NIL
Dez Bryant blasts Nike for losing Jeremiah Smith to Adidas
Superstar Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith shocked the sports apparel world Wednesday by inking a lucrative NIL contract with Adidas, the major rival of Nike, which is the Buckeyes’ official team sponsor. Minutes after Smith’s deal with Adidas was announced, former NFL receiver Dez Bryant took to social media to call out Nike for quite […]

Superstar Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith shocked the sports apparel world Wednesday by inking a lucrative NIL contract with Adidas, the major rival of Nike, which is the Buckeyes’ official team sponsor. Minutes after Smith’s deal with Adidas was announced, former NFL receiver Dez Bryant took to social media to call out Nike for quite literally dropping the bag with Smith.
“Nike about to lose all credibility,” Bryant wrote Wednesday. “How did they lose Jeremiah Smith to adidas?”
Bryant also believes that by signing Smith — widely considered the best receiver in all of college football — Adidas is making a play for Nike’s spot as the top-ranked sports apparel brand.
“Adidas coming for the #1 spot,” Bryant tweeted.
Smith enters the 2025 college football season as the sport’s biggest brand name without the surname Manning after helping spark the Buckeyes to the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship with a Big Ten-best 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns on 76 receptions as a true freshman.
But given Nike’s longstanding relationship with Ohio State, which is in the midst of a 15-year apparel agreement that began in 2018, Smith’s signing with Nike’s biggest brand rival is already sending shockwaves through the sports apparel world.
“One of the most memorable moments from last season was losing my black stripe and officially becoming a Buckeye,” Smith said in a statement released by Adidas. “Fast forward a year and I’m blessed to be adding three, joining the fastest brand in football. It’s crazy to be partnering with a brand that has such a talented roster of players and that I’ve been wearing since I was a young kid. We’re not done yet.”
Jeremiah Smith vows to never lose to Michigan for rest of Ohio State career
Jeremiah Smith had a borderline perfect first season at Ohio State. The wide receiver busted onto the scene, catching 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns during the Buckeyes’ national championship run.
He dazzled in every way possible, but there was one major blemish on his team’s season as a whole. Ohio State once again fell to Michigan, suffering a highly-publicized and scrutinized 13-10 loss to the Wolverines on Nov. 30.
Smith caught a touchdown in that game, part of a five catch, 35-yard performance. That was far below the standard he’s set for himself though, and the one he’ll be trying to reach in his sophomore season.
After all the success he’s enjoyed thus far in Columbus, the loss to Michigan still sticks in his craw. Ahead of the 2025 season, Smith spoke with Manny Navarro of The Athletic, where he vowed to never lose to the Wolverines again, as long as the wide receiver is suiting up for the Buckeyes.
“I’m not a sore loser, but I hate losing, and losing to that team up north was pretty crazy,” Smith said, via The Athletic. “In the end, I think it really helped us play the way we did in the playoffs. But I didn’t want to go to Ohio State and lose to that team up north.
“I just hate them. Just something about them. For the next two years, I promise you, I will not lose to them. I can’t lose to them in the next two years.”
— On3’s Steve Samra contributed to this report.
NIL
Four big takeaways from Judy MacLeod’s speech at CUSA Media Day
Conference USA Media Day kicked off on Tuesday, and Commissioner Judy MacLeod addressed a multitude of topics surrounding the conference. Here are four of the most interesting things she said during her speech. On the changing times in athletics: “I don’t think there’s a day goes by that there isn’t something about one of the […]

Conference USA Media Day kicked off on Tuesday, and Commissioner Judy MacLeod addressed a multitude of topics surrounding the conference. Here are four of the most interesting things she said during her speech.
On the changing times in athletics:
“I don’t think there’s a day goes by that there isn’t something about one of the topics – whether it’s the House Settlement, Congressional activity, eligibility litigation, college sports commission, NIL Go, other litigation, Presidential activity, the College Football Playoff, transfer portal. I could take my entire 10 minutes up here and just rattle off the list, but I’ll stop there.”
“Obviously it’s a new time, it’s a transformational time in college athletics with so much happening so quickly. We need to continue to modernize and evolve. It’s something that college athletics has been slow to do in the past. It’s been forced on us, for good reason. It’s really important that we have standards and we have rules. That’s going to be a challenge going forward. The opportunity to work with young people and have an impact on them, to work with them towards earning a degree, completing a degree, is still going to be very central to our mission.”
“We need things like the College Sports Commission and NIL Go to work. We need that to work. I know there are naysayers, I know there are people that want it to fail out of the gates, but we need that to work. We need Congressional help. We also need to keep including our student athletes and their voice in our decision-making processes moving forward. It’s taken a ton of work to get to this point, it’s going to take a ton more, but I believe college athletics is worth it. It’s going to take everybody to do that. That’s a tall task, but I think those of us involved in it, that have dedicated our lives to it, believe in that and will work hard to achieve those goals.”
On the 2025 football season:
“We are really excited to welcome our two new schools – Delaware and Missouri State. We have a big game week zero, not too far away. We have a conference matchup that could turn into a real critical game for the standings in Sam Houston and WKU.”
“People ask me, ‘Who is going to be your good team this year?’ It’s really hard to tell these days. There’s a stat for everything these days, we have average returning production of 54%, which leads our peers. That tells me we do have a lot of veteran talent coming back that can help guide our teams and help those teams gel a little more quickly.”
“I have a lot of faith in our coaches. We have had some turnover. We have six new coaches this year, that includes the two that are not new to their school, but are new to Conference USA with Delaware and Missouri State. These men get it. They get why they’re doing what they’re doing. They are ultra competitive and have had success at many places. We are confident with that group.”
On the future of the conference:
“Our media package with CBS Sports Network and the ESPN Family of Networks is entering year three. About half of our games will be on linear and half will be on ESPN+. It’s made it very easy for our fans to find our contests. We continue to embrace and build on weekday CUSA. We didn’t want you guys not to have anything to do on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday so we added some games for you. Last year, we had eight games during that period decided by single digits. We also had seven games with 60 or more points. It is a really exciting brand of football. You get to go unopposed. Sometimes you are the only game on TV. That exposure has been really incredible for us as we continue to build the conference.”
On realignment:
“Realignment is hard. I don’t think it ever gets any easier, but I do feel like we’ve done a great job of rebuilding and continuing to position the conference well. I have to give a ton of credit to our Board of Directors which is composed of all our Presidents. They are in charge of membership, and they have been very thoughtful. I do believe the FCS schools that we have brought in to transition have had a lot of success. I’m obviously biased, but I feel like we’ve made a lot of great choices. We have programs that have histories of success. A lot of times it’s a lot easier when you have a program that’s had success at other levels to transition that success forward, but our staff has done a great job with the administrations of each school and really tried to help them. Help them understand what that step is. I don’t know if that’s something we want to be known for – of transitioning schools, but we have had success and we’re excited with the new two that are coming aboard as well.”
“As far as future, we have membership on our board agenda every time we meet. We have a membership committee. It’s active. It’s always looking at different data and doing it for research about what may happen. We are really excited about the 10 we have moving forward. Unfortunately, I can’t predict things. I don’t think anything is going to happen in the time I’m sitting here, but you never know. I put my phone on silent so I wouldn’t get interrupted. You never want to walk out and get surprised, but I do feel very good about our core schools and continuing to grow.”
NIL
John Calipari projects game with Duke will be the highest-rated game in a decade
John Calipari believes a Thanksgiving Day game between Arkansas and Duke will make college basketball history. In a recent interview with Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, the Razorbacks coach predicted that the matchup would be the most-watched in the past decade. Calipari pointed to the huge viewership when Arkansas played Illinois last season on Thanksgiving […]

John Calipari believes a Thanksgiving Day game between Arkansas and Duke will make college basketball history. In a recent interview with Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, the Razorbacks coach predicted that the matchup would be the most-watched in the past decade.
Calipari pointed to the huge viewership when Arkansas played Illinois last season on Thanksgiving Day. That game averaged 5.1 million viewers, making it the second-most watched regular season game since 2008. With as big of a following as Duke has, the holiday and the fact that it will be televised on CBS, Calipari sees it as a recipe for an even bigger number this season.
“Our game last year with Illinois was the highest-rated regular season game,” the coach said. “This game with Duke, my guess is it might be the highest regular season game in the last decade. When it’s played, where it is, who we’re playing. So I’m excited.”
John Calipari directed Arkansas on a run to the Sweet Sixteen this past year in his inaugural season with the program. They finished with a 22-14 record and have a lot of positive momentum heading into Year 2 of his tenure.
According to ESPN, the Razorbacks have the most returning production of any team in the SEC. That includes guard DJ Wagner and forward Karter Knox, both starters. Arkansas also added a pair of five star freshmen in Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas, as well as several transfers.
With his team much more solidified entering this season, Calipari wanted to create a challenging schedule. In addition to the game against Duke, Arkansas also faces Louisville, Texas Tech, Houston and Michigan State on its nonconference schedule.
“I did that schedule because I felt comfortable with my team,” Calipari said. “Last year, we had a schedule, but I wasn’t so comfortable because I didn’t know the guys. We were trying to figure each other out and we were injured like crazy. Hopefully we stay away from that bug this year. Last year, we practiced with five guys a month. Thank God I had GAs that could still play.”
Calipari has had success everywhere he’s been from Massachusetts to Memphis to Kentucky and now hopes to build a new dynasty in Fayetteville. Part of that is getting attention outside of your own fan base, and a game against a blue blood like Duke on a prime time sports viewing day is a great way to drum it up.
NIL
Minnesota high school baseball players score in college via transfer portal
The college baseball transfer portal has changed everything. What used to be a relatively quiet offseason process with a few players changing schools has evolved into a high-stakes, fast-moving marketplace, one in which proven performance, power-conference opportunity and NIL money often outweigh player development or long-term fit. Programs with national title aspirations aren’t waiting for […]
The college baseball transfer portal has changed everything.
What used to be a relatively quiet offseason process with a few players changing schools has evolved into a high-stakes, fast-moving marketplace, one in which proven performance, power-conference opportunity and NIL money often outweigh player development or long-term fit. Programs with national title aspirations aren’t waiting for talent to mature; they’re buying experience and betting on immediate impact.
That dynamic has made it increasingly difficult for mid-major schools, even some Big Ten programs, to hold on to their best players. The portal is active. The incentives are obvious. And Minnesota is feeling the effects. Players with Minnesota ties are on the move.
Take Eagan’s Danny Lachenmayer, a lefthanded pitcher who, two summers ago, was throwing under the radar at Prep Baseball Minnesota’s State Games, the marquee midsummer showcase for high school players. Now, after a strong freshman season as North Dakota State’s bullpen ace (nine saves and 56 Ks in 38 innings), he’s off to LSU. Yes, that LSU. The Tigers needed arms. Lachenmayer had receipts.
He isn’t alone, not even on his own team. North Dakota State’s impressive postseason push — the Bison went 21-34 overall but finished strong, winning the Summit League tournament championship and a game in the NCAA tournament before being eliminated — came at a cost because players drew attention. Nolan Johnson, a lefthanded pitcher who played at Lakeville North in high school, packed his bags for TCU after leading the Bison in innings pitched last season and going 4-6 with a 4.52 ERA.
The transfer portal cuts both ways. The Bison reloaded, adding Anthony Pardo, a righthanded pitcher who played for Andover in high school and for Illinois State in 2025, and Matthew Totten, who is from Prior Lake and spent 2025 at Purdue. Just another Tuesday in the portal era.
St. Thomas, still finding its footing in NCAA Division I, lost Riane Ritter, a righthanded pitcher from Rogers who went 6-1 as a freshman at UST, to Kansas, but picked up Sam Stockman from Utah. Stockman is a lefthanded pitcher from Elk River who’s pitching this summer for the Mankato Moondogs in the Northwoods League.
Over in Dinkytown, the Gophers lost some program cornerstones. Drew Berkland (Wayzata) took his bat, which produced a .293 average and 14 home runs last season, to Notre Dame. Kristofer Hokenson, who was the Star Tribune’s Metro Player of the Year after his senior season at St. Louis Park in 2022, jumped to College World Series darling Murray State. But the U answered back, landing two live arms: Isaac Morton (Spring Lake Park via Texas A&M — with a Brewers draft pick pedigree) and Josh Kirchhoff (Concordia Academy of Roseville and Missouri). Both are high-upside, power-armed righthanded pitchers with plenty to prove.
NIL
Former Mississippi standout inks with Unrivaled
Former Mississippi high school basketball standout and current Texas star Madison Booker is part of a group of college basketball players to sign NIL deals with Unrivaled. The 3-on-3 women’s basketball league was created in 2023 by WNBA stars Naphessa Collier and Breanna Stewart. One of the main goals is to provide a way to […]

Former Mississippi high school basketball standout and current Texas star Madison Booker is part of a group of college basketball players to sign NIL deals with Unrivaled.
The 3-on-3 women’s basketball league was created in 2023 by WNBA stars Naphessa Collier and Breanna Stewart. One of the main goals is to provide a way to compete and earn money while remaining in the United States.
Booker, the reigning 2025 SEC Player of the Year, was the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year while leading Germantown High School to the first Class 6A state championship in program history as a senior.
She was a five-star prospect coming out of high school, committing to the Longhorns over offers from Duke and Tennessee among others.
Booker was immediately placed in the starting lineup as a freshman, moving to the point guard role that year after an injury. She was named the Big 12 co-Player of the Year in 2024 and an All-American after averaging 16.5 points with five rebounds and five assists.
Last year, Booker continued to dominate, averaging just over 16 points with 6.6 rebounds and almost three assists per game, becoming a first-team All-American by the Associated Press.
Booker already has four gold medals in international play on her resume, helping the United States claim the FIBA AmeriCup, FIBA Under-19 World Cup, FIBA Under-17 World Cup and FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship.
Along with Booker, Audi Crooks, JuJu Watkins, Lauren Betts, Hannah Hidalgo, Azzi Fudd, Sarah Strong, Olivia Miles, Madison Booker, Kiki Rice, MiLaysia Fulwiley, Ta’Niya Latson, Syla Swords and Sienna Betts were all signed to deals by Unrivaled.
NIL
ACC commissioner urges ‘cooperation’ between schools, conferences
David HaleJul 22, 2025, 11:22 AM ET Close College football reporter. Joined ESPN in 2012. Graduate of the University of Delaware. In his remarks to open the ACC’s annual kickoff event in Charlotte, commissioner Jim Phillips emphasized a need for “restraint” and “cooperation” by schools and conferences as college athletics works to create a framework […]

In his remarks to open the ACC’s annual kickoff event in Charlotte, commissioner Jim Phillips emphasized a need for “restraint” and “cooperation” by schools and conferences as college athletics works to create a framework for the future.
Phillips said he has urged coaches and athletics departments to abide by new restrictions imposed in the wake of the House vs. NCAA settlement that allows schools to spend up to $20.5 million annually on direct athlete compensation while also creating oversight of name, image and likeness contracts — effectively putting a soft cap on what athletics department can spend on talent acquisition.
“It’s about setting up a standard with transparency,” Phillips said. “We haven’t had that in the NIL era. Sometimes we can’t help ourselves. People know what the rules are relative to the $20.5. They know what legitimate NIL is. You can play in the gray area if you want but all that does is undermine the new structure.”
Phillips reiterated a need for government oversight, too, and said he continues to advocate for federal legislation that would, among other things, codify that student-athletes are not employees.
Phillips’ comments echoed a larger narrative he pushed Tuesday about a need for a unified vision for the future of college athletics that prioritizes both the enterprise as well as individual schools and conferences.
“I’ve always tried to be part of solutions and collaboration,” Phillips said. “We all have a responsibility to our conference, and I certainly do for the ACC, but I also know we have a responsibility to the enterprise — whether it’s what’s happening now with [the College Football Playoff] or what we do with a new governance structure or how we formulate the [College Sports Commission]. I’m pretty strong in my convictions but try to bring people together. The best way to get a deal done is maybe relent a little bit and give up a few things but keep an eye on what we’re trying to achieve.”
The potential expansion of the College Football Playoff remains one of the biggest sticking points among individual commissioners, with the Big Ten pushing for a model that includes automatic bids for the top four teams in its league, while the SEC and Big 12 have advocated for a 5+11 model that would give berths to five conference champions and 11 wild cards.
Phillips did not support a specific plan, but he said he wants to see conference championships rewarded and is in favor of increased access, suggesting he’d be open to a 14- or 16-team playoff that did not guarantee more than one berth for any conference.
Part of the playoff negotiations is a renewed focus on strength of schedule, with the SEC wanting guarantees from a playoff selection committee on specific metrics that will be utilized to ensure teams with more difficult schedules will be rewarded for playing tougher games. An agreement on those metrics could open the door for the SEC to move to a nine-game conference schedule — similar to the Big Ten and Big 12 — which, Phillips said, could force the ACC to follow suit.
“I like where we’re at with eight games,” Phillips said. “We’ll adjust if we have to, but I think some of those traditional [non-conference] rivalry games that we really enjoy could go away.”
NIL
Kentucky Prioritizing Basketball Over Football With NIL Spending? Well, Somewhat
If Kentucky is actually spending more on the basketball team compared to football, they are not alone in this mindset PublishedJuly 22, 2025 11:46 AM EDT•UpdatedJuly 22, 2025 11:54 AM EDT Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link One of the tougher decisions that athletic departments have to make right now in this era of revenue-sharing in […]

If Kentucky is actually spending more on the basketball team compared to football, they are not alone in this mindset
One of the tougher decisions that athletic departments have to make right now in this era of revenue-sharing in college athletics is which sport will receive a majority of the money available to share with athletes. For Kentucky, it sounds as though that decision has been made for the upcoming year.
Over the past year, athletic directors have sat down with coaches across college campuses and discussed how they would spend allocated money on sports that generate revenue. For some schools, it’s more important to spend on building a football roster compared to basketball, and for others, it’s the opposite.
At Kentucky, there has reportedly been a decision made on how much of a percentage will be allocated towards Mark Pope’s basketball roster, which many would assume won’t sit well with football coach Mark Stoops.
CBS Sports reported on Monday that Kentucky is giving 45% of its revenue-sharing budget to the basketball program, which is just over $9 million. This number is drastically higher than what other schools within the SEC are allocating to their basketball programs, just off the cap that was put into place.
While there was talk of SEC programs agreeing to an equal revenue-sharing cap for basketball, there were some schools that fought back on this idea, given that you cannot force schools to make these decisions with their allocated money.
Just because one school in the conference decides to prioritize one sport compared to others doesn’t mean that they have to follow the same formula as their foes. And this is where the problems will arise for plenty of athletic departments across college athletics.
If Kentucky decides to spend $9 million on its roster, while Georgia might only allocate $3 million, that’s not the Wildcats problem to deal with. But, this is also where schools will have to rely on boosters to narrow the gap, especially if one program is spending almost triple the amount of others on one sport.
Which Sport Will Boosters Decide To Spend Money On? Lingering Debate Continues
Sources have told OutKick that the 45% number that was reported on Monday is not quite the exact figure that Kentucky is allocating to basketball. The most important aspect of this moving forward is that the Wildcats have plenty of boosters that are willing to give the basketball program money for a shot at a national championship.
In reality, it’s not that tough of a decision for boosters to make, given the history of Kentucky basketball, compared to the football program. The same could be said for Arkansas under John Calipari, which had a very expensive roster last season, thanks in large part to John Tyson, who is the founder of ‘Tyson Chicken’.
Moving forward, these are the dilemmas that will force tough decisions to be made by those outside the program on how to spend their money. What’s more likely? Kentucky winning a national championship in basketball or football? That is certainly not a shot at the Wildcats, but more so the question that plenty of wealthy boosters are asking themselves when approached to donate money towards athletic programs.
There is certainly a lot of backdoor lobbying that is occurring around college campuses right now, and it will only continue in the coming years.
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