While waiting for the House v. NCAA settlement to conclude, I, like many other college football fans, had to finally accept that the amateurism model, in place for over a century, has come to an end.

The settlement ruling, which has been five years in the making, results from the 2020 class-action antitrust lawsuit filed by Arizona State swimmer Grant House and Texas Christian University women’s basketball player Sedona Prince, along with other student-athletes.

I found it particularly interesting that the lawsuit was led by House and Prince, who do not participate in the top revenue-producing sports.As a swimmer, House participates in an Olympic sport, and swimming, along with sports like tennis and golf, will not benefit as much from the $20.5 million that schools will be allowed to share with athletes.

Women’s Division I basketball does generate a respectable profit, with NCAA figures for the 2019 season calculated at $600 million, and the NCAA will begin paying women’s teams “performance units” for their participation in the tourney for the upcoming season, with $15 million being awarded. The units will increase to $20 million for the 2026-27 season, then jump to $25 million the following year. Schools will receive payments on a continuous three-year basis in 2026. Men’s basketball teams have profited from performance units since 1991, and the men’s tournament brought in over $900 million for the 2024-25 season. Schools will continue to rake in millions of dollars from March Madness and the expanded College Football Playoff, but with the $20.5 million cap that will be split among student-athletes, the lion’s share of these profits will go to the major money-making sports of football and men’s basketball in the Power Four conferences, although female basketball stars like the University of Southern California’s JuJu Watkins and Louisiana State University’s Flau’jae Johnson should also see their earnings rise. Stars in these sports will continue to prosper financially from lucrative name, image and likeness deals made possible by the 2021 NCAA v. Alston ruling.

Athletes who played before the Alston decision will be compensated back to 2016, as U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken approved a whopping $2.8 billion — which will be disbursed within 10 years — to reimburse those who competed before the current NIL era. As a Buckeye fan and alumna, I was very sorry that the stars of Ohio State’s 2014 national championship football team will not be able to cash in on their past laurels. I can only imagine the millions Cardale Jones, our third-string quarterback who led us to the title, would have made from his storybook run. Wideout Braxton Miller would have sold thousands of T-shirts with his signature spin move from his breathtaking performance against Virginia Tech that season. I’m sure many college athletes who won championships before 2016 are pondering what could have been if they had been allowed to accept endorsements. The House ruling will permit colleges and universities to pay student-athletes starting July 1, and as this next phase begins, the newly formed College Sports Commission will oversee NIL transactions and enforce new rules for the Power Four conferences. One significant benefit of the commission’s oversight is that it will be able to determine if athletes are seeking much more from university collectives than what their market value says they are worth, and many football coaches are hoping for a change to the transfer portal, which is currently open twice a year.

Knowing that the House settlement was inevitable, I have mixed feelings about this new era of college sports that continues to evolve. While I believe athletes should be paid fairly, direct payments from schools and NIL will take some focus away from academics and personal development. I continue to assert that the culture in athletic programs will now be more important than ever, and smaller schools probably have an advantage here in that NIL deals and revenue sharing will not be massive for their student-athletes.

© Kirby Lee/Imagn

Audio By Carbonatix

As we move into the revenue sharing era of college sports, schools are getting more creative to find ways to generate more income. For some schools, that includes working with the state legislature, as is the case with a new law in Lousiana.

Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports reports that the state of Lousiana is set to raise taxes on sports betting in order to distribute additional funds to its 11 state-sponsored universities, including the LSU Tigers.

The new bill, which must first be signed by governor Jeff Landry, is expected to raise more than $24 million. Landry is a Louisiana-Lafayette graduate but seemingly a big fan of the Tigers. Last football season, Landry backed a push to return a live tiger to the sidelines of games in Tiger Stadium.

LSU Tigers Set To Land Major Pay Day Thanks To New Louisiana Sports Gambling Tax

According to Schiffer, the new bill stands to  raise the state’s 15% tax on online betting profits to 21.5%.

Additionally, “A quarter of the tax revenue, estimated to bring in $24.3 million, would be split evenly among the state’s 11 public universities that play in Division I football conferences. The money won’t be used for direct NIL payments

“Instead, it must be used for ‘for the benefit of student athletes,’ which includes scholarships, facility enhancements, and insurance, among other uses. The money could help free up other resources within the athletic department as schools adjust their books for revenue sharing.”

Meanwhile, the Tigers have emerged as one of the strong NIL players in college football. On3 Sports, led by five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys, currently ranks LSU’s 2026 class No. 2 in the country. Keys recently inked a lucrative NIL deal with Adidas, which is interesting given LSU’s current apparel deal with competitor Nike. Especially given the fact that Keys took a weekend visit to Tennessee, which is rumored to move from Nike to Adidas following the 2025-26 academic year.

Louisiana is poised to hike taxes on sports betting to pump more than $24 million into athletic departments at the state’s most prominent public universities.

Legislation pending before Gov. Jeff Landry would make Louisiana the first state to raise taxes to fund college sports since a judge approved a landmark settlement with the NCAA allowing schools to directly pay athletes for use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). Anticipating the court’s approval, Arkansas this year became the first to waive state income taxes on NIL payments made to athletes by higher education institutions.

Advertisement

More states seem almost certain to adopt their own creative ways to gain an edge — or at least keep pace — in the rapidly evolving and highly competitive field of college sports.

“These bills, and the inevitable ones that will follow, are intended to make states ’college-athlete friendly,’” said David Carter, founder of the Sports Business Group consultancy and an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California. But “they will no doubt continue to stoke the debate about the `perceived’ preferential treatment afforded athletes.”

Duplantis raises his pole vault world record to 6.28 meters in front of home fans in Sweden

The new NCCA rules allowing direct payments to college athletes kick in July 1. In the first year, each Division I school can share up to $20.5 million with its athletes — a figure that may be easier to meet for big-time programs than for smaller schools weighing whether to divert money from other purposes. The settlement also continues to allow college athletes to receive NIL money from third parties, such as donor-backed collectives that support specific schools.

Louisiana bill sponsor: `We love football’

The Louisiana legislation won final approval just two days after a judge approved the antitrust settlement between the NCAA and athletes, but it had been in the works for months. Athletic directors from many of Louisiana’s universities met earlier this year and hashed out a plan with lawmakers to relieve some of their financial pressures by dividing a share of the state’s sports betting tax revenue.

Advertisement

The biggest question for lawmakers was how large of a tax increase to support. The initial proposal sought to double the state’s 15% tax on net proceeds from online sports betting. But lawmakers ultimately agreed on a 21.5% tax rate in a compromise with the industry.

One-quarter of the tax revenue from online sports wagering — an estimated $24.3 million — would be split equally among 11 public universities in conferences with Division I football programs. The money must be used “for the benefit of student athletes,” including scholarships, insurance, medical coverage, facility enhancements and litigation settlement fees.

The state tax money won’t provide direct NIL payments to athletes. But it could facilitate that indirectly by freeing up other university resources.

The legislation passed overwhelmingly in the final days of Louisiana’s annual session.

Advertisement

“We love football in Louisiana – that’s the easiest way to say it,” said Republican state Rep. Neil Riser, who sponsored the bill.

Smaller universities are feeling the squeeze

Many colleges and universities across the country have been feeling a financial squeeze, but it’s especially affected the athletic departments of smaller schools.

Athletic departments in the top Division I football conferences take in millions of dollars from media rights, donors, corporate sponsors and ticket sales, with a median of just 7% coming from student fees and institutional and government support, according to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database.

Advertisement

But the remaining schools in Division I football bowl conferences got a median of 63% of the revenue from such sources last year. And schools without football teams got a median of 81% of their athletic department revenues from institutional and governmental support or student fees.

Riser said Louisiana’s smaller universities, in particular, have been struggling financially and have shifted money from their general funds to their sports programs to try to remain competitive. At the same time, the state has taken in millions of dollars of tax revenue from sports bets made at least partly on college athletics.

“Without the athletes, we wouldn’t have the revenue. I just felt like it’s fairness that we do give something back and, at the same time, help the general funds of the universities,” Riser said.

Other states are investing in college sports

Louisiana would become the second state behind North Carolina to dedicate a portion of its sports wagering revenues to colleges athletics. North Carolina launched online sports wagering last year under a state law earmarking part of an 18% tax on gross gaming revenue to the athletic departments at 13 public universities. The state’s two largest institutions were excluded. But that might be about to change.

Advertisement

Differing budget plans passed by the state House and Senate this year both would start allotting sports betting tax revenue to the athletic programs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. The Senate version also would double the tax rate. The proposals come a year after University of North Carolina trustees approved an audit of the athletics department after a preliminary budget projected about $100 million of debt in the years ahead.

Other schools also are taking actions because of deficits in their athletic departments. Last week, University of Kentucky trustees approved a $31 million operating loan for the athletics department as it begins making direct NIL payments to athletes. That came after trustees in April voted to convert the Kentucky athletics department into a limited-liability holding company — Champions Blue LLC — to more nimbly navigate the emerging financial pressures.

Given the money involved in college athletics, it’s not surprising that states are starting to provide tax money to athletic departments or — as in Arkansas’ case — tax relief to college athletes, said Patrick Rishe, executive director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis.

“If you can attract better athletes to your schools and your states, then this is more visibility to your states, this is more potential out-of-town economic activity for your state,” Rishe said. “I do think you’re going to see many states pursue this, because you don’t want to be the state that’s left exposed or at a disadvantage.”

Latest News

Advertisement

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.

The Arkansas Razorbacks didn’t plan on playing in an elimination game, but that’s where they found themselves in the College World Series after an opening loss. There, starting pitcher Gage Wood had the Razorbacks get on his back, as he went out and pitched the third no-hitter in College World Series history against Murray State to stay alive.

After the game, Wood shared that he wasn’t necessarily feeling any pitcher working better than normal during warmups. Instead, his performance came from simply not wanting to get eliminated just yet.

“Don’t throw a slider,” Gage Wood said. “I throw a curveball. I throw a cutter. But, no, the only special thing was I didn’t want to go home. That’s it.”

For Gage Wood, it was one of the greatest pitching performances in the history of college baseball. He had 19 strikeouts in the no-hitter. The MLB record for strikeouts in a game is 20. Roger Clemens did it twice and Kerry Wood did it once. There are six instances of 19 strikeout games as well. Gage Wood did that while also throwing a no-hitter. In fact, he was one hit by pitch in the eighth inning away from being perfect.

After losing the perfect game, some pitchers may have been pulled with an increasing pitch count. However, Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn explained why that wasn’t happening in the elimination game.

“I’ll be the first one to say it: There’s nothing being said or talked about our dugout whatsoever. We’re just going to let him roll,” Van Horn said. “There was no chance he was coming out after eight.”

In his career, Wood has received and will likely receive more game balls. Perhaps none will ever be as special as this one, though, and as he explained he gave it to his father to share, saying, “I said, ‘Happy late Father’s Day.’”

Next, Arkansas is set to take on either LSU or UCLA. That game was delayed part of the way through due to weather. If it ends up being LSU, the Razorbacks will be again matched with a team that has already beaten them in Omaha this season.

Gage Wood is widely regarded as a future first round pick. However, after pitching on Monday, it’s going to be a few days before he’s available for Dave Van Horn and Arkansas to use in another College World Series game. Instead, they’ll need to rely on their other arms.

John Calipari, the Hall of Fame coach leading Arkansas, has seen it all in his 34-year career. He has led teams to national championships and Final Fours and raised top-of-the-line players. However, Calipari may have finally hit his limit as college basketball adapts to the significant changes due to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals and the transfer portal.

John Calipari Has A Passion For Transformation, Not Transactions

During his recent appearance as a guest on The Jim Rome Show, Calipari shared his thoughts about the new age of College Basketball. When asked what drove him to coach teams even at this age, he answered that it all comes from his desire to shape young lives.

“As long as I can keep helping young people and their families, then I’ll do it,” he told Jim Rome. But the rise of NIL and the transfer portal threatens to shift the game from “transformational” to “transactional.” He expressed frustration with a system where players can transfer to multiple schools and 26, 27, or 28-year-olds can compete against teenagers.

He joked, “You can’t have a player look in the stands and wave to his wife and two kids, knowing that the NIL is paying alimony for the first wife.” For Calipari, this transactional environment clashes with his mission to develop players holistically.

His first season at Arkansas, after a 15-year stint at Kentucky, showed he’s still got it. Guiding the Razorbacks to a Sweet 16 appearance despite a 1-6 SEC start, Calipari worked hard for a turnaround, which was seen by an 89-79 upset over Kentucky.

“As rewarding a year as I’ve had in all my years,” he said, reflecting on the 2024-25 season that ended with an overtime loss to Texas Tech. With a five-year, $7 million contract, including a $1 million signing bonus and $500,000 annual retention bonus, Calipari is committed to Fayetteville, but he’s clear: if the game becomes purely transactional, “why would I do it?”

Going Through a New Era in College Basketball

The SEC’s rise as a basketball powerhouse with 14 teams in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, seven in the Sweet 16, owes it all to its increased investment. Calipari noted, “When they went to the TV network and the schools had more money, they invested in men’s basketball and women’s Basketball,” he said.

Last year, the top seven SEC teams retained 95% of their rosters, unlike Calipari’s young Arkansas squad. But with 22 of the league’s top 26 scorers now gone, he admitted, “I have no idea” where the sport is headed.

KEEP READING: Arkansas HC John Calipari Signs Another International Recruit, Reinforces “Grown Men” Mentality

Calipari’s love for coaching is evident, but the transfer portal and NIL’s influence push him to the edge. If the sport’s rules stifle his ability to transform lives, he’s prepared to walk away. Arkansas fans can expect Calipari to keep building, blending young talent with veterans to chase another title. His retirement may not be imminent, but he clarified that impact, not dollar signs, will define his legacy.

Diego Pavia has seen the NIL era of college football grow into what it is today as one of the biggest beneficiaries of it. The Vanderbilt quarterback has an estimated valuation of $1.6 million according to On3, making money that was unimaginable to college athletes only a few years ago.

Even he wasn’t always raking in that kind of cash in the early days of NIL. Pavia began his college career at the JUCO level in 2020, before NIL laws had even been passed. It wasn’t until he arrived at New Mexico State in 2022, one year after the first season of NIL, that he got his first deal.

But, as he explained in an appearance on the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast, that was paltry compared to what he was pulling in now. Despite starting eight of 12 games for the Aggies in the 2022 season, Pavia wasn’t even the highest paid player on his own team.

“First crack in the NIL game I was getting paid $1,400 at New Mexico State per month and I was pissed because Eli Stowers was getting paid $3,000 a month and he played tight end and I played quarterback,” Pavia said. “I’m like, ‘Man, f*** that. I need to go harder.’ It all worked itself out.”

Pavia found his form over the back half of his first season at New Mexico State, setting him up to enter 2023 as the clear starter. He would go on to throw for 2,973 yards and 26 touchdowns to nine interceptions while also rushing for 923 yards and seven scores.

The Aggies finished 10-5 that season and Pavia saw the dividends from his big year in the transfer portal. He was not only being offered a monthly pay that was in the six figures range, but gifts in addition to the payments as well.

“Coming from that $1,400 to these others schools were offering my like a car, houses and big time money. It’s like, ‘Holy sh*t,’” Pavia said. “…I would have stayed at New Mexico State for $100,000. Then at Vandy, the quarterback they just brought in, they paid him way over $100,000 and they offered me $150,000, but I didn’t know that. I’m going from $1,400 to $150,000? I’m like, ‘Sign me up.’ So that’s how I took it last year.”

There was some question of whether Pavia would have any eligibility remaining for 2025 because he had played five seasons already. However, the NCAA ruled to grant a waiver to players that did not count their JUCO seasons against eligibility, opening the door for him to play one more year.

Now he’ll get to continue reaping the benefits of NIL as he looks to lead Vanderbilt to its first ever College Football Playoff appearance. But even with all the money coming in, he has been smart with his finances thanks to his family and resources at the school.

“Vanderbilt does a good job of bringing in ex-players or alumni that are big-time people who work in the business. They come back and tell us about (financial literacy). We have probably 8-9 meetings on it. ..,I give it all to my mom and she handles it. So I’ve never touched a dime of my NIL.”