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College football fans, donors created NIL chaos. But was it so bad?

Alabama honors Nick Saban by naming Bryant-Denny field after former coach Alabama honors Nick Saban by naming Bryant-Denny field after former coach College sports fans and donors as much power and influence as ever in NIL era that began in 2021. Old model of college sports featuring unpaid athletes is not returning, but more evolution […]

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1 month ago

May 14, 2025

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College sports fans and donors as much power and influence as ever in NIL era that began in 2021.
Old model of college sports featuring unpaid athletes is not returning, but more evolution awaits.
Fans and boosters enjoyed agency in NIL era. Their donations set the market rate.

You’re going to miss this era of college sports, because at least a portion of this so-called “chaos” excites you. It entertains you. It empowered you, the fan.

You’re going to miss this unregulated, unencumbered and ever so slightly unhinged era of college sports. You’ll miss that the absence of “guardrails” meant enjoying the freedom to crank the speedometer as high as you can take it.

You’re going to miss that this era of college sports granted you, the fans, the most influence you’ve ever possessed.

Your dollars determined the market rate. How much you donated (or didn’t donate) dictated a roster’s payroll. You had a seat in the clown car. Heck, you might have been driving it. If your team won big, you could take pride in knowing you (and maybe a few millionaire and billionaire donors whom you don’t know) contributed to that success.

Maybe you think your team’s quarterback or slot receiver is overpaid, but, your dollars allowed for that payday. If the product stinks, you can snap your wallet shut and withhold NIL donations until the university brass triggers a coaching change.

If you didn’t pony up a single NIL donation and just wanted to watch the games, well, you enjoyed that freedom. Contributing to NIL is entirely optional.

More change is coming within college sports. I don’t know what shape this next system will take, only that it will be different. I’m skeptical fans will retain as much agency as they’ve had these past few years.

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Fans, donors took the wheel of NIL era of college sports

Coaches depended on you to fund their roster, but you weren’t obligated to fork over the cash. You controlled the power of the purse.

What does this power look like in action? Consider LSU this offseason. The school’s donors and fans increased their giving these past several months. For return on that investment, coach Brian Kelly assembled the nation’s top-ranked transfer class. Now, the Tigers look more like a playoff team, maybe even a national championship contender. That’s the byproduct of a fan and donor base working to achieve a common goal.

No longer must you depend on the ball coach being an ace recruiter (or good at sliding money under the table in a fast-food bag). Now, fan dollars gathered above the table facilitate roster assembly.

The NCAA’s former system of unpaid athletes isn’t returning, no matter how much reminiscing occurs. The courts deemed that old model illegal and smashed it to bits. Whatever’s next won’t look like 2020, but not like 2024, either.

NIL an optional fan expense; revenue-sharing will be more direct

Athlete empowerment irks a certain portion of College Sports Inc., and coaches understandably crave more roster control, but their grievances don’t end there. They disliked ceding control to third-party collectives. These NIL groups, bankrolled and operated by donors and fans, became college football’s lifeblood these past few years. Coaches and administrators would like nothing more than to tamp down fans’ power while still collecting their cash.

Schools are trying to bring the NIL operation in house and take control of dispensing your dollars.

Revenue-sharing awaits around the bend. That amounts to new expenses. If you think any serious administrative belt-tightening will occur to offset those costs, well, I’ve got a property in Illinois to sell you with a mountain view. Expect at least some of the revenue-sharing costs to be passed to fans. NIL donations were optional. Revenue sharing will be a more direct expense passed on in the form of ticket-price hikes. Athletic directors can dress up these price hikes by dubbing them “talent fees,” but no matter what they call it, this shifts more direct financial burden onto fans, even if your power decreases.

Off in the distance, federal bureaucrats sniff around the hen house. College sports leaders keep begging Congress to provide government regulations that rein in athlete freedoms and dial down the influence fans and donors enjoy in this current landscape.

I won’t try to convince you everything went perfectly these past few years. Stanford being in the same conference as Florida State will never make sense. It’s probably not ideal that athletes can transfer an unlimited number of times without penalty, either.

Overall, though, I wonder whether fans might someday look back on these past few years as the good ol’ days that were underappreciated in the moment.

Coaches, administrators and conference commissioners insist unfettered athlete freedoms, paired with unprecedented fan and donor influence, produced “chaos.” They called it the Wild, Wild West. I see it differently. Maybe, College Sports Inc. just couldn’t stand that you, the fans and donors, became the sheriff in town.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com. Follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

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Brent Blum Named Director of NIL Development for Iowa State

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June 27, 2025

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Pivot Points: The games that could define the 2025 college football season

We all know the importance of Penn State–Ohio State or the history of Oklahoma–Texas. Those games are already circled on every college football fan’s calendar. But there are other games — either because of the particular circumstances of the season or because of where conference schedule-makers placed them — that hold equal importance. These are […]

Published

1 hour ago

June 26, 2025

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We all know the importance of Penn State–Ohio State or the history of Oklahoma–Texas. Those games are already circled on every college football fan’s calendar.

But there are other games — either because of the particular circumstances of the season or because of where conference schedule-makers placed them — that hold equal importance. These are the Pivot Point games. They’re the wins that can launch a successful streak or the losses that send a team tumbling toward a failed season.

Here are 10 September and early-October games that could make an outsize impact on each team’s season…

Florida at LSU – September 13

This is a guaranteed meltdown game. No matter the result, the losing team’s fanbase will lose its collective mind.

The fans of both these teams expect College Football Playoff contention. Because of the difficulty of the remaining schedules, the loser of this game might not be able to achieve that.

LSU will have already played Clemson and has Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Alabama upcoming. Holding serve at home in the SEC opener will be critical for the Tigers.

The week after they visit Death Valley, the Gators play at Miami. Then, after an open date, they play Texas at home and then at Texas A&M. That gauntlet will define Florida’s season, and if it doesn’t start with a win, it could go poorly.

There’s nothing like a Saturday night in Death Valley. The greatest atmosphere in college football gets even better when the pressure gets poured on both teams.

Illinois at Indiana – September 20

This won’t be a CFP elimination game. It’s far too early in the season for that. But it will match two potential CFP contenders, and the loser might not be able to reach 10 wins.

Illinois brings back most of the best parts of a team that went 9-3 in the 2024 regular season. Indiana, meanwhile, is going to be far from a one-year wonder under coach Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers have some of the Big Ten’s most impactful players coming back after going 11-1.

Indiana’s schedule is harder this year, and the Hoosiers’ next two games are at Iowa and at Oregon. With a visit to Penn State still on the schedule, Indiana probably needs to go 2-1 in the Illinois-Iowa-Oregon stretch to be 10-2 or better.

Illinois will already have played Duke and still has Ohio State and a visit to Washington on the docket. This trip to Bloomington will be critical.

Auburn at Oklahoma – September 20

The Jackson Arnold Revenge Game will feature subplots aplenty, but it really comes down to this: Oklahoma and Auburn both expect a much better season than 2024, and both teams feel they should win this game.

I had this game on this list last season. It probably was the pivot point for Auburn, which collapsed following a crippling late interception to drop the second of four consecutive losses. The worst was still yet to come for Oklahoma, which suffered from subpar offensive line play and a receiver room riddled with injuries.

Auburn quarterback Arnold’s return to Norman is the dominant storyline, and it’s about as juicy as it gets. Former blue-chip recruit is hailed as the future of the program. Before he ascends to the starting job, the offensive coordinator leaves, the head coach makes a lazy hire and his season is torpedoed. Afterward, he’s cast aside to make room for a transfer (John Mateer) following the new offensive coordinator (Ben Arbuckle). Now Arnold has a chance to prove the Sooners wrong (or correct). Meanwhile, Mateer will face a defense led by one of the nation’s best edge rushers (Keldric Faulk).

Both teams will have played tough out-of-conference opponents before this game — Baylor for Auburn, Michigan for Oklahoma — but this game starts tough stretches for each team. Auburn’s next three games are at Texas A&M and then home against Georgia and Missouri. Oklahoma has an open date and then Kent State before the Texas game touches off possibly the toughest seven-game stretch in college football history.

Texas Tech at Utah – September 20

It’s tough to pick Pivot Point games in the Big 12 because so many of the teams feel evenly matched. But for Texas Tech’s offseason investment in the transfer portal pays off, the Red Raiders will need to be able to beat a team like Utah.

The Utes’ line of scrimmage players were recruited to win a Pac-12 that still included Oregon, Washington and USC, and if New Mexico transfer quarterback Devon Dampier can spark an offense that has struggled since Cam Rising injured his knee in the Rose Bowl following the 2022 season, then Utah should be capable of contending for the Big 12 title.

This game will match two of the league’s best rosters, and the winner will have a big head-to-head chip in its pocket come November.

Oregon at Penn State – September 27

This will be the first major test for a new-look Ducks team that had to replace first-rounders on both lines of scrimmage and veteran quarterback. Oregon can lose this game and still make the College Football Playoff, but this is the type of team Oregon will have to beat once in the CFP.

The same goes for Penn State, but probably with more urgency. The Nittany Lions did make the semifinals last season, but they did it by beating SMU and Boise State. If Penn State wants to win a national title, it has to start beating opponents with elite talent. This is that type of game. Plus, with road games against Iowa and Ohio State and a visit from Indiana later in the season, there is no guarantee that Penn State can afford to lose this one.

Alabama at Georgia – September 27

This game didn’t necessarily prove anything last season. Alabama jumped on Georgia early and then survived a furious comeback, but the Crimson Tide ended up missing the CFP and Georgia wound up winning the SEC.

The degree of difficulty of an Alabama win in Athens this season might be more indicative of a return to the CFP. With a new starting QB — we’re presuming Ty Simpson — this is a rough first SEC road game. (At least the Tide get the season opener at Florida State to work out any on-the-road kinks.) But if Simpson (or Keelon Russell, if it goes that way), can win between the hedges, he can win anywhere.

Meanwhile, Georgia will be coming off its SEC opener at Tennessee. A win in both could provide a huge confidence boost the rest of the way. Yes, the Bulldogs would still have to play Florida, Ole Miss and Texas, but they get the Rebels and Longhorns at home and haven’t lost to the Gators since 2020.

Boise State at Notre Dame – October 4

The Broncos don’t have to just win the Mountain West to get back to the CFP. They need to prove they can be competitive against a playoff-caliber opponent. Last year, Boise State’s loss at Oregon probably was more important than most of the Broncos’ wins because it showed they could go toe-to-toe against an elite roster. A win at Notre Dame would leave no doubt in that category.

The Fighting Irish have several tough early-season games (at Miami, Texas A&M), and this one ends a challenging early stretch. If Notre Dame comes out of it 5-0 or 4-1, the Irish probably are headed back to the CFP.

Michigan at USC – October 11

Last year’s meeting summed up much of what ailed both programs.

Michigan couldn’t throw, and USC couldn’t stop Michigan from scoring the winning touchdown even though everyone in the stadium knew Michigan couldn’t throw.

This meeting should provide a clear view of how — or whether — these teams have evolved.

Michigan will have played Oklahoma, Nebraska and Wisconsin. (The Nebraska game likely will be without head coach Sherrone Moore because of a school-imposed suspension.) We should know by this point how much of a difference freshman QB Bryce Underwood will make.

USC, meanwhile, will have three Big Ten games under its belt (Purdue, Michigan State, Illinois). It should be 2-1 at worst in those games, and a win against the Wolverines would put the Trojans in a great position heading into games at Notre Dame and Nebraska.

Louisville at Miami – October 17

The Hurricanes’ toughest games might come in the first month, but Notre Dame and Florida aren’t in the ACC. Miami can lose those games and still have a chance to make the CFP as the ACC champ (or possibly as an at-large). Louisville is a potential ACC title contender this year, but if Miami can beat the Cardinals it would put the Hurricanes in a good spot. Miami plays SMU but doesn’t play Clemson in the regular season, so beating Louisville on a Friday night could give the Hurricanes the inside track on an ACC title game berth.

Louisville plays Clemson and SMU in back-to-back weeks in November, so it might need to win this one to have a crack at the ACC title.

Nebraska at Minnesota – October 17

The last Nebraska–Minnesota game — Cornhuskers coach Matt Rhule’s debut in 2023 — was a prime example of the late-game collapses Rhule was hired to purge from the program. Two years later, Rhule seems to have made significant progress.

For Nebraska to take the next step, it needs to win games like this. Minnesota isn’t the sexiest opponent, but the Golden Gophers are tough, well coached and have beaten the Cornhuskers in the teams’ past five meetings.

Minnesota also wants to take another step. The Gophers closed last season by winning six of their last eight, and coach P.J. Fleck’s team should start this season hot. Minnesota should be 5-1 when Nebraska visits. With trips to Iowa and Oregon still on the docket, a win against the Cornhuskers could provide big momentum heading into a critical stretch.

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Nebraska basketball to open Hall of Fame Classic with New Mexico

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June 26, 2025

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Central Michigan University

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – After six seasons of consistent success, and a historic 2025 season, softball Head Coach McCall Salmon has announced the promotion of Assistant Coach Sara Driesenga to Associate Head Coach effectively immediately. Driesenga, who has served as the pitching coach and as an assistant coach for every year Salmon has been […]

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2 hours ago

June 26, 2025

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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – After six seasons of consistent success, and a historic 2025 season, softball Head Coach McCall Salmon has announced the promotion of Assistant Coach Sara Driesenga to Associate Head Coach effectively immediately.

Driesenga, who has served as the pitching coach and as an assistant coach for every year Salmon has been leading the program, has become invaluable to the success of the Maroon & Gold during the recent stretch of achievements for Chippewa Softball over the last six seasons.

“I am thrilled to promote Coach Driesenga to Associate Head Coach” says Coach Salmon. “Her dedication, leadership and unwavering commitment to our program have made a lasting impact on both our players and staff. This promotion is a testament to her hard work, ability to inspire, and vision for our continued success. We are fired up to see how she continues to lead our pitching saff and impact our student-athletes daily.”

A standout pitcher for the University of Michigan and Hudsonville, Michigan native, has bred success in the circle for Chippewa pitchers that have since stamped their names in the Central Michigan Softball record book.

Grace Lehto, a 2024 graduate of the program, who pitched for four seasons under the leadership of Driesenga, was named First Team All-MAC twice, earned Second Team honors once, and was named to the Mid-American Conference All-Tournament in 2022.

Lehto, who ended her career with 567 strikeouts, ranks third in program history in that category. Under Driesenga, Lehto made 131 appearances in the circle, third best in program history, collect the ninth most wins in a career with 50, charted a second best six saves, threw 61 complete games, seventh most in program history, and her 623.3 innings pitched, and the fifth most by any pitcher in Central Michigan Softball history.

Against Bowling Green, April 26^th of 2023, Lehto threw the most recent no-hitter in program history.

“I am so thrilled for Coach Sara in her new role; nobody is more deserving than her. When I was recruited to play at CMU, I was so excited to have the opportunity to learn from and be coached by one of the most legendary pitchers in our game.” Says Lehto.

“Little did I know the impact that Coach Sara would have on not only my athletic career as a pitcher at Central Michigan, but on my life. Her mentorship made me a better pitcher in so many ways; she knows the game of softball from every angle. She is so intelligent and creates an individual relationship with each pitcher to help them achieve their full potential. Her mentorship has also led be to be a better teammate, friend, sister, human. I am so fortunate to have been coaches by Sara, she has had a forever impact on my life, and I am so grateful I know call her a friend for life.”

In the last six seasons leading CMU, the Chippewa pitching staff under the direction of Driesenga has been consistently thriving in the statistical categories.

CMU has held opponents to a .289 batting average in the last six seasons combined, sixth best in the league, and ranks fourth in both strikeouts (1312, 218/season) and .63 strikeouts/hit allowed. The 218.7 strikeouts per season, is also fourth best in the conference.

In the 2025 season, Mackenzie Langan was named First Team All-MAC as a right-handed pitcher for the Chippewas.

Langan posted a 2.94 ERA in her junior season, and a 2.03 ERA in MAC play. Her total ERA for the season was third best in the MAC, and holding her opponents to a .261 batting average, she held the sixth best spot in the conference. Langan collected 13 wins in the 2025 season – fifth best in the MAC and tossed 11 complete games with six shutouts.

For the latest news and updates on CMU Softball, follow the team on X (@cmusoftball) and Instagram (@cmichsoftball).

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As House v. NCAA settlement goes into effect, cheating likely to persist

We’ve heard change is coming. In a few days, the House v. NCAA settlement goes into effect. College sports will then enter a new era with significant changes in financial compensation for athletes. But don’t be too concerned about all the impending changes. Some things won’t change. There will still be pageantry, rabid fan bases, championship […]

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2 hours ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

We’ve heard change is coming.

In a few days, the House v. NCAA settlement goes into effect. College sports will then enter a new era with significant changes in financial compensation for athletes.

But don’t be too concerned about all the impending changes. Some things won’t change. There will still be pageantry, rabid fan bases, championship games and, of course, cheating.

That won’t go away. The old saying in college sports is if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying. Whether it be football, basketball, baseball or probably anything else, colleges will all be “trying.” Some just try harder than others.

Texas A&M Director of Athletics Trev Alberts acknowledged as much earlier this week when discussing the upcoming changes brought on by the settlement.

“Are we ever gonna stop (somebody) from taking a brown paper bag of money and giving it to a player?” Alberts asked rhetorically. “We can’t.”

Those who live in a Utopian world with unicorns may wonder if that would be the case. After all, college programs now have $20.5 million to share with athletes. Why cheat, then?

Anybody who’s ever taken a job for more money knows the answer. And throughout the history of college football, there has always been a bag man lurking in the shadows to offer more money.

An extra $10 grand — or much more — on the side might convince a recruit or transfer which program to join.

The guess here is that most illegal activity will be done under the guise of Name, Image & Likeness (NIL). A few years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that athletes can profit from NIL. Many have and still will.

Kay Naegeli, TexAgs

On Monday, Trev Alberts told the media that Texas A&M will fully fund 410 scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year, an increase from 255.20.

Business-owning boosters have offered big money for endorsements from star athletes. There’s nothing illegal about that.

However, under the House settlement, the accounting firm of Deloitte will act as an independent clearinghouse to ensure NIL deals represent fair market value.

But what if Oregon decides it needs a quarterback? What’s stopping Nike Chairman Phil Knight, a wealthy Oregon booster, from extending a seven-figure endorsement deal to a prospect? Who’s to say that’s fair market value for a Nike commercial?

That might not even be against the rules. But what if Auburn approached Apple CEO Tim Cook, an Auburn grad, about a similar deal and offered to fund it?

A university official contacts a big business, such as American Express or General Motors… You get the idea. The official asks the business to offer a player $1 million endorsement deal. The university then offers to funnel the $1 million to the company.

No doubt, even more creative ways will be schemed to move money under the table. Alberts knows this.

“Our culture in college athletics is ‘tell me the rules so I can get busy working on a strategy to circumvent them,’” he said. “We’re never going to get where we need to go in college athletics if we don’t recognize that.

“If there’s anything that should have taught us that it’s the unregulated market of the last three or four years. Everybody wants to be governed. We just want to make sure other conferences are governed, too.

“But will there be ways around it? Will there be people that test it? Absolutely?”

Alberts said there will be harsh penalties for violators. He said a new breed of diligent NCAA investigators will be waiting to identify and punish programs and coaches who break rules.

– Director of Athletics Trev Alberts

We’ve heard that before, right? The old NCAA wasn’t hesitant to deal out punishment. It’s just that the severity of punishments seemed to change depending on the offender.

Remember the line from old UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian? “The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky that they’re going to give Cleveland State two more years of probation.”

Need an example closer to home? In 1994, the NCAA ruled that some Texas A&M football players were paid for work that wasn’t done in a summer construction job. Never mind that other workers who were not athletes were also paid.

That didn’t matter to the NCAA, which banned A&M from competing for the Southwest Conference championship or playing in a bowl game. The Aggies, by the way, were undefeated that season.

Fast forward a dozen years. In 2006, Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar, offensive lineman J.D. Quinn and a walk-on were found to have been paid for work not performed by a Norman car dealership.

Oklahoma received a public reprimand and lost two scholarships for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.

Alberts acknowledged that there cannot be similar disproportionate punishments moving forward.

“I will tell you — and I pray that it’s not Texas A&M, and we’re working hard to make sure it’s not —but you’re going to have to have a ‘brand’ school get a penalty that’s significant and it sticks,” Alberts said. “And you may have to do it more than once.”

Is Alberts really suggesting higher-profile programs be held to the same standard and face the same sanctions if caught cheating?

That would be nice for a change.

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Olympian's coffee company helps fellow athletes reach their goals

“In amateur sport nowadays, unfortunately, the funding just isn’t where it needs to be,” Mayeur said. Athletes get some support from government, but with expensive equipment and fees on top of their day-to-day bills, most rely on sponsorships and part-time jobs to make ends meet. 0

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2 hours ago

June 26, 2025

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