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University mascots posse for photos before the start of day two of Big 12 NCAA college football media days in Frisco, Texas, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools this week saying it had rejected deals between players and donor-backed collectives formed over the past several years to funnel money to athletes or their schools.

Those arrangements hold no “valid business purpose,” the memo said, and don’t adhere to rules that call for outside NIL deals to be between players and companies that provide goods or services to the general public for profit.

The letter to Division I athletic directors could be the next step in shuttering this version of the collective, groups that are closely affiliated with schools and that, in the early days of NIL after July 2021, proved the most efficient way for schools to indirectly cut deals with players.

Since then, the landscape has changed yet again with the $2.8 billion House settlement that allows schools to pay the players directly as of July 1.

Already, collectives affiliated with Colorado, Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia and others have announced they’re shutting down. Georgia, Ohio State and Illinois are among those that have announced plans with Learfield, a media and technology company, to help arrange some of their NIL deals.

Outside deals between athlete and sponsor are still permitted, but any worth $600 or more have to be vetted by a clearinghouse called NIL Go that was established with the help of auditing giant Deloitte and run by the new College Sports Commission.

In its letter to the ADs, the CSC said more than 1,500 deals have been cleared since NIL Go launched on June 11,. More than 12,000 athletes and 1,100 institutional users have registered to use the system.

But the bulk of the letter explained that many deals could not be cleared because they did not conform to an NCAA rule that sets a “valid business purpose” standard for deals to be approved.

The letter explained that if a collective reaches a deal with an athlete to appear on behalf of the collective, which charges an admission fee, the standard is not met because the purpose of the event is to raise money to pay athletes, not to provide goods or services available to the general public for profit.

The same would apply to a deal an athlete makes to sell merchandise to raise money to pay that player because the purpose of “selling merchandise is to raise money to pay that student-athlete and potentially other student-athletes at a particular school or schools, which is not a valid business purpose” according to the NCAA rule.

Sports attorney Darren Heitner, who deals in NIL, said the guidance “could disproportionately burden collectives that are already committed to spending money on players for multiple years to come.”

“If a pattern of rejections results from collective deals submitted to Deloitte, it may invite legal scrutiny under antitrust principles,” he said.

On a separate track, some college sports leaders, including the NCAA, are seeking a limited form of antitrust protection from Congress.

The letter said a NIL deal could be approved if, for instance, the businesses paying the players had a broader purpose than simply acting as a collective. The letter uses a golf course or apparel company as examples.

Following the pledge by 2026 five-star wide receiver Calvin Russell lll to Syracuse football, a report earlier this week from top On3 expert Pete Nakos stated that the two-sport star may have agreed to a name, image and likeness (“NIL”) deal with the Orange valued in the multi-year, multi-million-dollar range.

That’s all well and good, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the 6-foot-5, 190-pound Russell has inked, or will sign, a lucrative NIL deal with the ‘Cuse. One thing I’ll be curious to know is the breakdown of Russell’s NIL money: Syracuse Athletics can now pay its athletes directly, while there remain three third-party NIL collectives supporting SU players.

Still, based on interviews that he’s given, and commentary from various national analysts and recruiting insiders, Russell didn’t appear to choose Syracuse football (and basketball) over Michigan, Oregon and Florida State because of NIL funds.

Some people may not believe that. It’s cool. That’s their right. But for me, why the Orange landed its highest-ranked commit in more than two decades comes down to this.

Five-star Calvin Russell lll picked the ‘Cuse for this main reason.

Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown recruited Russell harder than anyone else, and Brown has formed the strongest relationship with Russell and his family among all the teams who had been vying for this supremely talented young man.

To that end, this past Thursday, Nakos said in an interview posted to the X account of Cuse Sports Talk: “If he was really all about the money, he would’ve gone to Michigan.”

I totally agree with Pete, although from what I’ve heard, Syracuse’s NIL package for Russell was competitive with Michigan and other suitors. As Nakos noted in his radio interview, though, what separated the Orange from the pack – and Russell held more than 50 scholarship offers – is his dynamic with Brown.

Now, the early national signing period for 2026 prospects won’t come until this December, so Michigan and others could try to flip the top-25 national prospect in football and versatile wing in basketball, and maybe that includes sweetening the NIL pot.

At the same time, Russell has said he’s shut his recruitment down, telling Rivals analyst Marcus Benjamin, “It’s over. I’m done. There will be nothing else going on with my recruitment. I’m done.”

Not too long ago, Russell also signed an NIL deal with athletic apparel and footwear giant Adidas. Terms of that agreement weren’t disclosed. I assume that Russell will have tons of NIL opportunities once he comes to Central New York.

However, why he decided to choose the ‘Cuse was due to Brown’s consistency in recruiting Russell, and the Orange head coach’s character, honesty, and the culture he’s building on the Hill.

I have no doubt that other five-star prospects will join Russell at Syracuse football in the future.

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NCAA, Sports

July 12, 2025

By By EDDIE PELLS AP 

In 1985, University of Hawai‘i pitcher Mike Campbell was selected with the seventh overall pick of the MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners. Later in that same draft, ‘Iolani alumnus and 6-foot-9 University of California righty Dave Masters was taken 24th overall by the Chicago Cubs. It was the first and only time two players with Hawai‘i ties were selected in the first round in the same MLB Draft.

Forty years later, a new type of history is set to be made regarding players from the Islands in the MLB Draft.

Saint Louis alumnus Aiva Arquette and Baldwin alum Wehiwa Aloy are both poised to become first round selections when the 2025 MLB Draft gets underway on Sunday at noon HST. The duo would become the first from Hawai‘i high schools to do so.

Arquette and Aloy both had stellar seasons in the spring, leading their respective college teams to the College World Series in June.

Following his senior season at Saint Louis, Arquette was taken in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB Draft but instead chose to play collegiately at the University of Washington. After two years with the Huskies, Arquette entered the NCAA transfer portal and transferred to Oregon State, where he slugged 19 home runs while committing just six errors as the team’s starting shortstop. All the while, his .354 batting average led the Beavers.

Aloy began his collegiate career at Sacramento State. After earning Freshman All-American honors, he entered the transfer portal and played the final two seasons of his collegiate baseball career at the University of Arkansas.

In 2025, Aloy took home the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the country’s top amateur baseball player. He started all 65 games for the Razorbacks in 2025, hitting 21 home runs with a .350 batting average.

Although Aloy was awarded college baseball’s top individual honor, the 6-foot-5 Arquette is viewed as the slightly better pro prospect. Arquette is viewed as a Top 10 pick, while Aloy is also expected to be off the board by the time the first round ends.

The 2025 MLB Draft begins on Sunday with rounds 1-3 and wraps up on Monday with rounds 4-20 beginning at 5:30 a.m. HST. Although Arquette and Aloy are viewed as Hawai‘i’s headliners in the draft, a handful of other names remain on the radar for teams making selections.

Not far behind Arquette and Aloy as a prospect is Saint Louis shortstop and 2025 Hawai‘i Gatorade Player of the Year Bruin Agbayani. Although he signed a scholarship agreement with the University of Michigan, he is likely to get selected within the first five rounds.

Throughout various showcases and tournaments, Agbayani’s bat has proven to travel well. He turned heads in June’s MLB Combine in Arizona, stacking up hits against some of the top arms in the country.

‘Iolani senior Mana Lau Kong signed with the University of Hawai‘i, but there’s also a chance he doesn’t make it campus after being monitored by various MLB organizations.

With the increasing amount of pro scouts taking in regular season high school baseball games in Hawai‘i, the two that appeared to receive the most interest from pro scouts in 2025 were Kamehameha‘s Elai Iwanaga and Kaiser’s Bryson Toner. Iwanaga is set to play collegiately at UCLA, while Toner will play at Loyola Marymount if he does not go pro this summer.

Mililani senior shortstop Malosi Mata’afa-Alferos also received pro looks over the course of his high school career, though he is considered more likely to move on to the University of Oregon in the fall rather than turn professional.

In the local collegiate baseball scene, Hawai‘i Pacific University‘s Bronson Rivera caught the attention of scouts with his 2025 season in which he hit a program record 19 home runs while maintaining a .377 batting average.

As for the University of Hawai‘i, sophomore Itsuki Takemoto is viewed as the program’s top draft-eligible prospect. Utility player Ben Zeigler-Namoa has received pro interest dating back to his days as a junior college player at Yavapai College in Arizona, and his passion for the game has been lauded by scouts.

Matthew Miura, Jordan Donahue, Jared Quandt and Kamana Nahaku are other draft-eligible names for UH that have previously received pro interest.

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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.