Wheeling, W. Va. – In the ever expanding world of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) the Wheeling University Athletics Department is looking to give their student-athletes a leg-up. On Monday the department announced a partnership with Influxer, an officially licensed vendor that allows student-athletes to sell unique and custom apparel through a NIL agreement. Cardinal fans can purchase customized apparel to benefit Wheeling University student-athletes and their hard work on and off the field. 

“In the growing landscape of NIL, it is important to us to open opportunities to our student-athletes to take advantage of all it has to offer,” said Wheeling University Athletics Director Carrie Hanna. “We are dedicated to open new opportunities for our student-athletes both on and off the field, and this is one way we are helping prepare our student-athletes for the professional world.” 

Influxer’s mission is to help student-athletes navigate NIL by presenting income opportunities, providing professional education, and supporting a future beyond college athletics. They have partnered with over 500 schools across the country to create co-branded apparel customized with player’s names and numbers. As the company has continued to grow, they have expanded their product line and partnered with local sports organizations, growing to serve a diverse range of athletes. Their expertise will help Wheeling Student-Athletes navigate the complicated field of NIL, leading to success and growth both on and off the field. 

The platform empowers student-athletes to create their own personalized store, manage their merchandise, and maximize their earning while connecting with fans and brands. Influxer will work with each student-athlete to create their own store and help them keep track of and update their merchandise. It also offers opportunities to connect with brands to take part in their campaigns, creating opportunities for athletes to further elevate their profiles. Each store offers analytics that will help student-athletes track their performance and continue to grow their brand. 

“The NIL landscape is constantly evolving and working with Carrie Hanna and the administration has been an amazing opportunity to see the vision they have for Wheeling University providing great options through Influxer for their student-athletes,” said Influxer VP, Keith Miller. “They see this as not simply a transactional opportunity, but as an opportunity to develop long term skills for life.” 

To visit the Wheeling University Influxr site and purchase co-branded apparel of Wheeling University student-athletes, please click HERE. 

Nevada football opens the season at Penn State in just 12 days, and we got relatively few questions about this year’s team in this week’s Monday Mailbag. Go figure. Let’s get the questions. Thanks, as always, for the inquiries.

There’s an extensive list of players with Northern Nevada ties in NFL training camps with 18 fighting for spots on the 53-man roster. Here’s an overview.

* WR Brandon Aiyuk (McQueen High), San Francisco 49ers: Rehabbing from a torn ACL and MCL and is expected to miss at least the first five weeks of the season.

* OG Joel Bitonio (Nevada Wolf Pack), Cleveland Browns: Entering his 12th season as a starter in the NFL; do you know how hard it is to start in the NFL for a decade-plus?

* WR Elijah Cooks (Nevada Wolf Pack), Philadelphia Eagles: On a new team this season, Cooks has yet to record a stat in the preseason and is angling for a practice squad spot.

* OG Austin Corbett (Reed High/Nevada Wolf Pack), Carolina Panthers: Corbett’s goal will be to make it through the year healthy after three straight season-ending injuries (last year was a bicep tear).

* DB Kitan Crawford (Nevada Wolf Pack), Arizona Cardinals: Crawford has seven tackles and an interception in two preseason games and is making a strong push for the 53-man roster.

* OL Ben Dooley (Churchill County High), Los Angeles Rams: An undrafted free agent, Dooley will try and make the depth chart on an iffy Rams offensive line. Practice squad is more likely.

* WR Romeo Doubs (Nevada Wolf Pack), Green Bay Packers: Doubs has played in one of two preseason games with two targets (no catches). He’s a free agent next offseason, so this is a big year for him.

* LB Daiyan Henley (Nevada Wolf Pack), Los Angeles Chargers: Henley has two tackles this preseason. He’s one of the NFL’s top returning tacklers.

* WR/PR Tory Horton (Nevada Wolf Pack), Seattle Seahawks: In two preseason games, Horton has caught four of nine targets for 43 yards and a touchdown. He’ll make the roster.

* WR John Jackson III (Nevada Wolf Pack), Chicago Bears: Jackson has caught one of his four targets for seven yards. He’s looking to make the practice squad.

* DB Emany Johnson (Nevada Wolf Pack), Los Angeles Chargers: Johnson has got a lot of playing time and leads the NFL in tackles this preseason with 19 in three games (only two teams have played three games). He’s making a run at the active roster.

* LB Ale Kaho (Reno High), Washington Commanders: Kaho has one tackle in the preseason and will look to make the practice squad.

* TE Keleki Latu (Nevada Wolf Pack), Buffalo Bills: Latu has one catch for nine yards on two targets in two preseason games. His goal is to make the practice squad.

* LB Nephi Sewell (Nevada Wolf Pack), New Orleans Saints: Sewell has two tackles in the preseason and is a good bet to make the 53-man roster as a special teams ace.

* WR Jaden Smith (Nevada Wolf Pack), Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Smith joined the Bucs after camp began but has played in both preseason games with one catch (on two targets) for nine yards. He’s a practice squad candidate.

* RB Toa Taua (Nevada Wolf Pack), Cleveland Browns: Signed after camp began, Taua has seven rushes for 37 yards (5.3 ypc) and two catches for 16 yards. The Browns’ second-round pick, RB Quinshon Judkins, will not face charges from a post-draft arrest (domestic violence/battery charge) but still might not sign with the Browns until the NFL investigation concludes, which helps Taua’s odds of making the active roster. At minimum, practice squad seems like a lock.

* TE Cole Turner (Nevada Wolf Pack), Washington Commanders: After spending all of last season on the practice squad, Turner has one target this preseason (no catches) in one game.

* OLB Kyle Van Noy (McQueen High), Baltimore Ravens: Van Noy hasn’t played in the preseason and is a lock to make the Ravens’ roster after a career-high 12.5 sacks last season.

High. This is Chubba Purdy’s last season of college, but Nevada’s true freshman quarterback, Carter Jones, has looked impressive in spring and fall camp. It’s early, but I would not be surprised if Jones is Nevada’s 2026 starter as a redshirt freshman. In fact, if Purdy goes down with a long-term injury this season, I would guess Jones ultimately gets the 2025 starting job. A.J. Bianco would get first crack if Purdy is out multiple games, but Jones doesn’t seem that far behind him at this point despite some rough moments in Friday’s fall camp scrimmage, which included a pick-six. The staff is clearly high on Jones.

“It was a really good growing and learning day for Carter Jones,” Nevada coach Jeff Choate said. “He was in some situations, crowd noise, not paying attention to the play clock, a veteran linebacker saying, ‘Go ahead and throw it there,’ and then stepping in front of him and taking it the other way. I think he’s gonna learn and grow a lot from that. Practice is about stressing yourself. You can’t go out there to not make mistakes. You gotta rip it, you gotta cut it loose, you gotta stress yourself in those situations, know what works, know what doesn’t work so you’re ready to go in the game. I thought today will probably be one of the biggest learning days Carter will have in his entire college career.”

The Wolf Pack will almost certainly add a transfer quarterback next offseason for added competition. It didn’t do so this offseason because it didn’t want to scare its top-three quarterbacks into the portal. But I would say there’s a 65 percent shot Nevada’s 2026 starting quarterback is already on campus (either Jones or Bianco).

Well, Nevada doesn’t play Air Force this season, so the Wolf Pack isn’t beating the Falcons. Of those other three games, the best chance of a win is over San Jose State, which will play at Mackay Stadium. Nevada plays at Fresno State, which is always a tough place to win, and hosts Boise State. I could see the Wolf Pack beating the Bulldogs, who have a first-year head coach in Matt Entz. After going 2-6 in one-score games last season, Nevada should be close to .500 in those games this year. Nevada’s penalties and special teams were the biggest reasons behind that poor one-score record. I wrote about that here.

Nevada vs. UC Davis is going to happen because the Aggies are joining the Wolf Pack in the Mountain West (except for football) in 2026-27. Nevada football doesn’t have a game with UC Davis on its future schedule, but the Wolf Pack doesn’t have any FCS opponents on its schedule past 2026, so some need to be added and there’s a solid shot the football teams meet in the relatively near future. I wonder if UC Davis would wear its Lake Tahoe-themed helmet for that game, as those have drawn some derision from Wolf Pack fans and Nevada football coach Jeff Choate.

The legalization of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals added a wrinkle for the fundraising arms of athletic departments because all of a sudden the same boosters are making the choice between donating to NIL (essentially player salaries) or facility upgrades. Some donors have enough money for both. But there’s a limited numbers of big-money donors for schools like Nevada, and some don’t want to donate to NIL, which is a one-year roster boost, compared to facility upgrades, which have a longer-lasting impact. Post-NIL, the Wolf Pack has still got major donations for facility upgrades (Mackay Stadium’s new playing surface; baseball’s new locker room; football’s upgraded strength center), but it definitely forces some boosters to pick between NIL or facilities when making donations. A change has come this season with schools now allowed to share revenue with players, so NIL deals don’t only come from donors. That could allow schools to refocus the attention of its donor base on facility improvements, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a focus on garnering donations for NIL. It comes down to understanding each of your boosters and where they want their money going. There’s certainly a donor defraying element at play.

Well, $300 million is a lot of money, but Nevada does actually have an alum who could make a pledge like this in Fatih and Eren Ozmen, who both graduated from the university and own the Sparks-headquartered Sierra Nevada Corporation. The Ozmens’ net worth is a reported $4.4 billion. I’m not aware of any donations they’ve made to Wolf Pack athletics, but they’ve made major donations to academics before with the Ozmen Center for Entrepreneurship established in 2014 after a $5 million pledge.

Too light. Take the title away. Almost every Power 4 school has at least one donor who would pay a $30 million fine for their football team to win a tainted national championship, as Michigan did. I wrote about this topic in last week’s Week in 1,000 Words column here.

It depends if you’re going solo or trying to set up a larger tailgate. For larger groups, Nevada has four tiers of tailgating where the department has full setup and takedown service (the packages are listed here and cost $500, $870, $993, $1,063). If you’re going solo, just DM “Fake Coach Mumme” on Twitter and he’ll take care of you. There better be some folding tables involved, ala Bills Mafia.

Speaking of Fake Coach Mumme, here he is. Nevada has announced its game themes for the 2025 home football season (story here), and Beerfest is slated for the Middle Tennessee game Sept. 13. More details to come, I’m sure. That’s also Educators Day, Vamos Pack Day and Band Day. I’d pay extra to see the band perform after taking part in Beerfest (minimum five drinks per band member could lead to some interesting things).

Yes. Nevada basketball has averaged 3.6 blocks per game in each of the last two seasons, and no football team is averaging 3.6 picks per game. Wolf Pack men’s basketball has averaged at least 3.0 blocks per game in each of the last 24 seasons. To hit three interceptions per game, Nevada football would need 36 picks this season; last year’s college leader had 22 (or 1.7 per game). A better goal would be Nevada football’s offensive touchdowns per game (3.1 last year) surpassing Nevada men’s basketball’s blocks per game.

The Raiders have two winning records since 2003 (out of 22 seasons), so I’ll take the under on a 9-8 record for Las Vegas; the betting odds are 7.5 wins. The Raiders play the NFC East (Eagles, Cowboys, Commanders, Giants), which is the NFL’s hardest division. I’ll go 7-10 for the Raiders. As for coach Pete Carroll, he has a reputation for valuing the building of genuine relationships. He once described the culture of his teams as “trying to help people find their best, one person at a time,” and that seems to resonate. I’m not a huge Dave Roberts fan in terms of his in-game decisions for the Dodgers, but, like Carroll, he has the ability to connect with players, and that’s worked well for him and his teams.

I would bet my life NSN has given more coverage to non-large-class high school teams (in all sports and not just football) than the rest of the Reno-based sports media combined since we were established in 2018. Is it always appreciated? Certainly not. Most people always want more, more, more and don’t realize we’re a seven-person regional sports network that broadcasts more than 125 live games annually, write eight to 10 locally produced stories each day, get millions of views on our social media each month and produce and broadcast a local sports show every weekday. That takes a lot of manpower. We do the best we can with our staff size, which has included plenty of shine for non-5A high school teams and athletes. We already have this week’s Friday Night Lights schedule and are covering games that include Elko, Spring Creek, South Tahoe, Incline, Sparks, Churchill County and North Valleys. That’s seven non-5A/4A teams we’ll be shooting.

Nevada’s athletic budget (using revenue and not expenses) in 2023-24 was $47.9 million, which ranked 71st in the nation, per USA Today’s database. Washington was 25th at $145.1 million. Ohio State led the way at $251.6 million.

Yes, I think the ACC will fall apart and the Big Ten, SEC and Big 12 will move forward with a new college athletics hierarchy, which would leave some ACC teams behind as the new Power 3 forms (most likely to be left behind are Cal, Stanford, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Boston College, Louisville, Virginia Tech). The Power 3 would still play teams from other leagues, so those “money” games would be protected. But you’re going to see more consolidation in the future rather than expansion of the Power 3/4 level.

Starting pitching.

The Dodgers’ starting pitchers allowed 15 earned runs in 14 innings in the three-game sweep loss to the Angels (that’s a 9.64 ERA). The Dodgers’ starting pitchers allowed three earned runs in 17 innings in the three-game sweep win over to the Padres (that’s a 1.59 ERA). Starting pitching is important. And has anybody seen Manny Machado? He was nowhere to be seen in the Dodgers series, going 1-of-12 with four strikeouts in three games. That’s Michael Conforto-level productivity.

After a bunch of injuries to their starting staff, the Dodgers’ rotation is healthy and fully formed, which makes them dangerous in the playoffs, although their bullpen is still a mess. The team needs to get back a healthy and productive Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, Michael Kopech, Brock Stewart and Brusdar Graterol (at least three of them) if it’s going to do anything in the postseason.

This season, the Mountain West has the best Group of 6 conference. Next season? It will be the Pac-12 or American Conference. I’d lean Pac-12 due to men’s basketball. That’s going to be an elite college basketball conference.

And I’ll take original Mike & Ike over any variant Mike & Ike.

My favorite local French Dip used to be Redwood Rotisserie and Grill, which all of a sudden vanished in July 2023. They literally knocked the building down less than two weeks after I ate there. Rumor was an In-N-Out was going in that location, but I’m still waiting. Now that Redwood Rotisserie is gone, I’ll go with Great Basin Brewing Company’s French Dip. I haven’t tried the French Dip at Full Belly Deli. I always get the meatball sub there. Maybe I should give that a try.

It was a great show. Glass Animals joins my “three time” club after previously seeing the band at Red Rocks in Colorado and Shoreline Amphitheatre in the Bay Area. I still haven’t seen them play “Pools” live, and that’s my favorite Glass Animals song, although “The Other Side Of Paradise” is the band’s best live song. That one rocked last night. They also played their new single “Vampire Bat” twice last night, which was odd, but I guess they’re going to make it into a music video, which should be cool.

See y’all next week!

Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. He writes a weekly Monday Mailbag despite it giving him a headache and it taking several hours to write. But people seem to like it, so he does it anyway. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.

Omaha basketball player Deng Mayar drowned Saturday in a Utah reservoir, police said.

Herriman police said Mayar died at Blackridge Reservoir after going underwater about 35 yards from shore.

Mayar, 22, was a graduate student who joined the Mavericks after playing two seasons for Summit League rival North Dakota. Mayar, from Salt Lake City, started 15 games in two seasons and averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds as a senior.

Omaha coach Chris Crutchfield said in a statement that Mayar had made “tremendous progress” during the summer.

“Deng was a joy to be around and made our culture better,” Crutchfield said. “We will miss him greatly.”

Herriman police responded to a 911 call reporting two people in distress at the reservoir. Sa Mafutaga, 21, made it to shore and then went back into the water to try to rescue Mayar. Bystanders entered the water to aid Mafutaga, who was treated at the scene and taken to a hospital. The report said Mafutaga is expected to recover.

Mayar’s body was recovered from the reservoir by authorities after several hours of searching.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt predicted the entire College Football Playoff field, results and national champion by season’s end. It promises to be a fascinating season and postseason.

The College Football Playoff adjusted its seeing process for the 12-team bracket this year. The five-highest ranked conference champions still make the field, but the top four don’t automatically get the top four seeds. It’ll be strictly by ranking at that point.

Without further ado, let’s dive into Klatt’s College Football Playoff predictions. We start with the four teams getting a first round bye.

First round byes

1. Penn State (Big Ten champion)
2. Texas (SEC champion)
3. Clemson (ACC champion)
4. Ohio State

Klatt went with three conference champs as the top seeds and an at-large bid for the defending national champions. Based on these seeds, Penn State gets one over Ohio State in the championship game.

Klatt also has Texas and Clemson winning their respective conferences to get a bye in the College Football Playoff. A lot different than playing in the first round last season.

12. Boise State (5th highest ranked conf. champion) at 5. Georgia – Winner faces Ohio State

Klatt has Boise State back in the College Football Playoff this coming season, but grabbing the final seed. To be fair, they’ll have a quality season to be the fifth highest ranked conference champion.

Now, here’s the hard part. They have to go to Athens to play the Bulldogs in the first round. Georgia goes into the 2025 season as one of the contenders for the national title. This will be a monumental task.

Michigan will return to the College Football Playoff under Sherrone Moore, despite financial penalties and suspensions from the sign stealing scandal. The Wolverines set up to be better in Year 2, especially at quarterback.

It’ll be a Big Ten matchup against the Ducks, who just won the league last year and were the top seed. Oregon plays host so they’ll certainly have the advantage in this first round game.

Notre Dame gets a home game for the second straight College Football Playoff. But instead of Indiana making a Cinderella run, it’s LSU finally making the dance.

Brian Kelly is certainly under the gun to get the Tigers into the 12-team playoff. He has the team to do so, especially at QB with Garrett Nussmeier. But going to South Bend won’t be easy, especially for Kelly’s return. 

Kansas State is the final conference champion on Klatt’s list and they’ll get a home game by virtue of their seeding at No. 8. In Manhattan, Avery Johnson and crew will welcome the Crimson Tide.

You want Bama? Well, you’ll get them in the College Football Playoff. Kalen DeBoer plugged some holes through the transfer portal, the coaching staff and pure development. While they won’t win the SEC, they might even be road favorites in this game.

Georgia and Ohio State, remember that field goal attempt? Sorry Ohio State fans, but your Buckeyes did just win it all last year!

This would be a fascinating matchup on a neutral site. It’s tough to tell this far out, but this game could be a true tossup in the College Football Playoff.

Alabama gets the win over Kansas State on the road and advances to play the top seed. If this isn’t the year James Franklin gets it done for the Nittany Lions, when will it be?

On paper, Penn State should have the advantage over Alabama at most of the key positions. This is a College Football Playoff quarterfinal you won’t want to miss.

The Ducks beat Michigan in the first round to advance to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. It’ll be Dan Lanning’s first CFP victory, but it’ll be his last, at least this season.

Clemson looks loaded this year with a veteran roster. Led by QB Cade Klubnik, this Tigers’ team looks like one that could win it all for the first time in seven years.

The matchup we nearly had in last year’s College Football Playoff national championship. This time, we get it in the quarterfinals. Marcus Freeman is one heck of a coach and he’ll have the Irish in position to make another run.

Texas is too good though. Arch Manning and crew will get to the semifinals for the third straight year, per Klatt. Now, can they actually finish the deal?

How about a third matchup between these teams? Klatt has it happening in this year’s College Football Playoff.

We can assume, if Ohio State is the fourth seed, the two teams split the regular season and Big Ten title games. The rubber match? It goes to the Buckeyes as they advance to their second straight national championship.

Clemson and Texas get their College Football Playoff rematch from last year’s first round. Will Steve Sarkisian get over the hump? Or will Dabo Swinney return to the top of the mountain?

It’s the latter as Klatt predicted Clemson to give Texas their straight CFP semifinal loss. It appears experience rules in this situation.

So now we get to the big game. Not, not “the Big Game.” The College Football Playoff national championship features familiar programs in Ohio State and Clemson.

Ohio State will fall short of the repeat, per Klatt. Clemson will finally get it done for the first time since pre-COVID. Cade Klubnik, Peter Woods and TJ Parker will end their Tiger careers as champions.