Whether it was an ACC, SEC, Big Ten or Big 12 coach taking the podium at media days, one theme remained consistent: In an era where revenue sharing and NIL opportunities can swiftly steer athletes toward the transfer portal, programs across the country are racing to master the art of player retention.

Its importance is clear to Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, who has seen all but five players from his 2023 recruiting class leave for different programs.

“Here’s what it’s not because of: the way they’re treated, because of the way they’re developed, because of the way they’re taught,” he said. “That’s not the reason. It could be playing time. It could be finances. Probably the majority of it is finances, but you’d have to ask those guys.”

More than 3,000 Bowl Subdivision players reportedly entered the transfer portal this past spring, which would average out to about 22 players per team. For the Razorbacks, 10 starters will be back and one of them is senior defensive lineman Cam Ball. He has remained with Arkansas his entire career, a somewhat rare occurrence for an NFL hopeful these days.

“I’m just a loyal guy. I’m loyal to the state of Arkansas; Arkansas has been loyal to me,” Ball said.

Arkansas, like many schools, is also trying to scare up more money from donors as it faces the financial ramifications of the $2.8 billion House settlement; last fall, the athletic director said the school needed some $12 million more annually to “be in the NIL game from a football perspective.” Besides the money, the Razorbacks have to find talented players; Ball grew up in Atlanta, just barely within the regional footprint in which Pittman prefers to recruit.

“We have to go outside our state,” Pittman said. “In-state recruiting has changed over the last three or four years because of NIL. So you have to think about the talent — who it is versus what pay is expected. So that’s been a little bit more difficult in our state.”

Pittman isn’t the only coach who wants prospects to be familiar with what their college experience will look like before making any life-changing decisions. Florida coach Billy Napier paints a clear picture of life in Gainesville and the challenges and perks that come with it.

“We present our product in a way where we’re selling the degree, the alumni network, the Gator-made program, and you have to be up for the challenge of trying to get Florida back to where it’s been before,” he said. “And I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to keep it together.”

Florida’s 2023 recruiting class remains mostly intact, and from Napier’s perspective, hungrier than ever. Compared to other SEC teams, the Gators have had more success with retention. Napier doesn’t think it’s a coincidence.

“We told them when they came in, you know, look, it’s not going to be all sunshine and rainbows here. We’re in this thing for the long haul,” Napier said. “I think a lot of this is how you pitch it in recruiting. We’re going to continue to do that, and retention is more important than it’s ever been.”

Coaches scrambling to prevent transfers and maintain consistency isn’t exclusive to the SEC. The approval of the House settlement is a double-edged sword when it comes to retention, and Power Four schools and beyond are feeling the effects. Third-party NIL deals are no longer the only negotiation tactic schools need to worry about.

Complex contracts are becoming common and legal risks grow for athletes and programs alike as college football increasingly resembles the pros. Some deals are being negotiated solely by athletes as young as 18.

As a redshirt senior, Louisville linebacker TJ Quinn is used to the process.

“I wouldn’t say I was nervous (to negotiate) because this is my third year of having to do that,” Quinn said. “You’ve got to kind of stand your ground with what you feel like is your worth. If you’re comfortable with their offer, then sign. Then you have some guys that’ll leave and go to schools to get more money and stuff. That was never really like a big pusher for me, to go out and get more money because I feel like I’m in a good situation here at Louisville.”

Quinn’s loyalty could be the most convincing negotiation tactic of them all. While programs use revenue-share dollars to sway prospective transfers, coaches have begun to reward loyalty.

“To some degree, it’s capitalism that you get what you earn. So the guys that go out and play well are going to get more than the guys who haven’t proven it yet,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “Everybody on the team’s not going to make the same. Fair doesn’t always mean equal.”

But he also said the Mustangs are not going to add players “making a whole lot more than those guys who have already earned it here.”

“And I think that’s what helps us keep a good culture, is try to start with: Let’s retain first, and then whatever’s left, let’s go build the best team we can for those guys,” Lashlee said.

North Carolina State’s Dave Doeren doubled down.

“A guy that’s been on a team three years, that’s playing well and earned it on the field should make more than a guy coming in the door. I think that’s a proper way to do business,” Doeren said, though he warned that might not be the case across the board. “Right now, common sense is not prevailing in college football.”

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AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard contributed to this report.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Penn State’s sports seasons have been long over for most, but some athletes continued their performances far into the summer.

Ten Nittany Lions showcased their talents last week at the 2025 FISU World University Games in Germany, as they competed in events ranging from gymnastics to track and field.

Spencer Burke – USA fencing

Spencer Burke competed in men’s foil for the United States, but lost 5-1 in pool play. He then fell to Álmos Bálint 15-9 in the Table of 64.

Burke also competed for the men’s foil team, and although he won his bout against Mateusz Karol Kwiatkowski 5-2, the United States lost to Poland 45-43 in the Table of 16.

Yaroslav Muruhin – Ukraine fencing

Yaroslav Muruhin suited up for Ukraine in the men’s foil, going 3-3 in pool play. He earned a win in the Table of 64 with a 15-10 victory over Korea’s Hyeokjun Choi, but fell to Italy’s Tommaso Martini with a 15-14 loss in the Table of 32.

Muruhin came back for the men’s team foil on Saturday, and like the other two Penn Staters, opened the round. However, he lost 5-3 to Hungary’s Albert Bendegúz Bagdány as Ukraine fell 44-37.

Kamar Skeete – USA fencing

Kamar Skeete took the strip for the United States in the men’s sabre individual and team sabre, losing early in both with a 2-3 performance in pool play.

After the pool, Skeete was matched with Hong Kong’s Pak Lam Hugo Ho, who defeated him 15-11 in the Table of 64.

In the team competition, the United States faced Italy in the Table of 16. Skeete competed first against Cosimo Bertini, who took an early 5-0 lead for Italy, with the Italians ultimately winning 45-27.

Darius Smallwood – USA track and field

Darius Smallwood ran a season-low 1:52.68 in his sole race at the University Games.

Smallwood finished fifth in his heat — missing the automatic qualifier by one place — and finished 32nd overall.

Hayley Kitching – Australia track and field

After missing the entire 2025 spring season due to injury, three time Big Ten champion Hayley Kitching returned to the track last week.

Kitching finished in sixth place in the 800-meter prelims on Tuesday with a time of 2:03.35. In the semifinals on Wednesday, she ran 2:04.47 for 15th place, missing the automatic qualifier by four places and the time qualifier by 2.34 seconds.

The following day, Kitching competed as part of Australia’s 4×400-meter mixed relay. Kitching’s team ran 3:20.61 for fifth place and an automatic qualifier. Australia wound up finishing fifth in the finals with a 3:20.51.

Zoey Goldstein – USA track and field

Although Zoey Goldstein graduated in May, she took the track for Penn State on Thursday for a medal.

Goldstein competed in the mixed 4x400m with a 3:23.23 for sixth place in the prelims, followed by a 3:17.91 for bronze.

Jake Palermo – USA track and field

Freshman phenom Jake Palermo continued his breakout season in the University Games, where he competed in three events over the week.

Palermo opened the track competition with the men’s 400m prelims on Monday, where he ran a 46.56 for second in his heat and fifth overall. In Tuesday’s semis, Palermo ran 46.62 but was disqualified.

The Rochester, New York, native didn’t run in the prelims for the mixed 4x400m or the men’s 4x400m, but did participate in the finals, where he earned bronze with Goldstein.

Vitoria Santana – Brazil basketball

After one season suiting up for the Lady Lions, rising senior Vitoria Santana suited up for Brazil this summer.

Brazil went 0-3 in the preliminary round, losing to Hungary, Japan and Lithuania.

In the women’s 9-16 placing game against Romania, Santana’s squad won 86-65 behind her 14 points. Brazil lost 84-64 to Germany in the 9-12 placing game, and ultimately fell 83-78 to Chinese Taipei in the 11th place game.

Despite a 1-5 record throughout the tournament, Santana totaled 50 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, two blocks and a steal.

Kacper Garnczarek – Poland gymnastics

Kacper Garnczarek competed in all but one apparatus for Poland.

Garnczarek had his best placement in the horizontal bars, where he finished 23rd with a 13.000. He finished 24th in floor with a 13.133.

Ian Raubal – Switzerland gymnastics

Ian Raubal was the most successful of the two gymnasts, earning a bronze medal with Switzerland, which scored 239.162 points.

Raubal led the team with a 13.500 in the rings and tied with 13.866 on the parallel bars.

Individually, Raubal finished fourth in the parallel bars with a 13.900, competing 5.400 difficulty with 8.400 execution and a 0.100 bonus. He placed 19th in the all-around.

MORE SPORTS COVERAGE

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday introducing new financial restrict…

Already one of the biggest names in high school girls golf, Kai Trump is getting ready for her senior season at North Palm Beach (Fla.) The Benjamin School. From there, she will head to Miami, and she’s already cashing in on the NIL front with multiple deals.

Trump – who has a $1.2 million On3 NIL Valuation – recently announced a partnership with Accelerator Active Energy, adding to her growing portfolio. She released a new ad Tuesday as part of the NIL deal, and she made a joke about her father, President Donald Trump.

The president is known for his love of Diet Coke, even putting a button on the resolute desk in the Oval Office to signal he wants one. That was part of the ad, when Kai Trump had to decide between an Accelerator drink or a Diet Coke.

“Sorry, Grandpa,” Trump said as she took the Accelerator beverage.

Trump joined LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne as athletes to sign endorsement deals with Accelerator when the two sides announced their partnership July 15. Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce is also a brand ambassador for the brand.

Trump signed her first NIL deal in January with Leaf Trading Cards last year, and the pack of cards sells for $199.99. Each contains one random autograph card, per the description. She also has an agreement in place with TaylorMade.

Trump will be featured in Accelerator campaigns and the energy drink will be woven into her social media. She joined Accelerator as an equity partner alongside Dunne.

“An energy drink with natural caffeine like Accelerator is so important to ensuring I stay focused and have extra energy when I’m in the gym, on the golf course, studying, traveling or as part of my daily routine,” Trump said in a statement. “Accelerator has an inspiring group of athlete partners that I look up to and it’s an honor to join the team. I can’t wait to jump in with Accelerator and I’m looking forward to what the future holds in our partnership.”

With a rising social media profile and commitment to Miami, Trump has a $1.2 million On3 NIL Valuation. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. The valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

Pete Nakos contributed.

Fresh off her win at the American Classic in June and uneven bars bronze at the U.S. Classic Presented by Saatva in July, Alicia Zhou has her sights set on the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Championships August in New Orleans and preparing for the collegiate lifestyle at Stanford University.

By Sarah Firth, USAG Creator Program

Fresh off her win at the American Classic in June and uneven bars bronze at the U.S. Classic Presented by Saatva in July, Alicia Zhou (USAG bio) has her sights set on the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Championships August in New Orleans. But further than that, Zhou is preparing for the collegiate lifestyle at Stanford University, where she will compete under head coach Tabitha Yim come 2026.

“Stanford’s a great school and I’ve always wanted to go there,” said Zhou. “When I visited, it had a beautiful campus, I loved the girls and the coaches were so sweet. I had a great time there, and that helped me make the decision.”

It’s been a while since Zhou has been in a traditional classroom setting. She’s participated in online schooling since sixth grade and is enrolled in Texas Connections Academy, an online public school option offered by the state of Texas.

“I haven’t gone to [in-person] school in a long time and I’m not sure what to expect in college, but I’m excited,” Zhou said.

Between a new learning environment and moving across the country to California, Zhou is expecting a lot of big transitions in the coming years. She has lived in San Antonio, Texas, her whole life, but is ready to adjust to life in Palo Alto.

“I think California’s going to be a lot livelier, probably a lot more crowded and more city life than I’m used to,” said Zhou.

Part of that change means Zhou will be leaning on her family for support, and she will certainly have it in a family full of athletic talent and collegiate experience.

At Love Gymnastics in San Antonio, she is coached primarily by her parents Jing Zhou and Wenjing Wang, both of whom were top gymnasts in China. Her mother, Wenjing, competed at the 1988 Seoul Olympics for China, and her dad, Jing, also competed for the Chinese national team.

Her parents moved to the United States in the 1990s and worked as coaches before opening their own gym. Her mother coaches beam and floor, while her dad coaches vault and bars and helps out on floor. At home, her family speaks Chinese, and her parents sometimes coach her in Chinese as well.

Zhou’s older brother David, a Texas A&M graduate with a degree in electrical engineering, will likely be a staple in helping her navigate the college landscape. Though she hasn’t settled on a specific major at Standford yet, Zhou is considering studying a business-related field.

As of now, Zhou is the only elite gymnast training at Love Gymnastics. According to Zhou, she splits her time between training with Level 10 athletes and training alone. After such an individual experience, Zhou is interested to see how she fares in a team environment.

“The team [at Stanford] is a lot bigger than what I’m used to,” Zhou said. “But [college gymnastics] seems fun and exciting and I am looking forward to the new atmosphere.”

A recent member of the U.S. Senior National Team and the 2025 Winter Cup uneven bars champion, Zhou is sure to be a strong contributor at Stanford in the years to come. She intends to take a pause from elite gymnastics upon starting college – at least for the time being.

“I think I’m probably going to focus on college, but I don’t know how I’m going to feel when I’m there,” she said. “I might change my mind.”

However, for now, Zhou is all in on the U.S. championships in Louisiana. Closing out this season and starting off 2026 strong at Winter Cup are her top priorities as she prepares for Stanford in the fall.

Bailey returns to Cal to continue his successful coaching career, which follows several years as an elite gymnast with Team USA.

MGYM7/29/2025 11:31 AM | By: Cal Athletics

Former Golden Bear Team Captain, Team USA Member Returns To Berkeley

Golden Bear alumnus and former Team USA member Donothan Bailey has joined the California men’s gymnastics staff as an assistant coach, head coach Bryan Del Castillo announced Tuesday. Bailey, a three-time All-American at Cal and a U.S. pommel horse champion, joins the Bears from Kinetic Gymnastics in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he has spent the past two-and-a-half years as team coach of its boys’ and girls’ programs.
 
“I’m incredibly excited to have Donothan on our coaching staff,” Del Castillo said. “He brings elite gymnastics experience, energy and the kind of leadership that will have a meaningful impact on our student-athletes and culture. As an alum of this program, Donothan understands and shares our values – he is ready to help guide our student-athletes toward success in both the gym and the classroom.”
 
Bailey’s tenure at Kinetic Gymnastics has resulted in his gymnasts collecting over 40 individual state titles, as well as eight individual regional championships and an individual national title. During that time, he also spent one year (April 2024-25) as an athlete fellow with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), where he created five Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs for National Governing Bodies and was selected as the USOPC ambassador for the Chinese Olympic Committee’s Ninth Annual Youth Camp in Beijing. Bailey acted as interim head coach (and later assistant coach) for the USA Gymnastics Resident Team from 2021-22, with his gymnasts earning two national team berths, a national title and a Pan American title.
 
He competed as a professional gymnast through 2021, which included several international assignments for Team USA. In Bailey’s first post-collegiate season, he took bronze on pommel horse at the Winter Cup and went on to represent the United States at the FISU World University Games, earning gold on pommel horse while finishing fifth in the all-around, before taking pommel horse silver at the U.S. Championships. The next year, he improved his pommel horse finish at both the Winter Cup (silver) and the U.S. Championships (gold). He also medaled for Team USA at the 2017 World Championships, taking bronze on high bar, and claimed two runner-up finishes (parallel bars, high bar) at the 2018 U.S. Championships.
 
Bailey attended Cal from 2010-14 and helped the Bears to three consecutive top-five team finishes at the NCAA Championships (2010-12), also earning individual All-America honors in 2011 (pommel horse) and 2014 (all-around, pommel horse) while earning bronze with Team USA at the 2011 Pan American Games. He is the most recent Cal gymnast to win an MPSF title on pommel horse, doing so in 2012 and again in 2014. As a senior in 2014, he was named a finalist for the Nissen-Emery Award, which is presented each year to the nation’s finest senior collegiate gymnast. Prior to his collegiate career, Bailey was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team from 2007-09 and a three-time national champion on pommel horse (2006-08).
 
“I’m very excited for the opportunity to come back to Berkeley and work alongside a lifelong friend and teammate in Bryan,” Bailey said. “Bryan is someone I’ve looked up to and learned from since I was a junior gymnast, so it feels like I’ve come full circle to get to coach with and learn from him again. I think what this team is doing is special, and it is truly a privilege to be part of its story and witness its greatness. This sport gives me so much joy, and I hope to share that passion with the young men that come through this program.”
 
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