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Following the approval of last week’s historic House settlement’s, sweeping changes to NIL, among other aspects of college athletics will be implemented beginning on July 1. However, the settlement does not solve all of the problems still facing the industry.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark recently joined the Triple Option Podcast with Big Noon Kickoff hosts Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram and Rob Stone to discuss some of the issues that are still weighing on his mind heading into the new college football season. Yormark fired off three in quick succession.

“I take everything home with me. It’s a 24/7 job and you can never turn it off,” Yormark explained. “There’s a lot of the big national issues that we’re dealing with. And right now, I would say the big three are the (House) settlement, CFP (College Football Playoff) and future governance future governance, meaning the role of the NCAA in this new age of collegiate athletics.”

The NCAA has been around for over a century and provides a governing body to major college athletics. They provide oversight academically and athletically to student athletes, and offer national championships in each of its respective sports to their member schools.

However, as college athletics continues to shift toward a more professional model (aided by the House settlement Yormark has already mentioned), questions over whether or not the NCAA should be replaced have risen. This is all in theory at this point.

“There’s a lot going on in our space right now, and I’m sure everyone knows, but it’s not just football and basketball,” Yormark continued. “I mean, we sponsor 25 sports here (in the Big 12), 15 of which are women’s sports, and we think there’s a lot of growth there, so there’s a lot to manage and a lot to do.

“But I will tell you that coming from professional sports, there’s nothing like college athletics. It’s a purpose-driven industry and at the core is our student athlete.”

In regards to Yormark’s concerns over the College Football Playoff, the selection committee has adopted a straight-seeding model moving forward, meaning the top four teams will earn a first-round bye. Last season, Arizona State was given a first-round bye as a four seed but was No. 12 in the final poll. This would not be the case anymore.

Greater changes are expected to come regarding the CFP, as 14 and 16-team models have been proposed behind the scenes. When those changes will come, and how it will impact the Big 12 has yet to play out.

The UK Board of Trustees Athletics Committee has approved five new capital projects, three of which have to do with Kroger Field.

During Thursday’s meeting, the board requested a $110 million internal loan, to be paid back with interest, from the university to the athletics department that will be used to enhance the fan experience and add future revenue. During this multi-year initiative, $15 million will go toward maintenance at Kroger Field, $13 million toward renovating suites and elevators inside the stadium, and $8 million toward a new luxury club space and accessible public wifi.

Another $5 million will be used to renovate UK’s softball and soccer complexes. The university is set to host the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament. The fifth project revolves around creating a “fan zone” on campus that would include entertainment options, restaurants, hotels, etc. That exact cost will not be known until a request for information is answered. An additional $31 million loan, which will also be paid back with interest, was approved to account for expected deficits.

“We are proposing a new strategic governance structure and operating model, unlike any in the country,” UK President Eli Capilouto said, per a press release. “The goal is to incentivize innovation. The idea is to remain a premier program by pushing us to examine creative ways to grow and generate the revenues necessary to support our success.”

Final approval from the full Board of Trustees is expected during Friday’s meeting.

According to a report from Jon Hale of the Herald Leader, “the money being loaned to the athletics department does not come from state-appropriated taxpayer funds or student fees.” The athletics department will begin to pay back these loans beginning in fiscal year 2028.

More on Champions Blue, LLC

Athletic director Mitch Barnhart and UK Athletics announced in April the creation of a holding company, Champions Blue LLC, which will restructure the athletics department governance to provide more financial flexibility following the approval of the House settlement earlier this month. Under the terms of the settlement, UK will have $20.5 million to use annually for revenue sharing with student athletes.

Over the next year, the UK athletics department will shift to Champions Blue, LLC.

As part of creating Champions Blue, experts from outside the university have been brought in to help lead the new board navigate a college sports world that now more resembles professional sports. The two outside members were announced on Thursday: Keeneland President/CEO Shannon Arvin and former Fanatics executive Chris Prindiville. Former Kentucky football tight end Jacob Tamme, now a financial advisor, will also be on the board. All three were confirmed as the board’s subject matter experts and will have term limits.

Additionally, four voting members, who will not have term limits, were also named to the board: UK president (currently Eli Capilouto), UK executive vice president of finance and administration (currently Eric Monday), UK vice president/chief strategy and growth officer (currently Rob Edwards), and senior advisor to the president (currently George Wright).

This seven-person Champions Blue board is set to meet every month over the following year. Barnhart and JMI president Paul Archey will serve as non-voting advisors.

[UK Board Considers More Than $100 Million in Investments in Future of UK Athletics]

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -Eli Blair is one of several area players preparing to make the transition from high school to college ball. And for this particular lefty, perhaps a transition to beyond college ball. The recent Arnold graduate is getting set to head to the University of Florida in two weeks. Blair, along with his teammate Cooper Moss, signing with the Gators a few months ago. He leaves Arnold with a four-year mark of 27-7 and a 1.83 earned run average. He struck out 258 hitters over 199 innings. And this past season was 8-2 helping the Marlins win 27 games, district and region titles and earn the program’s first trip to the State Finals.

“We made it to the Final Four,” Eli told me during a sit-down interview at Gavlak recently “we finally cracked that window open. We made it to Fort Myers; we had a great season. We had the most wins in the program history a single season. That’s been our goal since our freshman year all four years to get there and we finally did it. ” So, he leaves behind a program that’s much better now than it was before he arrived you could easily argue. What’s ahead, heading to Gainesville to check into his living quarters and begin focusing on school and Gator baseball. And the idea is to arrive well prepared for all that. “There’s been a checklist that me and Cooper have been having to do.” Blair says “There’s a Gator portal and a Gator link, which is kind of like BDS launchpad for Gators you know. And we’ve just been hitting that checklist stuff, doing all our stuff, getting all our transcripts in. And just the forms, the immunization forms and all of that. So we’ve been doing that. We work out with our trainer now, but when we get down there, I know they wanted us to shut down from the throwing for now. So we’re doing that. But we’ve just been hitting the gym hard getting ready for the workouts that they have planned down there for us. “

Two weeks after Blair and Moss arrive in Gainesville, the MLB draft begins. So depending on that, well he could wind up packing up and leaving Gainesville not long after he arrives. It depends on if and when he gets drafted, and what kind of signing bonus might be involved. “Yeah, it’s a really unique experience.” says Blair “You get to go to one of the best programs in the nation. And then you also have the opportunity to go play pro ball. So I mean we’ve talked with my agent and my parents and we’re just deciding on things. But you know we’ll have to see where I go you know? It’s just one of those things. NIL and the transfer portal, also, you can use that leverage also. NIL is a very big thing in college baseball and just college sports in all. So, we could expect for somebody like me or Cooper to get paid and use that leverage in the draft per se. ” And if the draft doesn’t pull him away, Eli says he’s very excited to be joining the Gators and pitching in the SEC, adding “it just means more”.