One of college basketball’s highest-paid players last season, former Duke star Cooper Flagg had estimated NIL contracts that were staggering, according to longtime sports journalist and author Howard Bryant. During a recent sitdown with Bob Costas at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Howard asked his co-host how much much Flagg earned in NIL at Duke.

Costas was unsure, but then Howard provided an answer that resulted in an audible gasp from the audience — $28 million.

“He had a $13 million deal with New Balance and then $15 million with Fanatics,” Bryant said at the 51:09 mark of the conversation.

Here’s the thing — Howard’s reported total is likely Flagg’s NIL contracts in totality and not an annual payment. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski previously reported Flagg’s New Balance agreement was “significant.” These are often multiyear contracts between incoming rookies and sneaker companies.

Flagg’s massive deal with New Balance ahead of his first season in the NBA makes him one of the brand’s newest signature athletes. Flagg signed his multiyear partnership with Fanatics in January, but terms of the deal were not released.

Other exclusive Fanatics athletes include Victor Wembanyama, Paul Skenes, and CJ Stroud. Flagg’s first “rookie” card is part of the 2025 Bowman University Chrome set, which is put out by Fanatics.

Flagg’s previous estimated NIL valuation of around $5 million with the Blue Devils during his only season of college basketball was the leading number in the sport, so to think he was bringing in more than five times that number in a single season is almost unfathomable.

Regardless, the market value for the projected No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft is real.

Flagg earned national player of the year accolades last season after averaging a team-best 19.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, leading Duke to the NCAA Tournament’s final weekend.

Costas used Howard’s staggering figure to get on his soap box of sorts to make a broader point.

“That’s why, at least, it’s more profitable for a woman … a female college basketball player to stay in college and collect the NIL because, because for the time being, the top salary in the WNBA is like $75,000,” Costas said. “Now, it will go up a bit and if you’re Caitlin Clark it doesn’t matter and a few others because their deals carry over, but something that used to always bothered me when this convesation was going on before NIL, people would say, ‘Everybody is profiting off of this except for the athletes.’

“That implicitly says this whole thing is a sham and that the education itself has no value. So, if this student-athlete attends class, he could very well be sitting next to someone whose parents worked multiple jobs to put that boy or girl and their siblings through college. (And) that’s something that might be a present, at some universities worth on a four-year ride, $300.000. Not to mention what it means down the road for your earning power.”

Costas later said fans who are disparaging NIL numbers were “okay with the corruption” but not OK with the chaos these figures have caused in recruiting and player retention.

GRAND FORKS — New UND men’s hockey coach Dane Jackson completed his full-time staff by hiring Matt Smaby as the team’s associate head coach last week.

Smaby joins general manager Bryn Chyzyk and assistant coach Dillon Simpson on staff.

It’s an accomplished group with a mix of personalities. It covers all bases but one: None of them played goalie.

Jackson and Chyzyk played forward. Smaby and Simpson played defense.

UND is not alone in this spot, though.

Five National Collegiate Hockey Conference teams have a full-time goaltender on staff — Colorado College (head coach Kris Mayotte), Arizona State (head coach Greg Powers), Denver (assistant coach Ryan Massa), Minnesota Duluth (assistant coach Brandt Nicklin) and Omaha (associate coach Peter Aubry).

Four do not — UND, defending NCAA national champion Western Michigan, St. Cloud State and Miami, which currently has one assistant coaching spot open.

Western Michigan and St. Cloud State have a creative way to get a former goaltender in the coaches’ room.

Western Michigan’s director of hockey operations is former Bronco goaltender Will Massey. St. Cloud State’s director of player development is former volunteer goalie coach Matt Bertram.

UND could go that route.

UND posted an open position this week for a

director of player personnel and office operations.

It was previously held by former North Dakota Mr. Hockey winner Ryan LaDouceur, who has taken a new job on UND’s campus.

The Fighting Hawks could hire a goaltender for this spot.

If so, there will be limits on what the person can do.

Only full-time coaching staff members can provide direct coaching to student-athletes and participate in off-campus recruiting.

A non-coaching staff member — such as a director of player personnel — can be on the ice for practices, chart statistics, analyze video of opponents, participate in coaching staff meetings and develop game plans.

In short, guys like Massey and Bertram can tell the full-time staff what to tell the goaltenders.

UND’s job posting closes June 11.

Colten St. Clair lasted 18 games as the head coach of the Omaha Lancers in the United States Hockey League this season.

The Lancers fired St. Clair after going 6-10-2.

The rest of the season was vindication for St. Clair.

Omaha won just one time in its final 40 games after firing St. Clair. The Lancers went through four head coaches during the season.

St. Clair, meanwhile, was picked up by the Muskegon Lumberjacks as associate head coach.

The former UND alternate captain then led the Lumberjacks to the Clark Cup as United States Hockey League champions.

Muskegon beat Waterloo 4-3 in overtime in a decisive fifth game of the Clark Cup Final last Tuesday in Young Arena.

St. Clair has won two Clark Cups in the last four years as an associate head coach. He won with the Sioux City Musketeers in 2022.

On Monday, he was elevated to the head coaching position with Muskegon, which went 23-6-1 with St. Clair on staff.

Submitted photo

There were several UND and Grand Forks connections on Muskegon’s team.

Former UND standout Evan Trupp won his first Clark Cup on Muskegon’s staff. He is the team’s director of player development.

Muskegon’s captain was David Klee, who will be a freshman forward at UND in the fall. Klee tallied a goal and nine points during 14 playoff games.

Carter Sanderson, a 2027 UND commit, had one point in 13 playoff games for Muskegon.

Grand Forks native Bauer Berry, who is headed to St. Thomas this fall, was a regular on the blue line for Muskegon.

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UND incoming freshman forward Will Zellers was named USA Hockey’s Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year.

He is the seventh UND winner in 31 years of the award. He’s the third in the last six seasons.

Other UND winners are Mac Swanson (2024), Jake Sanderson (2020), Tucker Poolman (2014), Chris Fournier (2001), Karl Goehring (1997) and Jason Blake (1994).

Blake started his career at Ferris State.

Zellers scored 44 goals in 52 regular-season games for the Green Bay Gamblers in the United States Hockey League.

The Minnesota Frost won their second Walter Cup by beating Ottawa 2-1 in overtime Monday night to clinch their best-of-five series in four games.

All four games went to overtime.

Former UND defender Samantha Hanson is the video coach for the Frost. Minnesota’s head coach is Ken Klee, whose son, David, will be a freshman forward at UND this fall.

Bismarck’s Britta Curl-Salemme is a forward for the Frost.

PWHL

• Dr. Westin Michaud, who played one season at UND after transferring from Colorado College, has been named head coach of the Minnesota Mallards in the North American Hockey League. The Mallards are based in Forest Lake, Minn.
• Former UND forward Brendan O’Donnell, who has been a top player for Düsseldorf in Germany’s first league, confirmed he is leaving the club after Düsseldorf’s relegation to the second division.
• Former UND forward Connor Ford has signed with Jukurit in Finland. He played last season in Slovakia.
• Two former UND players have landed spots for next season. Defenseman Tanner Komzak will play for Mount Royal, a USports team based in Calgary, according to his Instagram account. Defenseman Nate Benoit, who transferred to Quinnipiac last offseason, will go to Long Island University this fall, according to college hockey journalist Mike McMahon.
• Andrew O’Neill, a 2026 UND forward recruit, will play next season with the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League. O’Neill spent the last two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program. He is from Fargo.
• Christian Wolanin scored an overtime winner for the Abbotsford Canucks on Thursday night in the Western Conference Final against the Texas Stars. Wolanin played at UND from 2015-18.
• Former UND defenseman Matt Kiersted and the Charlotte Checkers are in the Eastern Conference Final in the AHL playoffs. Former UND captain Riese Gaber also is on Charlotte, but suffered a season-ending injury in December. Charlotte plays Laval in the Eastern Conference Final.
• Former UND goalie Cam Johnson’s run of three-straight ECHL Kelly Cups ended this week with a loss to Trois-Rivières in the Eastern Conference Final. Former UND defenseman Chris Jandric plays for Trois-Rivières and will go for the Kelly Cup against Toledo.
• UND commit Cooper Williams was named the Saskatoon Blades’ Rookie of the Year and Forward of the Year.
• Michigan Tech has announced Bill Muckalt is replacing Joe Shawhan as head men’s hockey coach. Muckalt was the head coach at Lindenwood. He previously served as an assistant at Michigan Tech and Michigan.