MANHATTAN, Kan. – Rising junior Taj Manning has been selected to join the Athletes in Action Basketball international tour this summer, traveling to the Czech Republic from June 28 to July 11.
 
Manning will be part of a select team comprised of eight college basketball players from across the country. The team will complete in exhibition games against the Czech Republic’s U20 and U23 national teams while also participating in outreach activities, including a one-day youth basketball camp and coaching clinic.
 
The Grandview, Mo., native has seen action in 22 games with a start in his K-State playing career, including 14 games with a start as a redshirt freshman in 2023-24.
 
Athletes in Action is a faith-based organization that partners with college athletes across the country, organizing sports tours and leadership training experiences aimed at fostering personal development and global impact.
 
 
How to follow the ‘Cats: For complete information on K-State men’s basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team’s social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Conversations about the House settlement have predictably centered on how schools might deploy funds to football and men’s basketball, but there are plenty of other sports that might see benefits from a new structure — perhaps none more than baseball.

Baseball might be one of the biggest winners in the passage of the settlement, as I wrote in this week’s magazine.

At a base level, seeing its longstanding scholarship limit of 11.7 erased in favor of roster limits allows for schools with baseball aspirations more access to fully fund scholarships in the sport.

South Carolina, Florida State, Clemson and Tennessee are just a few of the schools that are expected to add a significant number of scholarships moving forward, while revenue share and NIL figure to factor in significantly.

That also comes as schools continue to invest considerable resources into coaching contracts and facilities across the sport.

“It’s really the only sport that was so low and underfunded on the scholarship side that the first thing with the scholarship limits going away, it’s like, ‘OK, how fast can we get those to 25, 30, 34, whatever it is,’” South Carolina AD Jeremiah Donati told me. “Oh, and, by the way, you’ve got to pay ’em. It’s like a double dip.”

This also opens the door for a handful of mid-majors that are willing to invest more in baseball. College of Charleston is expecting to share between $300,000 and $500,000 with its baseball team.

“We haven’t been to the tournament in 11 years now,” said College of Charleston AD Matt Roberts. “And when you look up the street and you see Coastal [Carolina] going back [to the College World Series] — we beat them twice this year — you know it’s possible. Every year in the tournament, there’s always that team, and we’ve got to get back in the tournament. Rev share gives our coaching staff a chance to put together a competitive roster to do that.”

College baseball has always been hamstrung by scholarship limits. In this new revenue sharing world, the sport might just be ready for a significant cash infusion.

So Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia oozing confidence is something that turns you off about rhe playmaker that resides in Nashville? Stop, you know that type of swagger would be welcomed on your favorite college football team. And if you’re denying it, you are most likely just hating on the young man who doesn’t have a filter. 

Pavia captured the attention of the college football world during his time at New Mexico State, most likely when he took his team to Auburn and derailed the Tigers, as Hugh Freeze watched from the opposing sidelines. He again bested Auburn when he was the Vanderbilt quarterback last season, and did so in the same venue. 

You could say that Diego Pavia owns the state of Alabama, being that he helped the Commodores shock the Crimson Tide’ last season in Nashville, sending shockwaves throughout college football. But, just because the young man walks around with the same type of swagger that most fans would love to have on their team, he’s somehow delusional. 

On Tuesday, an interview with the ‘Bussin’ With The Boys’ crew once again threw him into the spotlight, with his take on playing in the Big Ten, while also throwing some interesting shade at the Tennessee football program, by talking up for his own Vanderbilt team. 

Oh my goodness, the audacity of this quarterback to promote his own football team, while pointing out that they are going to beat Tennessee this season, and subsequently run the state when it comes to NIL. 

“Vanderbilt is gonna run Tennessee after this year,” Pavia said on Tuesday. “This is gonna be the new staple of college football. It’s going to happen here at Vanderbilt.”

I hate to break it to the Tennessee football program, but he is the most popular player that is playing college football in this state, and I’m dead serious. Sure, the Vols went into Nashville last season and beat up the Commodores in the second half, but let’s not go crazy about his comments, especially when you’d love to hear this coming from one of your players. 

If he has to eat crow following the 2025 season, I’m sure he won’t come up with excuses as to why it occurred, as that’s not really how he’s built.

Diego Pavia Said He Was Offered $4 Million By SEC School To Transfer

Now this is something I can actually believe, given that he is a marketable quarterback, who has also shown he could be a problem for opposing defenses. Are we certain it wasn’t Hugh Freeze that tried to snag him from Vanderbilt? Heck, all he’s done while playing college football is cause nightmares for the Auburn coach. 

While discussing the topic of NIL with the Bussin’ crew, Pavia pointed out that while Vanderbilt could’ve paid him $4 million for this season, that would’ve left the team without much to spend on a supporting cast. 

So, Diego understood that to be successful on the field this season, whatever that looks like, he couldn’t take all the money for himself. And, given that he was only making $1,400 a month while playing football at New Mexico State, the bump in pay when entering the SEC was worth it. 

It’s also not lost on the quarterback that Vanderbilt gave him a shot to play at the highest level, thanks in large part to his former head coach, Jerry Kill, taking a job on the Commodores staff. 

“The offers were great, but winning is more important to me than anything,” Diego Pavia mentioned. “You’ve got coach (Jerry) Kill and coach (offensive coordinator Tim) Beck relying on you to come back. It’s all a money game. You’ve got other schools offering you $4 million, and (Vanderbilt) doesn’t want to pay you $4 million, but (Vanderbilt) took a chance on me, so I understand that.”

Oh, and that ‘team mentality’ he has while playing football on West End in Nashville certainly helped Vanderbilt with putting together a formidable roster through the transfer portal. 

“They told me they could pay me ($4 million), but we wouldn’t have enough money to go get these guys,” Pavia continued. “And it just made sense to me. I value winning over anything else.”

So, while everyone clutches their pearls because Digeo Pavia likes to talk, and rarely has a filter, don’t act like you wouldn’t welcome him to your favorite team with arms wide open. 

Until Saturday Newsletter  | This is The Athletic’s college football newsletter. Sign up here to receive Until Saturday directly in your inbox.

Today in college football news, Lay’s Valentina & Lime demolishes Doritos Blazin’ Buffalo & Ranch for junk food of the week honors.

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Changes: CFB’s especially busy quarter-century

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Quick Snaps

Two notes from Andrew Marchand’s insider notes on Pat MacAfee:

• “He has mused with associates about starting his own, independent version of GameDay, according to sources briefed on discussions. …
• “Last fall, McAfee grew upset about being shown swinging and missing during a segment in which he faced a University of Oklahoma softball pitcher. McAfee, according to sources briefed on the incident, demanded to know the name of the GameDay staff member who put it on the air.”

Surprising nobody, GameDay will start the season at Texas-Ohio State. Lee Corso’s final episode, remember. Sure would be cool if McAfee were away doing his own thing elsewhere!

Post-House settlement lightning round:

• “Eight female athletes filed an appeal of the House v. NCAA settlement, arguing that the landmark agreement violates Title IX.” This dispute had long been anticipated.
• “Throughout this case, many involved have pointed to the next big one coming down the pike. Johnson vs. NCAA, which has been moving through the courts for almost six years now, gets into one of the thorniest issues in college sports: employment.”
• “The people in charge are turning quickly to the sport’s next potential rules changes. At the top of the list: moving to a single transfer portal window.”
• As we continue to learn more about what big schools are going to do with their newly allowed $20.5 million allocations, here’s one of several Ohio State details: “Spending $18 million across four sports: football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s volleyball.”

 Deion Sanders sounds okay after some recent health issues.

 Notre Dame is looking into a QB recruit named Brady Quinn, and no, he is not a time traveler. That we know of.

Men’s College World Series starts tonight. Eight things to know, including Arkansas as the melting pot of college baseball transfers. New Mexico Junior College! Florida SouthWestern State, with a capital W!

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2025 Countdown: That’s not a Michigan helmet

Until Saturday’s completely format-free 2025 season preview countdown continues today with Conference USA and the MAC, the conferences that usually have the nation’s most and least transient membership rosters, respectively. I decided to pair these two into one edition for a couple reasons:

1. They contain all three of this season’s conference realignment changes in FBS. What a tidy way to catch up!
2. Almost all of the most enjoyable EA Sports rebuilding projects are usually in these two leagues. Who hasn’t labored to build a little MAC guy into Ohio State’s bully? Last year, my Conference USA alma mater, Kennesaw State, was the FBS newbie and thus one of the game’s most frequently undertaken construction projects. This year, CUSA — forever filling a critical role as the onboarding meeting, spaceship airlock and actual transfer portal — provides two such options.

With all this in mind, let’s bring on The Athletic’s Chris Vannini, who has covered lots of college football things, including smaller schools and The Video Game. How convenient!

Which of the two latest CUSA additions (Delaware and Missouri State) would be more fun as a fixer-upper?

Chris: While both have been top-25 FCS programs, I’m interested in Delaware. While playing an early version of the game, I actually spent a little time with them and really enjoyed their playbook, so that’s a bonus. For those unaware, Joe Flacco’s alma mater looks like Michigan, with blue and yellow winged helmets. The Blue Hens are also the only FBS program in the state of Delaware, so they’re unique. They have a balanced offense that may again rotate quarterbacks who can run and pass. The new Dynasty mode will encourage more local recruiting by making distant recruiting visits cost more, so get ready to recruit a lot of New Jersey.

Same question for the MAC. Seems like UMass rejoining after a decade away makes the Minutemen an enticing project?

UMass is another in a long list of former FCS national champions who have moved up to FBS, but they’ve had no success. People around the program earnestly believe it’ll be different now that they’ve started to fund the program the way it should be, and they’ll be near the top of the MAC financially this time around. On the field, UMass brings in dual-threat Yale quarterback Grant Jordan, who might be able to make some waves in the MAC. But it’s also a hard team to predict, with so much portal turnover during a coaching change.

Look at that, sneaking in actual season preview content. As far as Who’s Gonna Win goes, Liberty will surely again be CUSA’s clear favorite* despite losing 2023 league MVP quarterback Kaidon Salter to Colorado. Potential replacement Ethan Vasko played the last two years at Coastal Carolina, which happens to be the school his new head coach, Jamey Chadwell, had just left.

* Last year, Jacksonville State was picked third in the league in the conference’s preseason poll, then beat Western Kentucky in the league title game. Both now enter the season in a big pile of second-tier contenders. Weird way of putting it, I guess. They’re all 0-0.

In the MAC, expect Toledo to be the pick for what feels like the billionth time, though the Rockets have just two league titles since 2004. That sounds way more rude than I’d meant. They’ve been super consistent! So many near-misses! Feel like I’ve typed this exact paragraph annually for a decade now. Sorry.

Also expect some first-place MAC preseason votes for defending champ Ohio, defending runner-up Miami (Ohio) and NIU — the country’s second-best team last year, based on scoring margin in games against Notre Dame. A sleeper pick based on roster stability, though that’s a very relative concept in the MAC: Buffalo.

Your turn. This week’s survey: Whether you’re a gamer or not, which team in all of college football would be the most fun to turn into a CFP contender? I’ll run some of your brilliant ideas next week.

 

Have a good weekend, and untilsaturday@theathletic.com is how you can email me about any of this. Most of you usually just email me about the non-sequitur intros. Thank you either way.