As the football season approaches, Georgia football continues to adapt to the evolving landscape shaped by NIL and the transfer portal. While the Bulldogs saw the departure of key players this offseason, they also capitalized on the chance to add talented players at critical positions. With a revamped roster, all eyes will be on Athens in the fall to see if they can return to the top of the SEC and the College Football Playoff.

The Bulldogs lost a handful of players to the transfer portal this spring, including some key players on the offensive side of the ball.

Running back Branson Robinson stayed in state as he transferred to Georgia State. Robinson appeared in 18 games for the Bulldogs, running for 403 yards and six touchdowns. 

Wide receivers Michael Jackson III and Nitro Tuggle both transferred to Purdue, along with interior offensive lineman Marques Easley. Quarterback Jaden Rashada transferred to Sacramento State and defensive back Chris Peal committed to Syracuse. 

Despite all of these losses, Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs added plenty of players who could fill the void of players who left in the spring portal. 

Robinson’s departure left a hole at running back, so Georgia went out and got the commitment of Illinois’ Josh McCray. Last season, McCray ran for over 600 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Fighting Illini. 

To help bolster the offensive line, the Bulldogs brought in Waltclaire Flynn Jr. from UCF. Flynn Jr., with four years of eligibility left, provides depth to the offensive line unit. 

Georgia bolstered their defensive front by signing defensive tackle Joshua Horton from Miami and outside linebacker Elo Modozie from Army. Modozie led Army in sacks a season ago with 6.5, so look for him to make an immediate impact off the edge.

Ohio State Athletic Director Ross Bjork speaks to the media Thursday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Credit: Sandra Fu | Managing Photo Editor

Over the past five years, college athletics has undergone a massive transformation, shifting from amateur ideals to a new era defined by athlete empowerment, NIL deals, and legal reckonings.

On Friday, that evolution reached a historic milestone: a federal judge officially approved the House v. NCAA settlement, a groundbreaking antitrust agreement that will reshape the financial and operational structure of college sports for decades to come. Under Judge Claudia Wilken’s newly approved agreement, schools can begin directly distributing up to $20.5 million in revenue to student-athletes starting July 1, in what’s termed “revenue sharing.”

At Ohio State, the change is immediate. Athletic Director Ross Bjork announced that the university will distribute $18 million in institutional NIL funds this upcoming season. But that money won’t be spread across the athletic department—it will be concentrated in just four sports: football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball.

“For us, we will allocate the $18 million starting in four sports: women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, and of course our football program,” Bjork said in a press conference Thursday. “Those are the four sports that we will start with. We hope we can grow that.”

The remaining $2.5 million of Ohio State’s $20.5 million NIL cap will be used for scholarships.

“Any time you add a new scholarship in any sport, that has to count against the $20.5 million,” Bjork said.

Bjork declined to provide a breakdown of how the $18 million will be split among the four sports, explaining that “numbers create narratives.”

“We really try to use metrics in a formula, while also balancing some Title IX approach in this as well,” Bjork said while explaining how those four sports got chosen.

Many expect universities nationwide to devote the bulk of their new NIL funds to high-revenue sports like football and men’s basketball, raising questions about the future of non-revenue programs. Bjork, however, stressed that Ohio State remains committed to maintaining all 36 of its teams.

“We will maintain all 36 sports,” Bjork said. “[We] have an obligation to the young people in those programs. There’s a lot of historical programs that compete here.”

Though athletic departments everywhere are preparing to adjust to a dramatically different model, Bjork sees the settlement as bringing something the industry has long needed: clarity.

“The main thing is clarity,” Bjork said when answering what he likes about the new model. “It’s not perfect, but it’s progress that we’ve never had before. It’s transformational progress.”

For all the financial restructuring and operational uncertainties, Bjork emphasized that some core values of college sports remain unchanged, opening with a grounding reminder: “We’re still going to class and we’re still going to play the games.”

The Murray State Racers left behind their 800-seat home stadium in Kentucky for the national spotlight in Omaha, Nebraska. As the biggest underdog in the College World Series, the Racers are set to begin play on Saturday, June 14, on college baseball’s biggest stage.

Who are the Murray State Racers?

The Racers were just the fourth team from the regionals to make it all the way to Omaha as a No. 4 seed. The school, with an enrollment of just over 10,000 students in Murray, Kentucky, was known primarily for its basketball program, which boasts 18 NCAA tournament appearances to its credit.

This is the first trip to the College World Series for the baseball team. Impressive enough to earn a shout-out on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky Congressman James Comer.

“This is a historic achievement for a small school,” Comer said. “Murray State defied the odds in the era of NIL and big contracts and players getting paid. This is a group of baseball players that want to play ball. They play hard every game, they weren’t highly recruited, and they win.”

How did they make it to the College World Series?

They can also hit. The Racers ranked 11th in the nation in scoring and generated 70 runs in seven regional tournament games. They beat both Ole Miss and Duke twice during their run to Omaha.

A post by a local reporter on X that went viral may have summed it up best. It’s an image of the Racers’ 800 800-seat stadium, with a caption that says that Coach Dan Skirka mows the grass himself. It’s just one of the duties a head coach at a small school has to do.

“A lot goes into it. We’re trying to prepare to win baseball games,” Skirka said. “But at the same time, we’re trying to prepare future husbands, dads, and future bosses and trying to do it the right way. A byproduct of that is winning some baseball games and getting to do something cool like this.” 

What about being the biggest underdogs in the tournament?

The Racers also embraced the underdog role as they’ve done the entire postseason. It is a big deal back home, but Jonathan Hogart, who smashed a pair of home runs in the decisive game of the Durham Super Regional to send the Racers to Omaha, said he won’t be distracted.

“We don’t want to buy into any of the hype or the underdog story. We just want to focus on what we do best,” Hogart said. “The community support has been phenomenal back in Murray. We come home, there’s hundreds of people waiting for us. My hometown, personally, is going crazy right now. They’ve made drinks, shirts, huge watch party Saturday for us.”

Fresno State was the only regional four seed to make a Cinderella run all the way to a national championship. The Bulldogs won it all in 2008. The last team to give it a shot was Oral Roberts in 2023.

Which teams are the big favorites in Omaha?

SEC powers Arkansas and LSU are practically co-favorites, according to FanDuel and other sportsbooks. However, the favorite has won the tournament just once in the last 10 years. So, keep an eye out for a team like Coastal Carolina. This is their first trip back to the tournament since they won it all in 2016. Head coach Kevin Schnall made the case for the Chanticleers, who had quite the streak going. 

“It’s an honor to be back,” Schnall said. “This team deserves to be back. We’re 53 and 11. We’ve won 23 straight games in a row. They’re one of eight teams in the country still playing, and again, they deserve that opportunity. They play so relentlessly and consistently all year.”  

And there are three former Pac-12 teams to consider. UCLA and Arizona could make a run, but Oregon State, playing as an independent for the first time, is hoping to add to its three national titles. Outfielder Gavin Turley, who led the team with 19 home runs, believes it’s all about the team’s attitude.

“Going into the postseason, it’s kinda just like, ‘hey, we’re going to leave it all out there,’” Turley said. “Win or lose, there’s going to be no regrets. When you play like that, it’s easy to go out there and play free and perform at your best.”  

The eight-team double-elimination tournament runs for 10 days and begins Friday afternoon, June 13, when Arizona takes on Coastal Carolina. Cinderella Murray State plays its first game on Saturday, June 14, against UCLA.

The world of college sports changed as we know it last Friday night, again. The House Settlement was finally approved by Judge Claudia Wilken and with it came several significant amendments to how college sports will operate. Under Steve Sarkisian and across nearly the entire Longhorn athletic department, Texas has shown its ability to adapt and improvise in an ever-changing college sports landscape. As another monumental change arrives, Texas will strive to uphold their recruiting and developmental prowess. 

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The Objectively Good:

As part of the settlement, the NCAA will be sending over $2.8 billion in back payments to athletes that played from 2016 to 2024 to compensate for lost NIL opportunities. The most significant part about these back payments is obviously that Tyrone Swoopes will finally be compensated for his 18-wheeler package senior season for the Longhorns.

The Money:

Under the newly approved settlement, schools can now directly pay athletes up to $20.5 million per year. For SEC schools, that pool drops to $18.5 million as the league now requires $2 million to go to Alston payments.

Most schools are expected to follow something similar to a model of 70-85% to football, 10-15% to men’s basketball, 5% to women’s basketball and 5% to all other sports. Texas has said it will go 75-15-5-5.

Players can still seek third-party NIL deals as a form of revenue, but all NIL deals over $600 will go through a Deloitte-run clearinghouse website called NIL GO. Players will go to the website and submit any NIL deals they land for approval. The purpose of the clearinghouse is to ensure fair market value and valid business purpose solely between the athlete and the third-party company. All of this is to attempt to limit unregulated pay-for-play through over-the-table NIL.

Schools do have the opportunity to opt-out of the settlement and operate as they did before. While they don’t have to comply with roster limits and other new policies outlined in the settlement, they cannot participate in revenue-sharing and still are under the new NIL oversight and must report all deals over $600.

Texas is opting in.

One of the key pieces about the revenue-sharing model is the advantage given to one-sport schools. Big East schools and schools such as Gonzaga can pour 75% of their funds into basketball, giving them a distinct advantage within the sport.

It should be very interesting to see how non-football schools use this to their advantage, though they may not be able to offer the as much in total cash considering their media rights deals look very different than the ones Power Four conferences have.

Impact on College Football

While new NIL oversight may help curtail the Wild West era of NIL spending, the new revenue-sharing model still allows for dominance at the top. However, although the resource advantage gap may have diminished, the new model will strain most schools financially.

Finding NIL money from, let’s face it, fans to pay players is significantly easier than using school generated revenue. Schools are now scrambling to find ways to generate extra cash in order to pay up to that $20.5 million dollar cap. Expect to see a lot more schools implementing a “talent tax” as they have in Knoxville for the Tennessee Volunteers, or increase ticket prices as the Longhorns plan to do. If schools such as Tennessee and Texas need to do this, one can only imagine the challenges smaller schools are facing. We’ve already seen a few Division I schools make the move to D-III after realizing they wouldn’t be able to compete. 

Texas is expected to see a $30 million increase in expenses because of House. $20.5 million is for the revenue-sharing salary cap, and an estimated $9.5 million will be due for the additional scholarships. As part of the settlement, scholarship limits have been replaced by roster limits.

Far From Flawless:

While the settlement is a great first step in fixing many of the grievances plaguing college sports, it also brings along its own new issues. While replacing scholarship limits with roster limits allows more flexible spending for schools, it takes away spots from many athletes. This was a big point of contention as Judge Wilken required an amendment that would protect current walk-ons before she approved the settlement.

Any athlete who was cut or had their offer pulled as a result of the new roster limits will now be labeled as a “Designated Student Athlete.” All DSA’s will not count toward the roster at their original school where they lost their spot, or if they transfer to a different school. While this does protect active and prospective athletes with current offers, the effects will be seen in a few years.

In 2024, Texas’s football roster consisted of 119 athletes, 14 over the NCAA limit. In addition, the SEC mandated a scholarship limit of 85 going forward, meaning there is room for 20 walk-ons in the Longhorn football program.

We may start to see the death of the walk-on in the House era. Nebraska had 180 players on their roster last year and now needs to cut that down by 75. With only 105 spots, coaches will severely limit walk-on spots if not cut them all together depending on what their league allows. The first place coaches look to replace talent after high school recruiting is the transfer portal. With an influx of talent in the portal and fewer walk-on spots, schools that champion the walk-on process might cease to place a similar emphasis on non-scholarship players. 

For Texas, 119 to 105 isn’t a massive cut, especially compared to schools like A&M who had 143. It’s still a change Texas will have to deal with.

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Many issues that surrounded the implementation of the new settlement were outside the domain of Judge Wilken. She only needed to find the deal to be fair, reasonable and adequate to the settlement classes and find that it adequately addressed the federal antitrust issues raised in the three cases that originally triggered the settlement.

The settlement is extremely vulnerable to future lawsuits concerning Title IX, employment and labor claims, state NIL policies and more. In fact, a Title IX related suit has already been filed.

Now that players are directly paid by schools it opens up the discussion to their employment status. Can the players form a union? Negotiate a CBA? Does Title IX apply to NIL payments? All of these questions still have yet to be answered as schools will still have to navigate the college sports landscape under an uncertain future.