Syracuse Orange head coach Fran Brown seems like a great fit for the current era of college football.

While his style and philosophy is rooted in some old-school principles, Brown’s prepared for the modern landscape of NIL and the transfer portal. He’s so ready that he’s got his own NIL agency deal now.

We know that Brown has released a line of D.A.R.T. merchandise and then followed up the momentum of a viral quote to give us “Winners Get Washed” merch. Now he’s taking advantage of some professional help to grow his, and the Syracuse brand.

According to the Front Office Sports story, Brown is trying to use his position to initiate change in the NCAA.

He says he has several ideas for reforming college football rules, including offering just one transfer portal in December and mandating that players put between 40% and 60% of their NIL earnings in savings.

He also suggested the idea of completing school in three years. “I think that you should do three years at a school,” Brown says. “In three years you should be able to get your degree or be very close to that being done. In three years you have an opportunity of going to the National Football League.”

Dennis Nett- Syracuse.com

Keep an eye out for more merch and let’s hope that John Wildhack has a hefty buyout in Brown’s contract because it’s not going to take long for programs with deeper pockets to come calling.

Maybe if all Orange fans agree to buy some D.A.R.T merch, we can do our part to keep Fran in the 315.

STORRS, Conn. – The UConn softball team begins its run at the 2025 BIG EAST Tournament on Thursday, May 8. The two-seeded Huskies will take on either the third-seed Villanova Wildcats or six-seed Providence Friars at the Villanova Softball Complex. The game is scheduled to begin at 3:00pm and will be streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

UConn enters the postseason as a top two seed for the fourth straight year. They are coming off their first conference series loss this season against the No. 1 seeded St. John’s Red Storm. Until that point, UConn had an outstanding month in April, posting a 13-3 record, outscoring their opponents 150-67. The Huskies have advanced to at least the semifinals in each of the last four seasons but have yet to get over the hump and win the program’s first BIG EAST Tournament championship since 2001. UConn has won the tournament a total of seven times, the most in league history.   

Seven Huskies were recently feted by the BIG EAST coaches in the league’s year-end awards, a conference best. Grace Jenkins became the second-straight Husky to be named BIG EAST Player of the Year, while picking up All-BIG EAST First Team honors for the first time in her career. Cat Petteys was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, the third Husky to receive the award under head coach Laura Valentino. Petteys picked up All-BIG EAST First Team honors along with teammates Kaitlyn Breslin, Rosie Garcia, and Payton Kinney, giving UConn five first teamers. Lexi Hastings and Hope Jenkins were selected to the All-BIG EAST Second Team, for the second time in each of their careers.  

UConn’s trio of power hitters in Jenkins (19), Breslin (16), and Petteys (12) have powered the Huskies to one of the nation’s best offenses, accounting for 47 of UConn’s 70 home runs this season. The Huskies rank 17^th nationally in scoring, averaging 7.14 runs per game. Jenkins (1.20) and Hastings (1.29) both rank in the top ten nationally in runs scored per game. 

The Huskies offense has been an imposing force this season, consistently delivering in high-pressure situations, and scoring runs in bunches. UConn has scored five or more runs in an inning 14 different times this season and are hitting .325 with runners on base. The Huskies have sustained a .313 batting average with two-outs this season.  

Kinney and Hope Jenkins have led the Huskies pitching staff this season, accounting for 23 of the staff’s 32 wins. Kinney has served as the Huskies ace this season in the circle, leading the staff in appearances (31), wins (12), era (2.39), inning pitched (117.0) and strikeouts (84). Jenkins has an 11-3 record across her 30 appearances this season, recording 74 strikeouts in 100.1 innings pitched. 

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VILLANOVA, Pa. – The 2025 BIG EAST Championship kicks off on home turf for third seeded Villanova softball, who will take on the Providence Friars in the tournament’s opening round at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

BIG EAST BATTLERS    

For the ninth straight season, Villanova (27-24-1, 15-9 BIG EAST) is heading to the BIG EAST Championship and for the first time since the renovations, the ‘Cats will be hosting it at the VU Softball Complex. The reigning champions, who stormed their way through the 2024 field with wins on all three days they played, will be the third seed at this year’s conference tournament. St. John’s and Connecticut secured the league’s two byes with the Johnnies clinching the regular season title with a win over UConn on the final day of the regular season. Last year’s runner-up Creighton will square off against five seed Butler in the week’s opening game on Wednesday while Providence snuck into the last spot after a tie with Seton Hall, and the two Wednesday afternoon losers face elimination in the 6:00 p.m. nightcap.

RESULTS AGAINST THE FIELD    

It was hard to follow up a 2024 season where the ‘Cats were world beaters, falling in just five conference matchups total after winning the first nine games in BIG EAST play. It was a bit of a rockier path this season with Villanova needing wins in the final weekend to keep the season going, but the Wildcats are back in the tournament as a three seed after a 15-9 campaign. Villanova got swept at the BIG EAST-leading St. John’s Red Storm in late April and dropped two of three vs. Connecticut to lead off the year. Butler also took a pair of contests from the ‘Cats, but Creighton and Providence were both victims of Wildcat sweeps in the regular season. Despite some of those results, Villanova is 20-4 in home conference games (an .833 winning percentage) over the last two years, going 10-2 against BIG EAST opponents at the VU Softball Complex in each of the last two campaigns.

THREE WILDCATS NAMED TO ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM    

Villanova placed multiple players on the all-conference team for the ninth straight year as Kat Gallant, Maranda Runco and Kelsey White were all named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. It’s the first time since 2016 and just the third time in program history that the ‘Cats have seen three or more players named to the league’s top team, and VU was one of just two BIG EAST teams to have at least a trio of players selected to the First Team. White and Runco were selected for their first career postseason honors while Gallant followed up a second team nod from her freshman year for her second all-league laurel. White was a unanimous selection as the league’s top utility/pitcher with Gallant earning one of four first team pitcher slots and Runco slotting in as the conference’s top designated player in her first season as a starter.

A PEEK AT PROVIDENCE

• The Friars (22-29, 11-13 BIG EAST) earned their way into the tournament field as the sixth seed, edging out Seton Hall for the final spot thanks to a series victory over the Pirates in the first weekend of April.
• Elisa Smith is Providence’s top hitter and only field player on the All-BIG EAST team with 36 runs and a .383 batting average. Cameron Dunn contributes an OPS over 1.000 with a team-best eight homers plus 84 total bases and Gabriella Lee adds 44 hits and 16 stolen bases.
• The PC pitching staff features a number of talented arms, led by All-BIG EAST Second Team selection Tori Grifone’s 20 starts and 110 innings with a .249 average against her. Jessica Walter contributes a 3.58 ERA, Alyssa Twomey has 61 strikeouts in 24 appearances and Alannah Hopkins has pitched 18 times for the Friars.

The matchup, along with seven other BIG EAST Tournament contests to start the week, will stream courtesy of the BEDN on FloCollege with statistics on StatBroadcast.

Keep up with the Villanova University softball program through social media by following on X formerly known as Twitter (@VUSoftball) and Instagram (@novasoftball) and ‘liking’ on Facebook (/VUSoftball).
 

Former college football coach Nick Saban’s reported attempt to urge President Donald Trump to wield his influence over the payment of college athletes, which was first detailed by The Wall Street Journal, is rubbing some people the wrong way.

It’s hard to fault them.

Saban, who has denied that name, image and likeness rules allowing student-athletes to get paid, or NIL, led him to retire from coaching last year, has been working with Republicans in Congress to clamp down on those rules ever since he left his post at the University of Alabama.

Last year, I wrote about Saban testifying at a Senate hearing on NIL rules as a guest of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and arguing that players show “less resiliency to overcome adversity” due to the current setup. He said two NFL coaches had told him that players have become too entitled and that his wife had said the only thing players care about these days is how much they’re getting paid. These were rich comments coming from Saban, who retired as the highest-paid coach in college football.

College football analyst Spencer Hall basically summarized my concerns in a recent sit-down with sports commentator Bomani Jones, in which Hall questioned Trump’s capability to navigate this complex issue — despite the two of them acknowledging that the current NIL setup probably is in need of some alterations.

The marathon legal battle regarding player compensation and the makeup of college athletics in a landmark, multibillion-dollar antitrust case may have finally hit the homestretch Wednesday night.

Attorneys involved in a $2.8 billion settlement filed a brief tweaking the aspect of roster limits in the House v. NCAA settlement, which they hope will convince a federal judge to grant final approval. The judge twice voiced concerns over proposed roster limits, a small but significant aspect of the deal that will enable schools to pay athletes a portion of their media revenues, capped at $20.5 million, starting July 1.

Schools will be allowed — but not required — to reinstate players who were cut from rosters during the 2024-25 academic year without those players counting against new roster limits set to be implemented July 1. Purged players exempt from roster limits can also transfer to new schools.

The key language in the brief, however, is that roster-limit exceptions are to be made at a school’s discretion. It remains to be seen if the brief will satisfy Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California, who specifically asked attorneys to “grandfather” all players into the deal, after twice delaying a decision on whether to approve the settlement in April.

“In other words, there are no guarantees that designated student-athletes will get or maintain roster spots,” the NCAA and power conference’s counsel wrote in a supplemental brief Wednesday. “But that does not adversely affect any injunctive relief class member.”

High school seniors who were promised scholarships that were later rescinded because of the proposed roster limits will also be exempt.

Now, college athletics waits – again – for a decision from federal court. Wilken gave preliminary approval in October, speaking in favor of most aspects of the deal. However, she has twice delayed final approval because of language tied to roster limits, which could lead to an estimated 5,000 players being cut from sports across the NCAA. 

Several objectors testified April 7 against replacing scholarship limits with roster limits at a settlement hearing in the District Court of Northern California. In a brief filed April 23, Wilken ordered attorneys to develop a plan to “grandfather” current players into the agreement, allowing schools to temporarily exceed new limits as part of a phase-in solution for rosters. A two-week negotiation ensued.

If Wilken is not satisfied with the parties’ resolution and declines final approval, the case may advance to trial, a daunting prospect for the NCAA, which has been bludgeoned legally over student-athlete compensation and lambasted by the Supreme Court over the last five years. If the NCAA and power conferences lose in trial, the parties could be liable for $20 billion in damages.

If the settlement is not approved, schools may soon turn to their state governments to help legalize direct pay to players, who have planned to be paid a share of the $20.5 million pool next fall.

Wilken’s request on April 23 to renegotiate aspects of roster limits sent shockwaves across the country, complicating matters for many schools that had already begun cutting players from rosters. Under the preliminary settlement released in October, football rosters were set to shrink to 105 players, meaning as many as 30-plus players would be cut at each school. Even before the judge’s final approval, schools began to cut players in the spring in preparation for the settlement’s implementation on July 1.

Putting the toothpaste back in the tube could prove difficult for athletic departments. Some purged players landed at new schools, but many remain without a home, hoping to land again at their former schools. Most schools might be unwilling to re-sign players and spend extra scholarship money – as well as room and board, meals and health care – that balloon already-tight budgets.

In a brief filed April 23, Wilken was unmoved by the schools’ plight, writing that “any disruption that may occur is a problem of Defendants’ and NCAA members schools’ own making.”

The settlement’s touchstones remain uncchanged. Starting July 1, NCAA schools can share as much as $20.5 million in revenue with their athletes, and former athletes who played between 2016 and 2024 will be paid $2.8 billion in back payments if the settlement is approved.

Each school’s revenue-sharing cap will increase 4% each year during the 10-year agreement. 

What is House v. NCAA?

The class-action antitrust lawsuit was filed in 2020 by Arizona State swimmer Grant House and women’s college basketball player Sedona Prince seeking an injunction against the NCAA and the Power Five conferences. It sought to lift restrictions on revenue sharing of media rights revenues. 

Powerful antitrust attorneys Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler represented the plaintiffs.

If approved by the judge, the settlement would resolve three antitrust lawsuits: Carter v. NCAA, House v. NCAA and Hubbard v. NCAA.

What’s next?

A decision: Judge Claudia WIlken will study the brief and decide whether to grant final approval to the House v. NCAA settlement, which was first introduced in October and has included months of negotiations.

Revenue-sharing formula: Many schools are preparing to mirror the back-payment formula in their revenue-sharing model for the future. That means roughly 75% of future revenue will be shared with football players, 15% to men’s basketball, 5% to women’s basketball and 5% to all remaining sports. Those numbers will differ from school to school, but most power programs have shared similar models with administrators.

CBS Sports has learned one school is preparing to share more than 85% of the $20.5 million pool with football players – a reflection of the percentage of annual revenue the sport generates for its athletics department. 

More lawsuits: Concerns over Title IX and antitrust issues will continue after the settlement is approved. However, instead of the NCAA being the target, individual schools may soon become the focus of litigation. Each school will split the revenue pie based on its own formulas, meaning a women’s basketball player may sue a school if they believe they are not receiving their fair share of cash. The same can be said for a football player if their revenue share is lower than that of a rival player at another school. 

The White House is set to weigh in: The NCAA has long lobbied Congress to pass legislation protecting the organization and its members from antitrust litigation. Now the White House has zeroed in on college athletics.

President Donald Trump is creating a presidential commission on college athletics to find solutions for “issues ailing the ecosystem,” according to Yahoo! Sports. Trump was considering an executive order to regulate NIL after meeting with former Alabama coach Nick Saban, according to the Wall Street Journal. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn coach, also met with Trump last week to discuss college athletics. Steve Berman, a lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the House case, criticized the president’s potential actions, saying that an executive order would lead to more lawsuits.

Sen. Ted Cruz is reportedly drafting a bill that could offer the NCAA limited antitrust protection. It’s not clear how Trump’s plans may affect Cruz’s draft.

New enforcement model: The power conferences are expected to launch soon the College Sports Commission, an enforcement arm to police the settlement among its schools. The new organization effectively replaces the NCAA regarding NIL enforcement, and will monitor NIL deals between players and third parties, and oversee revenue-sharing practices at schools. This new organization will also penalize schools and individuals who break rules. 

Who is footing the bill? The NCAA is responsible for 40% of the $2.8 billion settlement, and the remaining 60% will come from reducing its revenue distributions to the 32 Division I conferences over the next 10 years ($1.6 billion). The NCAA is utilizing a formula based on revenue distribution presented to each league over a nine-year period starting in 2016, which leans heavily on basketball units tied to NCAA Tournament participation, according to Yahoo Sports. The Power Five conferences – ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC – will pay 24% of the overall damages, followed by the Group of Five at 10%.The FCS is on the hook for 14% and non-football conferences in Division I will pay 12% of the overall agreement, according to documents reviewed by CBS Sports.

House v. NCAA settlement terms

• $20.5 million salary cap for revenue-sharing at each Division I school (starting July 1)
• $2.77 billion in back payments to as many as 390,000 athletes who played an NCAA sport between 2016 and 2024.
• Outside NIL deals of more than $600 must be vetted by a third-party clearinghouse
• NIL deals must meet “fair market value.” How that fair-market value is determined is the subject of intense debate.
• Unlimited scholarships with new roster size limits
• At least 88,104 of approximately 390,000 athletes have filed back-pay claims, plaintiff attorney Steve Berman said in April. That number was expected to reach 118,879 at the end of April.
• 343 athletes opted out of the settlement