NIL

College Sports Chaos

There isn’t much to be said with certainty about the current college basketball landscape, but Josh Pastner knows one thing to be true: “It’s a totally different world,” the new UNLV men’s basketball coach said in an interview with the Review-Journal. Two years removed from his previous head coaching role at Georgia Tech, the 47-year-old […]

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3 weeks ago

May 9, 2025

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There isn’t much to be said with certainty about the current college basketball landscape, but Josh Pastner knows one thing to be true:

“It’s a totally different world,” the new UNLV men’s basketball coach said in an interview with the Review-Journal.

Two years removed from his previous head coaching role at Georgia Tech, the 47-year-old didn’t miss a beat when he was hired to replace Kevin Kruger in March.

Despite the competitive nature of the transfer portal amid the name, image and likeness era, Pastner led the Rebels through a complete roster overhaul that will welcome newcomers from the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12.

The recruiting class is headlined by 6-foot-7-inch Alabama freshman Naas Cunningham, who will be joined in the frontcourt by High Point senior Kimani Hamilton, Arizona freshman Emmanuel Stephen and Iowa sophomore Ladji Dembele.

Pastner’s haul of guards included UC Irvine junior Myles Che, Texas-Rio Grande Valley junior Howard Fleming, Louisiana Tech senior Al Green and Illinois sophomore Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn.

When point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., the team’s leading scorer, left UNLV and committed to LSU, it became clear that Pastner would be starting from scratch. The Rebels won’t return a single starter from last season after the departures of forward Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry to Sacramento State and guard Jaden Henley to Grand Canyon.

UNLV also lost key bench pieces Jailen Bedford (Virginia Tech), Brooklyn Hicks (Montana) and Pape N’Diaye (Xavier), along with Jace Whiting (Weber State) and Rob Whaley Jr. (Kent State), who each missed all but the first two games of last season.

While the tight timeline to replace players would be a daunting task for some, Pastner described it as a breath of fresh air that he looked forward to while working as a TV analyst for networks like ESPN, Peacock, and CBS Sports Network during his time away from coaching.

“Doing television, I can’t tell you how many times talking to different coaches (I’d hear) how much they did not like the landscape,” he said. “I actually enjoy this.”

Embracing portal

In Pastner’s view, the biggest change in college basketball recruiting comes down to the timeline.

From his tenure as an assistant at Arizona to his head coaching days at Memphis and Georgia Tech, Pastner still remembers the era of “pursuing a prospect for three, maybe four years,” he said.

After being consistently courted for so long, players would cut their lists down to a few schools, take official visits and eventually land on their long-term home.

“At the end, they say they’re going somewhere else, and it’s devastating. Or if you win and get the guy, you’re so excited,” Pastner said. “The difference right now is everything is streamlined. Instead of two to three years, it’s two to three weeks. And it’s so much quicker. … So I love this, because I’m all about efficiency. Less is more.”

But a quick process doesn’t mean a haphazard one. Pastner said he’s prioritizing being “really good in evaluation,” raising NIL money and molding players into better talents.

As someone who believes his career has “survived on player development,” Pastner understands his coaching approach might not be everyone’s cup of tea — and he’s not going to change.

“You’ve got to coach your team demanding such great excellence, accountability and discipline, with the assumption that they’re all going to go in the portal next year,” Pastner said. “You can’t coach trying to keep guys. You’ve just got to coach them hard, try to do the best you can for the team. And then you might have to start all over in the following year, but that’s OK.”

Transparency, flexibility

When asked what he would target if he could alter any aspect of the NIL framework or rules, Pastner suggested something like a database of offer sheets.

“In the NBA, or pro sports, if a team is offering somebody something, the other team has a chance to match it and they know what they’re offering,” he said. “… (In college sports) you don’t know if you’re out bidding against yourself. You’re doing a best-guess estimate because you don’t know what the other schools are doing.

“I wish there was more transparency from everybody in college basketball.”

Pastner has used the same principle as the foundation of his recruiting. He won’t disclose specific NIL contract details of one player to another because he views it as personal and confidential, but said that he made sure to let every recruit know “where they stand” in the locker room.

Pastner said he also only recruited players he believed view “winning a possession as more important than breathing.” He and his new staff used the slogan “toughness and shooting” as they built the roster.

At one point during the portal madness, Pastner said he and his assistants thought they’d secured a “high-level player.” After some promising exchanges in which the prospect seemed excited to join the Rebels, Pastner said his team arranged to meet with him virtually one morning — but the recruit didn’t show up and no one could get ahold of him.

Hours after the scheduled time, he claimed to have overslept.

“So we went to somebody else,” Pastner said. “It wasn’t going to be the right fit. You’ve got to get ready to move on to the next deal.”

Pastner wants his roster to have the same flexibility as his staff when his first season at the helm of the Rebels begins.

“If you have a tough loss, or you’re in a tough stretch, how do you bounce back (from) that quickly?” he said. “You’ve got to move on to the next thing and not dwell on the past.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.

NIL

Could agents or NIL come to high school sports?

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – There’s a lot that high school athletes have to deal with: schoolwork, practice, maybe going after a college scholarship. And now with the changes to Rule 19, transferring to a school that offers better opportunities “If I’m a good athlete and I want to be a part of a winning […]

Published

32 minutes ago

May 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – There’s a lot that high school athletes have to deal with: schoolwork, practice, maybe going after a college scholarship.

And now with the changes to Rule 19, transferring to a school that offers better opportunities

“If I’m a good athlete and I want to be a part of a winning team, I may be the best player in a local suburb, and I want to win,” says Kirk Butler, talent president for 90 Ninety One Sports Agency. “If I’m going to want to win, I may have to go to another high school to do so.”

RELATED: What is Rule 19?: A breakdown of Indiana’s new transfer rule for high school athletes

Butler is a high school sports agent that works with over 80 athletes across the country. He helps them connect with specialized trainers and interact with college coaches. Now, it’s also about connecting with high school coaches

“We can facilitate some of those connections and relationships,” Butler says. “We have a platform tool where an athlete at the high school level can upload videos and send them to prep schools, send them to colleges, send them to junior colleges, community colleges. Because they might not necessarily be able to reach a coach and say, ‘Hey, please take a look at my video.’”

With transferring comes questions about Name Image and Likeness payments. It’s not allowed right now in Indiana, but it could always change.

I asked the IHSAA’s commissioner on how they’re approaching this.

“Our philosophy is this: you can’t sell what you don’t own. You don’t own a school’s uniform. You don’t own their facility. You don’t own their name,” says IHSAA Commissioner Paul Neidig. “If a student wants to teach somebody how to shoot a basketball or hit a baseball, or a softball, with their own name and they do it on their own, that’s not necessarily something we’re going to get involved in in the future.”

RELATED: What impact could Indiana’s new transfer rule have on high school sports?

Academics sometimes feel lost in these conversations, but not for Butler.

“Having the trust in parents to say, ‘Hey listen, we know what your athlete wants,’” Butler explains. “But at the end of the day, the first word in that is student-athlete. I care about your grades first, athletics can go after.”

Because while high school athletes do have a lot to handle, school is the thing that makes everything else possible.

Refresher on Indiana’s Rule 19

Previously if a student transferred schools, they would have to sit out one calendar year and miss all three sports seasons.

Now for a first-time transfer, as long as the student isn’t a senior, they will be immediately eligible to play sports at their new school. Think of it like the transfer portal in college sports.

This rule goes into effect this Sunday, June 1, so we’ll be seeing the first students use it heading into next school year’s fall season.

There are still many moving parts within Rule 19. Our WNDU 16 Sports team will have more breakdowns and explainers throughout the week on WNDU 16 News Now and WNDU.com.

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NIL

Why does Tennessee softball wear blue? What to know about ‘Summitt Blue’ uniforms

Tennessee softball rallied after a Game 1 loss to Nebraska in the super regionals, winning Games 2 and 3 to advance to the Women’s College World Series. The No. 7 Lady Vols wore their all-blue uniforms for the series-clinching win on Sunday, setting up a first-round WCWS matchup with No. 2 Oklahoma. Tennessee might bring […]

Published

1 hour ago

May 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Tennessee softball rallied after a Game 1 loss to Nebraska in the super regionals, winning Games 2 and 3 to advance to the Women’s College World Series.

The No. 7 Lady Vols wore their all-blue uniforms for the series-clinching win on Sunday, setting up a first-round WCWS matchup with No. 2 Oklahoma. Tennessee might bring back the all-blue uniforms again in Oklahoma City, which might be unusual for some college softball fans not aware of the Lady Vols’ history.

WCWS bracket 2025: Full schedule, matchups for NCAA softball tournament

All of Tennessee’s women’s sports programs wear “Summitt Blue” uniforms in honor of Pat Summitt, the legendary Lady Vols basketball coach.

Here’s everything to know about Tennessee softball’s blue uniforms, and how they came about:

Why does Tennessee softball wear blue?

Tennessee softball started wearing blue jerseys in 2022, as part of the “Summitt Legacy” collection of uniforms for Vols women’s sports. Lady Vols soccer, volleyball, softball and basketball all have blue uniform options.

Lady Vols softball stepped it up in 2025, however, introducing a full blue uniform for the first time. Previously, the team wore white or orange pants with their blue jerseys.

The “Summitt Blue” collection launched in 2022 as part of the 50th anniversary of Title IX. It was then when Tennessee officially renamed the blue accents that are part of the school’s colors in honor of Summitt.

“Well, I think I finally got over the idea that we’d look like North Carolina if we wore all Summitt Blue,” Lady Vols softball coach Karen Weekly told the Knoxville News-Sentinel earlier this year. “The little touches to it, like the Summitt legacy patch on it, because Pat Summitt is a big part of our program, a big part of me and Ralph (Weekly). We wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t have the success we’ve had here if it wasn’t for Pat Summitt.”

Summitt coached at Tennessee from 1974-2012 and won eight national championships and went to 18 Final Fours. She was gifted the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama and was a part of the inaugural Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame class in 1999.

Summitt retired from coaching in 2012 after being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. She died in 2016 at the age of 64.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why does Tennessee wear blue? ‘Summitt Blue’ uniforms, explained

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NIL

Texas Tech softball’s WCWS game vs. Ole Miss in weather delay

Why Texas Tech could blow up the 2025 WCWS bracket The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson breaks down why Texas Tech and NiJaree Canady will be the team to break the Women’s College World Series bracket this year. OKLAHOMA CITY — The Texas Tech softball team’s Women’s College World Series game against Ole Miss has been affected […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Texas Tech softball team’s Women’s College World Series game against Ole Miss has been affected by weather.

The Red Raiders and Rebels were scheduled to begin their first-round game at 6 p.m. CT, but rain began to fall around 4:30 p.m. as Oklahoma and Tennessee were wrapping up their game from the first session at Devon Park.

As of 5:50 p.m., fans were still lined up outside and the board in centerfield said lightning had been detected in the area. The Texas Tech softball X (formerly Twitter) account confirmed the game will not be starting at 6 p.m. though no other official announcement has been made.

The game is now scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. Central.

Stay tuned for updates as we have them.

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NIL

Kickoff times announced for Kentucky’s first three games of the season

Pull up your Google Calendars because we’ve got kickoff times for Kentucky’s first three games of the season. The SEC dropped the entire TV schedule for the first three games of the 2025 campaign. Kentucky will open the season vs. Toledo at 12:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 30, on the SEC Network. The next […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Pull up your Google Calendars because we’ve got kickoff times for Kentucky’s first three games of the season.

The SEC dropped the entire TV schedule for the first three games of the 2025 campaign. Kentucky will open the season vs. Toledo at 12:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 30, on the SEC Network. The next week (September 6), the Cats will host Ole Miss at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. On September 13, Kentucky vs. Eastern Michigan will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The Cats have their first bye week of the season after that.

We’ll find the rest of the kickoff times out as the season goes on, typically two Mondays before each game. Here is the schedule as we know it:

Aug. 30, 12:45 PM: vs. Toledo | Kroger Field (Lexington, KY) | SEC Network
Sept 6, 3:30 PM: vs. Ole Miss | Kroger Field (Lexington, KY) | ABC
Sep. 13, 7:30 PM: vs. Eastern Michigan | Kroger Field (Lexington, KY) | ESPNU
Sept. 20: OPEN
Sept. 27: at South Carolina | Williams-Brice Stadium (Columbia, SC)
Oct. 4: at Georgia | Sanford Stadium (Athens, GA)
Oct. 11: OPEN
Oct. 18: vs. Texas | Kroger Field (Lexington, KY)
Oct. 25: vs. Tennessee | Kroger Field (Lexington, KY)
Nov. 1: at Auburn | Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn, AL)
Nov. 8: vs. Florida | Kroger Field (Lexington, KY)
Nov. 15: vs. Tennessee Tech | Kroger Field (Lexington, KY)
Nov. 22: at Vanderbilt | FirstBank Stadium (Nashville, TN)
Nov. 29: at Louisville | L&N Stadium (Louisville, KY)

And all of the SEC kickoff times for the first three weeks, along with a few big games later in the season, if you want to go ahead and plan your Saturdays.

Week 1: Aug. 28–31

Day	Date	Game	Network	Time (ET)
Thu	8/28/2025	Central Arkansas at Missouri	SEC Network	7:30 PM
Fri	8/29/2025	Auburn at Baylor	FOX	8:00 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	Texas at Ohio State	FOX	12:00 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	Syracuse vs. Tennessee (Atlanta)	ABC	12:00 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	Mississippi State at Southern Miss	ESPN	12:00 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	Toledo at Kentucky	SEC Network	12:45 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	Marshall at Georgia	ESPN	3:30 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	Alabama at Florida State	ABC	3:30 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	Alabama A&M at Arkansas	SEC Network	4:15 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	Illinois State at Oklahoma	ESPN+/SECN+	6:00 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	UTSA at Texas A&M	ESPN	7:00 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	LIU at Florida	ESPN+/SECN+	7:00 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	Charleston Southern at Vanderbilt	ESPN+/SECN+	7:00 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	LSU at Clemson	ABC	7:30 PM
Sat	8/30/2025	Georgia State at Ole Miss	SEC Network	7:45 PM
Sun	8/31/2025	Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina (Atlanta)	ESPN	3:00 PM

Week 2: Sept. 6

Day	Date	Game	Network	Time (ET)
Sat	9/6/2025	San Jose State at Texas	ABC or ESPN	12:00 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	Utah State at Texas A&M	SEC Network	12:45 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	Ole Miss at Kentucky	ABC	3:30 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	Kansas at Missouri	ESPN2	3:30 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	Austin Peay at Georgia	ESPN+/SECN+	3:30 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	USF at Florida	SEC Network	4:15 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	South Carolina State at South Carolina	ESPN+/SECN+	7:00 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	Michigan at Oklahoma	ABC	7:30 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech	ACC Network	7:30 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	Arizona State at Mississippi State	ESPN2	7:30 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	Ball State at Auburn	ESPNU	7:30 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	Louisiana Tech at LSU	ESPN+/SECN+	7:30 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	UL Monroe at Alabama	SEC Network	7:45 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	Arkansas State vs. Arkansas (Little Rock)	ESPN+/SECN+	5:00 PM
Sat	9/6/2025	East Tennessee State at Tennessee	ESPN+/SECN+	3:30 PM

Week 3: Sept. 13

Day	Date	Game	Network	Time (ET)
Sat	9/13/2025	Wisconsin at Alabama	ABC or ESPN	12:00 PM
Sat	9/13/2025	Oklahoma at Temple	ESPN2	12:00 PM
Sat	9/13/2025	South Alabama at Auburn	SEC Network	12:45 PM
Sat	9/13/2025	Georgia at Tennessee	ABC	3:30 PM
Sat	9/13/2025	UTEP at Texas	SEC Network	4:15 PM
Sat	9/13/2025	Florida at LSU	ABC	7:30 PM
Sat	9/13/2025	Eastern Michigan at Kentucky	ESPNU	7:30 PM
Sat	9/13/2025	Texas A&M at Notre Dame	NBC	7:30 PM
Sat	9/13/2025	Arkansas at Ole Miss	ESPN or SEC Network	7:00 PM or 7:45 PM
Sat	9/13/2025	Vanderbilt at South Carolina	ESPN or SEC Network	7:00 PM or 7:45 PM
Sat	9/13/2025	Alcorn State at Mississippi State	ESPN+/SECN+	6:00 PM
Sat	9/13/2025	UL Lafayette at Missouri	ESPN+/SECN+	4:00 PM

Week 7: Oct. 11

Day	Date	Game	Network	Time (ET)
Sat	10/11/2025	Oklahoma vs. Texas (Dallas)	ABC or ESPN	3:30 PM

Week 10: Nov. 1

Day	Date	Game	Network	Time (ET)
Sat	11/1/2025	Georgia vs. Florida (Jacksonville)	ABC	3:30 PM

Week 14: Nov. 28

Day	Date	Game	Network	Time (ET)
Fri	11/28/2025	Ole Miss at Mississippi State	ABC or ESPN	12:00 PM
Fri	11/28/2025	Georgia at Georgia Tech	ABC	3:30 PM
Fri	11/28/2025	Texas A&M at Texas	ABC	7:30 PM

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NIL

Gators Incoming Point Guard Secures Historic Shoe Deal

Florida Gators guard Xaivian Lee on Thursday became the first NCAA NIL athlete to sign a shoe deal with an international brand, Nick De Paula reported on X. According to De Paula, Lee has signed a multi-year signature shoe deal with Serious Player Only to become the future face of the brand. This deal includes […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Florida Gators guard Xaivian Lee on Thursday became the first NCAA NIL athlete to sign a shoe deal with an international brand, Nick De Paula reported on X.

According to De Paula, Lee has signed a multi-year signature shoe deal with Serious Player Only to become the future face of the brand. This deal includes a PE shoe and apparel that launches this season with his signature shoe releasing in 2026.

Lee is set to make a combined $6 million between Florida’s NIL collective & Serious Player Only.

Lee joined the Gators program this offseason from Princeton. He averaged 17.0 points, 4.6 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game over his last two seasons with the Tigers and was named as a unanimous First Team All-Ivy League in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons and Ivy Madness All-Tournament Team in 2024-25.

Additionally, during his time with Princeton, he recorded the first triple-double in program history. He had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against Saint Joe’s on Dec. 3, 2024. He then recorded his second one in the second-to-last game of last season against Penn, logging 23 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

The Gators officially welcomed Lee to the program at the end of April.

“We are elated to welcome Xaivian Lee into our program here at the University of Florida,” Golden said. “Xaivian is an electric play-maker that is an equal threat to score or facilitate off the bounce. He does a great job of leading the team, putting his teammates in position to be successful while taking great care of the basketball.”

Fans will get their first chance to see him wear the orange and blue on Nov. 3 against Arizona in Las Vegas, Nev.

More From Gators Illustrated

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NIL

Top 2026 recruit Maddi Stewart narrows to four finalists

Top 2026 recruit Maddi Stewart recently shifted her focus to four new finalists and has set four official visits for this summer, she told On3. The 5-9 combo guard is now considering Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Missouri for her landing spot. Tulsa and Arizona were originally in her top five, but following coaching changes […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation