The Back Nine comes at you after a weekend of decadence that didn’t include much time in the Midday Sun. Only mad dogs and Englishmen, you know.

10. So, the biggest story of the last week is one that I’d like to explain to you. But I really can’t. I spent a good hour reading all of the implications of the House Settlement, which is the main reason Florida’s NIL budget doubled for this season (as did most schools not named Ohio State). It was so convoluted and there are going to be so many lawsuits to follow, I got a headache and started to smell toast burning. All I know for sure is that it’s a good time to be a college football player. They need to be buying ME lunch.

11. Meanwhile, coach Billy Napier continues to do well in recruiting. Wide receiver Justin Williams from Buchholz was a big get and the momentum continues to move in the right direction. You have to go back and realize what he inherited in terms of structure (like the head coach leaving his phone with a staffer to text with recruits because he couldn’t be bothered). I have no real idea where this season is going to go, but I do know that if it goes south the next coach is going to inherit an amazing infrastructure. Hopefully, Napier will be around for it.

12. I thought I would abandon college baseball after the Gators were unceremoniously dumped from the tournament, but I was all in for the Supers. Sunday had to be one of the greatest negative rooting days in a long time as FSU, Miami and Tennessee were all eliminated. All we have left to root against is LSU. Dang, the Tigers are going to take over Omaha again, although I would think Arkansas will travel like crazy. I’m going to go ahead and pick the Hoggies to win the whole thing.

13. At least the SEC got two teams in after a record 13 teams started this thing. The ACC was all braggy when Super Regionals began, but it needs Duke to win tonight or only one team will make it. And that team beat another ACC team to get to Omaha. If Murray State wins tonight, there will be seven conferences vying for the title of most weak $5 shots consumed at Rocco’s. Hey, my money is on Louisville.

14. Which takes me back to the Women’s College World Series and a sobering stat. With Teas winning, the SEC has now won five national titles this academic year, with baseball and track still to come. Of the five, three have been won by Texas or Oklahoma. I told everybody that the impact of those programs would be felt more in the spring than the fall.

15. Time to pick the winner of the U.S. Open and anyone who reads The Back Nine knows I have been pretty good with the majors. Rory McIlroy missed the cut by 12 strokes last week so I’m staying away from him, and I don’t want to pick the No. 1 player in the world again. It’s as boring as watching Scottie Scheffler play. I’m going to pick Ludvig Aberg because I think his time has come.

16. I did want to address what Jack Nicklaus said after Scottie won the Memorial, about how Scheffler is in a league of his own in part because so many great players are on the LIV Tour. I would take it further to say that those LIV stars are not sharpening their games on that Tour. That’s my take and I’m sticking to it. I just know we need to get Mom and Dad back together.

17. I wish I had thought of this line first and maybe Adam Schefter stole it, but when he said that there is white smoke coming from the chimney because Aaron Rodgers finally said yes (when is the gender reveal?) I laughed out loud. It’s a real dilemma though because I like the Steelers but not Rodgers. I have my reasons. Amazingly, the Sports Books didn’t move much with this news. Maybe the bettors have no confidence in a 41-year-old quarterback.

18. Now that baseball is over, I have Jeff back in the studio onThe Tailgate and as good as that is, I wish the Gators’ season was not over. Anyway, the latest playlist:

WRUF.com sports columnist Pat Dooley can be heard on “The Tailgate” along with Jeff Cardozo from 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday on 98.1-FM/AM-850 WRUF.

A seismic shift is on the way for college athletics, as long-awaited news is now official. The House v. NCAA settlement has been approved, and now for the first time ever, revenue sharing will be introduced to college sports. Starting July 1, universities are permitted to directly share up to $20.5 million with student athletes across all sports.

Though revenue sharing isn’t technically a requirement and schools that do participate could chose to share less than $20.5 million, you can expect every serious college athletics department to be sharing that full amount. And while there are no requirements to how that revenue is distributed, you can expect football to see the overwhelming majority of that funding followed by men’s basketball.

Also new with the settlement is greater restrictions on NIL deals, as moving forward, any third-party NIL deals valuing at least $600 must be approved by a newly formed clearinghouse called “NIL Go.” Simply put, measures are being enacted to assure schools don’t simply use their NIL collectives as a means to get past the $20.5 million revenue sharing cap. Furthermore, new roster limits will be put in place for sports, and now schools are permitted to fully fund scholarships for each player on the roster.

So what does this mean for Mississippi State?

Mississippi State Bulldogs ready to move forward into revenue sharing era

While the news of revenue sharing is just now official, Mississippi State has been preparing for it for quite some time. Last fall, MSU unveiled the “State Excellence Fund,” which is committed to providing resources and benefits to student athletes on campus. The “State Excellence Fund’s” founding was MSU laying the groundwork for revenue sharing with student athletes once that ruling passed.

The time has now come for that, and according to athletic director Zac Selmon, the “news allows us to move ahead in our pursuit of new heights.”

Though nothing is specified, Selmon’s statement implies is that Mississippi State is fully-embracing revenue sharing going forward. Given the recent fundraising we’ve seen under Zac Selmon, it’s fair to expect State to share the full $20.5 million allotment with student athletes. Like every major athletics program, football and men’s basketball are going to see the bulk of that.

But MSU will likely dole out more for baseball than the majority of athletic departments. The school’s investment into baseball was key towards attracting a coach the caliber of Brian O’Connor. State is going to spend at a high level when it comes to the Diamond Dawg program, and making sure they’re allocating enough to build and maintain an elite roster is a high priority moving forward. Add in that State will likely be fully funding scholarships in baseball, and you see how these changes could be a major benefit to Bulldog baseball.

Weekend Wrap, sponsored by Crystal Creek Partners

House v. NCAA settlement reached

Aggie commits shut down their recruitment after weekend official visits

Aggies raid the Owls nest for two players 

WWE has announced its latest class of NIL athletes.

As first reported by USA Today, WWE has announced its fifth NIL class, and three names have already caught the eye. The latest class includes the sons of Scott Steiner, Mark Henry, and Titus O’Neil.

You can find the full class below.

• Jacob Henry – Oklahoma, Football & Wrestling
• Brock Rechsteiner – Jacksonville State, Football
• TJ Bullard – Central Florida, Football
• Meghan Walker – Nebraska, Track and Field
• Fatima Katembo – LSU Shreveport, Basketball
• Madison Kaiser – Minnesota, Hockey
• Kerrigan Huynh – University of Central Oklahoma, Track and Field
• Gina Adams – Lynn University, Basketball
• Bianca Pizano – Michigan State, Field Hockey
• Zuriel Jimenez – Columbia University, Track and Field
• Hidetora Hanada – Colorado State, Football

The company’s NIL program was launched in late 2021 and allows college athletes to make money from their name, image, and likeness.

Life In WWE Is The Family Business

Mark Henry enjoyed a long association with the sports entertainment giant after signing with the company following the 1996 Olympic Games. After leaving the company in 2021, Henry signed with AEW and stayed with the Tony Khan-led company for three years.

Meanwhile, Scott Steiner has had a much more tumultuous relationship with WWE and has repeatedly and openly criticised Triple H in the past. However, in more recent years, the star confirmed the pair have “buried the hatchet.”

Back in January, Scott Steiner confirmed WWE was planning to offer his son a NIL contract.

Steiner’s nephew, Bron Breakker, is widely considered one of the most impressive rising stars in WWE today, with fans and observers across the industry tipping him to be a main event player for years to come. Following two runs with the NXT Championship and two runs with the Intercontinental Championship, Breakker joined forces with Seth Rollins in the days after WrestleMania 41.

Breakker’s most recent appearance came at Money In The Bank, where he helped Seth Rollins win the men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match.

It is hard to recruit in today’s landscape, but the Illinois football program has managed to knock recruiting out of the park.

Landing big-time recruits has not been a specialty for the Illini over the years. But the 2026 class seems different. We have multiple four-star commitments and a national recruiting ranking of No. 14 in the country.

While commitments are great, holding on to those recruits is the key. Early National Signing Day is still a half-year away, and there is an entire season before that. But on Sunday, Illinois had one of its biggest recruits reaffirm his pledge to the Orange and Blue.

Linebacker Cam Thomas took to social media to let the Illinois fanbase know that he had completed his official visit and it is, “#Illini over everybody!”