College Sports

Steve Sarkisian addresses report of Texas spending $40 million on football roster

First, the context. Here were Sark’s comments: “What’s frustrating on that is it was a little bit of irresponsible reporting. One anonymous source said that that’s what our roster was. I wish I had $40 million on our roster, we’d probably be a little bit better team than we are. We’re fortunate, don’t get me […]

Published

2 weeks ago

May 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

First, the context. Here were Sark’s comments:

“What’s frustrating on that is it was a little bit of irresponsible reporting. One anonymous source said that that’s what our roster was. I wish I had $40 million on our roster, we’d probably be a little bit better team than we are. We’re fortunate, don’t get me wrong. We’ve got great support — Chris Del Conte, our athletic director, does a fantastic job. Our donors, people are excited. We’ve gone to the CFP two years in a row. It’s been a great run.

After Sarkisian spoke to donors in Houston late last month, Houston Chronicle writer Kirk Bohls published a report saying Texas was set to spend the above amount on its roster, and the report took off. It quickly jumped from the College Football Internet to the Regular Internet; I got multiple text from normies about it. The report took off, I think, for two reasons:

1) A lack of general understanding of how college football players are going to be paid moving forward. Once the House settlement is approved, players will be paid through three buckets: 1) “true” NIL, from endorsements ranging from national Dr Pepper ad campaigns to autograph signings at a local pizza joint, 2) Now It’s Legal, which are basically payments for being on a college football roster which come via collectives, a market no one anticipated back in 2021 but which has proven to be robust, and 3) rev share, which will come directly from the schools. It remains to be seen how Texas will distribute that ~$20 million pie, but Georgia announced back in February it will spend $13.5 million of its $20.5 million on football. It’s widely expected that will be the general roadmap for how all major programs will operate, though of course milage may vary. “The idea that a lot of other schools aren’t spending money to get players?” Sarkisian said. “It’s the state of college football right now.”

Bohls addressed that in his April report. He writes (bold added):

With the addition of 10 football players out of the transfer portal and probably one or two more on the way, the budget for next season’s Texas roster has grown as well. It currently sits somewhere “between $35 million and $40 million,” which counts the likely revenue-sharing allotment expected to be $20.5 million as well as payouts through the Texas One Fund, a connected source tells the Houston Chronicle.

With rev share coming, the Texas One Fund has not closed up shop. The Fund held Horns Up Weekend earlier this month, a golf tournament and concert that raised millions for Longhorn athletes.

You don’t sign the No. 1 recruiting class, as Texas did, for free. You don’t retain your roster — Texas didn’t lose an expected starter to the transfer portal — for free. And you certainly don’t sign 11 transfers (five of them defensive tackles, among the priciest positions to acquire) for free.

I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but reading between the lines I think Texas is spending in the $20 million range through Now It’s Legal, plus another $13-15 million in rev share, as is everyone else competing for a national title. I believe Sark when he says Texas isn’t spending $40 million on NIL, and I also believe Bohls never reported that. “I wish I had about another $15 million or so,” Sarkisian said. “We might have a better roster.”

2) The report took off because people wanted to believe it. Recall the summer of 2021 when the infamous Sliced Bread “reported” Texas A&M spent $30 million on its legendary 2022 recruiting class. (Knowing what we know now, that seems silly, doesn’t it?) Think back to the summer of 2022 and the fervor Ryan Day created when he told the Columbus business community that it would take $13 million to build a championship roster. (Knowing what we know now, that seems quaint, doesn’t it?) Three years later, the numbers have only gone up, and that’s before you add in rev share.

As Sarkisian referenced, Texas is not the only program paying top-dollar in the NIL market, and it’s certainly not the only program planning to make rev share payments.

But Texas is arguably the most hated program in college football. It was the big, bad villain of the Southwest Conference, blamed for the instability and breakup of the original Big 12, and has made no friends in Year 1 of the SEC.

After the worst decade in program history, Texas has revived under Steve Sarkisian, going 25-5 over the past two seasons with a Big 12 title, an SEC runner-up, two CFP semifinals trips, and a national-best 23 draft picks over that span. Plenty of people are happy to point to the correlation of a Longhorn renaissance coinciding with the legal payment of players to conclude that the ‘Horns bought their way back to the front of the line, end of story.

“If that’s the narrative you want to paint for our team,” Sarkisian said, “that’s fine.”

Link

College Sports

Lee Corso’s Last College GameDay Show: Aug. 30 in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio – ESPN College GameDay analyst and commentator Lee Corso first wore a mascot’s headgear, signaling his choice for which team would win that day’s big game, on Oct. 5, 1996, before an Ohio State vs. Penn State game at Ohio Stadium. He’ll don his last headgear Saturday, Aug. 30, in front of 100,000-plus fans at Ohio Stadium […]

Published

31 minutes ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

COLUMBUS, Ohio – ESPN College GameDay analyst and commentator Lee Corso first wore a mascot’s headgear, signaling his choice for which team would win that day’s big game, on Oct. 5, 1996, before an Ohio State vs. Penn State game at Ohio Stadium. He’ll don his last headgear Saturday, Aug. 30, in front of 100,000-plus fans at Ohio Stadium when the Buckeyes host the Texas Longhorns in a juggernaut of a season-opening game.

ESPN, which had previously announced Corso’s retirement in April, confirmed Tuesday that its first College GameDay show of the season would be Week 1 in Columbus and it will be Corso’s final GameDay show.

Corso, the last remaining cast member from the original GameDay shows that started in 1987, has made 430 mascot headgear selections all-time, according to ESPN, and has a record of 286-144 for a winning percentage of .665. He wore Brutus’ headgear for that initial pick in 1993, and the Buckeyes won, 24-6.

Corso will turn 90 three weeks before his last GameDay show. He played football and baseball at Florida State University and graduated from there with both bachelor’s (physical education in 1957) and master’s (administration and supervision in 1958) degrees.

He was a collegiate head coach for 15 years – at Louisville, Indiana and Northern Illinois – and spent one season coaching in the USFL (Orlando) before joining ESPN in 1987.

Lee Corso and College GameDay notes:

Corso has selected and worn Brutus Buckeye headgear a record 45 times (Alabama is next with 38);

Corso has worn 69 different school mascot’s headgear;

This will be the 67th time Ohio State will be playing at a GameDay locale, the most among all schools (Alabama is second with 60);

Ohio State has the most GameDay victories: 46; and

Ohio State has hosted GameDay the most, with the Aug. 30 Saturday morning show before Ohio State vs. Texas representing the 26th GameDay broadcast from Columbus.

#GoBucks

The People. The Tradition. The Excellence.

Link

College Sports

Seattle’s new PWHL team could be ‘scary’ good

Seattle’s brand-new women’s pro hockey team is coming together. The yet-to-be-named franchise hired its first players, including league star and Olympic gold medalist Hillary Knight, last week. They added to the roster in yesterday’s expansion draft. KUOW’s Kim Malcolm checked in with Seattle Times reporter Kate Shefte for some PWHL hiring updates. This interview has […]

Published

32 minutes ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Kim Malcolm: Let’s start with who got hired, and how the draft went. What stands out for you right now?

Kate Shefte: Let’s start with Hillary Knight. She is a living legend. Team USA captain, one of the most recognizable faces in the sport, and at 35 she just tied for the PWHL scoring lead with 29 points last season. She was a heck of a first player on this PWHL Seattle team. After her, they went out and signed Danielle Serdachny, who was a former Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner. That’s given to the top female college ice hockey player in the United States. And they signed Cayla Barnes, an Olympian at 19, the youngest player for Team USA, who won a national championship at Ohio State. She’s a young, very experienced defender who is probably going to anchor their blue line for years to come, perhaps. If this doesn’t get people excited for the PWHL in Seattle, I don’t really know what will.

And then the draft took place yesterday. One of our colleagues here at the station said it was, “SO AWESOME” to watch. Did you feel the same way? What stood out for you?

It just blew my mind how much talent they were picking up. They just kept adding to an impossible seeming degree. The new GM, Meghan Turner, really took advantage of these expansion draft rules and just signed a really enviable team. It’s not like they picked up the scraps here. If the goal was to make expansion teams competitive immediately, which supposedly it was, they succeeded. But that’s at the cost of ticking off the inaugural six teams, because some of them are just gutted. This will probably be the last expansion draft with that particular format.

And, the Hockey News has PWHL Seattle as the Walter Cup favorite next season, with just 12 players, half a team, signed. They have to fill in a little bit, build through the draft, build through free agency, get the rest of those roster spots filled up. But this is a heck of a blueprint for a very scary team. I have to think that they probably blew a lot of their budget already, so they might be kind of top heavy, but that’s a pretty small critique of this team. They look very, very good.

Such a strong start for a brand-new team here. But how good will it all be when they hit the ice? That’s kind of an X factor.

It really is. You never know. I mean, teams can look amazing on paper and then kind of fail to get out of the gate, but a lot of these players already have familiarity with each other. They signed Hillary Knight’s Boston Fleet teammate, Hannah Bilka. They dipped from every single team except for Minnesota. And so, a lot of these people know each other. And I like to think that that will translate. I’m sure they hope it does.

Before we let you go, Kate, the team doesn’t have a name yet. Are there any updates on what they could be called?

No updates. They have half a team. They really only have one official front office employee. That process is ongoing. Apparently, they’re close to hiring a coach. They said they’re comfortable with maybe going into the season, just as PWHL Seattle and PWHL Vancouver. That is how the inaugural six played their first season. They want to nail it. They want to get it right, you know, and especially in a city where the Kraken, I think we can safely say, no matter what they’ve done on the ice, the Kraken branding is very strong, and you want to match that energy. Not to plug it, but I did write a long history piece on the Seattle Vamps.

I was about to ask you. Do you think the Vamps would fly as a name now?

Personally, I would love it. I don’t think there’s anything scandalous about that word anymore, and it’s kind of a ‘wink wink’ to what the rest of the country thinks of us, which is ‘Twilight’ country. I think it would be hilarious and very cool and kind of powerful and kind of, you know, just kind of moody. I think it’s very Seattle. One thing, I know it has nothing to do with the water, and that wouldn’t really fit in with most of our teams. I will acknowledge that.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.

Link

College Sports

Nation’s first HBCU gymnastics program at Fisk University to shut down after 2026 season

The first HBCU to have a gymnastics program will participate in its last season in 2026. Fisk University, which began competing in January 2023, will discontinue its program after next season, the school announced last week. Advertisement “Considerable challenges … to schedule competitions and build a robust recruiting pipeline,” were the reasons cited for the […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The first HBCU to have a gymnastics program will participate in its last season in 2026.

Fisk University, which began competing in January 2023, will discontinue its program after next season, the school announced last week.

“Considerable challenges … to schedule competitions and build a robust recruiting pipeline,” were the reasons cited for the decision on the school’s website. Fisk competes in the HBCU Athletic Conference, and the sport isn’t sanctioned by the conference, resulting in those challenges.

“While we are tremendously proud of the history our gymnastics team has made in just three years, we look forward to focusing on our conference-affiliated teams to strengthen our impact in the HBCU Athletic Conference,” Valencia Jordan, Director of Fisk Athletics, said on the school’s website. “Fisk is grateful for the hard work, dedication and tenacity of its gymnasts, staff members, and coaches who made this program possible.”

The Tennessean has reached out to Jordan for comment.

Fisk University gymnastics had early success

Despite being new on the scene, Fisk’s gymnastics team has experienced some success.

Morgan Price of Lebanon became the first gymnast from an HBCU to win the all-around championship at the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships in 2024. She repeated the feat in 2025.

“It feels good because of the hard work that has been put in,” Price said in a release after the first title. “Honestly, I didn’t know where I would place, but it was a pleasant surprise. I have heard from a lot of people so far. I am still trying to take all this in.”

Price, Allie Berkley, Aliyah Reed-Hammon, and Ciniah Rosby each earned first-team All-American honors for the 2025 season.

Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Fisk gymnastics, nation’s first HBCU program, to shut down after 2026

Link

College Sports

Fisk University women’s gymnastics team, the first at an HBCU, to stop competing after 2026 |

NASHVILLE (AP) — Fisk University’s bold experiment in women’s gymnastics is coming to an end. The school has announced it is shuttering the program at the end of the 2026 season. Fisk made history in 2023 when it became the first historically Black college or university to launch a women’s artistic gymnastics team. × […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NASHVILLE (AP) — Fisk University’s bold experiment in women’s gymnastics is coming to an end.

The school has announced it is shuttering the program at the end of the 2026 season. Fisk made history in 2023 when it became the first historically Black college or university to launch a women’s artistic gymnastics team.

kAmu:D3:E:@FD >@G6 E@ DE2CE E96 AC@8C2> A=2J65 2 92?5 E9C66 J62CD =2E6C E96 2E9=6E:4 56A2CE>6?E 49@@D:?8 E@ 5:D4@?E:?F6 :E] $4965F=:?8 3642>6 492==6?8:?8 3642FD6 8J>?2DE:4D E96 @?=J DA@CE 2E u:D< E92E 5@6D ?@E 4@>A6E6 282:?DE @E96C wqr& D49@@=D[ 7@C4:?8 E96 AC@8C2> E@ 86E 4C62E:G6 2?5 C6BF:C:?8 E96 E62> E@ EC2G6= =@?86C 5:DE2?46D E92? E96 F?:G6CD:EJVD @E96C DA@CED]k^Am

kAm“(9:=6 H6 2C6 EC6>6?5@FD=J AC@F5 @7 E96 9:DE@CJ @FC 8J>?2DE:4D E62> 92D >256 ;FDE E9C66 J62CD[ H6 =@@< 7@CH2C5 E@ 7@4FD:?8 @? @FC 4@?76C6?46\277:=:2E65 E62>D E@ DEC6?8E96? @FC :>A24E E96 wqr& pE9=6E:4 r@?76C6?46[” 2E9=6E:4 5:C64E@C ‘2=6?4:2 y@C52? D2:5 2 DE2E6>6?E] “u:D< 8C2E67F= 7@C E96 92C5 H@C<[ 565:42E:@? 2?5 E6?24:EJ @7 :ED 8J>?2DED[ DE277 >6>36CD[ 2?5 4@2496D H9@ >256 E9:D AC@8C2> A@DD:3=6]”k^Am

kAm%96 D49@@= D2:5 :E H:== H@C< H:E9 E96 27764E65 2E9=6E6D 2?5 4@2496D E@ 6?DFC6 2 “D62>=6DD EC2?D:E:@?]”k^Am

kAm%96 2??@F?46>6?E 42>6 ;FDE H666 p==\p>6C:42? H9@ 3642>6 E96 7:CDE wqr& 8J>?2DE E@ C64@C5 2 A6C764E `_ — EC2?D76CC65 E@ pC<2?D2D[ H96C6 D96 H:== ;@:? 96C @=56C D:DE6C uC2?<:6]k^Am

kAm%2==25682 r@==686[ 2? wqr& p=232>2[ 2EE6>AE65 E@ 7@==@H u:D D9FE 5@H? 27E6C @?6 D62D@? k2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^2A?6HD]4@>^2CE:4=6^934F\H@>6?D\8J>?2DE:4D\E2==25682\4@==686\_3d3fe2ehd__`d4`echhb3d3c6__2ac6Qm5F6 E@ 7:?2?4:2= 4@?46C?Dk^2m]k^Am

k9C ^m

kAmp! DA@CEDi k2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^2A?6HD]4@>^DA@CEDQm9EEADi^^2A?6HD]4@>^DA@CEDk^2mk^Am

Link

College Sports

Willie rounds out staff, names Nicholson and Pritchard to bench – BG Falcon Media

BGSU hockey head coach Dennis Williams announced two new assistant coaches ahead of the 2025-26 season Tuesday — Matt Nicholson and Jacob Pritchard. The hires come after the move of Curtis Carr to associate head coach and Stavros Paskaris from a coaching position to Assistant Athletic Director for Development. Nicholson comes to Bowling Green after […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

BGSU hockey head coach Dennis Williams announced two new assistant coaches ahead of the 2025-26 season Tuesday — Matt Nicholson and Jacob Pritchard.

The hires come after the move of Curtis Carr to associate head coach and Stavros Paskaris from a coaching position to Assistant Athletic Director for Development.

Nicholson comes to Bowling Green after two seasons as associate head coach at Robert Morris, coaching at five different locations since 2007: Adrian College (assistant coach 2007-09), Robert Morris (assistant coach 2009-15, associate head coach 2023-25), the NAHL Amarillo Bulls (head coach 2015-17), Niagara (assistant coach 2017-20) and Mercyhurst (assistant coach 2021-22).

He played for Colgate during his NCAA career, scoring two goals and tallying 10 assists in 123 games as a defenseman.

“Matt (Nicholson) is a veteran coach in college hockey with a wealth of experience, not only in developing players on the ice but also in identifying and recruiting outstanding student-athletes,” said Willie. “We look forward to Matt joining our Falcon program and know he will be a tremendous addition—not only for our players but also for our staff, our community and our university.”

The 43-year-old’s speciality is recruiting and powerplay, fitting in nicely with Carr, who specializes in penalty kill and general defense and replacing Paskaris, who was a heavy recruiter for BG. During his first six years with Robert Morris, Nicholson saw over 30 players enter professional hockey as well as the school’s first Atlantic Hockey championship and NCAA tournament appearance.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to join Dennis and his staff at BGSU,” said Nicholson. “Bowling Green is a name synonymous with college hockey, having produced numerous players who have gone on to achieve great things at the highest levels of pro hockey. I look forward to helping Coach Williams continue to develop great people, great students, and great athletes in this next chapter at BGSU.”

Pritchard enters the Slater Family Ice Arena as the most successful player on the coaching staff. During his NCAA career, the Macomb County, Mich. Native scored three straight 20-point seasons for St. Lawrence and a 47-point season in 2018-19′ with UMass, which set him seventh in college hockey with the likes of star NHLers Cake Makar and Adam Fox. UMass reached the NCAA Championship game in 2019, losing 3-0 to Minnesota-Duluth.

The ex-left-winger has coached only three seasons of hockey, retiring from playing in 2022. His speciality is training and skill acquisition, and he is responsible for skill development and player evaluation as an assistant coach with Sioux City in the USHL.

“His (Pritchard’s) coaching and playing background will be a tremendous asset to our program,” said Willie, “especially in developing our players’ skills and preparing them for the next level in professional hockey. We’re thrilled to welcome Jacob to the BGSU hockey program, the university and the community.”

In 2025-26′ Nicholson and Pritchard step behind a bench coaching a No. 1 recruiting class in the NCAA, according to Neutral Zone Scouting. They can make their impression on a star-filled class of incoming Falcons: seven forwards, four defensemen and two goaltenders among the first-years of BGSU. They join a coaching staff filled with Willie, Carr and Dylan Schoen (goaltending).

Link

College Sports

Hudik and Hale Selected to NCBA Division 1 All-Region Team

Story Links PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The National Club Baseball Association (NCBA) has announced its 2024–25 All-Region selections for Division I baseball, with two Adrian College players earning recognition. Outfielder Brock Hudik was named to the First Team All-Region, while pitcher Michael Hale earned Third Team All-Region honors for their standout performances this […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The National Club Baseball Association (NCBA) has announced its 2024–25 All-Region selections for Division I baseball, with two Adrian College players earning recognition.

Outfielder Brock Hudik was named to the First Team All-Region, while pitcher Michael Hale earned Third Team All-Region honors for their standout performances this season.

Hudik secured First Team honors after an impressive offensive campaign. He batted .370 over 28 games, collecting 30 hits in 81 at-bats, along with 24 runs scored, five doubles, three triples, and 14 RBIs. Hudik posted a .469 on-base percentage and a .506 slugging percentage, walked 13 times, and was successful in 12 of 13 stolen base attempts.

On te mound, Hale was named to the Third Team after recording a 2.91 ERA over 34 innings pitched. He finished the season with a perfect 4-0 record across eight appearances, including six starts. Hale allowed 11 earned runs on 33 hits, struck out 22 batters, and held opponents to a .244 batting average.

Both Hudik and Hale will advance to the All-American ballot, set to be released on June 19.

Link