BIRMINGHAM – The UAB Department of Athletics has made single-game tickets for women’s soccer, men’s soccer, and volleyball available beginning today. Tickets are $10 for adults or $8 for youth 17 or younger.
 
Season tickets for all three sports can be purchased with the 2025-26 Gold Card and is the best way to catch all the action. The Gold Card provides access to all regular season home events for women’s soccer, men’s soccer, volleyball, women’s basketball, baseball, and softball.
 
2025-26 Gold Cards and single game tickets for women’s soccer, men’s soccer, and volleyball can be purchased by clicking here.
 
Entering UAB’s third season in the American Athletic Conference under the leadership of head coach Lisa Mann, the women’s soccer team opens its regular season slate against UCF on Aug. 14 at PNC Field. The Blazers have 11 regular season home matches, featuring five home conference games as well as a road trip to SEC opponent Ole Miss. UAB women’s soccer hosts Jacksonville State (Aug. 3) and South Alabama (Aug. 9) in exhibitions and admission to the exhibition matches are free.
 
Under the direction of second-year head coach David Lilly, the UAB men’s soccer program begins its third season in the American Athletic Conference. The Blazers play eight regular season home matches, including four conference home games at PNC Field. The regular season home schedule starts on Aug. 21 against Elon followed by ACC opponent Louisville on Aug. 25. UAB men’s soccer will also face Clemson and two-time National Champion North Carolina on the road during the 2025 slate. UAB plays two home exhibition matches against Tennessee Wesleyan (Aug. 8) and Belmont (Aug. 11) that have free admission.
 
Betsy Freeburg’s volleyball team has 14 opportunities for fans to catch the Blazers compete at Bartow Arena during the 2025 season. Volleyball hosts in-state opponents Alabama State and North Alabama and has a total of eight conference home matches. The non-conference slate also features the Blazer Classic on Sept. 5 – Sept. 6 which includes USC Upstate, Tennessee Tech, and UNA.
 
Additionally, UAB Athletics has announced its group experiences leading into the 2025-26 seasons. Individual and corporate groups can plan memorable experiences at UAB Athletics home events this season by accessing the UAB Athletics Group Ticket Request Form. Discounted group tickets and fan experience packages are available starting today for a minimum purchase of 15 tickets and are available on a first come, first served basis.
 
For more information on 2025-26 Gold Cards or single game tickets, contact the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 or tickets@uab.edu. Be sure to follow @UAB_Athletics on social media for updates.
 
Your Support Fuels Success!
With your help, Blazer Student-Athletes are given the resources, tools, and opportunities they need to achieve greatness. Every contribution you make directly supports our teams, ensuring they excel not only on the field but in the classroom as well. We invite you to renew your support to UAB Athletics today and for more information on ways to show your generosity through the Blazer Scholarship Fund, capital initiatives, and sport specific giving go to blazerboosters.com or call us at (205) 996-9969.
 
FOLLOW THE BLAZERS
For more information on the UAB women’s soccer team, follow @UAB_wsoc on X and Instagram.
For more information on the UAB men’s soccer team, follow @UAB_msoc on X and Instagram.
For more information on the UAB volleyball team, follow @UAB_VB on X and Instagram.
 

The crowd inside the Untold Story in Anaheim was ready for open mic night to begin last week, but there was no way it would start on time.

Whenever owner Lizzette Barrios Gracián tried to approach the podium, someone pulled her away for a hug. A congrats. A recommendation. A thanks.

The bookstore opened last year in an industrial part of the city so isolated that 911 dispatchers couldn’t find it when Barrios Gracián called about a medical emergency. Though it quickly earned a loyal following for focusing on BIPOC books and allowing activists to meet there without having to buy anything, the location wasn’t working, and Barrios Gracián was ready to close what had been a longtime dream.

Then she found a better, if smaller, place in a strip mall near downtown, within walking distance of her home. The Untold Story reopened a few weeks ago, and this was the first open mic night at the new spot.

“Oh my god, what a difference location makes,” Barrios Gracián told me as people kept filing in on July 25. “They’re coming to hang out, they’re coming to buy, they’re coming to organize, they’re coming from across the country.”

Among the customers she talked to that day: Toby from Florida. Nick from Kentucky who lives in Utah. A group of teenage girls in town for a water polo tournament. Anton Diubenko of Ukraine, who was in Orange County to see a friend and told me he visits bookstores around the world.

“This one’s really nice,” Diubenko said. “If I was a local, I’d come here every week.”

Barrios Gracián finally reached the podium. She was 20 minutes late. No one cared.

“Thank you muchachos!” the 52-year-old said in a loud, warm tone that hinted at her day job as a history teacher at Gilbert High in Anaheim. “Bienvenidos to our new location of the Untold Story, Chapter 2! Your job tonight is to support, clap and give lots of love.”

Over the next two hours, the audience snapped their fingers, applauded, hooted in approval or nodded as speakers poured out their proverbial hearts in English, Spanish and Nahuatl. Local political blogger Vern Nelson tickled out on his electric keyboard the Mexican children’s tune “El Ratón Vaquero” as adults and teens alike sang and clapped along. Every time someone went up to perform, Barrios Gracián sat in their seat, because all the others were occupied.

“The greatest success of this bookstore,” she said in closing, flashing a smile as bright as her gunmetal gray hair, “is uniting all of you.”

Although the night was officially over, no one left. They wanted to exult in the moment.

Vivian Lee, who organizes board game get-togethers at the bookstore through her role as community engagement coordinator for the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, said that “welcoming spaces” can be hard to find in her native city.

“People like Liz are just so incredible,” said Lee, 30. “She’s game for anything that helps community.”

Paola Gutierrez teaches monthly bilingual poetry classes at the Untold Story. “When I first asked if she could sell my book, she said not just ‘Yes’ but ‘We will promote you and help you,’” the 47-year-old said. “How can I not say I’m free for whatever you need?”

She pointed at a massive couch and laughed. “Liz needs me to move this freakin’ thing again? Let’s do it!”

I visited Barrios Gracián the following day when things were chiller. The Untold Story’s design is bohemian Latinx. All the fixtures and artwork are donated, including bookshelves, massive mirrors and a bust of the Egyptian goddess Isis as well as a replica of the Titanic above the used fiction section. Insulation peeks out from sagging ceiling tiles. A stand next to the gift section offers free toiletries and canned and dried food.

“We’re going through hard times,” Barrios Gracián said as Argentine rock gods Soda Stereo played lightly from speakers. “I can’t give a lot, but I can give.”

How did she think open mic night went?

“It was very successful for our first time here,” she responded. “You never know if people will follow you when you move.”

A customer walked in.

“Hi, welcome!” Barrios Gracián exclaimed, the first of many times she would do that during our chat. “Don’t shy away, you don’t have to buy!”

Born in Guadalajara, Barrios Gracián came to Anaheim with her parents in the 1980s without papers, eventually legalizing through the 1986 amnesty. A bookworm from a young age, she found her “safe space” as a teen and young adult in long-gone bookstores such as Book Baron in Anaheim (“I loved how disorganized it was”) and the bilingual Librería Martínez in Santa Ana.

When the latter closed in 2016, Barrios Gracián vowed to open a version of it when her daughters were older. In 2021, she launched the Untold Story as a website and a pop-up, aiming to eventually open a storefront in her hometown.

“Anaheim is nothing but breweries,” she said. “That’s the teacher in me. There’s nothing cultural for our youth — they have to go to Santa Ana to find it, while [Anaheim] lets gentrification go crazy.”

Rent proved prohibitive at most spaces. At others, prospective landlords would offer a lease only if the Untold Story dropped its books on critical race theory, which she refused to do.

“Those are the untold stories,” Barrios Gracián said. “Anaheim needs to hear them. Everyone needs to hear them.”

She greeted Benjamin Smith Jr. of Riverside, who had read the previous night and was returning now with his poetry books.

“I can sell them, but we should have an event just for you, because people like to meet the author of the book they might buy,” Barrios Gracián told Smith. He beamed.

“Liz gives people chances,” Smith, 68, told me. “I’m no one famous, but look at me here now.”

Barrios Gracián is keeping her job at Gilbert High, where she also heads the continuation school’s teen parent support program. At the Untold Story, she wants to host more author signings and launch an oral history project for students to record the stories of Anaheim’s Latino elders.

“We’re in a crucial moment where our stories must be told from the past,” she said. “Ellos sobrevivieron, también nosotros [They survived, we can as well]. It brings hope.”

One thing I suggested she work on is the business side. The books are ridiculously affordable — used copies of a J. Robert Oppenheimer biography and a book about the rise of Nazism in L.A. before World War II set me back $11. Barrios Gracián’s training consisted of a free entrepreneur course through the city of Anaheim, a video by the American Booksellers Assn., talking to other bookstore owners and Googling “how to open a bookstore.”

She laughed.

“I tell my students we learn by falling and then getting back up,” she said. “If I can make money, it would be great, but that’s not the point here. Might sound crazy for business people, right?”

The numbers are thankfully going “in the right direction,” said the Untold Story’s manager, Magda Borbon. Barrios Gracián was one of her favorite teachers at Katella High School, “so now it’s time to pay it back” by working at the store, she said.

Like me and too many other Anaheimers, Borbon moved to Santa Ana “because I didn’t see myself culturally in Anaheim. Now I do.”

Barrios Gracián excused herself to greet more customers. I walked over to a table where a group of women were painting book covers as part of their book club. It was everyone’s first time at the Untold Story.

“This is very much an extension of Liz,” said Angela Stecher, who has worked with Barrios Gracián before. “She’s been talking about doing something like this for years, and it’s wonderful to see her do it.”

“This is like something that you’d see in San Francisco,” added Maria Zacarias, who grew up in Anaheim and now lives in Santa Ana.

“You go to a bookstore, you feel like you can’t touch anything because everything is so neat,” said Liliana Mora. She waved around the room as more people streamed in. “Here, it feels like home.”

Key Takeaways

• Roc Nation Sports and Klutch Sports Group both landed on Forbes’ 2025 list of the most valuable sports agencies.
• Roc Nation Sports manages over $2.6 billion in contracts, representing stars like LaMelo Ball and Vini Jr.
• Klutch Sports Group, founded in 2012, ranks in the Top 5 with over $7 billion in athlete deals, including LeBron James and A’ja Wilson.

JAY-Z and Rich Paul’s strategic moves in sports are paying off. Their agencies, Roc Nation Sports and Klutch Sports Group, just landed on Forbes’ 2025 list of the most valuable sports agencies — cementing their status as power players in athlete representation.

The ranking was published Thursday (July 31). From MVP contracts in basketball, baseball, football, and soccer to rising stars with collegiate NIL deals, the moguls are making an impact across the industry.

Over at Roc Nation Sports, the roster includes WNBA star player Skylar Diggins, Charlotte Hornets shooting guard LaMelo Ball, and standout Brazilian soccer player Vini Jr., to name a few. The subdivision of Roc Nation was launched in 2013 in a partnership with Creative Arts Agency (CAA), the top agency across sports and media.

“Because of my love of sports, it was a natural progression to form a company where we can help top athletes in various sports the same way we have been helping artists in the music industry for years,” said the Blueprint rapper. According to Forbes, JAY-Z’s company has an estimated $2.14 billion in management contracts for athletes currently playing, and another $510 million in non-playing deals. It was ranked seventh on the list with an estimated $218 million in maximum commissions.

Klutch Sports Group secured a Top 5 on the Forbes list, managing over $7 billion in athlete contracts. The Black-owned and women-led agency was founded in 2012. Its estimated max commissions are $351 million. Super Bowl champion Jalen Hurts, NBA legend LeBron James, and WNBA megastar A’ja Wilson all call the agency home.

Roc Nation and Klutch Sports are top-tier agencies

Both Roc Nation and Klutch have expanded their global soccer footprint, signing rising talent and inking major partnership deals. Paul has also tapped in with Gen Z and millennial fans on TikTok. In a video that has generated hundreds of thousands of views, the businessman shared his insights about the business of sports and traits that separate good athletes from world-class powerhouses.

As Roc Nation and Klutch continue to dominate the industry, JAY-Z and Rich Paul are proving that cultural capital and business savvy can rewrite the rules of athlete representation. Their success is ushering in a new era — one where culture is at the forefront.

Casey Clinger, the former BYU All-American via American Fork, placed sixth in the 10,000-meter run Thursday night at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Clinger finished with a time of 29:18.74 in a relatively slow, tactical race. Grant Fisher, the double bronze medalist in the Paris Olympics who lives in Park City, placed second in a close race with American record holder Nico Young. Young’s time was 29:02.12, Fishers’ 29:02.37.

The top three finishers qualify to represent the U.S. in the world championships later this year.

Joey Nokes, who just completed his senior year at BYU, placed 16th in the race with a time of 29:50.73.

Keira D’Amato, the former American record holder in the marathon who moved to Utah to train with BYU coach Ed Eyestone, was seventh in the women’s 10,000-meter race with a time of 32:19.40.

The 10,000 was the only final event held on the track on the first day of the four-day competition. The rest of the schedule was devoted to qualifying races. Most of the top athletes ran just hard enough to qualify for the next round while also conserving energy.

Meghan Hunter, who just completed her senior year at BYU, finished sixth in her heat of the 800-meter run and 21st overall with a time of 2:01.95, which was enough to qualify for Friday’s semifinals. Allie Wilson, a Paris Olympian who now trains under BYU women’s coach Diljeet Taylor, placed 10th in 2:01.24 to also advance.

As expected, all four BYU-connected steeplechasers advanced to Saturday’s final. Kenneth Rooks, the Olympic silver medalist and two-time defending national champion, had the fastest time in Thursday’s semifinals, clocking 8:21.35. Teammate James Corrigan, the 2025 NCAA champion, finished sixth overall to join Rooks in the final. Dan Michalski, who joined Eyestone’s training group this year, was second overall.

In the women’s race, Courtney Wayment and Lexy Lowry easily advanced to Saturday’s final. Wayment was fourth in her heat and fourth overall with a time of 9:30.70. Lowry won her heat with a time of 9:37.53, which was the eighth-fastest overall.

Riley Chamberlain, who just completed her junior year at BYU, advanced to Saturday’s finals of the 1,500-meter run. Riley placed third in her heat and seventh overall with a time of 4:06.65. Anna Bennett, Carlee Hansen and Sadie Sargent failed to qualify. Sargent produced a personal-best time of 4:07.44, the 10th-fastest time of the day. But because she finished only sixth in her heat, she failed to advance even though she had a faster time than several qualifiers, including American record holder Sinclaire Johnson.

Abe Alvarado, another former BYU middle-distance runner, advanced to the finals of the 800-meter run with a time of 1:46.50, the eighth fastest of the day.

We’re less than a month away from Friday night volleyball/Saturday afternoon football weekends being back.

From U of L:

The University of Louisville volleyball team was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Poll in a vote by coaches. Setter Nayelis Cabello, outside hitter Chloe Chicoine and middle blocker Cara Cresse were named to the All-Preseason team.

The Cards received 271 points and four first-place votes, while Pitt was projected to win the league with 279 points and 10 first place votes. Stanford came in third with 264 points, followed by SMU (243) and North Carolina (212). Georgia Tech earned 210 points and was picked sixth, while Miami (190), Florida State (180), Virginia (135) and NC State (134) rounded out the top 10. The Wolfpack was followed by Duke (127), Notre Dame (126), Boston College (96), California (90), Wake Forest (84), Clemson (62), Syracuse (31) and Virginia Tech (20).

The Cards return three starters from last season’s team. The 2024 season saw the Cardinals advance to their second national title game appearance in three years while finishing with a final record of 30-6 and an ACC record of 17-3. The Cards took down Pittsburgh, the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament, to earn a spot in the national title game on their home floor at the KFC Yum! Center before falling in four sets to Penn State. Meske helped guide the Cardinals to wins over Chicago State, No. 8 Northern Iowa, No. 4 Purdue, and No. 2 Stanford to make it back to the Final Four for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

At the conclusion of the 2024 season, four Cards were recognized as AVCA All-Americans: Elena Scott (first team), Anna DeBeer (second team), Cara Cresse (honorable mention), and Charitie Luper (honorable mention). Scott was also named ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year and Nayelis Cabello was tabbed ACC Freshman of the Year. DeBeer, Scott, and Luper were also honored as First Team All-ACC, while Cresse was named Second Team All-ACC and Cabello was recognized on the Freshman All-ACC team. Cresse, DeBeer, Luper, and Scott were also named to the AVCA All-South Region team while Reese Robins was listed as an Honorable Mention

Louisville opens the season on Aug. 29 when it hosts the Cardinal Classic featuring Auburn, Morehead State and St. John’s.

2025 Preseason All-ACC Volleyball Team:

Larissa Mendes, Georgia Tech

Cara Cresse, Louisville

Chloe Chicoine, Louisville

Nayelis Cabello, Louisville

Flormarie Heredia Colon, Miami

Ariana Rodriguez, Miami

Safi Hampton, North Carolina

Morgan Gaerte, Notre Dame

Olivia Babcock, Pittsburgh

Bre Kelley, Pittsburgh

Ryla Jones, Pittsburgh

Blaire Bayless, Pittsburgh

Malaya Jones, SMU

Averi Carlson, SMU

Favor Anyanwu, SMU

Elia Rubin, Stanford

Jordyn Harvey, Stanford

Ipar Kurt, Stanford

2025 Preseason ACC Volleyball Coaches Poll:

Pitt, 279 | 10 first-place votes

Louisville, 271 | 4 first-place votes

Stanford, 264 | 2 first-place votes

SMU, 243

North Carolina, 212

Georgia Tech, 210

Miami, 190

Florida State, 180

Virginia, 135

NC State, 134

Duke, 127

Notre Dame, 126

Boston College, 96

California, 90

Wake Forest, 84

Clemson, 62

Syracuse, 31

Virginia Tech, 20

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – North Florida Athletics recognizes its 25 summer graduates across 12 different programs on Friday afternoon.

A total of 20 student-athletes were awarded bachelor’s degrees, while the other five graduates earned their master’s degrees. The Ospreys put together an impressive 3.73 GPA during the summer semester.

Graduates & Degrees

Destiny Fratianni (Cheerleading) – Child Psychology

Cydne Woodley (Cheerleading) – Health Science

Camilla Holmes (Cheerleading) – Sociology

Lauren Bevis (Softball) – IDS Health

Ashley Connor (Softball) – Kinesiology

Savannah Channell (Softball) – MHA: Executive Health Admin

Aidan O’Gorman (Cross Country / Track & Field) – MS in Civil Engineering: Coastal and Port Engineering

Seth Martinez (Cross Country / Track & Field) – ITS

Kameron Wallizada (Cross Country / Track & Field) – Public Health

Hayden Wooldridge (Beach Volleyball) – Kinesiology

Mariana Feliciano Sanchez (Beach Volleyball) – Management/International Business

Taylor Pierce (Beach Volleyball) – IHS

Madison Espy (Beach Volleyball) – Kinesiology

Nestor Dyachok (Men’s Basketball) – Interdisciplinary Studies

Nate Lliteras (Men’s Basketball) – Master of Health Informatics and Executive Health Administration

Allie Larrimore (Swimming) – Biomedical

Gabby Reeves (Swimming) – Kinesiology/Spanish

Amelia Hildebrand (Swimming) – Kinesiology

Aydan Horrigan (Swimming) – Kinesiology

Jame Oman (Baseball) – Sport Management

Brett Schell (Men’s Golf) – MSM

Kaitlynn Washburn (Women’s Golf) – MS: Business Analytics

Joaquin Acuna (Men’s Soccer) – Transportation and Logistics

Spencer Dorosheff (Men’s Tennis) – Sport Management

Maddie Millar (Women’s Basketball) – Marketing