In October 2024, just before his freshman season at Duke, Cooper Flagg signed an NIL deal with Gatorade. That partnership will continue after the Dallas Mavericks selected him in the 2025 NBA Draft, and the company released a tribute after Flagg went No. 1 overall.

Gatorade sent out a tribute video, which sees someone ask Flagg how they should celebrate his selection as the top pick in the draft. He responded by saying they shouldn’t, and he’ll “let you know when there’s something to celebrate.”

Additionally, Gatorade unveiled a custom squeeze bottle, co-designed by Flagg. The bottle features his favorite color, blue – which happens to be the same color he wore at Duke and will don with the Mavericks – and a family tree. His home state of Maine and the saying “WIN” also appear on the bottle.

“It’s pretty crazy to look back on the journey I’ve had with Gatorade – from drinking it as a kid to making history with them last year when I joined the roster,” Flagg said in a statement. “There are so many athletes I look up to who have been part of this legacy and I’m excited for what’s next together as I start this chapter in the NBA.”

When he signed his NIL deal last year, Flagg became the first college men’s basketball player to join forces with the brand. In the process, he became part of a roster that includes Caitlin Clark, Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, among many others.

It was part of an impressive portfolio of NIL deals the former top recruit built while at Duke. Repped by CAA, he also had notable partnerships with AT&T, Fanatics and New Balance.

Flagg became the National Player of the Year in 2024-25 as he helped Duke reach the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. Along the way, he led the Blue Devils in every major statistical category – averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.

As he shined on the court, Flagg also became the top name in college basketball. He left Duke with a $4.8 million On3 NIL Valuation ranks No. 1 in the men’s college basketball NIL rankings. He also sits at No. 2 in the On3 NIL 100 – the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation – trailing only Texas quarterback Arch Manning.

Now, Cooper Flagg will take his talents to Dallas as the second No. 1 overall pick in Mavericks history. His rookie contract is set to be for four years and $62.7 million, according to Spotrac.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State’s James Guyette earned an invitation to the 2025 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp.
 
A native of Newbury Park, California, Guyette becomes just the fourth Wildcat in program history to earn an invitation to the national training camp. He joins former teammates Tyson Neighbors and Kaelen Culpepper, along with K-State Hall of Fame inductee Craig Wilson. Neighbors and Culpepper were each selected to the 2023 USA Collegiate National Team following the training camp, while Wilson made the national roster in both 1991 and 1992.
 
In 2025, Guyette led the team with 24 relief appearances, posting a 4-3 record with a 4.70 ERA and a team-best four saves. The right-hander limited opponents to a .226 batting average and recorded 51 strikeouts over 51 2/3 innings.
 
An All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, Guyette logged at least two innings in 11 outings, striking out three or more in eight of those appearances while holding opponents scoreless in five.
 
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp will feature 56 of the premier non-draft-eligible college players for a five-game Stars vs. Stripes intrasquad series in North Carolina from June 29-July 3. USA Baseball will name the final Collegiate National Team following Training Camp on July 3.
 
The first game will be held at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis at 5:35 p.m. ET, the next three games will be played at USA Baseball’s National Training Complex in Cary at 6:30 p.m. ET, and the series finale will be hosted at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville at 6:35 p.m. ET.
 
The Collegiate National Team will play in the 45­­th USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Championship Series in various locations across Japan on July 8-13. The remaining players from the Collegiate National Team Training Camp will play in a Fourth of July game against the Appalachian League Select Team at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis at 6:35 p.m. ET. 

K-State finished its 2025 campaign with a 32-26 record, that included a program record 17 conference wins. The Wildcats advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, making the program’s first back-to-back appearances since 2010–11.

For more information on USA Baseball and the training camp visit usabaseball.com.

 

The $2.8 billion settlement in the House v. NCAA case will compensate tens of thousands of Division I athletes who were previously barred from profiting off their name, image and likeness, or NIL.

Jake Wimberly, program director for ESPN Radio in Madison and Jackson, supports athletes getting paid but sees the NIL system as a disingenuous way for universities to avoid classifying players as employees. He cited LSU’s national championship winning baseball team as an example, which enjoys a roster that reportedly cost $10 million to put together. 

“Most of that money was not name, image and likeness,” Wimberly said. “That is pay-for-play, because there’s not enough burgers, shirts or swag out there to get you $10 million.”

The settlement also allows schools to directly pay athletes, with revenue-sharing caps starting around $20 million per year per institution. Athletic directors at Mississippi’s Division I schools have largely welcomed the settlement and the opportunities it offers to support student-athletes and sustain their school’s programs.

University of Mississippi Athletics Director Keith Carter highlighted new support services available under the agreement, including enhanced mental health care, nutrition support and extended medical coverage.

“While the past few years have seen Ole Miss reach historic heights, we look forward to embracing a new model in college athletics and finding some much-needed stability,” Carter said in a statement.

At Mississippi State, Athletics Director Zac Selmon called the settlement a “pivotal moment” and said it brings much-needed clarity for programs navigating athlete compensation.

“While there are still questions to answer and new territory ahead, this decision allows us to officially move forward with plans to share revenue with our student-athletes,” Selmon said in a statement. 

However, concerns remain about the future of non-revenue and women’s sports. A group of female athletes has filed a legal challenge to the settlement, arguing that the proposed distribution model unfairly favors men’s programs and violates Title IX protections.

They also warned that the financial constraints brought on by the need to offer top athletes  competitive pay rates, colleges will begin cutting non revenue sports programs and that shift will disproportionately affect female athletes. That same sentiment was shared by Gov. Tate Reeves during a press conference earlier this month. 

“There are going to be fewer female collegiate athletes in the future because of this settlement, and I think that’s a crying shame,” Reeves said.

Wimberly thinks many Division 1 schools need to rethink how they fund athletics, regardless of the settlement.

“A lot of universities are upside down, even some in the Southeastern Conference, because they overspend,” Wimberly said. “They’re going to have to balance a book and ask, ‘Does it make sense to keep supporting this sport with scholarships, equipment and meals, or should we cut it?’”

If the athletes’ appeal succeeds, it could delay settlement payouts for more than a year and force a major overhaul of how colleges allocate athletic funds by gender.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

The latest deep dive into College Football 26 is here, and it’s one players have been eagerly anticipating. EA Sports revealed details into its Road to Glory mode, which lets gamers create a player and bring him up through a high school recruit into a college football champion or Heisman Trophy winner.

Fans of the popular video game have been clamoring for details since the Orlando-based company announced a high school football component would be part of CFB 26. There won’t be full games or any real high school teams in the game — though you could create one in Team Builder — but players will be able to make their highlight tape to land a spot on the college team of their choice.

“In listening to our players, a few clear themes emerged,” EA Sports said in its Campus Huddle news release. “First, players wanted a more meaningful recruiting experience — more agency in deciding where they go to school, and more control over the moments that lead there. Second, while Coach Trust was a strong foundation for getting on the field, players wanted more tension, more rewards, and more to chase once they earned the starting job. And third, players wanted a better way to track their achievements and celebrate everything they’d earned across their career.”

After they play their way through their on- and off-field journey in college, players can choose to continue their careers in the NFL by exporting them to Superstar mode of Madden 26.

Watch College Football 26 Road to Glory deep dive

Here’s a look at the new features in Road to Glory:

Road to Glory create-a-player options

Players can choose start anywhere from an elite five-star recruit to an unheralded two-star who will have to work his way up to stardom. There are five positions available with a variety of archetypes for each:

• Quarterback
• Running back
• Wide receiver
• MIKE linebacker
• Cornerback

Your player type and choice in high school will determine what schools will be interested in recruiting you. Teams in your player’s home state will have higher interest.

There are more customization options when creating your player, including more than 40 throw styles and different ways for players to run and carry the ball.

High school football in College Football 26

Road to Glory begins with your player building his college recruiting tape. Players will play five high school games made up of four moments with specific goals. How well you perform in those moments, as well as how you answer questions from coaches scouting you, will determine how successful you will be in getting a scholarship offer from the college of your choice.

Here’s how it works:

• High School Moments: In each game, players can choose four moments to play out on the field. To carry them out, you can choose the plays from a playbook tailored to your player’s archetype and make whatever pre-snap adjustments you need. The Campus Huddle laid out one quarterback scenario in which the player’s arm is tested against the area’s top cornerback. There were two goals for the situation early in the quarter:
  1. Avoid an interception and pass breakup by cross-regional rival (worth 50 points)
  2. Complete passes from the pocket for 30+ yards total (200 points)
• Assessed Tape Score: How well players hit their goals throughout the high school games will determine their tape score with each college. To earn an offer from that school, players will have to reach the team’s required score. Different college styles will invoke different multipliers for each goal in high school moments.
• Highlight Moments: Schools will send specialized moments that, if achieved in games, will significantly boost your player’s chance of landing an offer from them. These challenges are tougher than the standard high school moments. The example in the Campus Huddle for a quarterback was to complete a 50-yard pass.
• Recruiting Board: Players can have up to 10 teams on their favorites list, which can be altered throughout the high school process. Check out each team’s evaluation of your player to see their projected role, coach boosts and tendencies, and the other recruits they’re pursuing among 4,100 in the system.
• Star rating: Players can rise from a two-star recruit all the way to a five-star throughout high school mode, and vice versa. After the five games, your final rating will determine the attributes and offers your player will have in college. Those who finish as four- or five-star recruits will gain an extra ability.
• High School Scenarios: Players will face dynamic interactions with coaches and classmates, as well as off-field challenges that will count toward what schools will take them. For instance, telling a coach his team is your top choice will boost your odds with them, but hurt your chances at the others recruiting you. You can also choose how to want to study for a test or who to take to homecoming.
• Senior Night: Your last game in high school includes a special runout and ends with a decision for your final three colleges to choose from. That will determine the hats on the table at your player’s signing day.

Road to Glory recruiting, signing day in College Football 26

Initial scholarship offers in CFB 26 can improve or deteriorate depending on how players perform over the course of the high school portion. Higher-tier scholarships come with more bonuses in college, both on and off the field. Offers can be revoked if your play diminishes or if the school gets a commitment from another player at your position.

To secure a scholarship tier from a school, you can verbally commit to their offer. After that, bonuses can’t change for better or worse. You can decommit to improve your bonuses, but it will increase the Tape Score required for the next school to extend its offer.

When the player has selected their top three colleges and have their Signing Day ceremony, they can choose to just pick up the hat of their choice, fake out the audience or even make a big show before finally heading off to the college portion of Road to Glory.

New Road to Glory features: Coach happiness, wear and tear

In college, there are a host of new features, especially in the off-field portions. Here’s a rundown:

• Coach Trust: In College Football 25, the mechanic helped get players on the field and into the starting lineup. This year, accumulating trust lets players call audibles, pick more plays until the full playbook is unlocked and more. Coach Trust is gained through practice and games, both played and simulated.
• Coach Happiness: The new week-to-week system reacts to in-game performance and off-field decisions. High happiness lets players earn Coach Trust faster. Low happiness could lead to the player getting benched or demoted. That would unlock a position battle to get their spot back, but only once the Coach Happiness returns to at least neutral. Happiness is determined by on-field performance, practice performance, GPA and leadership ratings, and how you respond in off-field scenarios.
• Wear and Tear: Player health now deteriorates over the course of the season and can also carry over into future seasons. Season and career health pools will determine how much injuries weigh on players, and the size of your pool at the end of the season will determine how full it gets next year. Making certain decisions in your weekly agenda will determine how well your player holds up with injuries.
• NIL: Signing NIL deals can now give players skill points, meaning you can improve your stats without risking injury in training or in games. However, accepting NIL deals also means spending energy points during the week, meaning you’ll have to sacrifice other activities, like school.
• Scenarios and dilemmas: Off-field choices players are confronted with will be reflected in Coach Trust and Happiness, among other meters, and in-game coach challenges now offer XP as a potential reward.
• First-person runout: Before games, players will be treated to a first-person vantage point for the team’s runout onto the field. The Campus Huddle showed off a Virginia Tech player running out to “Enter Sandman,” replete with fans chanting the chorus. Those who made a player for Florida will get to rub the gator head before taking the field.

College Football 26 release date

College Football 26 will have its wide release Thursday, July 10. Early access will be available for those who pre-order the Deluxe Edition or MVP Bundle on Monday, July 7.

College Football 26 price

The Standard Edition of College Football 26 will cost $69.99. The Deluxe Edition costs $99.99, and the MVP Bundle, which includes the Deluxe Edition of both CFB 26 and Madden 26, is $149.99.