Before Paige Bueckers was picked by the Dallas Wings first overall in the 2025 WNBA draft, the forward played five years with the UConn Huskies under coach Geno Auriemma. She suffered season-ending ailments, missed another primary scorer for the season in one season before everything came together for her in the final season.

The Huskies went on to defeat Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks to give Bueckers and some of her teammates a perfect farewell with the national championship win.

On Friday, Bueckers joined Deja Kelly for an episode on NILOSOPHY to discuss her journey with the Huskies.

“Yeah, I mean, as much as I love UConn, being there for five years was a long time,” Bueckers said (1:53). “And just being ready for the next chapter of your life—thank God I got to close it out the right way, and we all did that as a team.

“The journey that I went on through UConn—I wouldn’t trade it for the world, just because it shaped me to be who I am,” she continued. “It changed a lot of my perspective on things and helped me grow as a person, a leader, a basketball player on and off the court.”

Bueckers, who had an NIL valuation of $1.5 million (via On3), also spoke about her mindset entering her fifth and final year of her college basketball career.

“I kind of just made that decision before the season even started—that I was going to give everything that I had to this season,” Bueckers said. “Just give everything I had to it and be ready for the next chapter. I think having that decision made before I even started sort of is a weight lifted off your shoulders. It’s something you don’t have to worry about.”

While Bueckers still had eligibility remaining due to her injury redshirt, she naturally felt it was a perfect time to move on.

“It was really just—I don’t know—when you feel like something is over,” she added. “Obviously, you had one more season to play out, but you just feel like that was the last chapter to it.”

Paige Bueckers’ Role in Leading UConn to NCAA Title

Entering the 2024-25 season, Paige Bueckers was coming off multiple major injuries (missing her entire junior year due to an ACL tear) and saw UConn come up short in three previous Final Fours.

Bueckers’ role was important in ending UConn’s nine-year national championship drought. She led the team from the front during the NCAA Tournament. She tallied 34 points vs. South Dakota State, 40 vs. Oklahoma and 31 vs. USC to become the first UConn player with three straight 30-point NCAA tournament games.

In the national championship game, Bueckers scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished three assists. The Huskies crushed the Gamecocks 82-59 to win their 12th overall national title.

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College sports have undergone significant changes over the past few years. The ability for student-athletes to capitalize financially on their name, image and likeness has opened doors that were once completely shut. The NCAA now has to adapt to the precedent that they have set, which may come in the form of changing college basketball’s model from amateur to professional.

In the past, schools would allegedly entice players with monetary incentives to commit to their program and often under the table. One of the most infamous examples of the same came into the limelight in 2017 Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals, with the team being stripped of their 2013 national championship.

Thankfully, that situation has seemingly changed with players now signing brand deals in high school. It has become essential for these teenage stars to have financial advisors. NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, who has seen this change in real time, has now reflected on how poor things used to be back then.

“We got penalized for having an agent,” Anthony revealed on the 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast.

The difference now is that college sports have breached the space where professional sports reside. The amount of money that these schools can offer these players is changing the entire landscape of many aspects, such as recruitment. Anthony believes he has a way to combat the frequent moves of key players on certain programs.

“Even if you’re the 10th player on the team, you’re making a couple hundred grand,” Anthony said.

“If I’m the 10th man on the team, I’m asking the school to give me a four-year deal for $1.2 million. When you do the math and realize, ‘Hold up, I’m going to have to pay somebody else this bread anyway, why not keep my guy?’” he argued.

The NCAA has already witnessed the implications of NIL within college basketball. Players are constantly using the transfer portal as a means for monetary gain, similar to the NBA’s free agency. The days of players spending four years at the same program are becoming more scarce by the year.

But unregulated, it can lead to financial misappropriation and corruption, which is why Anthony has proposed a solution that would allow the NCAA to monitor the frequency of transfers much more efficiently.

“You should be able to trade in college,” Anthony declared. “Just not in conference.”

If players wanted to be paid like professionals, they should be treated like professionals. There isn’t an issue with paying these athletes. After all, the NCAA is a multi-billion-dollar organization.

The issue comes with the dynamic and difficulties it causes to these programs and the integrity of the sport.

The NCAA is still learning how to navigate this massive change in its business model. They will certainly establish methods to fix the problems. Anthony’s advice could assist in their efforts.

Before the NIL era officially started, “Paige Buckets” took college basketball by storm. Paige Bueckers put together a standout freshman season at UConn as she won National Player of the Year and became a unanimous first team All-American.

July 1, 2021 – ahead of Bueckers’ sophomore year – the NIL era began. That meant players were able to profit off their name, image and likeness for the first time. It proved to be quite an opportunity for Bueckers, whose highlights were making their way around social media quickly.

But she was like athletes across the country and had to quickly learn what it meant to navigate the space. In fact, despite her strong following, Bueckers said she build her brand from scratch.

“When I tell you I had no idea what this was going to look like, I had literally no idea,” Bueckers told Deja Kelly on NILOSOPHY. “It was a complete blank canvas. That’s why you just want to set the values up first. Whatever came from that, then, let’s do it. In commercials, partnered with Fortnite. The stuff I was able to do – like shoots, the creative side of it, the relationships I got to build, some really cool moments. … The stuff I’ve been able to do with my teammates and for my teammates, that’s been the coolest stuff to me, just to share that with them.

“Having a stylist, hair and makeup done. I’m just sitting there in a chair and everybody’s, like, tending to me. I’m like, this is nuts. I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life. All of it’s just been a whirlwind. I’m just extremely grateful for all of it.”

Paige Bueckers: ‘I set my values straight with my team’

On the court, Paige Bueckers overcame injury and eventually got her long-awaited national championship this past season at UConn. All told, she ended her career as a three-time first team All-American and a two-time Nancy Lieberman Award winner as the nation’s top point guard. That helped her become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

Bueckers also flourished in the NIL space. She ended her college career with a $1.5 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranked No. 2 in the women’s basketball NIL rankings. She also made it a point to enter into deals that included her teammates, which was one of her big values as she entered the space. It was part of a special journey through the NIL world, and she came a long way from the day the new era began.

“Truly, I had no idea, especially the first day,” Bueckers said. “I knew name, image and likeness. That’s probably the only thing I knew. But even just talking with agents. What was an agent to me? Now, I know, and now I have much more knowledge around the topic. Once I started to learn about it – talk to more people, get their perspective on things, talk with an agent – it became, for me, how can I give back and use this platform on social media to do something good with it? You don’t even think about making money in college because it was never a thing.

“I set my values straight with my team. I just want to work with people who have the right intentions, have the right values of giving back and not making everything about me. Like, including my teammates on deals, trying to give my teammates stuff, as well. Just as much as you can, it’s going to be about you. You’re building your brand, you’re building your wealth, you’re building just who you are and getting that out there more. So as much as you can, trying to counteract that with the things that you can do within a partnership.”

CHAMPAIGN — Josh Whitman hopped an eastbound plane four and a half years ago on a mission to awaken a football program that had fallen increasingly dormant.

Whitman was en route to finalize a deal with Bret Bielema, then on staff with the New York Giants, after negotiating with the former Wisconsin and Arkansas head coach with very few outside of Whitman’s tight circle in the loop of his plans. 

The goal was sustained success, and Whitman found a coach who had been highly successful in college football, particularly in the Midwest, knew the state of Illinois and had a detailed plan to revitalize the program.

Four seasons later, Bielema has ushered the Illini out of the doldrums of the Big Ten with two postseason appearances and enters his fifth season in Champaign with the highest expectations of his tenure as a program with legitimate College Football Playoff goals.

“He has an incredible vision for where he thinks Illinois football can go, and to his credit, he’s had that vision from the day he’s walked in the door,” Whitman said on Thursday. “And he has continued to meet every benchmark and metric that he puts in front of himself in terms of how he can move our program from where it was to where he wants it to be.”

The truth is, Whitman and the athletics department needed football to get back on track. Lovie Smith’s tenure put Illinois on firmer ground after the Tim Beckman scandal, but he didn’t win enough games, play in enough competitive games or drive enough people to Memorial Stadium.

Football is the biggest revenue generator in athletic departments, and with a $20.5 million bill coming due to pay athletes following the House settlement, Illinois desperately needed football to rise to the occasion.

Beyond the ramifications of how the Illini are perceived in the football world — word of mouth and primetime games are good publicity for the program — there was a tangible financial element at play. Success has given the Illini those tangible rewards.

According to Whitman, the Illini averaged 54,750 fans in home games last season, which was the highest average attendance since 2009. Illinois sold out two games, Kansas and Michigan, last year, the first sellouts since 2009. For the third consecutive season, Illinois averaged 5,000 more fans than the year before. 

Illinois had its highest football ticket revenue ($9.2 million) since 2011, sold its most student tickets (6,678) since 2019 and is expecting to grow those numbers in 2025, having sold out of season tickets and with the anticipation of averaging a sellout for home games.

Quite a change from the pre-Bielema era.

Bielema assembled a strong coaching staff — which returns all but former outside linebackers coach Clint Sintim in 2025 — that’s drawn an influx of talent to the program between the transfer portal and high school recruiting.

The Illini’s Class of 2026 currently ranks No. 14 nationally, though that number should settle somewhere around the top 35 by the time signing day rolls around in December. Illinois has also used the portal to elevate the talent at key positions: quarterback, receiver, offensive line, defensive line and tight end.

“He works harder than anybody I’ve ever met in my life,” Whitman said. “He has great ability to connect with people on a very personal level: coaches, student athletes, their family members. He is more directly involved in recruiting than any head coach in any sport that I’ve ever seen. He is an incredible tactician of the game of football, and more importantly, he’s a great teacher of the game of football.”

Illinois and Bielema hope the ramifications from the House settlement can continue to propel the program forward with — in an ideal world — a more level playing field in terms of roster construction. Bielema has long been vocal about leveling the playing field in terms of money spent on building rosters.

Still, Bielema and Illinois have found success — though it unquestionably will rue the five-win seasons and just missing bowl eligibility in 2021 and 2023 — in the first four seasons of Bielema’s tenure. When Whitman was asked about Bielema’s qualities of lifting the program, he paused and simply said, “I could talk about him all day,” before continuing on a multi-minute praise session for the head coach who lifted the program out of the conference basement.

Bielema has been handsomely rewarded for his work. Bielema signed a new extension and is set to earn more than $8 million annually between his salary and retention bonus and has a non-compete clause for any Big Ten school.

Bielema repaired the fractured high school relationships in the state of Illinois, has upped the incoming talent in recruiting and has successfully used the transfer portal to get plug-and-play starters, including star quarterback Luke Altmyer.

Needless to say, Whitman’s trip east to sign Bielema five years ago has resulted in resounding success. 

“He’s an innovator,” Whitman said. “As we talk about change being our friend, Exhibit A is Bret Bielema. We have continued to think creatively about how to take the new system and use it to our advantage. He’s been a great fit for us. He has great affinity for Illinois, obviously being a native of our state, and a great appreciation for this place.”

With all the recent developments surrounding college basketball from NIL to the transfer portal, we’re seeing more and more mid-major talent than ever selected on Draft night. Whether it was under-recruited prospects who fell through the cracks, mid-major stars who found high major opportunities or even the occasional mid-major journeymen, we saw it all at the 2025 NBA Draft.

In honor of all the former mid-major talent selected this week, here’s the official Mid-Major Madness recap of the 2025 NBA Draft.

First Round, Pick 11: Cedric Coward (Washington State) – Portland; Traded to Memphis

In perhaps the best story of the 2025 NBA Draft, Coward’s career began at Division III Willamette where he was crowned 2021-22 Northwest Conference Rookie of the Year. His eccentric scoring style and size caught the attention of then Eastern Washington head coach David Riley who offered Coward an opportunity at the DI level back in 2022.

Though Coward’s transition took time, he blossomed the following season under Riley’s leadership and lifted the Eagles to a second consecutive Big Sky title. Averaging 15.4 PPG and 6.7 RPG, he was selected to the 2023-24 All-Big Sky First Team before transferring over to Washington State alongside his head coach in Riley. Though he suffered an injury early into his final season, Coward proved his talent to NBA scouts even in limited action as he managed a career-high 17.7 PPG in just six appearances.

First Round, Pick 18: Walter Clayton Jr. (Florida/Iona) – Washington; Traded to Utah

2025 National Champion, the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, a consensus First Team All-American and it all started at Iona. With limited interest out of high school it was legendary head coach Rick Pitino who spotted the talent of Clayton early on and presented him with one of his three Division I offers out of high school.

Clayton had an instant impact for the Gaels as he was selected to the All-Conference Freshman Team in 2021-22 but with several seniors departing he truly broke out in 2022-23. Averaging 16.8 PPG, he helped Iona back to the NCAA Tournament with a pair of MAAC titles and was later tabbed Conference Player of the Year over current Detroit Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins.

First Round, Pick 24: Nique Clifford (Colorado State) – Oklahoma City; Traded to Sacramento

As a native of Colorado Springs, Clifford actually began his career with Colorado in the Pac-12 but never quite found his footing as a member of the Buffaloes. So, he transferred in-state ahead of the 2023-24 campaign and joined head coach Niko Medved at Colorado State where the former four-star prospect proved a two-way starlet.

In his first season as a Ram, Clifford averaged 12.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 3.0 APG while playing a critical role in lifting the program to the NCAA Tournament. For back-to-back March Madness appearances he took his game to new heights with 15 double-doubles in 2024-25 and produced career-high averages of 18.9 PPG and 9.6 RPG.

First Round, Pick 27: Danny Wolf (Michigan/Yale) – Brooklyn

With dreams of playing for Michigan, Wolf had an offer to walk on out of high school under then head coach Juwan Howard but instead opted to go the Ivy League route with Yale. His freshman season was a learning process but he quickly emerged as a sophomore with consistent playing time. Averaging 14.1 PPG, 9.7 RPG and 1.3 BPG, he led the Ivy League in blocks and rebounds while the Bulldogs fought to a conference tournament title. In the First Round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Wolf’s 13 points, five rebounds and three assists saw Yale upset Auburn 78-76 for just the program’s second Tournament win in 75 years.

All of the accolades and plaudits saw Wolf achieve his dream as the 7-footer left Yale following his sophomore season to join Michigan and newly minted head coach Dusty May. With the Big Ten’s leading rebounder in toe, the Wolverines ran all the way to the 2025 Sweet Sixteen and eventually fell despite 20 points from their future First Rounder.

First Round, Pick 30: Yanic Konan Niederhauser (Penn State/Northern Illinois) – LAC

Born in Switzerland before beginning his professional career in Germany, the 6-foot-10 Niederhauser flew under-the-radar after just two season’s at Northern Illinois. He averaged only 4.8 PPG and 3.0 RPG during that span but went on to lead the MAC in blocks as a sophomore, which sparked the interest of Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades.

In the midst of a rebuild, Rhoades took a gamble and offered Niederhauser the opportunity to ply his trade within the high major ranks. A risk that almost instantly paid dividends as Niederhauser led the Nittany Lions in rebounding and blocked shots during the 2024-25 season while showing vast improvement as a scorer with 12.9 PPG.

Second Round, Pick 31: Rasheer Fleming (Saint Joseph’s) – Minnesota; Traded to Phoenix

Fleming was undervalued his entire basketball career. At Camden High School as a senior, he played sixth man to a pair of former top-100 prospects in DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw. Averaging just 6.9 PPG, his only reported collegiate offers came from St. Joe’s, Temple, Seina, Albany and Saint Francis-PA.

With the staff at St. Joe’s touting NBA experience, Fleming steadily improved over his three years on Hawk Hill going from a 18-game starter as a freshman to an All-A10 First Teamer in 2025. That significant growth and development saw NBA interest pour in throughout the 2024-25 campaign with Fleming the first Hawk selected in the Draft since DeAndre’ Bembry in 2016.

Second Round, Pick 33: Sion James (Duke/Tulane) – Charlotte

Over four seasons in New Orleans under a well-respected coach in Ron Hunter, James was a development project going from just 5.8 PPG as a freshman to proving a solid contributor as a junior. However, it was during the 2023-24 season where he truly emerged for Tulane, averaging career-highs of 14.0 PPG and 5.4 RPG while starting 31 out of 31 games.

A move to Duke in the ACC the following season showcased James’ talent on the world’s stage with the graduate transfer playing a key role in the Blue Devils’ run to the Final Four. He was picked to the conference’s 2024-25 All-Defensive Team, shot 52% from the floor, 41% from three and dropped 16 points in Duke’s Sweet Sixteen win over Arizona.

Second Round, Pick 35: Johni Broome (Auburn/Morehead State) – Philadelphia

Broome’s story begins back in 2020 at Morehead State where he was an under-recruited prospect out of Plant City, Fla. but had no problems dominating the OVC. In just two season’s with the Eagles, he racked up the awards earning OVC Rookie of the Year, OVC Defensive Player of the Year, a pair of all conference First Team selections and even 2021 OVC Tournament MVP.

Though many doubted he’d be able to handle a high-major transition, a transfer to Auburn produced much of the same as Broome ascended the ranks to national prominence with the Tigers. With his final season of eligibility he was a double-double machine, averaging career-highs of 18.6 PPG, 10.8 RPG and even 2.1 BPG to lead the SEC in rebounding and blocked shots.

Second Round, Pick 37: Chaz Lanier (Tennessee/North Florida) – Detroit

During his first three years with North Florida Lanier quietly worked as a depth piece before exploding onto the scene as a redshirt senior with his innate scoring ability. Averaging just 3.6 PPG over the three season’s prior, he paved the way for North Florida’s most wins since 2020 with an insane increase in production as he tallied 19.7 PPG and shot an ASUN best 44% from three.

As Lanier entered the portal ahead of the 2024-25 campaign it was Rick Barnes and Tennessee who received a commitment from one of the nation’s most converted transfers. In the SEC he maintained that same scoring prowess, earning an All-Conference Second Team selection and leading the Volunteers to an Elite Eight appearance.

Second Round, Pick 39: Alijah Martin (Florida/FAU) – Toronto

As a former leader of two historic Florida Atlantic teams, Martin was always viewed as a potential pro prospect who played within the mid-major ranks. When the Owls climbed to new heights in 2022-23, soaring all the way to the Final Four, Martin was honored with an All-NCAA Tournament award for his integral role in FAU’s success.

When Florida Atlantic returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2024, Martin was once again instrumental in leading the way now with an All-AAC Second Team selection to his name. But as May departed during the 2024 offseason, so did Martin, opting to stay in-state with Florida where he averaged a career-high 14.4 PPG during the Gators’ national title run.

Second Round, Pick 41: Koby Brea (Kentucky/Dayton) – Golden State; Traded to Phoenix

Four seasons at Dayton honed Brea into one of the Atlantic 10’s premier three-point shooting threats as he earned a pair of Sixth Man of the Year awards coming off the bench for the Flyers. Most impressively, he led the conference in 3-point shooting during the 2023-24 season while averaging 11.1 PPG and connecting on 50% of his 201 attempts from behind the arc.

Many thought of Brea as something of a one-trick pony when he transferred up to join Kentucky but he was quick to prove the doubters wrong as his scoring seemingly improved. He averaged a career-high 11.6 PPG in his lone season within the SEC, led the conference in 3-point shooting for the second consecutive year and was a capable starter at the high-major level.

Second Round, Pick 43: Jamir Watkins (Florida State/VCU) – Washington

Watkins’ time at VCU was hampered by injuries as he missed the 2021-22 season before returning in 2022-23 with averages of 9.5 PPG and 5.4 RPG to help secure a pair of A10 titles. Though he primarily came off the bench during the Rams’ regular season, his production in the A10 Championship garnered Watkins an All-Tournament selection and some high-major interest.

While the numbers looked somewhat underwhelming, Watkins saw no issue with a transition to the ACC and Florida State as he averaged a then career-high 15.6 PPG as a junior. He eclipsed that with an All-ACC Second Team selection in 2024-25 and managed 18.4 PPG despite the Seminoles season-long struggles.

Second Round, Pick 46: Amari Williams (Kentucky/Drexel) – Orlando; Traded to Boston

Arriving in the city of Philadelphia by way of England, Williams staked his claim as possibly the greatest defensive player in Drexel history over his four years with the program. As a redshirt freshman he was crowned CAA Defensive Player of the Year, as a sophomore he went on to repeat and as a junior he became the only three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year. As it stands, he leads the program in defensive box plus/minus, defensive rebounding percentage and is fourth all-time for the Dragons in blocked shots with 186.

Joining Kentucky for the 2024-25 season saw much of that two-way tenacity continue as Williams produced 10.9 PPG and 1.2 BPG while making his first career NCAA Tournament appearance.

Second Round, Pick 48: Javon Small (West Virginia/Oklahoma State/East Carolina) – Memphis

Small’s career began at East Carolina where he played just 9.2 MPG as a freshman before being given the keys to the offense as a sophomore amidst a coaching change for the Pirates. Though he battled injuries and made just 18 appearances, Small’s offensive game was undeniable when healthy as he led East Carolina in scoring with 15.8 PPG on 40% shooting.

That production was enough to see high-major interest with Small eventually transferring to join Oklahoma State in 2023 where he once again led his team in scoring with 15.1 PPG. Another coaching change would see Small portaling again where he committed to West Virginia for his senior season. Going on to earn an All-Big 12 First Team award, he carried the Mountaineers to a 19-13 record as, one again, his team’s leading scorer.

Second Round, Pick 50: Kobe Sanders (Nevada/Cal Poly) – New York; Traded to LAC

In spite of his positional size and versatility, Sanders was another who went under-recruited out of his school as the San Diego native played his first four years at Cal Poly in the Big West. Though the Mustangs struggled mightly in 2023-24, finishing dead last in the Big West and without an in-conference win on their record, Sanders provided a major bright spot. His 19.6 PPG averaged afforded him tons of high major interest as he entered the portal last offseason but instead he decided on mid-major powerhouse in Nevada.

Thrust into the starting lineup as a veteran graduate transfer, Sanders took to leading with his play on the floor as he averaged 15.8 PPG alongside Nick Davidson. Though the duo only managed 17 wins in the ever-competitve Mountain West, Sanders continued development was recognized with an All-Conference Third Team selection.

Second Round, Pick 53: John Tonje (Wisconsin/Missouri/Colorado State) – Utah

Tonje was extremely undervalued coming out of Omaha, Neb. with his only reported college offers coming from Colorado State, his local Omaha and Division-II Missouri Western State. Like many on this list though, he climbed the ranks and after primarily working as a depth piece for three seasons with the Rams. He finally got the opportunity in 2022. Tasked as a 33-game stater, Tonje put together a career-defining campaign with an average of 14.6 PPG while shooting 47% from the field and 39% from deep.

After a brief and injury-plagued stint in Missouri, the world discovered Tonje this past season as he led Wisconsin to the NCAA Tournament while garnering All-American honors.

Second Round, Pick 54: Taelon Peter (Liberty/Tennessee Tech) – Indiana

Though Peter’s career started at Tennessee Tech with six appearances during the 2020-21 season, Division-II Arkansas Tech is where he was given the chance to mold his game. Over three season’s in DII’s Great American Conference, Peter was selected to the All-Conference Second Team and First Team, and he finally capped it off as Player of the Year in 2024.

Ultimately, he once again caught the attention of Division-I coaches and entered the portal last offseason where he transferred up to Liberty. In 35 appearances with the Flames, Peter primarily came off the bench but averaged 13.7 PPG to be awarded Conference USA’s Sixth Man of the Year title.

Second Round, Pick 56: Will Richard (Florida/Belmont) – Memphis; Traded to Golden State

As a three-star prospect from Fairburn, Ga., Richard held some solid offers coming out of high school including VCU, Loyola-Chicago and Rice before initially committing to Belmont. That wouldn’t last long though as he flashed tons of talent in his freshman season with the Bruins, averaging 12.1 PPG and leading Florida to quickly swoop in.

Richard spent the next three years as a fixture of the Gators starting lineup and was a leader during the program’s 2025 national championship run. Not only did he start all 40 of Florida’s 40 games during the 2024-25 season, but he averaged a career-high 13.3 PPG to earn some NBA interest.

Second Round, Pick 57: Max Shulga (VCU/Utah State) – Orlando; Traded to Boston

Shuga has been instrumental to Ryan Odom’s success as a head coach, starting at Utah State in 2022 where he helped the Aggies to a 26 wins and the NCAA Tournament. When Odom got the job at VCU the following season, Shulga was the first to follow and went on to lead the Rams in scoring in another 20+ win season for the dynamic duo.

However, after falling just short of the NCAA Tournament in 2024, Shulga entered the transfer portal and initially committed to join Villanova ahead of the 2024-25 season. While it ultimately never came to fruition, Shulga returned to VCU under Odom and was rewarded on the court with a career-best season. Earning the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year award, he returned to the NCAA Tournament, leading the Rams to a 28-7 record and a pair of conference titles.

AFTER THE NCAA-HOUSE LEGAL SETTLEMENT

Starting July 1, College Sports Fans
Will See These Things More Often


By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
(last updated June 28, 2025)

The most well-known aspect of the House legal settlement, whose terms will officially become the college sports world’s revolutionary new framework on July 1, is that colleges and universities will be permitted to distribute to their own athletes more than $20 million per year for the first time in the 119-year history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Other aspects of the NCAA’s new world have been covered much less frequently and may be less obvious, but they’re definitely on the way, too.

Here are some of them:

“Fair Market Value” References.

One of the most eye-opening developments of the lengthy build-up to July 1 came when college athletic directors were informed this spring about how the Name-Image-Likeness deals of the past four years would have been treated if the new House framework had been in effect.

A major accounting firm looked at a wide variety of college athletes’ previous NIL deals and applied a fair-market-value test. Essentially, the investigators evaluated whether the fair market value of the actions performed by an individual athlete (e.g., endorsements, social media promotions, autograph signings, personal appearances) matched the compensation that same athlete received in that transaction with his or her third-party NIL partner.

Interestingly, the past NIL deals involving public companies would have been approved about 90 percent of the time. This likely reflects the fact that those companies, whose leaders must answer to their Board of Directors and/or shareholders on financial matters, overwhelmingly were simply attempting to pay a fair price for services rendered while hoping for a reasonable return on that investment.

In stark contrast, the past NIL deals sponsored by school-specific collectives would have been rejected by the same fair-market-value analysis about 70 percent of the time. In other words, the investigators found that a majority of such contracts looked a lot more like “buying players” or “pay-for-play” and a lot less like conventional seeking-similar-value business trades.

Under the new House rules, every third-party NIL deal (those coming from outside the university itself) of $600 or more will have to be approved by a clearinghouse utilizing the fair-market-value analysis. Those contracts that fail the fair-market-value test will be rejected, although they can be resubmitted at a lower dollar amount.

“Roster Cap” References.

In the past, college programs were governed by, among many other things, NCAA scholarship limits.

At the top levels of Division One, for example, the maximum numbers were 11.7 in baseball (most players received only partial athletic scholarships), 13 in men’s basketball, 15 in women’s basketball and 85 in football. Coaches typically supplemented their rosters with non-scholarship players (aka walk-ons), who were deemed important for practice and/or depth purposes.

Under the terms of the House settlement, schools now must stay at or below a sport’s roster cap, regardless of the individual athletes’ scholarship/walk-on status. The new numbers are 34 for baseball (an enormous change), 15 for men’s basketball, 15 for women’s basketball (no change) and 105 for football.

These will not be “hard caps” right away, because the judge who oversaw the House case didn’t want to see players from last year’s rosters “run off” by their coaches. (In effect, there will be a grandfather clause for those returning players over the next few years, and they will not count against the roster limit.) In most sports, coaches carried a number of players last season that was higher — sometimes much higher — than this coming year’s roster cap.

Whereas the wealthiest athletic departments are expected to enable their coaches to offer full athletic scholarships all the way to the maximum number of roster spots in every sport (e.g., Clemson has committed to this, at a new cost of approximately $6 million annually), the approaches to this new reality are expected to vary greatly from school to school and from sport to sport, especially outside the so-called Power Four conferences.

International Athletes.

In the past, if there was an international athlete on your favorite team’s roster, there was a very good chance the player had attended an American high school and/or prep school prior to his or her college enrollment.

For example, former UNC basketball players Steve Bucknall (England), Rick Fox (Bahamas/Canada) and Serge Zwikker (Netherlands) attended high school in Massachusetts, Indiana and Virginia/Maryland, respectively. This enabled the Tar Heels to recruit them in a more traditional manner, rather than necessitating overseas recruiting trips.

Some combination of the players’ family circumstances and/or basketball outlook led them to seek out the traditional American basketball journey (high school-college-professional), which combines higher education with athletics. In virtually every other part of the world, a high school or academy student with a promising athletic career typically goes straight from high school to a professional organization, often under a semi-pro, apprentice-type arrangement.

Now that major American universities can compete at a brand-new level financially, with a combination of revenue-sharing cash and third-party Name-Image-Likeness money, more international prospects — including those in their early 20s — are considering NCAA basketball as a first-of-its-kind “best of both worlds” (education and compensation) option.

During the upcoming 2025-26 season, the Atlantic Coast Conference alone will include more than a dozen new direct-from-overseas signees, including Miami center Salih Altuntas (Turkey), UNC guard Luka Bogavac (Montenegro), Louisville center Sananda Fru (Germany), Virginia center Johann Grunloh (Germany), Duke guard Dame Sarr (Italy/Senegal) and Stanford forward Kristers Skrinda (Latvia). Each player had most recently competed for a high-level professional team overseas.

Bogavac and Fru, who are both expected to be immediate-impact college players, will turn 22 years old during their freshman season. Sarr, 19, is regarded as a possible 2026 first-round NBA pick.

Buyout Clauses For Players.

Sports fans at the college and professional levels have been familiar with the concept of buyout clauses for many years.

College coaches’ contracts, for example, usually have two buyout clauses. One sets the amount the school would owe the coach if he or she gets fired before the end of the deal. The other sets the amount the coach would owe the school if he or she leaves for another job before the end of the deal. These numbers are not standard but rather negotiated, just like salary, term, incentives and other aspects of the contract.

In the post-House-settlement world, buyout clauses are expected to become part of some players’ revenue-sharing agreements and NIL deals, too.

Again, the numbers will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis, but with universities now paying athletes tens of millions of dollars per year directly from their own athletic department revenues for the first time in history, those schools will want some measure of security in return, especially when multi-year agreements are in play.

For example, if a superstar transfer asks for a three-year, $3 million revenue-sharing deal from a university, the school may reply by agreeing to those terms only if the player agrees to a significant buyout clause. If the contract lays out $1 million per year for three years, perhaps the athlete would have to pay the school $2 million if he left with two years remaining on the deal or $1 million if he left with one year remaining.

The contract terms also could include significant or even massive reductions in compensation if an athlete decides to take a redshirt season or opts out of postseason play.

Such detailed, big-money contracts would seem to make college athletes look more and more like full-fledged employees, a status the NCAA desperately wants to avoid for financial and legal reasons, but that’s another topic for another day.