One of the latest trends in college football is adding general managers (GMs) to their coaching staff. GM is a term sports fans are familiar with when it comes to their favorite professional sports teams, but this is a brand new role that has been created in college football over the last few years.

One of the interesting things about this role is that there really isn’t a defined set of job duties the GM will perform for their program. Their duties could range from helping with NIL, the transfer portal, recruiting or even hiring other positions in the coaching staff.

While many programs have added GMs over the past could years, Georgia is one team that has not done that yet. This may be somewhat concerning because hearing other schools are adding GMs kind of sounds like they’re getting an advantage, but Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks recently spoke about why UGA has not added a GM yet.

Kirby Smart is Georgia’s GM

“I think first of all, you have to know the term gets thrown around a lot, and it means different things at different places, so there’s not just one cookie cutter way to do it,” Brooks said via dawgnation.com.

“We have a highly intelligent, highly involved head football coach,” Brooks continued, “(and) we have a great support staff underneath him, and I think we have a phenomenal executive staff when you talk about the people on my staff that work directly with him. We’ve ben together a long time — I’ve been working with Coach Smart now nine years, and now I’m a fifth year AD with him who has staff members who have been with him four, five or six years. So there’s a lot of great continuity there, so I don’t think any of us want to just bring someone in from the outside and say, ‘You’re the GM, lead us.’”

Georgia doesn’t need to change what’s working

Based solely on the timing of when GMs became a thing in college football, it is clear that NIL and the transfer portal led programs to add this position. The timing of this however is why Georgia doesn’t feel the need to add a GM to their program.

Georgia has been the best program in the country during the NIL era. They have won two SEC Championships and two National Championships as well, which is something no other program in the country can claim during this timeframe. So if UGA has found this success without a GM, there is no reason to add one now.

According to the above statement from Brooks, he also feels that Kirby Smart does a great job filling the role of what a GM does anyways. So if he feels that way, then that just adds to why Georgia doesn’t need to add a GM.

This doesn’t mean that Georgia won’t add a GM in the future, but it does sound like if they ever do they will select someone from within the program. And that sounds like a much better option than adding an external person like other programs have done.

Gonzaga College High School (DC) has named Keith Urgo as the next Head Basketball Coach.

A proud alumnus of the Class of 1997, Coach Urgo was a three-sport athlete on Eye Street who continued his athletic career at Fairfield University, playing both basketball and lacrosse. After college, Coach Urgo began his career in education at the Washington Jesuit Academy and coached basketball at Gonzaga for four years as the Freshman Head Coach and a Varsity Assistant. Over the past 18 years, he has coached at the collegiate level with roles at Villanova, Penn State, and Fordham. Three years ago, he became the Head Coach of Fordham, earning the title of Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in his first season.

“Coach Urgo’s coaching philosophy is deeply rooted in Jesuit tradition and mission,” says Athletic Director Mr. Terry Kernan ‘08. “Having attended or served at four separate Jesuit institutions, he is committed to the individual growth of each player, both on and off the court. He is passionate about returning to his alma mater to lead Gonzaga’s basketball program. We can’t wait to welcome him back to Eye Street.”

In addition to coaching, Coach Urgo will also serve as an Assistant Athletic Director. In this role, he will launch a new NIL and College Financial Literacy Education Program, which will include seminars, workshops, and guest speakers to prepare our athletes and their families for the evolving college landscape. He will also act as a liaison between Gonzaga Ministry and Athletics, ensuring all sports programs engage in team-based service projects.

Boogie Fland isn’t just running it back. He’s cashing in.

After testing the NBA Draft waters, the former McDonald’s All-American stunned the college basketball world by announcing his return—not to Arkansas, but to Florida. And while his decision boosts the Gators’ title odds, it also signals a seismic shift in college sports: NIL is now the game within the game.

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According to CBS Sports, Fland is set to receive a reported $2 million NIL package, placing him among the highest-paid college athletes in the country. That figure isn’t just headline-worthy—it’s history-making. For Florida fans, it’s a statement that the Gators are not just building a contender, they’re building a brand.

Fland, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 15.1 points and 5.7 assists in just 18 games last season before a hand injury cut his year short. Despite limited action, his efficiency and poise on the court caught national attention—and apparently, deep-pocketed NIL investors too.

Now paired with Ivy League standout Xaivian Lee, Florida’s backcourt suddenly looks like one of the most dynamic in the country. Head coach Todd Golden, fresh off an NCAA Tournament title, isn’t just stacking talent—he’s stacking momentum. Fland’s NIL deal confirms what many suspected: Florida isn’t rebuilding. They’re reloading.

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The implications are massive. Fland’s return to college over a potential pro payday reflects how NIL has shifted the power dynamic. With millions on the table and prime-time exposure in a major conference, elite players like Fland no longer have to choose between the spotlight and the salary.

Expect the O’Dome to be buzzing this season—not just with fans, but with scouts, brands, and cameras.

Boogie bet on himself. Florida just made sure he got paid.

Related: Former NBA veteran takes over at Notre Dame in historic NIL move

Related: NFL QB sends strong message after losing NIL millions

In today’s age of college athletics with the transfer portal and NIL, it is becoming increasingly unusual for a college athlete to stay their entire career at one school. Factor in one of the top athletes in the country competing at a non-Power Four program and it is virtually unheard of for them to not flirt with the transfer portal and a potential big pay day. The expectation is for the athlete to chase the money and spotlight playing at a name-brand school brings.

Enter Rachel Roupe. The Liberty outfielder was a top recruit from Sharpsburg, Maryland in high school, ranked as a top 100 national prospect by Extra-Innings Softball. She committed to and signed with Liberty and head coach Dot Richardson out of high school. As her career progressed, it would have been easy, even expected, for the all-star to test the transfer portal waters, but she elected to stay with the Flames and continue to push the program to new heights.

Roupe attended some of Liberty’s camps while she was younger, and the Liberty coaching staff immediately saw the talent she had. She had opportunities to play for other schools throughout the recruiting process in high school, but Roupe was focused on Liberty and wanted to play for the Flames.

“There were other schools pursuing me, but I wasn’t pursuing them that much,” Roupe said of her recruitment. “I really wanted to come here.”

Originally recruited as a pitcher, Roupe switched to an outfielder late in her high school career, a spot that has stuck through her college career. She has been a starter in right field since she arrived on campus as a freshman in 2022. She earned D1Softball.com National Freshman of the Week honors late in her first season. She would be named second-team all-conference and named to the ASUN All-Tournament team while helping the Lady Flames to the ASUN Championship and a win over Georgia in Regional play. It was the first of four Regional appearances for Roupe and Liberty.

As a sophomore, she took another step being named first team all-conference and earning National Player of the Week during the season. She finished the year batting .317 with nine doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, 50 RBI, and 41 runs scored. Roupe and the Lady Flames received an at-large bid into Regional play where Liberty would take down No. 2 national seed UCLA. Roupe scored both Liberty runs in the 2-1 victory, including her iconic slide in the 7th to score the winning run.

Last year, Roupe and the Lady Flames won CUSA in their first year in the new league and came just one out from eliminating Georgia and winning the Athens Regional. She batted .362 with 17 doubles and 17 home runs to go along with 42 RBI and 48 runs. A now four-time all-conference outfielder, including three straight first team selections, and 2025 CUSA Player of the Year, Roupe saved her best season for last. She has set Liberty program single season marks in home runs and RBI this season.

This past weekend in the College Station Regional, Roupe refused to let her team be eliminated. She had multiple highlight reel plays from her position in right field. She also hit three home runs in the two games on Sunday in the Regional Final against No. 1 Texas A&M. Her grand slam in the first game Sunday gave the Flames a 6-0 lead and felt like at the time it was the punctuation mark on the way to making history and reaching the Super Regionals. That was before the Aggies made a comeback and forced a winner-take-all Game 7 Sunday night. Roupe hit two home runs in the Liberty win, including a three-run shot in the sixth inning that proved to be the difference maker.

“The legacy was so evident,” Richardson said of Roupe following her performance in College Station this past weekend. “For her to have the two home runs she did set the tone. When you have a talented athlete like Rachel Roupe who is locked in, it is historic. That’s what happened, history was made because she lifts up other players on the team.”

Roupe ranks first or second on nearly every offensive statistical category in the Liberty career annals including home runs, total bases, extra base hits, walks and RBI. She’s been to four NCAA Regionals and now prepares to compete in Liberty’s first ever Super Regional. Roupe and the Lady Flames will take on No. 16 Oregon in the best of three Super Regional series beginning Friday night at 10 p.m. from Eugene, Oregon. Two more wins and Roupe will be able to finish her storied Liberty career in the Women’s College World Series.

“She is a pathfinder. She is a pioneer,” said Coach Richardson of Roupe. “That’s what puts a program on the map. She could be anywhere, and she is making her statement here. Right away I knew she was a player I wanted to coach. She is a great role model. That is why I’m so excited for her, proud of her, because she is going to shape the lives of so many people. Young girls look up to her. She is deserving of it. It’s not just on the field; it is off it. She is a superstar.”

Earlier this week, Roupe was named to the Softball America All-American Team as a second team selection. Roupe was one of only three players selected to the first or second team from a non-Power Four conference team. Just a few hours later she was drafted by the Florida Vibe, a professional softball team based out of Bradenton, Florida. Current Liberty head coach Dot Richardson will serve as the Vibe’s head coach beginning this year while former Liberty players Emily Kirby and Kara Canetto play for the Vibe.

Roupe did not chase the money. She did not chase the limelight. Instead, she did the opposite. She stayed true to her commitment to Liberty and Dot Richardson. She sought to bring other top talent from around the country to join her and help build the Flames into that household softball name.

“When God gives you something good, you don’t have to go searching for better,” Roupe said. “The grass isn’t always greener. I’ve heard crazy stories from girls that come from those schools that are here now. It’s like why would I leave what I have now? To have the confidence that my coaches have in me as a player, that is a goal that most players want in their life when they get in a program that trusts them and are going to let them work through kinks or things that aren’t working out. I know they have my back. They’re going to keep putting me in the situation until I succeed. They’ve trusted me. They’ve believed in me, that alone was enough for me to stay.”

When she finally hangs the cleats up for the final time during her playing career at Liberty, she will leave a lasting legacy. Roupe will be a no doubt first ballot Hall of Famer for Liberty Athletics. She will forever be known as one of the greatest to ever suit up for Liberty softball. She will always be linked to the first team to ever reach the Super Regionals. Rachel Roupe. An all-time Liberty great.