NIL

College athletes poised to receive pay

Published

7 months ago

May 16, 2025

As soon as later this month, a landmark settlement in an NCAA antitrust case could be finalized, and schools, including Pitt, would dole out more than $20 million annually to players over the next decade. The change would go into effect on July 1.

Key elements of the pending settlement

$2.8 billion in backpay to college athletes who played for Division I schools between 2016 to 2024
$20.5 million paid to athletes by Power 5 conference schools in the first year, with yearly increases
Scholarship limits replaced by roster caps

But, with an athletics department in the red and uncertain federal funding for research — a mainstay in Pitt’s budget — the source of that money is murky.

Some schools around the country have already instituted higher ticket and concession prices for games, while others are adding onto student fees to help foot the bill. Preparation for the payments has also led to already-enrolled athletes being cut from teams, and recruits committing to schools without clarity on next steps come the fall.

Pitt declined to answer specific questions about a funding and distribution plan for the multimillion-dollar payments, where the money would stem from and how recruiting may have been altered for the upcoming school year.

Why are colleges going to pay athletes?

Historically, colleges have avoided having to pay student athletes, characterizing them as amateurs rather than professionals. Karen Weaver, the author of a forthcoming book on university leadership and athletics, said this was feasible for years until college sports began to rake in big bucks.

“The amount of money pouring in at every level … just became intolerable, so athletes and their attorneys started pushing back,” said Weaver, an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Enter a slate of lawsuits against the NCAA, which oversees athletics for more than a thousand colleges and universities. The $2.8 billion settlement could end the case of House v. NCAA, which was initially brought by a former college swimmer and evolved to include two other suits.

Experts told PublicSource that the settlement, which will allow colleges to pay athletes, was a less financially damaging choice for the organization than letting the cases play out in court.

However, colleges and universities in the Power Five conferences aren’t exactly in a prime position to help the NCAA cover the settlement cost, especially as they each prepare to find $20.5 million for their athletes.

Can Pitt afford this?

Revenue for most schools’ athletics departments doesn’t outpace expenses, including at Pitt.

According to financial disclosures submitted to the state, Pitt’s athletics department ended the 2023-24 school year with a $45 million deficit.

“The issue with college sports, as is true for most of our education, is we spend what we get and sometimes in college athletics, they spend more,” Weaver said. “So, more often than not, they’re running deficits.”

PublicSource reached out to Pitt with questions about the deficit and did not receive a response by publication time.

The settlement’s potential finalization would also arrive at a time when Pitt is battling critical financial concerns. Federal research funding cuts prompted Pitt in March to institute a hiring freeze that will last until the end of June, at a minimum. Research grants and contracts accounted for 39% of the university’s revenue in 2024.

“This is a real concern. The timing could not be worse,” Weaver said about the current higher education climate.

Solutions for finding the money range from cutting sports that aren’t generating enough revenue to acquiring loans through private equity, Weaver said. Despite the silence from administrators, she said with the settlement being potentially close to finalization, it’s likely that Pitt would have a plan or be close to one by now.

Would tuition increase?

One alum has been trying for months to figure that out. In February, Byron Fleck contacted university administrators requesting that the Board of Trustees add an agenda item to their next meeting. The San Jose-based lawyer attached a statement of support for a resolution that, if approved by the trustees, would promise that tuition, student fees and taxpayer money wouldn’t be used to pay Pitt’s athletes.

State law permits state-related universities, including Pitt, to use taxpayer money only to offset tuition costs for state residents. There have been no indications that the university plans to increase tuition or add student fees to pay athletes. Pitt did not answer a question about whether it intends to do so.

Since 2021, tuition at Pitt’s main campus in Oakland has increased every year. Last year’s increase was 2% for in-state students and 4% for out-of-state students. The university’s budget for the next school year, when athlete payments would begin if the settlement is approved, won’t be finalized until July.

Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel and Board Secretary Philip Bakken both confirmed that Fleck’s request and statement were relayed to the trustees, according to emails shared with PublicSource. After this, Fleck said he was told there would be no further communication regarding the request. The board met on May 8 and the resolution wasn’t mentioned.

When asked why the board didn’t acknowledge the request for a resolution vote, a Pitt spokesperson said, “The Board of Trustees, through the Office of the Secretary, did acknowledge Mr. Fleck’s feedback and request. We thanked him for his feedback and repeatedly indicated that his communication had been shared with the board.”

In the absence of a vote, Fleck took to contacting Gov. Josh Shapiro, State Education Secretary Carrie Rowe and state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman and Minority Leader Jay Costa.

Costa, whose district includes Pitt’s Oakland campus and who serves on the Board of Trustees, reached out to the board to ask them to consider the resolution, according to an email from his district office director earlier this month.

Would players be paid equally?

The settlement will not detail which athletes are paid or how much, leaving the choice up to the individual schools. Most are expected to follow a plan that would see football and men’s basketball players receiving the bulk of the money since those sports tend to generate the most revenue.

Under that blueprint, football would get 75% of the funds, 15-20% would go to men’s basketball, 5-10% would go to women’s basketball and leftover money would be given to other sports. At Pitt, there is a slightly larger number of male athletes at 292 than female athletes at 235, according to the most recent federal data.

Experts told PublicSource they are expecting legal challenges related to Title IX, particularly if schools follow the football-heavy formula.

Title IX requires schools to provide equal financial assistance opportunities to men and women athletes. Before former President Joe Biden left office in January, he issued guidance spelling this out for the distribution of name, image and likeness [NIL] payments. The Trump administration rescinded this on Feb. 12.

Pitt did not answer a question about whether parity between men’s and women’s sports would be a factor in how athletes get paid.

How does NIL factor into this?

Student athletes are currently able to profit from outside NIL deals, a change that the NCAA allowed in June 2021. The settlement will not limit their ability to earn extra money on top of payments from schools, but there will be more regulation around deals. Those worth $600 or more will have to be made public.

Many players sign onto and are paid through school-specific NIL collectives, which are often organizations that accept donations to pay athletes for the likes of endorsements, social media posts, appearances and more.

Weaver called these collectives “loosely structured.” Pitt’s collective is Alliance 412 and was founded by alum Chris Bickell in 2022. Bickell, CEO of the Florida health tech company WellHive, donated $20 million to Pitt’s athletics department the previous year.

These collectives operate independently from the universities, but experts predict that many will be absorbed into athletics departments after the settlement is finalized.

Alliance 412 and the university’s department, though separate entities, already work in close collaboration. Last fall, Pitt football head coach Pat Narduzzi and Bickell decided to stop paying all players, instead compensating select ones.

“If you want sponsorships and want to be paid like a professional, you have to earn it,” Bickell said in an interview with Yahoo! Sports.

Could athletes unionize?

To Ohio University professor B. David Ridpath, there is only one clear path forward for Pitt once the settlement is finalized.

“It’s going to be difficult for them to be able to exist in any competitive balance with a Penn State, with a Notre Dame, with an Ohio State, unless there is some type of collective bargaining and unionization with the athletes, because then … you could level out the playing field a little bit more,” he said.

Ridpath, whose research focuses on sports governance in intercollegiate athletics, said unionizing would allow for salary caps and even spending, in part by eliminating recruiting costs. It would also ensure Title IX requirements are met, he said.

Student athletes have never been considered employees of the universities they play for, but receiving payment as part of the settlement’s conditions would call their status into question. Ridpath expects the settlement will open the door for lawsuits addressing this.

Details in the settlement are still being hammered out between the NCAA and athletes represented in the case, despite it having preliminary approval. If an agreement isn’t reached, the case goes to trial, and the financial blowback for the NCAA and its member schools could skyrocket.

Weaver isn’t sure what will happen, while Ridpath is more certain.

“I tend to think the settlement is going to get approved, but also I think, predict and rightly predict, that’s just the beginning,” he said.

Maddy Franklin reports on higher ed for PublicSource, in partnership with Open Campus, and can be reached at madison@publicsource.org.

This story was fact-checked by Ayla Saeed.

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Three Mizzou staffers following Kirby Moore to Washington State

Published

43 minutes ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

When Kirby Moore got the Washington State head coaching job, Eli Drinkwitz knew a few members of his staff would likely be headed to Pullman soon.

“Moving forward, could lose a couple more people off our staff from analyst roles, as coach Moore finalizes and puts his staff together,” Drinkwitz said on December 16. “It shouldn’t change the dynamic of what we do at all.”

Three of those moves were reported on Wednesday morning by Chris Hummer and Matt Zenitz of CBS and 247Sports.

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The first is Tiger tight ends coach Derham Cato. Cato has coached Mizzou’s tight ends for the last three seasons. He spent six years at Washington, including an overlap with Moore when Moore was a graduate assistant for the Huskies. PowerMizzou.com had alerted subscribers to this move being likely a week ago.

The second coach is assistant offensive line coach Jack Abercrombie. Hummer and Zenitz report that Abercrombie will be the full-time offensive line coach for Moore with Washington State. Prior to his time at Mizzou, Abercrombie was on staff at VMI.

The final Mizzou to Washington State move is a front office move. Brad Larrondo, who has served as the CEO of Every True Tiger Brands, which is Missouri’s third-part partner for name, image and likeness deals. In his role, Larrondo helps Mizzou athletes line up NIL deals and also negotiates NIL and revenue sharing contracts for Mizzou football and men’s basketball players. Larrondo came to Missouri as Drinkwitz’s Director of Football External Relations and Recruiting in March of 2023. Prior to that, he had been the Chief of Staff at Auburn.

Larrondo had spent the previous 28 years in the athletic administration at Boise State, which is just 300 miles from Pullman. He still has family in Boise and sources told PowerMizzou.com the move to Washington State is heavily based in family reasons.

Larrondo’s position is technically not a University or a football program hire. However, the position works very closely with both and whoever replaces him will do so with influence and blessing from both of those entities. Missouri plays Virginia in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl on Saturday night. Any personnel moves or replacements will almost certainly not come until after that game.

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Missouri Damon Wilson files countersuit against Georgia in NIL case

Published

2 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Updated Dec. 24, 2025, 11:28 a.m. ET

Missouri football defensive end Damon Wilson has sued Georgia athletics, a move that counters a Georgia lawsuit filed against Wilson earlier this year and intensifies what was already a novel and likely first-of-its-kind case over an NIL contract dispute.

A 42-page document reviewed by the Columbia Daily Tribune was filed in Boone County on Tuesday.

Georgia is attempting to take Wilson into arbitration and is seeking $390,000 in liquidated damages from the star edge rusher, who transferred to the Tigers in January 2025, over what the university views as an unfulfilled contract with the Bulldogs’ former NIL collective, Classic City Collective.

In response, escalating what was already an attempt at a potentially precedent-setting case, Wilson’s attorneys allege his former team “falsely (told) at least three programs” unnamed Power Four teams that “Wilson would be subject to a $1.2 million buyout.”

The suit also alleges Georgia violated a confidentiality provision in Wilson’s term sheet, which was provided as part of the UGA lawsuit in a public court filing.

Wilson’s suit argues he also was urged to sign the term sheet without legal counsel, and that Georgia did not “immediately submit his name to the transfer portal” but instead “launched an all-out offensive to convince Wilson to remain at Georgia.”

Also of note: The suit argues the term sheet Wilson signed states it would “be used to create a legally binding document” and therefore is not enforceable in its current format, and that he was urged to “seek legal counsel” before the agreement was finalized.

If the document is determined not to be finalized, it is quite likely Wilson will not owe Georgia the $390,000 it seeks.

Per The Athletic, Wilson is seeking “a ‘fair and reasonable amount of damages’ for the ‘financial and reputational harm he has suffered’ along with legal fees” from Georgia.

“Georgia appears intent on making an example of someone, they just picked the wrong person,” Jeff Jensen, one of Wilson’s attorneys, said to the Columbia Daily Tribune. “Damon never had a contract with them. I don’t see how Georgia thinks intimidation and litigation will help their recruitment efforts — maybe players could bring lawyers with them to practice.”

Multiple Missouri representatives, including a team spokesperson and athletic director Laird Veatch, have declined to comment on Wilson’s lawsuit. The Georgia lawsuit is not against the University of Missouri; it is only against Wilson.

“This matter involves pending litigation, and we have no comment at this time,” Georgia spokesperson Steven Drummond told USA TODAY on Tuesday. “We refer you to our previous statement.”

The previous Georgia statement in question: “When the University of Georgia Athletic Association enters binding agreements with student-athletes, we honor our commitments and expect student-athletes to do the same.”

Georgia has argued Wilson signed a contract — a common practice in the NIL era — with what was then Georgia’s main, but now-shuttered, NIL and marketing arm, Classic City Collective, in December 2024.

That collective has since shut down, as Georgia has partnered with Learfield to negotiate and facilitate NIL deals in the revenue-sharing era.

The report, citing documents attached to Georgia’s legal filings, shows that Wilson signed a 14-month term sheet worth $500,000 with the Bulldogs. He was set to earn monthly payments of $30,000 through the end of the contract, as well as two $40,000 bonus payments.

Before announcing his intention to transfer in January, he reportedly was paid $30,000.

The contract states if Wilson left the team or transferred, as he ultimately did to Missouri, he would owe the collective that issued the payments a lump sum equal to the amount remaining on his deal.

The bonus payments seemingly were not included, which brings that total to the $390,000 that Georgia is now seeking in court.

Wilson was paid only a fraction of that sum, but the university argues he owes the full amount in damages. It’s unclear why Georgia is claiming it is owed the full amount in liquidated damages.

According to documents viewed by the Tribune through the Georgia courts records system, Georgia filed an “application to compel arbitration” on Oct. 17 in the Clarke County Superior Court, which includes Athens and the University of Georgia. Wilson was served with a summons to appear in court, according to documents, on Nov. 19, three days before the Tigers faced Oklahoma.

Wilson spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Georgia. He transferred to Missouri ahead of spring camp in 2025 and has emerged as one of the top pass rushers in the SEC.

Per Pro Football Focus, Wilson generated 49 pressures on opposing quarterbacks this season, which was the second-most in the SEC behind only Colin Simmons at Texas. He’s listed at 6-4, 250 pounds and could declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, where he would likely be a Day 1 or 2 pick.

This case marks the first time a school has taken a player to court over an NIL buyout. It also looks likely to be the first time a player has filed suit against a school over NIL.

Missouri has multiple players on two-year contracts. Part of that is in the hope they do not move on after one season.

If Georgia’s arbitration case against Wilson is successful, that would be a groundbreaking ruling in college athletics that could give more weight to liquidated damages clauses in athlete contracts.

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College Football Playoff team loses key starter to NCAA transfer portal

Published

2 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The first round of the College Football Playoff is in the books. Eight teams remain in the hunt to win it all, with Miami and Ohio State kicking off the quarterfinals slate in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on December 31.

There were quite a few memorable games in the opening round of the playoffs, including Miami’s hard-fought victory against Texas A&M and Alabama’s wild comeback to secure a road win over Oklahoma.

The lone blowout came from Ole Miss over Tulane, winning 41-10 over the Green Wave. Both programs are in transition after their head coaches were hired away by other schools. The Green Wave, in particular, has seen some attrition since concluding its season last week.

Another Tulane Starter Enters Transfer Portal

On Wednesday afternoon, redshirt sophomore cornerback Jahiem Johnson announced his plans to move on after three seasons at Tulane, per On3’s Haye Fawcett.

Johnson developed into a productive defender for the Green Wave in 2025, starting in all 14 games. He totaled 42 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, 9 pass deflections, and 4 interceptions. Johnson’s 9 pass deflections led the American Conference.

He deflected a pass in 6 different games and recorded a pick in 4 separate outings. In Tulane’s conference championship victory against North Texas, Johnson tied his season-high with 5 tackles, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception.

The Louisiana native played the most snaps (834 snaps) of any player on Tulane’s defense. He was the third-highest-graded player on the unit (77.1 overall grade), per Pro Football Focus.

Johnson signed with Tulane as a three-star prospect in the 2023 class, joining the program under former head coach Willie Fritz. He redshirted as a true freshman, sticking with the Green Wave when Jon Sumrall took over.

In 2024, appeared in 14 games as a reserve, totaling 4 tackles and 2 pass deflections. Johnson’s rise this past season resulted in him earning honorable mention conference honors.

Johnson is the fifth starter to transfer from Tulane, joining defensive end Santana Hopper, linebacker Harvey Dyson, defensive tackle Tre’Von McAlpine, and running back Javin Gordon in the portal.

Sumrall was hired away from the Green Wave to be the next head coach of the Florida Gators. Considering Johnson’s breakout campaign, he may want to continue playing for a familiar face if that option is on the table.

Four key Gophers will be back in 2026

Published

3 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PHOENIX — Four important Gopher football players were part of a unique media campaign on Tuesday.

Offensive linemen Greg Johnson and Nathan Roy, and defensive backs John Nestor and Kerry Brown allowed the Gophers’ NIL collective, Dinkytown Athletes, to share news they will play in the Rate Bowl against New Mexico on Friday, and will return to Minnesota for the 2026 season.

The social media posts were “presented by Cub Foods,” and those players will be recipients of the grocer’s NIL contribution next year. Dinkytown Athletes serves as a subcontractor.

Athletics Director Mark Coyle called Cub Foods a “foundational partner” of Gopher sports.

“That is how we take the next step, with that type of involvement with NIL side of it,” Coyle told the Pioneer Press. “We are so grateful for their support.”

A few more current Gopher players are expected to join the Cub Foods campaign after the bowl game. But if players on the current roster aren’t included in this specific rollout, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are leaving the U to go into the transfer portal.

For instance, quarterback Drake Lindsey said, independently, two weeks ago that he would return to Minnesota for his redshirt sophomore season in 2026. Other current players have shared they will be back with the Gophers next year.

Meanwhile, the futures of defensive end Anthony Smith, safety Koi Perich and running back Darius Taylor have yet to be shared. Smith and Taylor said Wednesday they have not yet made decisions on their plans for 2026; both are in line to play in the bowl game at Chase Field.

“I really haven’t thought about that stuff,” Taylor said. “I’m just worried about the game. I will figure all that out after the game.”

Smith said he hasn’t ruled out entering the transfer portal. “I don’t know,” he said.

Johnson, who started all 12 regular-season games at guard, will return for his senior season next fall. The Prior Lake native played nearly 700 snaps and was Minnesota’s highest-graded starting offensive lineman in 2025 (75.3 overall mark, per Pro Football Focus).

“Being from Minnesota, I personally didn’t have any thoughts of going elsewhere,” Johnson said. “I think Drake really set the tone for the team. This is Drake’s team. He’s our leader and it’s easy to come back and want to play for a guy like that.”

Roy stepped in as the U’s left tackle during his redshirt freshman year with aplomb, playing a team-high 702 snaps with a 69.0 grade from PFF. The Mukwanago, Wis., native will be back for his redshirt sophomore year.

Nestor transferred in from the Iowa Hawkeyes last year, and the Chicago native started 10 of 12 games as Minnesota’s most-reliable corner. He had a team-high five interceptions, adding 47 tackles in 538 total snaps. He will be a senior in 2026.

Gophers defensive back John Nestor returns an interception against Northwestern State — Minnesota Gophers defensive back John Nestor (17) returns a interception for a touchdown against the Northwestern State Demons on the very first play from scrimmage in the first quarter of a NCAA football game at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Brown continued as a linchpin in Minnesota’s defense for second straight season. The safety and nickel back from Naples, Fla., was fourth on team with 55 tackles and added two interceptions in 579 snaps. He will return for his redshirt junior year.

Gophers defensive back Kerry Brown breaks up a pass against Wisconsin. — Minnesota Gophers defensive back Kerry Brown (14) disrupts a pass from Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Hunter Simmons (15) to wide receiver Trech Kekahuna (2) in the fourth quarter of a NCAA football game at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

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Georgia case could determine if schools can get damages from transfers

Published

4 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Are top-drawer college football teams and their name, image and likeness collectives simply trying to protect themselves from willy-nilly transfers or are they bullying players to stay put with threats of lawsuits?

Adding liquidated damage fee clauses to NIL contracts became all the rage in 2025, a year that will be remembered as the first time players have been paid directly by schools. But some experts say such fees cannot be used as a cudgel to punish players that break a contract and transfer.

It’s no surprise that the issue has resulted in a lawsuit — make that two lawsuits — before the calendar flipped to 2026.

Less than a month after Georgia filed a lawsuit against defensive end Damon Wilson II to obtain $390,000 in damages because he transferred to Missouri, Wilson went to court himself, claiming Georgia is misusing the liquidated damages clause to “punish Wilson for entering the portal.”

Wilson’s countersuit in Boone County, Mo., says he was among a small group of Bulldog stars pressured into signing the contract Dec. 21, 2024. The lawsuit also claims that Wilson was misused as an elite pass rusher, that the Georgia defensive scheme called for him to drop back into pass coverage. Wilson, who will be a senior next fall, led Missouri with nine sacks this season.

Georgia paid Wilson $30,000, the first monthly installment of his $500,000 NIL deal, before he entered the transfer portal on Jan. 6, four days after Georgia lost to Notre Dame in a College Football Playoffs quarterfinal.

Bulldogs brass was not pleased. Wilson alleges in his lawsuit that Georgia dragged its feet in putting his name in the portal and spread misinformation to other schools about him and his contractual obligations.

“When the University of Georgia Athletic Association enters binding agreements with student-athletes, we honor our commitments and expect student-athletes to do the same,” Georgia spokesperson Steven Drummond said in a statement after the school filed the lawsuit.

Wilson’s countersuit turned that comment on its head, claiming it injured his reputation because it implies he was dishonest. He is seeking unspecified damages in addition to not owing the Bulldogs anything. Georgia’s lawsuit asked that the dispute be resolved through arbitration.

A liquidated damage fee is a predetermined amount of money written into a contract that one party pays the other for specific breaches. The fee is intended to provide a fair estimate of anticipated losses when actual damages are difficult to calculate, and cannot be used to punish one party for breaking the contract.

Wilson’s case could have far-reaching implications because it is the first that could determine whether schools can enforce liquidated damage clauses. While it could be understandable that schools want to protect themselves from players transferring soon after receiving NIL money, legal experts say liquidated damage fees might not be the proper way to do so.

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Report shares why Penn State did not spend ‘a ton of time’ pursuing Kalen DeBoer, Mike Elko

Published

5 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Penn State‘s head coaching search may have taken longer than expected, but the Nittany Lions ultimately landed their guy — Matt Campbell from Iowa State. According to a recent report from ESPN, however, the search apparently featured a number of big-name college football candidates to replace James Franklin.

These names included Alabama‘s Kalen DeBoer, Notre Dame‘s Marcus Freeman and Texas A&M‘s Mike Elko. All surfaced as “potential candidates,” with Elko looked at as “the most realistic,” given his ties to the region.

“The whole time, we thought Elko was going to be the guy,” one SEC coach told ESPN. “Then he came off the board.”

Elko just finished an 11-2 season at Texas A&M, leading the Aggies to its first-ever College Football Playoff. His Aggies were undefeated for the first 13 weeks of the season while Penn State continued it’s head coaching search. Texas A&M went on to extend his on Nov. 15.

For DeBoer, he denied having interest in the Nittany Lions’ job. Freeman was in the middle of leading Notre Dame to a 10-game win streak to lose the season. According to another ESPN source, Penn State “never spent a ton of time on those guys knowing their current situations.”

It wasn’t until early December that Penn State announced the hire of former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell. The hire appears to have been well-received on social media and recruits alike.

He’s bringing to Happy Valley a resume that includes a 107–70 overall as a head coach. He built the Iowa State program from the ground up after a successful stint as Toledo’s head coach. Starting with a 3-9 finish in his first year with the program, Campbell led the Cyclones to a program record five-straight bowl games.

In 2024, Iowa State had its best season yet under Campbell. Leading the Cyclones to an 11-3 record, they came up just short of the College Football Playoff after losing to Arizona State in the Big 12 Championship game. They were ranked as high as No. 9 in the AP Poll last season.

He is expected to mirror that success and then some as the Nittany Lions’ new head coach, all while competing alongside the DeBoer’s, Freeman’s and Elko’s at the forefront of college football. Campbell’s effort is already underway in Happy Valley, and the product of it will be seen next fall.

The first step — the NCAA transfer portal. Penn State was left with two signees in its 2025 recruiting class, so he’ll be focused on bolstering his roster once it opens on Jan. 2.

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