The Nick Saban-led college sports commission hatched by President Donald Trump now appears unlikely to come into being any time soon, according to a report Thursday by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.

Multiple reports in the last two weeks suggested that Saban would serve as co-chair of the proposed commission, which would be charged with tackling issues in college sports such as NIL. The idea spawned from a meeting between the President and the former Alabama football coach at or after Alabama’s commencement ceremony — at which both men spoke — on May 1.

According to Dellenger’s report, the commission idea is not completely dead, just “paused.” The pause would allow members of Congress — including Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Cory Booker — time to craft potential federal legislation that would supersede various state laws regarding college sports that often come into conflict with each other.

Since that first meeting with the president, Saban — who now works as a college football analyst for ESPN after retiring from Alabama in early 2024 — has sought to distance himself from the idea of such a commission. He has repeated told reporters he believed it to be unnecessary, and that those in charge of college sport could get together and solve problems without a formal government-backed body getting involved.

“First of all, I don’t know a lot about the commission,” Saban told the SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum on May 14. “Secondly, I’m not sure we really need a commission. A lot of people know exactly what the issues are in college football and exactly what we need to do to fix them. I think the key to the drill is getting people together so we can move it forward.”

Other college sports stakeholders have questioned the need for a commission. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas — a former player at Duke — said as much in an interview Wednesday with On3 Sports.

“We’ve had the Knight Commission, we had the Rice Commission,” Bilas said. “Anything with commission on it is probably not going to accomplish anything.”

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Suzanne Sanregret announced Thursday (May 22) that Bill Muckalt has been named the head hockey coach. Muckalt is the 23rd head coach in program history and returns to Tech after one season as head coach of Lindenwood University. 

Muckalt was an assistant coach for the Huskies from 2011-15. He has signed a five-year contract to lead the Black and Gold.

“I’m excited to welcome Bill Muckalt as the next leader of our historic program,” Sanregret said. “He brings an elite hockey resume and experience at every level of the game. Bill understands the high expectations of our university, alumni, and community, and he has a clear understanding of today’s college hockey landscape. I look forward to working with him to build a strong vision and plan that will bring more championships back to Houghton.”

 

“I want to thank President Koubek and Suzanne Sanregret for this exciting opportunity to come back to Houghton,” Muckalt said. “This is a great hockey community and world-class university. I’m looking forward to getting to know our student-athletes and building relationships with them to have a successful season in the CCHA. My ultimate goal is to bring home the MacNaughton Cup and compete in the NCAA Tournament.”

 

At Lindenwood in 2024-25, Muckalt led the Lions to their most wins in their three-year NCAA Division I history with key victories over Notre Dame, Omaha, and Wisconsin. Prior to getting hired at Lindenwood, Muckalt was the associate head coach at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, from 2017-23.

 

In his six seasons at Michigan, Muckalt helped 20 players get drafted into the NHL and was the Wolverines’ lead recruiter. The Wolverines won Big Ten Tournament Championships in 2022 and 2023 and went to four NCAA Tournaments, including the Frozen Four in 2018, 2022 and 2023.

Prior to his time at Michigan, Muckalt was the general manager and head coach of Tri-City Storm of the USHL from 2015-17. The Storm won the first Clark Cup in franchise history during the 2015-16 season, and Muckalt became just the fifth coach in Tier-1 history of the USHL to win a championship in his first season.

 

As an assistant coach at Michigan Tech, Muckalt helped lead the Huskies to a No. 1 ranking early in the 2014-15 season for the first time since 1976. In 2012, Tech won the Great Lakes Invitational for the first time since 1980 and earned an at-large bid to the 2015 NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1981. Eight Huskies who Muckalt coached during his first stint in Houghton signed NHL contracts.

 

As a player at Michigan, Muckalt won a pair of NCAA National Championships with the Wolverines in 1996 and 1998. In 1998, he was named an NCAA West First Team All-American, All-CCHA First Team, and team assistant captain. He received his bachelor’s degree in sports management and communications. Muckalt spent five years in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild, registering 97 career points on 40 goals and 57 assists. He retired as a player in 2004 after 256 career NHL games.

 

Muckalt replaces Joe Shawhan, who has led the Huskies since May 2017. In eight seasons, Shawhan went 154-120-29.

“Joe Shawhan was deeply committed to the success of our hockey program, fostering both athletic and academic excellence, and I thank him for working tirelessly to fulfill the mission of our athletic department and university,” Sanregret said. 

 

Michigan Tech will hold a press conference to welcome Coach Muckalt on Tuesday, May 27.

 

Lake Linden-Hubbell senior Nathan St. Onge poses after being named the 2025 Outstanding Male Athlete. (Photo submitted)

LAKE LINDEN — Over the course of his high school career, Nathan St. Onge earned an impressive 12 varsity letters, competing in football, track, baseball, basketball, and golf.

In addition to his school sports, he also played hockey in community leagues, a sport that has been a constant in his life since childhood.

From his earliest days on the ice, hockey instilled in him a deep love for competition, teamwork, and perseverance–qualities that shaped his approach to every sport he played. His versatility, competitive spirit, and willingness to contribute wherever needed made him a true asset to every team he was part of.

While he excelled in many sports, his strongest season came in football, where he earned All-Conference and All-U.P. honors as a senior. He will play in the annual U.P. All Star football game this summer.

St. Onge is a member of the National Honor Society and maintains a 3.46 GPA. He plans on getting his associates degree from Gogebic Community College with the ultimate goal of earning an undergraduate degree in exercise science and a master’s in physical therapy. Nathan is the son of Amanda Zerbst and Andy St. Onge.

WILKES-BARRE — Students from 17 area high schools graduated from the Junior Leadership Northeast (JLNE) program on Wednesday night at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts.

In total, 67 graduates made up the Class of 2025.

Throughout the school year, the students attended hands-on seminars and were tasked with applying the skills they gained during those seminars to execute Community Impact Projects. In addition to benefiting a number of local organizations through their projects, the students also served their community.

JLNE Executive Director Jessica Cronauer welcomed the audience, but made sure to pay tribute to the late Bill Wagner, who was a longtime teacher and contributor to JLNE’s advisory council. Wagner passed away in January, and Cronauer dedicated the graduation ceremony to him.

Wagner’s son, Jason, a graduate of the Leadership Northeast program, was invited to the stage to offer remarks regarding his father’s legacy. Jason also announced the establishment of the Bill Wagner Scholarship, which will be given to one of the 2025 JLNE graduates next year.

“He just enjoyed to have conversation with anyone he came across and to brighten anyone’s day,” Jason said of his father. “So as much as his humility will hate it, we look forward to sharing more details about the scholarship named after him. He would hate it that we named something after him, but we’re going to do it. And we look forward to interviewing potential candidates for this scholarship next year.”

With the focus back on the graduates, Joey Allegrucci of the Wyoming Area took the microphone over to serve as the graduation’s master of ceremonies. Allegrucci, in turn, introduced three of his fellow 2025 graduates — Emily Bolan of Wyoming Valley West, Abigail Francis of Wyoming Area, and Kevin Vincent of Holy Cross — to offer a glimpse into the JLNE experience.

Bolan, Francis, and Vincent went month-by-month through the JLNE program, during which they encountered a number of community leaders and developed their Community Impact Projects. Upon returning to podium, Allegrucci clearly summarized the projects’ goals.

“These [Community Impact Projects] represent months of teamwork, creativity and commitment,” said Allegrucci. “Keep in mind that each of these projects are student-led from start to finish, that they are solving real issues in the community.”

Each student had the opportunity to speak about the contributions they brought to their team’s project, making up the core and longest portion of the graduation ceremony. Following the project presentations, the students were called on stage to receive their certificates.

A release from JLNE describes the selection process for participating in the program:

“In the spring of each year, Leadership Northeast accepts applications from high school sophomores interested in participating in the JLNE program the following fall. Applications are available at all participating public and private schools and must be submitted through the participating high school guidance office. The JLNE Class of 2026 has been finalized and will begin their program in the fall of 2025.”