The House v. NCAA settlement, announced Friday night, officially marks the end of the college sports landscape that we all love and know and the beginning of a dark future for non-Power Four conference schools.

The settlement does nothing but allow the Power Four conferences to expand their powers and silence the voices of the Group of Five schools.

The main subject of the settlement is an annual cap for universities to directly pay athletes for their name, image and likeness (NIL).

However, the kicker is that the amount is based on a percentage of a defined set of Power Four athletics department revenues, with not all colleges factored in.

This means that Bowling Green and other similar schools will have to continue dealing with bigger schools spending $20 million per year, which is over half of BGSU’s operating athletic budget. This will only allow the bigger schools to justify their spending, which will continue to make it harder for the majority of smaller schools to keep up and stay competitive.

The settlement does nothing but continue to widen the gap between the Power Four and non-Power Four schools.

In addition to being able to pay athletes directly, athletes will also be able to continue making NIL deals with entities other than their respective schools.

On the surface, this sounds fair. However, there’s another kicker.

A new entity will be assigned to watch over all of the non-university NIL agreements and make sure they do not violate any rules. However, the College Sports Commission is not an initiative by the NCAA but rather a collaboration among the Power Four conferences. In fact, the top figures in the organization who have the power to make the big decisions are ACC Commissioner Jim Philips, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.

All Division I athletes who have a deal with a non-university entity for $600 or more have to report to the College Sports Commission’s system called “NIL Go,” which will then be evaluated to determine whether the deal has a “valid business purpose” and is within “a reasonable range of compensation,” whatever those terms are eventually deemed to mean. The commission and commissioners will have full power to enforce their rules, whatever they end up being, and penalize rule-breakers.

Firstly, I’m not sure if it’s possible to make the details more vague if you tried. Secondly, do any of us trust the Power Four conferences and their commissioners not to take advantage of the landscape and find loopholes while limiting the power and abilities of non-Power Four schools — I do not.

I can almost guarantee that there will be more ensuing legal battles due to the recent settlement and that this is only the beginning of the college athletics landscape being altered forever. We have officially reached the point of no return. College sports are no longer college sports — they are now the minor leagues.

Ultimately, the settlement does nothing but continue to allow the Power Four conferences to expand their powers as we continue to head on a collision course toward a super conference, which will officially mark the death for non-Power Four schools.

Manheim Central’s boys volleyball team is simply sizzling. 

Caution: Flammable. 

There has been no slowing down the Barons over their previous five matches, which have all ended with dominating 3-0 victories. 

Three of those came in the District 3 Class 2A tournament, when Central slayed Northern Lebanon, Linville Hill Christian and York Suburban by a combined 9-0 to nab their second district title, and first since 2019.

That district crown came on the heels of Central winning its third straight Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 championship, before the Barons reached the league finale for the third year in a row. But after winning two straight L-L crowns, they were tripped up by Cedar Crest in the title match this time around. 

That loss has motivated Central, which has been sharp in all facets since that setback against the Falcons. Defense in the back? Check. Setting prowess? Check. Serve game? Check. Front-row play, including piling up kills and blocking everything left and right? Check and check. 

The Barons bagged a pair of PIAA Class 2A playoff wins last week, both via shutout, over Academy at Palumbo and Dock Mennonite Academy. Saturday’s victory in the quarterfinals against Dock Mennonite served as some payback for the Barons, who were knocked out by the Pioneers in the state quarterfinals in 2022. 

Central (22-1 overall) is set to square off against a familiar foe in Tuesday’s state semifinals; the Barons will clash with York Suburban for the third time this season, and for the second time in 13 days. The Barons and the Trojans will duke it out at 5 p.m. at Penn Manor in Millersville. 

Central held off Suburban 25-23, 27-25 and 25-22 in a hotly contested nonleague match back on May 5 in York. In the rematch, on May 29 in Manheim, the Barons scarfed up a 25-21, 25-17, 25-19 win for district gold.

“We’ll have a lot of confidence going into the game,” Central defensive wizard Colin Rohrer said. “You always want to be confident, and I’d say we’re pretty confident right now. As long as we can stay consistent — getting our serves in, playing good defense, hitting the ball — we feel like we can probably beat any team in the state.” 

In Central’s first encounter with Suburban this spring, Dylan Musser teed up 35 assists, Reagan Miller blasted 14 kills and Landon Mattiace had seven blocks to spearhead the Barons. 

In the district finale, Musser was everywhere with 34 assists, eight kills, five aces, five digs and a pair of blocks; Miller waffled 11 kills with 11 digs; Mattiace had 10 kills and a couple of blocks; Rohrer had 18 digs; and Weston Longenecker (8 kills, 9 digs) and Caleb Groff (5 kills, 8 digs) came up big from their outside hitter spots. 

That kind of balance has been the Barons’ calling card. 

MC-YS III will be for a spot in Saturday’s state championship match, set for 11 a.m. inside Penn State’s esteemed Rec Hall.

Central and Suburban are both 0-2 in PIAA championship matches. The Trojans bounced the Barons 3-1 in the state semifinals in 2019. 

Tuesday’s other Class 2A state semifinal is another dandy matchup, with District 10 winner and reigning PIAA champ Meadville taking on District 7 champ Shaler. 

Meadville, which features 6-foot-7 junior middle Luc Sorensen, a Team USA member and a Penn State recruit, beat Central 3-1 in last year’s state finale. Shaler won the PIAA Class 3A crown last spring compliments of a 3-0 win over Parkland — after the Titans eliminated Warwick in the semifinals.

Shaler dipped down to Class 2A this season, and finds itself right back in the state semifinals. 

Central is in the state playoffs for the eighth season in a row; the 2020 campaign was canceled because of COVID-19. Since 2017, the Barons are 15-7 in PIAA matches, with finals trips in 2018 (a loss to Northeastern York) and last spring (a loss to Meadville).

Central reached the quarterfinals in all eight trips, with semifinal appearances in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024 and this spring. The Barons are a chiseled bunch, piloted by a veteran coach, Craig Dietrich, who knows how to steer a team through a playoff bracket. 

“It’s an exciting time,” Central middle Blake Neiles said. “We got to play in the state finals last year, and not many people get to experience that. Now we want to go back.”

It is chalk across the board in the PVCA Class 2A state rankings; Meadville is first, Central is second, Shaler is third and York Suburban is fourth. 

TRIPLE TROUBLE IN TRIPLE-A

Three of the four teams still standing in the PIAA Class 3A bracket call District 3 home. That’s pretty impressive.

Tuesday’s semifinals will pit undefeated District 3 champ Cumberland Valley against District 3 third-seed Governor Mifflin, and District 3 runner-up Central York against WPIAL kingpin North Allegheny, which is angling for its 10th state crown.

Central York, which has captured 25 District 3 and seven PIAA titles, KO’d Governor Mifflin, the Berks County champ, in the district semifinals. 

North Allegheny was tripped up by Warwick in the first round last spring, so the Tigers are plenty motivated to get back in the winner’s circle this time around. 

It is also chalk in the PVCA Class 3A state rankings; Cumberland Valley is first, North Allegheny is second, Central York is third and Governor Mifflin is fourth. 

X: @JeffReinhart77

MORE L-L LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL COVERAGE

• Kya Crooke won the long jump with a leap of 20-4.75, breaking a 39-year-old state meet record.
• The Heritiage Christian senior also won the high jump, going 6-0.25 to break a 40-year-old state meet record.
• The Arizona recruit views track as a way to reach others.

INDIANAPOLIS – Kya Crooke pleaded with her mother for tickets to see R&B artist SZA in St. Louis. In ordinary parental fashion, Julie Crooke initially told her daughter no since the concert was three days before the IHSAA girls track state meet. The Heritage Christian senior persisted. 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Track and Field State Tournament returned to Ohio State this weekend with a highly successful meet for central Ohio schools.

The two-day OHSAA track and field championships wrapped up Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The 117-year-old tradition boasted exciting results for many high schools in central Ohio.

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In Division I, Olentangy’s C.J. Sanna, who has committed to play football at Ohio State, won discus — and it wasn’t close. The margin between first and second was more than 14 feet following Sanna’s best throw of 194 feet, 14 inches.

Bishop Watterson boys’ lacrosse looks to add to a historic year

Josiah Montgomery from Reynoldsburg won shot put, while Hilliard Davidson’s Anna Wile accomplished her goal of winning the 100m hurdles. Wile finished second in the same race in 2024.

“I fought to the end and I was really happy, tears in my eyes at the end. I can’t explain how proud I am,” Wile said.

In the girls’ 4x200m relay, Pickerington Central was chasing a second championship in three years. When Grace Alls grabbed the baton with a 100 meters to go, the Tigers were in third place. Alls still beat everyone to the line.

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“With a young team — those are three sophomores over there — it’s amazing,” Alls said. “It’s such a blessing as a young team … That just was truly a blessing to be able to do what we do.”

Meredith Gaudreau surprises Monahan with NHL award

Alls wasn’t done; she later won the girls 400m race by almost a second.

Orange High School dominated the 1,600m races. Brooke Chapman backed up her state championship last year with another one winning by exactly a half second. In the next race, Orange’s Matthew Schroff won the boys’ 1,600m.

“Both of us trained really good. We’ve been really running great this season, I definitely had that in the back of my mind, we can definitely sweep this,” Chapman said.

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Pickerington Central won the girls’ 4x100m relay by seven-hundredths of a second; Alyvia Mentlow from Westerville Central won the girl’s 200m with a time of 23.96; and Celia Schulte from Davidson won the girl’s 800m.

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Ever since 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, the conversation revolving around the death of cinema has been at an all-time high. 

The question of what’s been killing cinema has long been debated with no one true answer, as there are multiple culprits ranging from unnecessary sequels to live-action remakes. Still, there is one answer that has slipped past people’s minds: direct-to-streaming releases. 

Direct-to-streaming is the term used to describe when a movie skips a theatrical release and arrives immediately on streaming services like Netflix, the most recent streaming service to be guilty of direct-to-streaming. 

Netflix has hosted an event every year since 2021 called Tudum—named after the Netflix logo’s sound—where the streaming service previews what is coming to Netflix in the future by showcasing new trailers or talking with actors. 

At Tudum 2025, two movies I’ve had my eye on for at least a year were given updates. Those two movies are Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” and Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein.” 

Both movies got teasers at the event that revealed they will release on December 12 and November, respectively, but they both won’t receive theatrical releases. 

Johnson’s new film being direct-to-streaming doesn’t surprise me as the previous movie in the franchise, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” was also a direct-to-streaming release. 

However, the original movie in the franchise, titled “Knives Out,” did have a theatrical release. 

Johnson isn’t at fault for this being a direct-to-streaming release, as he previously said in May that he wanted “Wake Up Dead Man” to be in as many theaters as possible, according to an interview he had with Business Insider. 

Looking back on Johnson’s statement of, “We’re going to push for everything we can get in terms of theatrical because I want as many people as possible to see it in that form,” things didn’t age well. 

Del Toro had a similar experience as his last film, “Pinocchio” also was a direct-to-streaming release, and he has expressed his love for film and movie theaters on various occasions. 

These films being direct-to-streaming releases is a problem because Netflix has a small audience compared to theaters. 

That being said, there is a counterargument to be made regarding both “Glass Onion” and “Pinocchio” having limited theatrical releases and how that means they are reaching that larger audience. 

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Looking at “Pinocchio” for example, the film was allowed a limited theatrical release a month before the film’s release date on Netflix. 

That sounds like plenty of time for the movie to reach people outside of streaming, but the key word of “limited” in “limited theatrical release” is being forgotten. 

By limiting the theatrical release, the movie is set back from the start as the theaters the film occurs in are usually in places the common moviegoer can’t reach. 

So yes, it’s good that it’s in a theater, but I can’t afford to fly out to New York City or Los Angeles for the theatrical release. 

With no official word about “Wake Up Dead Man” or “Frankenstein” having theatrical releases, it’s safe to assume they won’t be receiving any this time around. 

Netflix is a giant in the streaming service industry, but two films aren’t going to kill cinema alone.  

Instead, it’s the precedent Netflix is setting of normalizing not having theatrical releases that will continue to kill the industry. 

Netflix’s decision to do no theatrical releases makes sense from a business standpoint as they are competing with all the other streaming services for subscribers and having films exclusive to Netflix helps sway people to subscribe. 

So, if no theatrical release is a problem and Netflix doing direct-to-streaming is a good business move, what’s the solution? 

Thankfully, it’s already happened but only once thanks to the Marvel Studios’ “Black Widow.” 

“Black Widow” originally released in theaters July 9, 2021 and on Disney+ the same day with Premier Access, which costs a bit extra compared to the normal subscription. 

This hybrid release from Disney solved both problems as it allowed the normal theatrical release to occur as well as giving Disney+ an edge in the streaming service competition. 

While this would solve those problems, new ones appear, such as a much lower box office release and some contracts not giving fair compensation as a result, which happened with “Black Widow’s” hybrid release that led to a lawsuit against Disney from Black Widow lead Scarlett Johansson. 

If the hybrid release was altered to be a separate fee specifically to watch a certain movie on the streaming service at the same time as the theatrical release and contracts with those involved with the movie both in the behind-the-scenes and on-screen realms, accounted for this, the hybrid solution would be the best solution going forward. 

This hybrid approach isn’t something that will likely occur again, as no corporation wants to deal with lawsuits, which is something that terrified all the other corporations after the Johansson lawsuit. 

So, unless another solution presents itself, we’re all going to be forced to watch the film industry squabble for decades to come and slowly wither away.