NIL

After turning down massive NIL money, Ashton Jeanty set to become one of NFL’s highest-paid running backs

Ashton Jeanty famously turned down a lucrative NIL payday last year to stick with Boise State. The tailback chose continuity over a short-term financial gain, and the results were nothing short of spectacular. As the bell cow of Boise State’s offense, Jeanty led the country as a junior with 2,601 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. […]

Published

4 weeks ago

April 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Ashton Jeanty famously turned down a lucrative NIL payday last year to stick with Boise State.

The tailback chose continuity over a short-term financial gain, and the results were nothing short of spectacular.

As the bell cow of Boise State’s offense, Jeanty led the country as a junior with 2,601 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns. He placed second in the Heisman Trophy voting as Boise State reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.

Jeanty’s decision looks brilliant in hindsight following Thursday’s opening round of the NFL Draft.

The Las Vegas Raiders selected Jeanty with the sixth overall pick. According to Spotrac, Jeanty will receive a fully guaranteed contract of roughly $35.8 million with a signing bonus in excess of $22 million.

Only Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley ($36 million guaranteed) will have a bigger guaranteed contract next season among NFL running backs.

“I’m just thankful for this opportunity,” Jeanty said in his post-draft press conference. “I’m going to show everybody why the position is valuable and (why) it is great to take an exceptional running back in the first round.”

Raiders general manager John Spytek said that Jeanty’s combination of talent and character was too much to pass up. Under new head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, the Raiders want to establish the run and embrace physicality.

“As we went through the evaluation, we talked to him and we talked to people around him at Boise and the people that support him,” Spytek said. “You get to know the kind of person he is and the competitor he is, and it made a lot of sense at a position that we need, that we really value in coach Carroll’s system and Chip’s system. He can be a foundational piece for us.”

Jeanty’s rookie contract will be a four-year deal with a fifth-year option.

In terms of total money in his contract, Jeanty will rank sixth among NFL running backs behind Josh Jacobs ($48 million), Jonathan Taylor ($42 million), Barkley ($41.2 million), Christian McCaffrey ($38 million) and Rhamondre Stevenson ($36 million).

The 5-foot-8, 211-pound Jeanty tallied 1,970 yards after contact as a junior while forcing 164 missed tackles. His 2,601 rushing yards rank second on the FBS all-time single-season rushing list, trailing only Barry Sanders’ 2,628 yards during the 1988 season.

Jeanty ended his Boise State career with 750 carries for 4,769 yards and 56 total touchdowns. A two-time MWC Offensive Player of the Year, Jeanty won the 2024 Maxwell Award (college football player of the year) and Doak Walker Award (best running back in college football).

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Urban Meyer says the Big Ten has passed the SEC (and he’s the reason why)

From the late 2000s to the mid-2010s, the SEC combined its proximity to elite recruits with It Just Means More-commitment to winning to dominate college football. The conference won every national title from 2006-13 and, when including Clemson and Florida State, teams from the Deep South claimed all but one national title from 2006-22. NIL […]

Published

16 minutes ago

May 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NIL changed the paradigm, allowing moneyed, name-brand schools from the Midwest to legally tilt the playing field in their direction. Those schools can use the tools at their disposal — rich alumni across the nation, NIL, relaxed transfer rules — to build rosters and retain players who otherwise would have turned pro to stay another year and chase a national title. That’s how Michigan beat Washington to win the 2023 national title, and how Midwestern teams (Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State) occupied three of the final four spots in the 2024 CFP, and how another Big Ten team (Oregon) earned the No. 1 seed in the field.

That’s the general theory of college football over the past 20 years, one shared by Urban Meyer.

“Well, you know what the SEC’s done? It’s raised the level,” Urban Meyer said, via On3. “But the Big Ten has passed the SEC at the upper part. If you would have told me that 10 years ago, I would’ve said it’s not even close. Because it’s not.”

“When I first got to the Big Ten, even Shelley said, ‘What in the world? This is a slow man’s game up here,’ and I like to think that the Buckeyes really changed that. Then everyone else started investing in their schools,” Meyer continued. “And started recruiting the best player, not just the footprint. As a result, the Wolverine team two years ago was one of the best teams I’ve seen. The Buckeyes team this year is one of the best I’ve ever seen. You’re seeing Penn State, and some of these teams have great success.”

You know what Urban just did there? He gave himself credit for the rise of the SEC and the Big Ten.

The SEC started raising the level with Florida’s 2006 national title. Remember, those Gators were heavy underdogs, considered at the time nothing more than cannon fodder for a juggernaut Ohio State team. Florida thrashed the favored Buckeyes, limiting Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith to 35 passing yards en route to a 41-14 blowout. Indeed, it was a game-changing win, akin to grunge rock blowing hair metal off the radio overnight in the early 1990s. Florida won the title again in 2008, beating an undefeated Alabama team in the SEC Championship before limiting another unstoppable offense (Oklahoma this time) to 14 points in the BCS title game. Alabama eventually surpassed Florida and set a standard that will likely never be equaled — but Florida pushed the Tide to that point first.

Meyer then knocked off No. 1 Alabama en route to the 2014 national title, the only crown won north of the Mason-Dixon Line from 2003 to 2022. It’s a bit of a stretch to get from Ohio State’s 2014 title team to 2023 Michigan, but he’s not wrong in the way he talks about changing Big Ten recruiting. His presence changed the way the conference recruits from a gentleman’s league to a year-round contact sport.

“Urban had won national championships at Florida,” former Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told ESPN upon Meyer’s retirement in 2018. “He was from Ohio, played at Cincinnati, had success at Utah and had a national presence. Urban articulated the fact that this is a national game and you have to recruit nationally. You have to go after the best players, wherever they are, and I think our coaches have done that.”

Did Urban Meyer’s success at Florida and Ohio State elevate the entire sport of college football? Many people are saying it. Okay, one person is saying it, but I’m not sure he’s entirely wrong.

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Trademark attorney breaks down Arkansas NIL clash with Madden Iamaleava

The dispute between Arkansas EDGE and Madden Iamaleava captured the attention of the college sports world when Arkansas’ athletic director, Hunter Yurachek, announced on X that the collective would enforce the buyout clause of Iamaleava’s NIL deal. Possibly groundbreaking, the potential lawsuit could change how NIL is handled by every athletic program in the country. […]

Published

17 minutes ago

May 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

But the interest doesn’t lie only with sports fans. The legal community is just as intrigued by the situation brewing in Fayetteville. One of those attorneys is Philip T. Sheng with Venable LLP. Sheng is a trial lawyer specializing in intellectual property disputes both nationally and in international forums. He also serves as an advisor on trademark, brand, and NIL protection issues.

Sheng co-authored an article for Venable LLP that argues the impact of the dispute, if it makes it to trial, could set a legal precedent for these types of cases in the future. Fortunately, we had the chance to speak with Sheng about the Arkansas EDGE’s situation involving Iamaleava. He explained some of the specific challenges Arkansas may encounter as it attempts to recover its funds and shared his thoughts on the future of NIL in college sports.

Arkansas EDGE v. Madden Iamaleava Q&A with Philip T. Sheng

Q: I want to start off with a fun question before we get into the nitty-gritty of the dispute between Arkansas EDGE and Madden Iamaleava. Are you a big sports fan? If so, tell me a little about your fandom and what teams you follow.

I’m a huge sports fan. I grew up in Southern California watching the Showtime Lakers and remain a dedicated fan to this day. They’re my favorite pro sports team, but I do follow many others and not just in basketball. For college sports, I’m a diehard BYU fan. It’s an exciting time to be a BYU fan, and I’m not just talking about football and men’s basketball. Go Cougs!

Q: Many fans are not overly familiar with contract law, but it seems strange to them that when a party signs a contract—and acknowledges breaching it—but nothing is done about it. When I did some digging, it seems that if the buyout clause is framed as damages rather than penalties, the non-breaching party is more likely to be awarded compensation. Can you explain the differences between damages and penalties?

That’s what makes the dispute between Arkansas EDGE and Madden Iamaleava so interesting. Contracts get broken all the time, not just in sports, and the legal remedy isn’t to punish the breaching party, but to make the non-breaching party whole. In other words, damages are supposed to put the non-breaching party in the same financial position it would’ve been in if the contract had been honored.

So when a court looks at a buyout clause, it asks: Does this reflect a reasonable estimate of the losses suffered? If the answer is yes, it’s more likely to be enforced. But if the damages seem out of proportion to the actual harm, or if they would leave the non-breaching party better off than if the contract had been honored, then it starts to look more like a penalty—and courts generally don’t enforce penalties.

Q: Mr. Sheng, you specialize in intellectual property disputes, and in my layman’s mind, NIL deals are similar to trademark licensing. Both market another’s “image” for one reason or another. Can you explain a few of the similarities and differences?

NIL deals and trademark licensing do share some similarity. Both fall under the umbrella of intellectual property and reflect a brand or image. And both can be licensed to others for commercial gain. There are some important distinctions, however. Trademarks are usually owned by companies and the primary purpose of a trademark is to identify the source of goods or services.

For example, the Nike swoosh on a pair of shoes identifies the source of goods and reflects a particular brand that may influence consumer decisions. NIL, on the other hand, is owned by an individual, where the individual’s name, image, or likeness is what is intended to influence consumer decisions. For example, a shoe company might pay an athlete to wear its latest shoe at an event in hopes that the athlete’s fame will drive more sales. Ultimately, the core idea between NIL deals and trademark licensing is the same: brand power is being used to drive commercial value.

Q: In college football, head coach contracts often have buyout language as well. Why are those buyouts more enforceable than NIL deals? When breaking coaching contracts, what kind of liquidated damage do they create that NIL deals, on average, don’t?

One reason is that coaches are employees of their universities. They’ll have employment contracts that are heavily negotiated between lawyers and agents and approved by university boards to ensure compliance with state contract and employment laws. A court is less likely to strike down a buyout clause if it is shown that it was negotiated between sophisticated parties represented by lawyers on both sides.

Also, it is easier for a school to demonstrate significant harm when a coach leaves early to join another school, such as having to hire a replacement coach, losing players to the portal, losing donor support, and diminished ticket sales. These aren’t hypothetical losses, and while it may be difficult to assign an exact dollar figure to them, a court will generally view a buyout clause as much more reasonable when the overall harm is significant. Another factor that comes to mind is that there has been a lot of prior cases involving coaches leaving early that have set some precedent as to what a court might find reasonable.

The dispute between Arkansas EDGE and Iamaleava is one of the first I’ve seen where a collective has said it will go to the mat on enforcing a buyout clause against a player. So we’re in some uncharted territory here, and the case has the potential to set some precedent for future cases.

Q: No matter the outcome, it feels like the dispute between Iamaleava and Arkansas EDGE is a turning point in college athletics. Where do you see the future of NIL headed in either scenario?

Especially if the House v. NCAA settlement is approved and NIL deals are entered into directly between schools and athletes, I suspect we’ll see more standardization and stronger legal vetting of NIL agreements. In general, such agreements need clearer terms and compliance mechanisms. But that evolution won’t happen on its own. It will require schools and collectives to actually go to the mat and attempt to enforce NIL agreements against players who breach them in order to shape and develop the law in this area.

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Tennessee basketball star Zakai Zeigler sues NCAA for 5th year of eligibility

Tennessee basketball star Zakai Zeigler is suing the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility, arguing that the current four-year set-up “arbitrarily” cost him substantial NIL earnings. The 22-year-old Zeigler, a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a third-team All-American this past season, played in 138 games over four years with the Volunteers. […]

Published

45 minutes ago

May 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Tennessee basketball star Zakai Zeigler is suing the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility, arguing that the current four-year set-up “arbitrarily” cost him substantial NIL earnings.

The 22-year-old Zeigler, a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a third-team All-American this past season, played in 138 games over four years with the Volunteers. He never redshirted, which appears to form the crux of his argument.

According to the suit filed Tuesday in federal court in the Eastern District of Tennessee, Zeigler argues that had he redshirted, he’d have had a five-year eligibility window. Typically, the latter years of that window are the most-lucrative when it comes to NIL.

“Through the redshirt system, NCAA institutions — not athletes — largely control who gets access to the fifth year of eligibility, strategically ‘banking’ eligibility for some athletes while denying it to others, without consideration, based purely on institutional preference and benefit,” the complaint reads in part. “But, because Zeigler participated in athletics for four consecutive years, the NCAA bars him from representing his school in interscholastic competition in the fifth year of the competition window — and thereby excludes him from the market for NIL compensation.”

Zeigler’s suit is similar to one successfully levied by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, at least in spirit. Pavia won an extra year of eligibility for himself — and other former junior-college and NAIA transfers — after suing the NCAA on the grounds that his time at a non-member school had cost him NIL earning opportunities.

You can read the full 31-page complaint HERE.

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NIL

FSU coach Mike Norvell is a proponent of NIL enforcement in proposed Salary Cap Era of college football

Mike Norvell views the proposed salary cap and subsequent enforcement that is supposed to go into effect if and/or when the House Settlement passes as a “good thing” for college athletics. Florida State’s head coach views the idea of “checks and balances” in terms of regulating the spending on college athletes as a healthy endeavor […]

Published

1 hour ago

May 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Mike Norvell views the proposed salary cap and subsequent enforcement that is supposed to go into effect if and/or when the House Settlement passes as a “good thing” for college athletics.

Florida State’s head coach views the idea of “checks and balances” in terms of regulating the spending on college athletes as a healthy endeavor as most major college programs seem to be in unison that extra compensation via NIL should be regulated if schools are going to exceed to $20.5 million to be spread around towards all sports.

“I say, checks and balances in a sense of what those deals are. And obviously guys have to go out there and earn whatever opportunities can be provided,” Norvell told the Tampa Bay Times and other outlets during a booster stop in Tampa over the weekend. “To be able to have a little bit of an understanding through Deloitte and what they can do, it’s going to be, I think it will still be up to each football, each athletic department to where they disperse those funds.

“I think it will bring everything to a more comparable situation based off the university. Just big picture within college athletics, I think it’ll be a good thing.”

Norvell’s reference to Deloitte is about a clearinghouse, with the major accounting firm being tasked with moderating how much Name, Image, Likeness deals should be worth and then enforcing said deals. Currently, NIL has largely been used as a way of compensating college athletes beyond of off-field value (although the intent of NIL was initially for solely off-field value).

How enforceable that is, remains to be seen. The House settlement is still being finalized, and it was reported on Monday that a CEO and new enforcement agency (beyond the NCAA) will be in place if the settlement is passed this week. The CEO of the College Sports Commission will be tasked with aspects like doling out punishments for rules violations and enforcing the salary cap.

Per a Yahoo report, the P4 programs that do not agree to be a member under the CSC would risk “the loss of conference membership and participation against other power league programs.” The state of Tennessee signed a bill earlier this month that would allow schools and their NIL collectives to “break House settlement-related rules” and “prevents college sports’ new enforcement entity from penalizing those schools” per a Yahoo report.

FSU athletic director Michael Alford has consistently voiced his understanding and support of a cap as well as NIL regulation with the House settlement presumably on the horizon. It appears that Alford and his head football coach are in unison on the matter in this ever-changing landscape of college football.

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If Tennessee chooses state law over NIL pledge, it risks SEC expulsion

A new Tennessee law triggered the power conferences of college sports into demanding member schools like the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt to sign a loyalty pledge over new player pay rules or face possible expulsion. Knox News confirmed the existence of the loyalty document through a source with direct knowledge of the situation. The […]

Published

1 hour ago

May 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Knox News confirmed the existence of the loyalty document through a source with direct knowledge of the situation. The source requested anonymity because those correspondence are between the conferences and member schools.

The document is being circulated by the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and the SEC. It demands that member schools agree to follow new rules involving paying players despite state laws giving the freedom to circumvent the rules. And the pledge also requires schools to waive their right to sue the NCAA or conferences if they disagree with the implementation of those rules.

The document has not been finalized. But potential consequences of not signing it include expulsion from the conference or participation in playing games against other power conference schools.

The new Tennessee law applies to all four-year universities in the state, public and private. UT and Vanderbilt are in the SEC, one of four power conferences.

A clause in the law permits Vanderbilt and private universities to opt out of the protections of the state law in order to cooperate with the NCAA. Additionally, it appears that UT is guiding the approach of the law because of how it’s utilized lawmakers against the NCAA in the past.

University of Memphis (American Athletic Conference), Middle Tennessee State (Conference USA) and other state universities are in mid-major conferences that likely won’t require a pledge to follow the new college sports player pay rules.

For better or worse, this makes Tennessee the epicenter of another earthquake in college sports.

What University of Tennessee said about SEC threat

Expulsion from the SEC seems inconceivable for UT, a charter member since 1932. But whether it’s a legitimate threat or a negotiating tactic remains to be seen.

In a statement to Knox News, UT pledged to comply with the pending House settlement, which will create the new system for player pay, while acknowledging the need for the state law.

“The University of Tennessee has committed to following the House settlement if it is approved,” UT said in a statement. “That commitment has not changed. We appreciate the Tennessee General Assembly’s forethought in passing NIL legislation that provides future protections for student-athletes and institutions beyond the House settlement.”

Vanderbilt and the SEC did not immediately respond to a Knox News request for comment.

Threatening a loyalty pledge is a bold move by the NCAA and power conferences and, most certainly, in response to the new Tennessee law, which was signed by Gov. Bill Lee on May 1 and surfaced about two weeks later.

The law protects Tennessee universities from anticipated antitrust lawsuits by athletes and NIL collectives unhappy with the player-pay rules coming to college sports.

The new NCAA system will include a salary cap of direct school-to-player pay, roster limits, revenue sharing that challenges Title IX principles of publicly funded institutions and a clearinghouse that vets NIL contracts. It could help stabilize college sports, but lawsuits challenging those rules are expected.

If athletes, boosters or collectives sue, the new state law allows Tennessee universities to opt out of those college sports rules and shift liability toward the NCAA and conferences. It also prevents the NCAA from penalizing schools that circumvent those rules for purposes of following the law.

Only a federal law, a valid court order or antitrust exemption for college athletics can supersede Tennessee’s new law. That escape hatch for Tennessee schools sounded alarms across the college sports landscape.

How Tennessee could disrupt the new system in college sports

Opinions about Tennessee’s approach vary around college sports.

About a dozen states have enacted similar laws in the everchanging arms race of paying college athletes with few restrictions. But Tennessee’s law is believed to be the strongest and most evasive to NCAA rules and the conditions of the pending House settlement.

The timing of Tennessee’s new law is also problematic.

A new NCAA system for paying athletes could begin as early as July 1, pending the multi-billion-dollar House settlement, which resolves three federal antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and four power conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC).

That settlement could come any day now. There’s growing skepticism that it will solve the legal and structural problems in college sports, although some are cautiously optimistic that it’ll at least achieve some progress.

Opponents of the new state law believe Tennessee is nixing an effective agreement days before it’s signed by a federal judge. But proponents of the state law believe Tennessee is being proactive by keeping its legal options in anticipation of a system it believes will fail.

The most straightforward take of the situation is that Tennessee is protecting its own interests ahead of the SEC or college sports. Whether that’s a wise move or heavy handed is debatable, but it certainly got the attention of college sports leaders.

Here’s why UT wants state law for protection

Tennessee schools intend to comply with the system prescribed in the House settlement, but that plan remains hazy. UT, specifically, wants legal cover if the new rules violate antitrust law.

Here are examples of what UT fears if it’s not given liability protection by the state law.

A new clearinghouse will determine if NIL deals are legitimate and of fair market value. Legally, that appears to be a difficult standard to define. If an athlete or collective sues because an NIL deal is declined, UT wants the flexibility to approve the contract independent of NCAA rules or at least opt out of the system to avoid a lawsuit.
Lawsuits on numerous antitrust grounds are anticipated after the House settlement is approved. The NCAA, power conferences and schools could be sued. There’s no indication whether those suits would be successful. But UT doesn’t want to be among the defendants, and the state law says Tennessee schools don’t have to follow anticompetitive NCAA rules.
If damages are awarded in antitrust lawsuits, the state law says that Tennessee schools can’t be held responsible for paying them. Instead, the NCAA would be liable.
UT wants to avoid punishment from the NCAA if it opts out of rules that it finds to violate antitrust laws. If that occurs, the state law protects UT from NCAA sanctions. Notably, UT football is already on probation until July 13, 2028, as a result of the Jeremy Pruitt recruiting scandal.

Could Tennessee face another court battle?

Some college sports stakeholders believe Tennessee isn’t being a team player. But UT has reasons to distance itself from the NCAA in future lawsuits, and it has a good track record against the governing body.

They faced off in federal court in 2024 after the state of Tennessee, on behalf of UT, sued the NCAA to loosen its stringent rules over NIL benefits. UT won that battle.

On Jan. 31, 2025, the NCAA and a coalition of states led by Tennessee reached a settlement that protects student-athletes’ NIL rights during the recruiting process and prohibits the NCAA from bringing back its NIL recruiting ban.

And in 2023, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti threatened to sue the NCAA if it gave the UT football team a postseason ban in the Pruitt recruiting scandal. UT also won that battle, as the NCAA relented from issuing a postseason ban.

The bad blood between UT and the NCAA can’t be ignored as a backdrop to this state law. And don’t be surprised if Skrmetti or Tennessee lawmakers get involved again if this situation escalates.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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Former Gonzaga star Brynna Maxwell joins Eastern Washington staff as assistant coach | Eastern Washington

CHENEY, Wash. — Former Gonzaga women’s basketball standout and WNBA draftee Brynna Maxwell is joining the Eastern Washington women’s basketball staff as an assistant coach. “We are excited to have Brynna Maxwell join our crew,” EWU head coach Joddie Gleason said on X. “Thrilled to have her start her coaching journey with the Eags.” Welcome […]

Published

1 hour ago

May 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

CHENEY, Wash. — Former Gonzaga women’s basketball standout and WNBA draftee Brynna Maxwell is joining the Eastern Washington women’s basketball staff as an assistant coach.

“We are excited to have Brynna Maxwell join our crew,” EWU head coach Joddie Gleason said on X. “Thrilled to have her start her coaching journey with the Eags.”

Welcome to Brynna Maxwell as she joins the Eagle staff!#GoEags #FEO pic.twitter.com/1cCbxFQ1Dh

— EWU Women’s Basketball (@EWUWBB) May 20, 2025

Maxwell spent two seasons with the Zags after transferring from Utah ahead of the 2022-23 season. In her final year at Gonzaga, the Gig Harbor, Washington, native started all 36 games and helped guide GU to a historic 16-0 mark in West Coast Conference play, a 32-4 overall record and a berth to the Sweet 16 of the 2023-24 NCAA Tournament.

The 6-foot guard appeared in 69 games, starting 65, and totaled 955 career points, 72 steals, 64 assists and 228 rebounds. Her performance earned back-to-back All-WCC First Team honors.

Maxwell was selected with the first pick in the second round of the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky but did not make the final 12-player roster.

With her playing days now over, Maxwell embarks on her coaching career close to home. She joins a staff that includes head coach Joddie Gleason, associate head coach Skip Gleason and second-year assistant coach Jamie Loera, who had a record-breaking playing career with the Eagles from 2022-24.

Last season, with a roster full of new faces, Eastern Washington finished eighth in the Big Sky Conference standings with an 11-20 overall record and a 7-11 mark in conference play. The Eags lost to Sacramento State in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament and will look to keep improving in 2025-26 with a young but talented team.

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