NIL

Tuberville calls out Texas Longhorns while speaking about issues with NIL

Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules in college football have taken center stage over the last couple of years, but the last month or so in particular it seems things have been scaled up a notch. The presence of President Donald Trump in potential action being taken by lawmakers to bring order to a chaotic […]

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Tuberville calls out Texas Longhorns while speaking about issues with NIL

Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules in college football have taken center stage over the last couple of years, but the last month or so in particular it seems things have been scaled up a notch.

The presence of President Donald Trump in potential action being taken by lawmakers to bring order to a chaotic system has ramped up the rhetoric and kept NIL in the news cycle.

With potential involvement in said action by former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, it’s become a complete firestorm.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) has long been at the forefront of the fight to fix a system that is clearly broken, or at the very least in need of some tuning up.

From the potential elimination of non-revenue sports to other schools gaining a competitive advantage solely based off the size of their wallet, Tuberville has been one of the most powerful voices in politics on the topic.

Over the weekend, he put things in terms that residents in the Yellowhammer State understand better than anything else: by name dropping a hated rival and warning their seemingly endless supply of money tips the scales too much.

Referencing the Texas Longhorns, Tuberville issued a stern warning that if the system keeps progressing — or rather devolving — in the way it has, they will become unbeatable.

“You’re going to eliminate 90 percent of schools because they don’t have the money,” Tuberville stated via CBS Sports. “Look at Texas. Nobody’s ever going to beat them again if we allow them to keep going the way they’re going. Again, I’ve got nothing against Texas; they’re going by the rules, but we’ve got to hopefully make it work out.”

The Longhorns becoming a superteam who no other program can beat is probably unlikely, but the point remains.

NIL was pitched — obviously in addition to players profiting — as a way to balance the scales and bring to an end to power disparity in college football.

In reality it’s done the opposite and the rich have only gotten richer.

If something does not change, it will only get worse from here.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.

NIL

College basketball expert high on underrated Virginia Tech transfer addition

On paper, things are looking better for the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team following this portal cycle. Last season, after a stunning portal mass exodus, the Hokies tried filling holes through the portal, but when the dust settled, Mike Young didn’t have as big of an NIL package as other schools, and it led to […]

Published

2 minutes ago

June 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Back in March, it was reported that Young had a bigger NIL package to work with this offseason, and while you can’t say that it has played a big role in this portal cycle, Young has landed some promising talent. One college basketball writer thinks one addition is going to make a quick impact in Blacksburg.

Jeff Borzello of ESPN ranks Virginia Tech’s incoming transfer inside the Top 100

Back in March, Izaiah Pasha opened some eyes for Delaware in the CAA Tournament as he helped the Blue Hens almost pull off a miracle conference tournament run to the NCAA Tournament. He has 21 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in a Championship Game loss to UNC Wilmington.

He committed to Virginia Tech in the portal, and Borzello ranked him in the Top 100 transfer rankings. Here is what he wrote,

“Mike Young has put a premium on outside shooting during his time as a head coach, so Pasha’s development in that area will be key to his success in Blacksburg. He’ll be given the keys to this offense immediately upon arrival; it’s easy to see him forming an effective ball-screen duo with Amani Hansberry or Tobi Lawal.”

Maybe the biggest news to come out of this offseason for Young and the Hokies was Tobi Lawal officially returning to Blacksburg after withdrawing from the NBA Draft. Along with West Virginia transfer Amani Hansberry, it gives Virginia Tech two players who can execute a pick and roll with the ability to finish big time at the basket.

Rising sophomore Ben Hammond returns and he’ll have a say when all is said and done when it comes to getting the keys to running things, but Pasha can fill a number of needed roles and if he can shoot the ball better, then the Hokies all of sudden have a better backcourt than they had last season.

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Super Regional Priority Ticket Information

Story Links MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Fresh off its second consecutive NCAA Regional title, the West Virginia University baseball team will head to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the NCAA Super Regionals. The Super Regional round will begin on Saturday, June 7 at 2 p.m. Sunday’s game two will be at 6 p.m. with game […]

Published

3 minutes ago

June 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Fresh off its second consecutive NCAA Regional title, the West Virginia University baseball team will head to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the NCAA Super Regionals. The Super Regional round will begin on Saturday, June 7 at 2 p.m. Sunday’s game two will be at 6 p.m. with game three’s if necessary game time on Monday still to be determined.

All 2025 WVU Baseball season ticket holders and current MAC members at the $10,000 membership level and above who are not season ticket holders can now log in to their account at WVUGAME.com to purchase priority postseason tickets. Fans may purchase up to four (4) Super Regional all-session tickets from June 3 through June 4 at 12 pm, with seat locations subject to availability. These purchases can be made by logging into their account at WVUGAME.com, navigating to “Event List” under the “Buy Tickets” tab, then selecting “Baseball” and “Baseball Post-Season Tickets.” Additional non-season ticket purchases are subject to availability and will be evaluated based on MAC annual membership levels and the priority points ranking within each level.

These limited tickets will be in reserved seating and will be priced at $45. Exact seat locations will be confirmed when allocated by the Mountaineer Ticket Office.

Fans will be notified by end of day on Wednesday, June 4 if their ticket request has been processed. All tickets will be e-mailed to the customer e-mail address provided during the request.

Free parking for fans is available in the Hayfield Lot, Levee Lot, and Old Front Nine Lot. A shuttle runs to and from the Hayfield Lot and drops off in front of the stadium in front of the ticket office.

A limited number of parking permits will go on sale to the public date and time to be announced. Permits will be available for purchase online at www.LSUTIX.net

A limited number of free ADA parking is available to fans. Fans can access the Hall of Fame Lot and Bullpen Lot by showing their state issued handicap driver’s license or handicap hangtag. These spots are first-come, first-serve and limited.

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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College basketball insiders name Alabama, Kentucky offseason winners

With the draft deadline having passed and many portal decisions also having been made, offseason assessments are starting to come out around college basketball. That includes the latest from ‘The Field of 68’ today in naming two winners out of the Southeastern Conference. Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster named several winners and losers during their […]

Published

26 minutes ago

June 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster named several winners and losers during their latest episode this morning. Among two early winners, at least based on the news regarding draft withdrawals last week, were Alabama and Kentucky following the respective returns of Labaron Philon and Otega Oweh.

For Philon (10.6 points (45.2% FG, 31.5% 3PT), 3.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals), Goodman broke down the draft positioning for him had he remained in as originally planned. He, in returning to Tuscaloosa, could now improve his stock into being a lottery selection rather than just a borderline first-round pick, making all the money that comes with that rise, after another season playing for and earning from the Crimson Tide.

“I mean, huge…Obviously, these guys are realizing, hey, if we’re not lock first-rounders, which Yaxel (Lendeborg at Michigan) wasn’t and Labaron certainly wasn’t, there’s more money on the table to go back. And, for Labaron, I think a big part of it too was not only go back for the money now. Go back for the opportunity to put yourself where you are potentially a lottery pick next year,” said Goodman. “Right now, I think he was outside the first round. I think he was somewhere in that 25 to 45 range from what NBA execs had told me. And, I think he’s the type of guy that could really improve his draft stock enough to be a lock first-rounder, maybe even a late lottery pick.”

As for Dauster, Philon coming back was the biggest outcome of the draft deadline, if for no other than reason than the shock of it. That then leads to the effect it’ll have on Alabama with his return taking the Tide from just a team in the Top-25 or so to one in the Top-10 to Top-15.

“To me, the single biggest piece of news, and probably the biggest surprise of the entire draft cycle to me, was Labaron Philon – out of nowhere, 30 minutes before the deadline passed – having an announcement,” said Dauster. “It’s not just the money situation, right…Labaron Philon is one of these guys where, if it clicks for him, he’s got, like, lottery potential next season if it all goes well, and I do believe it’ll go well for him at Alabama.”

“I think it was a good move for Labaron to come back to school and I think it’s massive for Alabama. Huge. One of the, kind of, underrated storylines was I thought that Alabama had, like, a quietly disappointing offseason, right. You’re losing Mark Sears, you’re losing a couple of veteran pieces and they didn’t exactly kill it in the portal…There wasn’t a lot on this roster that really kind of made you say oh, wow, like, you’ve got to look out for this team. And, that wouldn’t have been a problem but Alabama and Nate Oats have set the expectation that, like, competing for national championships in ‘hoops is what they do now, right. If you’re kind of like a Top-20ish, Top-25ish kind of a team in Alabama? That’s one where it’s like, eh, what’s happening here? Getting Philon back changes some things because I think he is a guy that has, like, legitimate All-SEC potential,” Dauster said. “To me, he really changes things for Alabama in terms of what their ceiling can be if this all clicks and if this all hits.”

A few minutes later, Dauster and Goodman also got to Oweh (16.2 points (49.2% FG, 35.5% 3PT), 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.6 steals), who also pulled his name out of the draft to come back to Lexington. Neither of them thought his return was necessarily as impactful of that for Philon. That said, with him coming back as a candidate for SEC Player of the Year or as an All-American, it’s one that they thought does take the Wildcats into the debate of if they could be Preseason No. 1 for ’24-’25.

“I will say this about Kentucky, right. Like, I don’t think Oweh coming back has anywhere near the impact on what Kentucky’s season could be as Philon coming back does for Alabama or (Tahaad) Pettiford coming back does for Auburn. I think it takes both of those teams from borderline, Top-25ish, if that, to Top-10 to 15 in the country, right. Whereas, with Kentucky, I think that getting Oweh takes them from being, like, a Top-8 to 10 team in America to, like, we’ve really got to have a conversation about whether or not this team could be the No. 1 team, could be the best team in college basketball,” said Dauster. “I think it’s still probably Purdue, Houston, Florida to me in that order but I don’t think you can have the conversation of who is the best team in college basketball without having Kentucky in that conversation.”

“I’m not ready to say that yet but, maybe. I mean, again, I think they’ve got the depth that those other teams don’t have. But, when you’re talking about the Top-7, I’m not sure,” said Goodman. Like, they’re in the mix, I guess. I don’t think they’re in the mix for the preseason number one, for me, but they’re somewhere from four to eight. And, again, it’s going to be figuring out role allocation for them and, you know, to me, up front, I think it’s going to be huge for them, is how they figure that part out.”

Philon and Oweh give Alabama and Kentucky, two of the best teams in the league and nation last season, a pair of guards who could be all-conference players and among the better ones in the entire sport. That’s more than enough for ‘The Field of 68’ to include both the Crimson Tide and Wildcats as offseason winners going into the summer and ahead of next season.

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2025 NCAA Tournament: College Baseball Super Regional matchups, schedule, TV officially set

After an exciting start to the 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament, the Super Regional round has been set. In turn, this weekend’s schedule and television designation have been revealed. Both No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt and No. 2 Texas were both eliminated from the tournament during their regional round. No. 7 Georgia, No. 10 Ole Miss, […]

Published

27 minutes ago

June 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

After an exciting start to the 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament, the Super Regional round has been set. In turn, this weekend’s schedule and television designation have been revealed.

Both No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt and No. 2 Texas were both eliminated from the tournament during their regional round. No. 7 Georgia, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 11 Clemson, No. 12 Oregon and No. 16 Southern Miss joined them as top 16 national seeds to be shown the door early.

The Super Regional portion of the NCAA Tournament will be contested in a best of three series. That means the first team to beat the other twice will advance through to Omaha and compete in the 2025 College World Series.

Super Regional action is set to kick off on Friday, June 6, and will run through Monday, June 9 (if necessary). Below is the complete schedule.

2025 NCAA Baseball Super Regional matchups

Louisville Super Regional: Louisville vs. Miami

Corvallis Super Regional: No. 8 Oregon State vs. No. 9 Florida State

Chapel Hill Super Regional: No. 5 North Carolina vs. Arizona

Auburn Super Regional: No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 13 Coastal Carolina

Fayetteville Super Regional: No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 14 Tennessee

Baton Rouge Super Regional: No. 6 LSU vs. West Virginia

Durham Super Regional: Murray State vs. Duke

Los Angeles Super Regional: No. 15 UCLA vs. UTSA

All times ET.

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NiJaree Canady Is Worth Every Penny Of Her Million-Dollar Contract | News

NiJaree Canady is not only the best pitcher in softball, but she has also made history as the first athlete in the sport’s history to sign a million-dollar deal. The reigning USA Softball National Player of the Year, who transferred from Stanford to Texas Tech, inked a landmark contract. The Matador Club, Texas Tech’s NIL […]

Published

28 minutes ago

June 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NiJaree Canady is not only the best pitcher in softball, but she has also made history as the first athlete in the sport’s history to sign a million-dollar deal.

The reigning USA Softball National Player of the Year, who transferred from Stanford to Texas Tech, inked a landmark contract. The Matador Club, Texas Tech’s NIL collective, offered Canady a one-year, $1,050,024 contract, which includes a million for Canady, $50k for living expenses, and $ 24k for her jersey number.

Last July, Canady entered the transfer portal, and her decision reverberated throughout college softball. In her previous two seasons, she led Stanford to the Women’s College World Series, and it seemed like a perfect fit.

According to The Athletic, Canady’s family requested that Lifetime Cardinal, Stanford’s NIL collective, sign the star pitcher to a new NIL deal.

Stanford and Lifetime Cardinal did not give a new deal to Canady that season. Although she was the best player in college softball, Candy couldn’t read an agreement with the NIL collective until the last day the NCAA portal was open.

Per the report, Stanford was prepared to up its initial offer of “100,000-$150,00” to Canady with a “much larger offer” that would have been “within shouting distance” of what Texas Tech had on the table.

After visiting the Texas Tech campus, Canady decided to move to the “Lone Star” state.

Despite the lucrative deal, the money was not Canady’s sole motivation for making the transfer.

“I feel like people thought I heard the number and just came to Texas Tech, which wasn’t the case at all,” Canady said. “If I didn’t feel like Coach Glasco was an amazing coach and could lead this program to be where we thought it could be, I wouldn’t have come.”

Gerry Glasco, the head coach of the Red Raiders, said that it was a no-brainer to sign Canady.

“My message was: We’re talking about Bo Jackson. We’re talking about Herschel Walker,” Glasco told ESPN on what he said to the Sellers. “We’re talking about a once-in-a-generation player that’s already made a name all over America. She’s a folk hero in our sport, and she’s a sophomore.”

“We look at it as they deserve it just as much (as male athletes). She worked so hard to be the No. 1 pitcher in the country. … I left that meeting and thought, this is who I would love to put a lot of effort into because of who she is,” Glasco added.

To say that Canady is worth her contract would be an understatement; along with her superior pitching prowess, she’s also proven to be an excellent hitter, a skill she was not permitted to showcase at Stanford. This season, Canady is batting .312 with a slugging percentage of .720 and an on-base percentage of .454. Additionally, she recorded 34 RBIs, 29 hits, and 11 home runs in 55 games.

Up next for Canady is the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) championship series, which will be played on June 4, 5, and 6, in a best-of-three series on ESPN. Texas Tech will take on the Texas Longhorns.

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Robert Griffin III on College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

Football 6/3/2025 7:51:00 AM WACO, Texas — Baylor football legend Robert Griffin III has been featured on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame, it was announced by the National Football Foundation on Monday. Griffin is one of three former Heisman Trophy winners featured on […]

Published

45 minutes ago

June 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Football
6/3/2025 7:51:00 AM

WACO, Texas — Baylor football legend Robert Griffin III has been featured on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame, it was announced by the National Football Foundation on Monday.

Griffin is one of three former Heisman Trophy winners featured on the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot, joining Mark Ingram and Cameron Newton.

The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, Griffin had a historic career for the Bears from 2008-11. He set for tied 54 school records, including 20 career marks, 26 single-season and eight single-game records, including career passing yards, total offense, completions and passing TDs. He was a consensus first-team All-American in 2011, helping lead the Bears to a No. 12 nationally ranking, which came after a 2010 season that saw BU advance to its first bowl game in 16 years.

Griffin boasts a bevy of awards from his Baylor career, in addition to the Heisman, including Big 12 Male Athlete of the year, the Davey O’Brien and Manning Awards, and freshman All-America honors in 2008. He was inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

The native of Copperas Cove, Texas, Griffin was the No. 2 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, playing seven years with three seasons, including a 2012 Pro Bowl season that culminated in NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

A two-time academic All-American, a three-time dean’s list selection and a 10-time academic honoree by the Big 12 Conference, Griffin graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2010. He and his wife Greta, and children Reese Ann, Gloria, Gameye and Gia, have been fixtures in their community, including via the RGIII Foundation, which is committed to helping underprivileged children, military families and victims of domestic abuse.

Griffin has become a leading voice in sports media following his playing career, and is entering his first college football season as a lead color analyst for FOX Sports, after previously working with ESPN and Netflix.

The Bears have nine former greats inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, most recently QB Don Trull in 2013. Safety Thomas Everett, head coach Grant Teaff, linebacker Mike Singletary, end Larry Elkins, tackle Jim Ray Smith, guard Bill Glass, guard Barton Koch and head coach Morley Jennings all represent BU in the CFB Hall of Fame in Atlanta.