? What does this mean for the major boosters and those who want to contribute more mildly, either to the athletic department or the athletes directly?

Schemmel has the answers in a 73-minute conversation with Happy Hour host John Gaskins. He also addresses the well-publicized shot he took at Sacramento State’s president on social media last week, which leads to a conversation about USD’s desire to stay in the FCS versus the appeal, if any, of trying to move to the FBS like Sac State is attempting (and failing.)

Another major USD issue — attendance. Why does it lag so far behind rival SDSU in football and basketball, and what will it take from Schemmel and others at USD to narrow the gap?

Here is more detail about what you’ll find:

PART 1 – HOW WILL REVENUE SHARING WITH ATHLETES WORK?

Now that the school will be able to share revenue, how will NIL now work for USD athletes who want to make that? What does this mean for USD’s third-party NIL “collective” that was the source to (mostly) keep top athletes or lure in transfers?

How much will it help USD competitively — in recruiting and on the field? Will this stop or limit the transfer portal absurdity the Coyote football team fell victim to in the spring?

And, really, why wouldn’t a school like USD not “opt-in” to sharing revenue with athletes now that they know they won’t to have to make any roster cuts to current athletes? Why was this such a quicker (easier) decision for USD to make than it may be for SDSU and NDSU?

PART 2 – FCS vs FBS, FOOTBALL & BASKETBALL ATTENDANCE, JOHANSEN’S FIRST SIX MONTHS

It was the X (Twitter) shot heard ’round the FCS world last week.

Schemmel fired back at Sacramento State president Kevin Wood, who had publicly called FCS football — where the Hornets reside — “JV” football. When the FBS oversight committee recommended the NCAA to deny SCSU’s entry into the FBS (“varsity”) Schemmel posted something that became hot fodder for FCS enthusiasts:

“All of us JV programs are excited to compete against a varsity program!”

(Since then, the NCAA Div. I council officially denied SCSU’s attempt to enter the FBS on the basis it needed a conference affiliation, which it hasn’t found.)

Schemmel, who has led USD athletics for about 18 months, had no idea the kind of wildfire one public social media sentence would trigger. But he never took down the post and stood his ground in talking about the post in this interview.

This led to a discussion about USD’s desires, or lack thereof, to move from FCS — where the Yotes finished a national semifinalist in 2024 — up to FBS to have a (likely very long) shot of playing in the College Football Playoff and receiving the mother load of money that’d come with it.

Schemmel does not shy away from acknowledging where USD stands in FCS achievement, attendance, interest, and financial strength compared to the Coyotes’ two biggest rivals, and perennial powerhouses, SDSU and NDSU.

Why is there such a gap, and how does USD narrow it, particularly in drawing more fans (and revenue) to the major sports of football and basketball (men’s and women’s)?

Finally, Schemmel gives his assessment of first-year head football coach Travis Johansen’s navigation through spring practice and a transfer portal that plucked away several top players for far more NIL money at FBS schools— also an update on the retired Bob Nielson, who Johansen replaced.