This Texas Tech booster could soon reshape the entire college football world
We typically try to stay away from the world of politics on this site. However, when President Trump starts to dip his toes into the college sports landscape, it is worth taking notice. That’s especially true when he tabs Texas Tech’s top donor to help lead his inquiry into the NCAA’s NIL policies. On Wednesday, […]
We typically try to stay away from the world of politics on this site. However, when President Trump starts to dip his toes into the college sports landscape, it is worth taking notice. That’s especially true when he tabs Texas Tech’s top donor to help lead his inquiry into the NCAA’s NIL policies.
On Wednesday, Trump announced that he was creating a presidential commission on college athletics. The goal of that commission is to investigate and report on the out-of-control NIL practices that many feel are threatening the college sports landscape.
Two men have been named the co-chairs of Trump’s landmark commission. The first is legendary former college football head coach Nick Saban. The second is Texas Tech regent and alum Cody Campbell.
In other words, the chairman of Texas Tech’s board of regents is on the fast track toward becoming one of the most influential people in college sports.
Some believe that Trump may go so far as to issue an executive order on how college sports are to be run, but what exactly that would entail is anyone’s guess. While it is uncertain just what the commission will be officially tasked with doing and how much sway it will hold over the world of NIL payments in college athletics, the fact that Campbell will be working side-by-side with Saban and reporting to the President of the United States of America is amazing for Texas Tech.
What better way for the university to have a grasp on where the world of NIL payments is headed than to have its billionaire booster leading the presidential commission? Now, Campbell will have unique insight on how to guide Texas Tech through the rapidly evolving landscape of college athletic spending.
Texas Tech NIL collective founder Cody Campbell, who sold his oil and natural gas company, Double Eagle, for $4.1 billion, will be the co-commisioner with Nick Saban, sources tell @On3sports. https://t.co/ubS2KjjbXO
What’s more, Campbell is now not only associated with Saban, but he will also be considered a leader in the college sports world thanks to Trump’s appointment. That will open doors across the college sports landscape (not that a multi-billionaire needs much help working his way into prestigious rooms).
We already have an idea of how Campbell feels about the current state of NIL payments. This year, he has authored a number of articles on the subject for The Federalist. The titles of those articles are: Only Congress and the President Can Save College Sports D.C. Decision Makers Could Kill College Sports By Giving NCAA Big Dogs a Legal Monopoly The Saga of Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava Is The Latest Expression of the Brokenness of College Sports
In one of those articles, Campbell wrote, “The top 40 most-viewed college football programs already hog 89.3 percent of TV eyeballs and 95 percent of media cash. Give the Autonomy Four (especially the Big 10 and SEC) a free antitrust hall pass, and they’ll build a super conference, a gilded monopoly that starves everyone else of the revenue needed to provide opportunity to more than 500,000 student athletes per year.
“Of 134 FBS schools, 90 or more could lose funding for Olympic sports, women’s teams, and even football itself (not to mention the FCS and Division II). Local towns could crumble. Smaller colleges would fade. College sports would shrink from a national treasure to an elite clique, and countless dreams would be crushed.”
Some may find it ironic that the man who is spearheading Texas Tech’s historic spending spree in the football transfer portal this offseason is worried about the wild nature of the funding of college athletics. However, Campbell is uniquely positioned to see the big picture and understand where the NCAA might be headed if regulation does not come to the NIL and revenue-sharing spaces.
While many Texas Tech fans may not find the business side of college sports interesting, none can deny that it is where the future of the NCAA will be shaped. Fortunately, Texas Tech’s leading donor is at the forefront of the movement to bring reformation. Campbell has already reshaped the Texas Tech football program, and now, he might just have a hand in guiding the future of the entire college sports world.
Greg Sankey assesses future of non-revenue, Olympic sports after House settlement approval
In the week since the House v. NCAA settlement received final approval, the college sports world began making its preparations for a new era. Revenue-sharing is on the way, as are roster limits and the new NIL Go clearinghouse to vet NIL deals. Much of the conversation has been around revenue sports such as basketball […]
In the week since the House v. NCAA settlement received final approval, the college sports world began making its preparations for a new era. Revenue-sharing is on the way, as are roster limits and the new NIL Go clearinghouse to vet NIL deals.
Much of the conversation has been around revenue sports such as basketball and football. However, there are still concerns about non-revenue and Olympic sports, and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey made it clear the plan is to avoid cutting sports under the new model.
Sankey said while he, too, has heard about athletics departments changing structure and making staff moves, the sense from his conversations is that schools are not looking to eliminate sports programs. But he noted the need for a consistent model and oversight. Otherwise, he warned that things could change.
“The second is at least in the Southeastern Conference — and we have to be aware that, as you have a $20 million outflow from a revenue sharing standpoint, that creates pressures,” Sankey said Friday on FanDuel Sports Network’s Golic and Golic. “And you’ve seen stories about that pressure resulting in some changes to personnel, or maybe the way expenditures are overseen in athletic departments. What has been the topic of focus in our room is not reducing the sport opportunities. That’s speculated about.
“What I will say is there has to be a point where this revenue-sharing model and the third-party oversight sticks and is consistent. And we have that opportunity now. If it continues to grow, I think that’s an enormous threat to those Olympic sports, or the non-revenue sports.”
Per the terms of the House v. NCAA settlement, schools have the ability to share up to $20.5 million with athletes if they opt in to revenue-sharing. Football is expected to receive 75%, followed by men’s basketball (15%), women’s basketball (5%) and the remainder of sports (5%). The amount shared in revenue will increase 4% annually.
The growing sense is that schools will be able to decide how to divide up their revenue-sharing after House settlement approval. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said that’s the case in his conference, and some schools in others have confirmed which sports will participate in revenue-sharing.
At Oklahoma, six programs will be part of the rev-share plan: football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball and women’s gymnastics. Ohio State also said its football and basketball programs would all participate, in addition to women’s volleyball. The hope is to expand to more sports down the road, athletics director Ross Bjork said.
Angel Reese responds to ‘Mebounds’ term, hints at plan to trademark it
There’s no denying that Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has established herself as an elite rebounder early in her WNBA career. But some fans online have often trolled her, claiming that the numbers are inflated due to the number of second, or sometimes third, chances she gets off her own misses. It’s gotten to the […]
There’s no denying that Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has established herself as an elite rebounder early in her WNBA career. But some fans online have often trolled her, claiming that the numbers are inflated due to the number of second, or sometimes third, chances she gets off her own misses.
It’s gotten to the point where the term “mebounds” has been coined by some to describe it. Reese hasn’t been immune from seeing it when she logs online either, and responded to the criticism in a Tik Tok post.
“Whoever came up with the ‘mebounds’ thing, y’all ate that up,” she said. “Because rebounds, mebounds, keybounds, crebounds, tebounds — anything that comes off that board, it’s mine. And a brand? That’s six figures right there. The trolling, I love when y’all do it because the ideas be good.”
Angel said: “Whoever came up with the ‘mebounds’ thing… y’all ate that up cuz rebounds, mebounds, crebounds, keybounds, tebounds… anything that comes off that board… ITS MINE”pic.twitter.com/iqnZIoZYEz
Reese’s comments about a brand suggest that she may attempt to try to trademark the term and make some merchandise off of it. She even responded to a post on X that claimed that’s what she intended to do, tagging her agent Jeanine Ogbonnaya.
Reese is in her second season with the Sky after being drafted with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft out of LSU, where she won a national championship in 2023. She broke the league record for rebounds in a single season with 446 as a rookie while also setting another record for consecutive double-doubles with 15.
Reese’s rebounding average is double slightly so far this season from 13.1 to 11.8. Her points per game has also dropped from 13.6 to 10.3 through the first nine games, though there is plenty of season left to get both averages up.
Surprisingly, she is shooting just 36.3% from the floor and has more total rebounds (106) than points scored (93) this season. The shooting numbers are certainly a fair criticism, but Reese argued that her rebounding prowess goes far beyond her own missed shots.
“Because statistically, all the rebounds that I get aren’t always just mine,” she said. “They’re defensive too or somebody else’s on my team. But yeah, when ya’ll came up with ‘mebounds,’ y’all ate that.”
So far this season, Angel Reese and the Sky are out to a 2-7 record. They’ll be back on the court Sunday at 12 p.m. ET when they take on the Connecticut Sun on the road.
Former Tennessee softball player Taylor Pannell intends to transfer to Texas Tech for her redshirt sophomore season. The outfielder announced her plans to leave Knoxville earlier this offseason.
The Vols won 47 games last year while making a run to the Women’s College World Series. Despite the success, she’s opted for greener pastures.
Pannell played a huge role in Tennessee’s dream season. She hit a team-leading .399 with 16 home runs and 65 RBIs. She paced the lineup in runs scored, total bases, doubles, hits, and at-bats.
The Volunteers hoped the production would return in 2026. That won’t be the case. She’s headed to Lubbock.
Texas Tech backed the Brinks truck up to land Taylor Pannell’s commitment. It’s something the program’s quite familiar with doing.
Last year, they paid pitcher NiJaree Canady $1 million to join the roster after she left Stanford. It paid off with an appearance in the national championship series.
The Red Raiders finished one win shy of a national title. They’ll now continue to spend in hopes of bringing a trophy home next year.
While Pannell is eager to join her new team, her family is burning its bridge with her former school.
— National Champion Tony Vitellos Smile (@bigorangetony) June 15, 2025
Brandon Pannell posted a series of bizarre tweets aimed at Vol Nation. Most disrespected fans of the program, with some crossing the line of insensitivity.
In one particular response, he provided reasoning to his daughter’s move. NIL seems to have played a large role.
It’s been reported that the Red Raiders plan to spend $55 million on student-athletes between NIL and revenue sharing. Some of that small fortune is going into Taylor Pannell’s bank account.
Brandon Pannell flaunted that wealth this weekend. While Texas Tech will get a superstar on the diamond, they might also have a headache in Pannell’s dad.
NCAA explains multi-year player contracts with incentives and buyouts
Though overdue and underutilized, it appears athletic departments will finally include stability and consequences into name, image and likeness contracts with their players. A lengthy Q&A crafted and distributed by the NCAA covers several aspects of the post-House settlement world, and one section relevant to this conversation addresses multi-year contracts with players, buyouts and incentives. For starters, the […]
Though overdue and underutilized, it appears athletic departments will finally include stability and consequences into name, image and likeness contracts with their players.
A lengthy Q&A crafted and distributed by the NCAA covers several aspects of the post-House settlement world, and one section relevant to this conversation addresses multi-year contracts with players, buyouts and incentives.
For starters, the NCAA said that contracts covering “additional payments” do count against the “benefits cap,” which is the $20.5 million limit schools are now permitted to split up among those participating in NCAA sports on campus. If a school pays a player a share of revenue and/or NIL, which is also permissible now, the amount specified for a year in the contract is counted toward the cap that year. The amount specified for any subsequent year counts toward that year.
In short, the school has to report the benefit in the year the benefit is provided. That’s important to note if and when takes its NIL operation in-house. If NIL agreements are with WVU, the payments count toward the cap. If NIL agreements are made outside of WVU, those wouldn’t count toward WVU’s cap.
The example the NCAA provides details a two-year agreement and includes a “signing incentive.” A player is promised $50,000 “upon enrollment” as well as $100,000 on Jan. 1 of the first year and then $100,00 on Jan. 1 of the second year. The school would have to count $150,000 for the first year, because the player received the signing incentive and the annual payment. The school would count the second $100,000 annual payment for the second year.
However, the NCAA also acknowledges the obvious, which is that players will inevitably breach the contract and transfer to another school. The NCAA presented a scenario with a $100,000 payment split into $50,000 paid at the beginning of the academic year and the remaining $50,000 paid at the end of the academic year and, most importantly, a $100,000 buyout if the player transfers.
Supposing the player transfers before the end of the academic year, the school has made just one of the $50,000 payments and counts that toward the cap. The second payment never happened, so it doesn’t count. The new school that the player transfers to then pays the original school a $100,000 buyout, and that’s one benefit of bringing NIL in-house.
If a WVU player transfers to a new school and breaches the NIL contract with WVU’s in-house setup, the player’s new school would pay WVU the buyout. However, if that transferring player breaches an NIL contract with a third party NIL and not with WVU, the new school wouldn’t owe WVU anything and would only pay the third party the buyout if that was in the NIL contract.
In the NCAA’s scenario, the new school has to count the $100,000 buyout, as well as any other payment promised and made to the player that year, toward the cap. The new school “may not increase its benefits cap allowance by $100,000 as a result of this buyout payment.”
The NCAA is also allowing contract incentives and explained a scenario for a two-year contract with a payable bonus if a player has a 3.0 GPA after the fall semester. The player is to be paid $50,000 on Jan. 1 of the first year and Jan. 2 of the second year, and both payments would count toward the cap for the respective year. If the player earns the incentive, the $5,000 counts, and if the player falls short of the GPA “the payment will be removed from the benefits cap allowance for that year.”
Overview: Gaucho chief must wear many hats in recruiting and training next season’s group of Gauchos Joe Pasternack is amid Finals Week, although there’s no real finality to his work as the UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball coach. One season merely turns to the next in the blink of a shooting eye. “It’s constant,” he […]
He just held his final spring workouts, sent his Gauchos to their final exams for the spring quarter, and then headed to Oklahoma City for Monday’s Game Five of the NBA Finals.
Mitchell was his point guard at UCSB for three seasons. McConnell played the same position for Arizona a decade ago when Pasternack served on the Wildcats’ staff.
The ever-changing landscape of college basketball has made the Gaucho coach feel like he’s “now the owner of an NBA team.”
“You’re the general manager and you’re the fund raiser,” Pasternack said. “I have to raise every penny, recruit the kids, coach them, and manage the expectations of people.
“It’s a 180-degree change in the job title from when I came here eight years ago.”
But if it sounds like a complaint, be assured that it’s not.
Pasternack’s success in finding donors to remodel the Thunderdome proved that he was built for this kind of competition.
“I love the chase, so I love it,” he said. “These are the rules now, and in business you have to adjust and go after it.
“Some have had to change their personality to deal with it, but I feel like the luckiest man in the world.
“I get to live in Santa Barbara and do this.”
Springing Forward
Watching the NBA Finals gives him a brief respite after a busy spring of recruiting and training.
“The guys are going home after finals, and then we’ll have eight weeks of summer workouts starting July 7,” Pasternack said. “They’re going to be open to the public.”
He’s excited to showcase what’s new in this latest reboot.
“I think we have the most returners of anybody in our league,” Pasternack said. “Retaining players was first and foremost our No. 1 priority when the season ended.”
They all hit the court running during the postseason workouts.
“It was one of the best springs we’ve had,” Pasternack said. “Colin Smith played healthy in only 18 of last year’s 31 games, but he was awesome this spring.
“He’s really changed his body and was fully healthy the entire time.
“And KK (Koat Keat Tong) made a huge amount of progress this spring.
Colin Smith, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 8.7 points on 46% shooting — 43.5% from the three-point line — despite suffering through several injuries last season. Credit: Jeff Liang / UCSB Athletics photo
“It was the first spring he’s ever practiced basketball with us, when you really think about it, because he’s always had to deal with a knee injury.”
Pasternack took nothing for granted, however, in restocking his roster.
Injuries knocked his team down a few pegs after its NCAA tournament seasons of 2021 and 2023. The Gauchos finished seventh in the Big West Conference in 2024 and fifth last season.
“Ajay wasn’t able to practice one day during his last season here, and it had a domino effect on us,” he said.
“Injuries have derailed us the last two years and we just want to make sure that we have enough depth of experience.”
He’s taking full advantage of the NCAA’s new scholarship limit, which has been expanded to 15 from 13.
“I’m really excited about these guards, and the big kid worked out with our guys and looked unbelievable,” Pasternack gushed. “It’s exciting to think of these guys playing with our returning players, like Jason Fontenet.
“Our two returning freshmen, Zion and ZZ, are looking really good, too.”
Mahaney went for the gold ring after entering last year’s transfer portal by signing with UConn, the two-time defending NCAA champion.
The 6-foot-3 guard had averaged nearly 14 points per game as both a freshman and sophomore at Saint Mary’s to earn All-West Coast Conference first team honors both seasons.
Aidan Mahaney is embraced by UConn coach Dan Hurley after making a flurry of shots in a game last season. Credit: University of Connecticut Athletics photo
“He can really score the ball and he has an incredible amount of confidence,” Pasternack said. “We didn’t recruit him out of high school because he was set on Saint Mary’s for a long time, but we saw him a ton.
“He obviously had a great two years there and was then one of the hottest commodities in the portal.
“He visited Kentucky and UConn, which was coming off its two national titles, and he chose UConn.”
But Mahaney envisions the NBA as his final destination. He figured his playing time with the Huskies of 12.3 minutes per game last season wasn’t helping him get there.
And Cole Anderson, whose 47.4% shooting from the three-point line last season broke James Powell’s Gaucho record of 46.7% (2007-2008), was invited to work out with the Lakers last week.
Finnish Product
Little, a member of Finland’s senior national team since age 17, is making UCSB his third college after having played one season at Baylor and another at Utah.
He led the Utes last season with 96 assists but decided to transfer after they fired head coach Craig Smith.
“Miro is big, he’s strong and he’s versatile,” Pasternack said. “He also has a lot of international basketball experience, just like Ajay had with Belgium.
“I recruited (Utah Jazz star) Lauri Markkanen to Arizona, and he’s playing with Miro this summer on Finland’s national team.
“Miro talked to Lauri, and I think that really helped in our recruitment of him. He wanted to make sure this next stop was his last stop.”
Miro Little, a transfer from the University of Utah, has played for Finland’s senior national team since he was 17. Credit: University of Utah Athletics photo
“Miro comes from a real big basketball family,” Pasternack said. “Our goal in this recruiting class was to find high-character guys that No. 1, care about getting a degree from UCSB, and No. 2, care about team.
“We wanted to find two-way players who can play offense and defense and are driven to compete for a championship … Guys who are really hungry because of the situation they’ve come from.
“That’s how we’ve been successful in the past, and Miro fits that.”
McGhee showed his long-distance marksmanship against the Gauchos on Jan. 9, making 3-of-5 three-pointers while scoring 11 points in Bakersfield’s 78-66 defeat at the Thunderdome.
He shot 47.1% from three (40-for-85) for the season.
“We needed some outside shooting, and he gives us that,” Pasternack said. “But he’s also 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan and incredible upside.
“He’s a two-way player who can shoot, score, defend and rebound.
“We feel like he’s a versatile player who can play three different positions, and that gives us a lot of flexibility.”
He plans to play a three-guard, two-forward offense next year.
“All these guys can come off ball screens,” Pasternack said.
Center Attraction
Kitenge, a powerfully built, 6-foot-8 senior, figures to be an anchor to that offense.
He received All-Sun Belt Conference honors after averaging 13.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for Louisiana during the 2023-2024 season. He missed all of last year with a torn Achilles tendon.
“It was a similar injury to Colin Smith’s, except he did it in October — two months earlier in the year than Colin,” Pasternack said. “He had a physical and practiced with us this spring.
“He’s gone from 275 pounds to 242, which is pretty incredible, and his attention to detail has been excellent.”
Even before the injury, former Louisiana coach Bob Marlin said Kitenge “improved from start to finish as much as any player I’ve coached.”
His versatility fits the mold of the recruits that UCSB pursued this offseason.
Hosana Kitenge, a transfer from the University of Lousiana, sat out last season with a torn Achilles tendon after having earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors during the 2023-2024 season. Credit: University of Louisiana Athletics photo
“He’s got an incredible motor defensively, can shoot threes, score in the post, drive the ball and he can really pass it, too,” Pasternack said. “But what I like most about him is how hard he plays.
“On top of everything, he talks on the court. He’s such a great young man.”
Kitenge wasn’t the only newcomer who worked out with the Gauchos this spring. Shaw graduated early from Mojave High so he could enroll at UCSB for the spring quarter.
“He’s been here and able to practice with the team,” Pasternack said. “It’s been great having guys like Jason Fontenet and Colin Smith, the leaders of our team, teaching him the ropes and giving him such a huge head start.”
Developing talent, he noted, can be more important than having it transfer to you.
“Basketball is a game of habit,” Pasternack said. “Everyone plays a different offense and a different defense, and it’s not easy for a transfer to learn a new habit.
“We didn’t want to have to teach 14 whole new players.”
He plans to mix and match when it all starts again in three weeks.
Tottenham signs Mathys Tel on a permanent long-term deal until 2031
Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Tottenham has signed forward Mathys Tel to a permanent contract, the club confirmed on Sunday. The 20-year-old joined the London club on loan in February from Bayern Munich. Tottenham said Tel will sign a contract until 2031 when his current loan deal expires on June 30. He has played 20 […]
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Tyrese Haliburton & Pacers RALLY an ECF Game 1 comeback vs. Knicks | SC with SVP
