LAS VEGAS — Next week, college football coaches can put the recruiting promises they have made to high school seniors on paper.

Then the question becomes whether they can keep them.

Uncertainty over a key element of the $2.8 billion NCAA antitrust settlement that is reshaping college sports has placed recruiters on a tightrope.

They need clarity about whether the third-party collectives that were closely affiliated with their schools and that ruled name, image and likeness payments over the first four years of the NIL era can be used to exceed the $20.5 million annual cap on what each school now can pay players directly. Or whether those collectives simply will become a cog in the new system.

Only until that issue is resolved will many coaches know if the offers they’ve made, which can become official Aug. 1, will conform to the new rules governing college sports.

“You don’t want to put agreements on the table about things that we might have to claw back,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day explained at Big Ten media days. “Because that’s not a great look.”

No coach, of course, will fess up to making an offer he can’t back up.

“All we can do is be open and honest about what we do know and be great communicators from that standpoint,” Oregon’s Dan Lanning said.

Aug. 1 is key because it marks the day football programs can start sending written scholarship offers to high school prospects starting their senior year.

This process essentially replaces what used to be the signing of a national letter of intent. It symbolizes the changes taking hold in a new era in which players aren’t just signing for a scholarship but for a paycheck too.

Paying them is not a straightforward business. Among the gray areas comes from guidance issued earlier this month by the newly formed College Sports Commission in charge of enforcing rules involved with paying players, both through the $20.5 million revenue sharing with schools and through third-party collectives.

The CSC is in charge of clearing all third-party deals worth $600 or more.

It created uncertainty earlier this month when it announced, in essence, that the collectives did not have a “valid business purpose” if their only reason to exist was to pay players. Lawyers for the players barked back and said that is what a collective always was meant to be, and if it sells a product for a profit, it qualifies as legit.

The parties are working on a compromise, but if they don’t reach one they will take this in front of a judge to decide.

With Aug. 1 coming up fast, coaches are eager to lock in commitments they’ve spent months, sometimes years, locking down from high school recruits.

“Recruiting never shuts off, so we do need clarity as soon as we can,” Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said. “The sooner we can have clarity, the better. I think the term ‘collective’ has obviously taken on a life of its own. But it’s really not what it’s called, it’s what they do.”

In anticipating the future, some schools have disbanded their collectives, while others, such as Ohio State, have brought them in house. It’s all a bit of a gamble. If the agreement that comes out of these negotiations doesn’t restrict collectives, they could be viewed as an easy way to get around the salary cap.

Either way, schools are eyeing ways for players to earn money outside the cap amid reports that big programs have football rosters worth more than $30 million in terms of overall player payments.

“It’s a lot to catch up, and there’s a lot for coaches and administrators to deal with,” Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said, noting the terms only went into play July 1. “But I don’t think it’s unusual when you have something this different that there’s going to be some bumps in the road to get to the right place. I think everybody is committed to get there.”

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, whose program tapped into the transfer portal and NIL to make the most remarkable turnaround in college football last season, acknowledged “the landscape is still changing, changing as we speak today.”

“You’ve got to be light on your feet and nimble,” he said. “At some point, hopefully down the road, this thing will settle down and we’ll have clear rules and regulations on how we operate.”

At stake for Oregon is what’s widely regarded as a top-10 recruiting class for a program that won the Big Ten and made the College Football Playoff last season along with three other teams from the conference.

“It’s an interpretation that has to be figured out,” Lanning said, “and anytime there’s a new rule, it’s how does that rule adjust, how does it adapt, how does it change what we have to do here. But one thing we’ve been able to do here is what we say we’ll do, we do.”

TBT FANS, TODAY WAS FOR YOU ALL!!!

That is what the post read from the official TBT social media accounts after an electric day of TBT action, which included six Round of 32 games, five of which were decided by four points or fewer.

Here is a recap of Monday’s TBT action!

Stars of Storrs 78, Green Mountain Men 76

UConn men’s basketball fans know that Ryan Boatright is not afraid of the big moment. The former UConn guard and 2014 national champion hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the Elam Ending to deliver Stars of Storrs a memorable 78-76 win over Green Mountain Men.

Isaiah Whitehead scored a game-high 18 points for Stars of Storrs, while Boatright added 17 points in the victory.

Former Vermont standout Dylan Penn led Green Mountain Men with a game-high 20 points, while Ben Shungu chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds in the loss.

With the win, Stars of Storrs now advances to the next round and will take on We Are D3 at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday on FS1.

Carmen’s Crew 73, Fort Wayne Champs 69

Former Fairmont State standout Jamel Morris scored a game-high 20 points off the bench, while Keyshawn Woods chipped in 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field to lead Carmen’s Crew to an impressive 73-69 win over Fort Wayne Champs on Monday.

After Carmen’s Crew starters got off to a slow start, the team’s bench picked up the slack, combining for 41 of the team’s 73 total points. Desonta Bradford, who added the final bucket in the Elam Ending, was the lone starter to score in double-digits for Carmen’s Crew, adding 11 points in the victory.

Jitaurious Gordon led Fort Wayne Champs with 16 points, while Tony Mitchell added 11 points in the loss.

Carmen’s Crew will advance to the next round and will battle Fail Harder at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday on FS2.

Heartfire 89, B Braun Sheffield Sharks 70

This was the lone game of the day that was not a close battle, and former Clemson star Tevin Mack was a large reason why. Mack, who played at Texas and Alabama before closing out his college career at Clemson, poured in a team-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Heartfire’s commanding 89-70 win over B Braun Sheffield Sharks.

Mack was not alone in his scoring efforts as Heartfire had five players in double-digits, including Eric Griffin, who added 12 points, and Marcus Hall, who chipped in 11 points in the win.

Prentiss Nixon scored a team-high 22 points for B Braun Sheffield Sharks, while Jordan Ratinho added 18 points off the bench in the loss.

With the victory, Heartfire will advance to take on JHX Hoops (Kansas Alumni) at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday.

We Are D3 81, Boeheim’s Army 78

Boeheim’s Army entered this year’s edition of TBT as one of the favorites to win the entire event, but We Are D3 had other ideas.

Ty Nichols put together one of the top individual performances in the tournament up to this point, scoring a game-high 36 points, including the final basket in the Elam Ending, as We Are D3 stunned Boeheim’s Army 81-76 in a thrilling back-and-forth contest.

Dimitrius Underwood, who played at Div. III Texas-Dallas before finishing his career at College of Charleston, enjoyed a solid outing with 14 points and seven rebounds in the victory.

Jacob Dilyard led Boeheim’s Army with 19 points, while Buddy Boeheim added 17 points and five rebounds.

We Are D3 will advance to the next round and go up against Stars of Storrs at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday on FS1.

Fail Harder 80, All Good Dawgs 77

Former University of Indianapolis guard Darius Adams had 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead Fail Harder to an 80-77 victory over All Good Dawgs in a Round of 32 matchup on Monday.

Kobe Webster had 11 points, Reginald Kissoonlal chipped in 10 points, and Jordan Walker, who scored the final bucket in the Elam Ending to deliver Fail Harder the victory, added nine points and four rebounds in the victory.

Tyler Wideman led All Good Dawgs with 25 points, while Ty Groce added 21 points in the loss. Former Butler standout Shelvin Mack, who was a second-round pick by the Washington Wizards in the 2011 NBA Draft, was held scoreless in the game.

With the win, Fail Harder moves on to play Carmen’s Crew at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday on FS2.

JHX Hoops 59, Purple Reign 57

Former Kansas standout LaGerald Vick delivered when it mattered most for JHX Hoops.

With the game tied at 57-57 and a target score of 59, Vick stepped in front of a pass and took the ball the length of the court for a game-winning layup to seal the victory for JHX Hoops.

Zeke Mayo had a team-high 14 points, while David McCormack added nine points and 10 rebounds off the bench for JHX Hoops.

Cam Martin led Purple Reign with 14 points, while Carter Diarra and Shaun Williams each added 11 points in the loss.

JHX Hoops now moves on to the next round where they will face Heartfire at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday.

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TCU outfielder Sam Myers has entered the NCAA transfer portal, On3’s Pete Nakos has learned. Myers spent the past two season with the Horned Frogs and started 21 of 39 games in left field this past year.

The 5-foot-9 outfielder batted .235 this past season with a .394 on-base percentage. He recorded 19 hits and 14 RBI.

It was a bit of a step back for Myers from what was a big year as a true freshman in 2024. That season, he started 42 of 48 games and had a .353 batting averaging to go with two home runs, 12 doubles and 24 RBI in 61 total hits. He was named both to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team and Big 12 Honorable Mention.

Myers played high school baseball for Cypress Woods (TX). He ranked as the No. 8 prospect from the state of Texas according to Perfect Game after being named an all-district player twice.

Now that his time with TCU is done, Sam Myers will look to regain some of the magic that he captured during his true freshman season at his next stop. He’s still show that he can be a valuable piece to the roster of any team looking for another outfielder.

The Transfer Portal for NCAA Baseball

College baseball has two separate windows for players to enter the Transfer Portal. The main window is opened in late May, while the NCAA Tournament is underway, and it remains open for a total of 45 days. The other window that college baseball has is open for 15 days in December.

Unlike sports like football, baseball has unique challenges relating to scholarship distribution that coaches need to manage and could impact players as they transfer. That means that coaches need to find a way to balance those scholarships with players already on the roster and who they’re bringing in.

NCAA Division I baseball teams get between 11 and 12 scholarships despite the rosters being more than double that size. It means players receive partial scholarships. However, that number is set to increase to a limit of 34, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports.

That will give coaches more room to add talented players all across the board. It could also result in an increased number of transfer oportal activity, as we’ve already seen.

LAS VEGAS — Next week, college football coaches can put the recruiting promises they have made to high school seniors on paper.

Then the question becomes whether they can keep them.

Uncertainty over a key element of the $2.8 billion NCAA antitrust settlement that is reshaping college sports has placed recruiters on a tightrope.

They need clarity about whether the third-party collectives that were closely affiliated with their schools and that ruled name, image, likeness payments over the first four years of the NIL era can be used to exceed the $20.5 million annual cap on what each school can now pay players directly. Or, whether those collectives will simply become a cog in the new system.

Only until that issue is resolved will many coaches know if the offers they’ve made, and that can become official on Aug. 1, will conform to the new rules governing college sports.

“You don’t want to put agreements on the table about things that we might have to claw back,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day explained at this week’s Big Ten media days. “Because that’s not a great look.”

No coach, of course, is going to fess up to making an offer he can’t back up.

“All we can do is be open and honest about what we do know, and be great communicators from that standpoint,” Oregon’s Dan Lanning said.

Aug. 1 is key because it marks the day football programs can start sending written offers for scholarships to high school prospects starting their senior year.

This process essentially replaces what used to be the signing of a national letter of intent. It symbolizes the changes taking hold in a new era in which players aren’t just signing for a scholarship, but for a paycheck, too.

Paying them is not a straightforward business. Among the gray areas comes from guidance issued earlier this month by the newly formed College Sports Commission in charge of enforcing rules involved with paying players, both through the $20.5 million revenue share with schools and through third-party collectives.

The CSC is in charge of clearing all third-party deals worth $600 or more.

It created uncertainty earlier this month when it announced, in essence, that the collectives did not have a “valid business purpose.” if their only reason to exist was ultimately to pay players. Lawyers for the players barked back and said that is what a collective was always met to be, and if it sells a product for a profit, it qualifies as legit.

The parties are working on a compromise, but if they don’t reach one they will take this in front of a judge to decide.

With Aug. 1 coming up fast, oaches are eager to lock in commitments they’ve spent months, sometimes years, locking down from high school recruits.

“Recruiting never shuts off, so we do need clarity as soon as we can,” Buckeyes athletic director Ross Bjork said. “The sooner we can have clarity, the better. I think the term ‘collective’ has obviously taken on a life of its own. But it’s really not what it’s called, it’s what they do.”

In anticipating the future, some schools have disbanded their collectives while others, such as Ohio State, have brought them in-house. It is all a bit of a gamble. If the agreement that comes out of these negotiations doesn’t restrict collectives, they could be viewed as an easy way to get around the salary cap. Either way, schools eyeing ways for players to earn money outside the cap amid reports that big programs have football rosters worth more than $30 million in terms of overall player payments.

“It’s a lot to catch up, and there’s a lot for coaches and administrators to deal with,” Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said, noting the terms only went into play on July 1. “But I don’t think it’s unusual when you have something this different that there’s going to be some bumps in the road to get to the right place. I think everybody is committed to get there.”

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, whose program tapped into the transfer portal and NIL to make the most remarkable turnaround in college football last season, acknowledged “the landscape is still changing, changing as we speak today.”

“You’ve got to be light on your feet and nimble,” he said. “At some point, hopefully down the road, this thing will settle down and we’ll have clear rules and regulations on how we operate.”

At stake at Oregon is what is widely regarded as a top-10 recruiting class for a team that finished first in the Big Ten and made the College Football Playoff last year along with three other teams from the league.

“It’s an interpretation that has to be figured out, and anytime there’s a new rule, it’s how does that rule adjust, how does it adapt, how does it change what we have to do here,” Lanning said. “But one thing we’ve been able to do here is — what we say we’ll do, we do.”