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Value City Arena atmosphere needs improving, Ohio State’s Ross Bjork says

See Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork discuss new NIL era Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork discusses changes to the collegiate sports landscape in this June 12, 2025 press conference. Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork knows “the atmosphere can be better” at Value City Arena. The future of the arena, as well as […]

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  • Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork knows “the atmosphere can be better” at Value City Arena.
  • The future of the arena, as well as that of St. John Arena, are long-term questions for the athletic department.

There is work to be done to get Ohio State men’s basketball to where the program believes it should be, and it’s not strictly tied to the on-court product.

Amid a stretch of three straight years without appearing in March Madness, the Jerome Schottenstein Center will open its doors this year for its 27th season as the home arena for the Buckeyes.

To a degree, the lack of recent success and the condition of its home arena are connected.

Last year, the Buckeyes saw a slight uptick in attendance, ending a three-year trend of diminishing numbers. Still, it ranked ninth in the Big Ten with an average announced crowd of 11,578. That put OSU behind, in order, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Purdue, Michigan State, Maryland and Michigan.

Ohio State was also ninth in 2023-24 with an average of 10,938 fans per home game. That made it the least-attended season in Value City Arena’s 26-year history.

That contributes to a sense of growing apathy that athletic director Ross Bjork said he’s aware of.

“Yeah, we sense that,” Bjork said. “We know we can be better. We know the atmosphere can be better. It’s all about (on-court) consistency. The fans … when they come to a game, they’re going to expect consistency in the performance.”

The Buckeyes are investing in changing up the in-arena experience. They will play on a newly designed, predominantly gray court this year, and a new scoreboard is also in the works. Lighting changes are being made to further put an emphasis on the hardwood, and Bjork said the department is studying what can be done from an in-game promotional or simply a musical standpoint to liven up the atmosphere.

“What we have to do is, separate from the game itself, have the atmosphere in the Schott just be better again,” Bjork said. “We’ve got to just make Ohio State basketball exciting and fun. Of course, winning helps, and that’s a great marketing plan, but at the same time, there are some elements that I think that we can do that make the atmosphere better.”

The size of the arena doesn’t help. Value City Arena can be loud when it’s packed to the rafters, but those types of crowds have become the exception to the norm in the last decade. There’s no way to make the arena smaller, and the Buckeye Nuthouse student section will remain behind the team benches, but Bjork referenced more choreographed roles for them as one possibility to create a better home-court advantage.

“I think it has some good, really, really good bones to it,” he said of the arena. “Now we just need to tweak around the edges, and I think we can make it a lot better.”

Improving the in-arena experience would also help Ohio State improve its bottom line. In the new revenue-sharing era of collegiate sports, the Buckeyes will be paying out the maximum of $20.5 million in the form of increased scholarships and direct payments to student-athletes in four programs: football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s volleyball.

Putting more fans in seats would help the department’s financial stability. Last year, Bjork said the men’s basketball program had around 9,000 season-ticket holders.

“Every dollar matters,” Bjork said. “We think we can have better attendance and be more consistent. A good season ticket base, could we get that over 10,000? Can we get that up to where you know it’s just more of a built in revenue stream?”

Any sort of return to the former home of St. John Arena is an impossibility. Not only is the playing surface permanently unsuitable due to a water leak during the COVID-19 pandemic, but university development plans for the future no longer include the historic arena.

Bjork said there’s no new update on the arena’s fate but added that what eventually happens there could have ramifications for Value City Arena, which houses the men’s hockey program. The women’s hockey program plays at the OSU Ice Rink adjacent to St. John.

“We definitely need and we’re pursuing a new ice hockey arena that would be 4,000-5,000 seats that would be for men’s and women’s (hockey),” he said. “Once you get that project off the ground, then then that’s where you can really look at, OK, what happens?”

Removing the need to play hockey inside Value City Arena would open up some more seating possibilities that could help create a more natural basketball feel, but any such developments are nothing more than concepts and projections at this point.

Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.

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Kaylee Bluffstone Transfers to Auburn Gymnastics

Former Florida gymnast Kaylee Bluffstone announced her transfer to Auburn on Instagram Tuesday afternoon. The now junior becomes a Tiger on a full-ride athletic scholarship. “I look forward to pushing my limits both as a gymnast and a student, and making a positive impact alongside a group of talented and dedicated athletes,” Bluffstone said on […]

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Former Florida gymnast Kaylee Bluffstone announced her transfer to Auburn on Instagram Tuesday afternoon. The now junior becomes a Tiger on a full-ride athletic scholarship.

“I look forward to pushing my limits both as a gymnast and a student, and making a positive impact alongside a group of talented and dedicated athletes,” Bluffstone said on Insatgram.

Her Time at Florida

In her freshman campaign, Bluffstone officially competed floor three times, putting up a career best 9.875 in two of those appearances. A back injury from a fall not related to gymnastics sidelined her for the full 2025 season, but she took on the role of team’s hype woman.

She last performed in a Gator leotard on Dec. 16 at Florida’s Hype Night to kick off the season. Bluffstone showed off her beam and floor routines, stunning the crowd with her stuck landings and powerful tumbling.

She was awarded SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll in 2024 and SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2025. She was also named a 2025 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Scholastic All-American.

SEC Rivalry

Auburn last went head-to-head with Florida on Feb. 14 in Gainesville for the 19th annual Link to Pink meet. The Gators won 197.625-196.825.

The Auburn Tigers wrapped up their 2025 season at the Washington Regional Final, missing the NCAA Championship Semifinals by just 0.1. Auburn ended the year ranked 11th in the NCAA.

New Shade of Orange and Blue

Bluffstone’s former and new teammates chimed in on social media, supporting her decision. Former UCLA Bruin and now Gator gymnast Selena Harris-Miranda said “always go where [you’re] appreciated” in response to the news on her Instagram story.

“I’m so blessed for my time at the University of Florida,” Bluffstone said on Instagram. “Being a Gator has shaped me in so many ways, and I’ll always cherish the memories and relationships I’ve built.”





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Reacting to the 2025-26 BC Men’s Hockey schedule so far (before the official announcement)

Every year we have to wait quite a long time for the Boston College men’s hockey team to announce their full schedule, usually deep into August. But with basically every Hockey East and non-conference opponent having already announced their own schedule, we can piece together what the Eagles’ 2025-26 slate will look like. Plus, CHN […]

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Every year we have to wait quite a long time for the Boston College men’s hockey team to announce their full schedule, usually deep into August. But with basically every Hockey East and non-conference opponent having already announced their own schedule, we can piece together what the Eagles’ 2025-26 slate will look like. Plus, CHN has made it very easy to access on their website anyway. So let’s take a look!

October

  • Friday 10/3 vs Quinnipiac
  • Thursday 10/9 @ Minnesota
  • Friday 10/10 @ Minnesota
  • Friday 10/17 @ Rensselaer
  • Friday 10/24 vs Denver
  • Thursday 10/30 vs Northeastern
  • Friday 10/31 @ Northeastern

The season does not start out easy for the Eagles. They begin 2025 just like they begun both 2022 and 2023, with a solo match-up against Quinnipiac. QU beat BC in the first of these season openers on their way to the program’s first ever national title in 2023. BC then came back the next season and ruined QU’s banner night in overtime, and then later beat them again in the NCAA Tournament on the way to the 2024 Frozen Four. The Bobcats are always a tough opponent these days and are expected to be a top-20 team in the country yet again this season.

Then comes a road trip to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the State of Hockey (ew). Minny will have their usual high-flying Big Ten offense and should be a very difficult team to beat at their home rink, Mariucci. If BC can manage even just one win out of that weekend then I’d be very happy.

After a pit stop in upstate New York against RPI, BC will then host the evil Denver Pioneers. Thankfully the despicable Matt Davis has moved on to the NHL, but DU should still be a national title contender and will be a very tough team to beat. Then the Eagles will have their first series against a local rival when they take on Northeastern during Halloweekend.

This is pretty much a murderer’s row in non-conference to start the season. Plus, BC is expected to take a step back in the fall after losing their top scorers, elite goaltender, and team captain on defense. That being said, though, I still believe this team can compete for an NCAA Tournament spot and won’t just roll over at the first sign of trouble. 4 games against Quinnipiac, Minnesota, and Denver might be a slog to get through to start this new era, but we will at least get an idea of what these guys can do very early on.

November

  • Friday 11/7 @ Vermont
  • Saturday 11/8 @ Vermont
  • Friday 11/14 vs Massachusetts
  • Saturday 11/15 @ Massachusetts
  • Friday 11/21 vs Maine
  • Saturday 11/22 vs Maine
  • Friday 11/28 vs Notre Dame

Hockey East play starts in earnest in November. After those early games against Northeastern and @ UVM, BC will get right into the thick of things against UMass and Maine, both of whom finished as top-10 teams nationally last season. The Eagles will already be battle-tested when they enter these important series, and luckily they get Maine at home for the second year in a row. And then a rivalry game against Notre Dame on the day after Thanksgiving should be a treat to watch.

December

  • Friday 12/5 @ Mass.-Lowell
  • Saturday 12/6 vs Mass.-Lowell
  • Sunday 12/28 vs TBD (Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off)
  • Monday 12/29 vs TBD (Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off)

Fall semester will end with a home-and-home against UMass Lowell. Then BC will end the calendar year in Milwaukee when they compete in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off against Wisconsin, Lake Superior State, and reigning national champions Western Michigan. WMU will obviously be a formidable opponent, but Wisconsin is pretty much a wild card in any given year and LSSU hasn’t had a winning season in since 2021.

January

  • Friday 1/16 vs Providence
  • Saturday 1/17 @ Providence
  • Friday 1/23 vs New Hampshire
  • Saturday 1/24 @ New Hampshire
  • Friday 1/30 @ Boston University

Early January may see an exhibition match-up against Stonehill during the winter break. Then we get a nice set of home-and-homes against PC and UNH to kick off the spring semester. PC is always difficult to play and UNH has had a real resurgence these past few seasons, so the Eagles won’t be getting much of a break as they roll into the new year. Hopefully we’ll see some excitement start to pick up here as BC enters the most crucial part of the regular season.

The real jewel of January is that first match-up against BU at Agganis. The Terriers are bringing in a slew of good prospects, including four freshmen who played for the USNTDP last season. They also saw sophomore defenseman Sascha Boumedienne taken in the first round of this year’s NHL Draft, making him the fourth first rounder on BU’s roster, adding to the likes of Cole Eiserman, Sacha Boisvert, and Tom Willander. BC will have their hands full with their archrivals this season.

February

  • Monday 2/2 vs Harvard (Beanpot Round 1)
  • Friday 2/6 vs Vermont
  • Monday 2/9 vs TBD (Beanpot Round 2)
  • Friday 2/13 @ Merrimack
  • Saturday 2/14 vs Merrimack
  • Friday 2/20 vs Connecticut
  • Saturday 2/21 @ Connecticut
  • Friday 2/27 @ Boston University
  • Saturday 2/28 vs Boston University

February. February is where it will all come together or it will all fall apart. This is the home stretch for BC to push for a good pairwise ranking and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. It also will feature the Beanpot (which they haven’t win since 2016) and the hotly anticipated home-and-home series with archrival Boston University. These are the games that will matter the most to fans before we reach the postseason.

The Eagles will also have to face the UConn Huskies, who nearly made the Frozen Four last season and have Greg Brown’s old BC benchmate Mike Cavanaugh as their head coach. February should be a difficult stretch that could make or break BC’s season.

March

  • Thursday 3/5 @ Massachusetts
  • Saturday 3/7 vs Northeastern

Boston College will wrap up their season with standalone games against UMass and Northeastern in early March. By then, we’ll have a good idea if the Eagles will be competitive for a Hockey East title and exactly what they need to do to get into the NCAA Tournament, whether it’s through a conference tournament autobid or an at-large.

Big Picture

It’s good that Hockey East is such a talented conference these days. But when BC falls off of the pedestal they’ve been perched upon for the last two seasons, those tough conference opponents start to look a little more daunting. As Boston College finds their footing in what may end up being a transition year, I’m expecting (and hoping) that they are able to stay competitive with their peers and win some meaningful games. Or at least a Beanpot, for god’s sake.



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NIL promises made to recruits, now coaches wait for key decision to learn whether they can keep them | National Sports

LAS VEGAS (AP) — 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. × This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your […]

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — 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.


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NIL promises made to recruits, now coaches wait for key decision to learn whether they can keep them

Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — 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 […]

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — 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.”

___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports





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Longtime Florissant Valley College soccer coach Sorber dies

Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch Pete Sorber, who coached Florissant Valley Community College to 10 national championships in a 30-year career and became a beloved fixture on the local soccer scene, died Wednesday, July 23, 2025. He was 95 and a week away from turning 96. Sorber took over at Flo Valley when Harry Keough left […]

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Longtime Florissant Valley College soccer coach Sorber dies

Pete Sorber, who coached Florissant Valley Community College to 10 national championships in a 30-year career and became a beloved fixture on the local soccer scene, died Wednesday, July 23, 2025. He was 95 and a week away from turning 96.

Sorber took over at Flo Valley when Harry Keough left to become the head coach at St. Louis University in the halcyon days for St. Louis soccer. Keough went on to win five NCAA titles at SLU, but Sorber won twice that many, using a roster built totally on local players to win national championships in 1967, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’73, ’75, ’81, ’84, ’85 and ’89.

Flo Valley also went to the championship game in 1968, giving it a run of five years in the championship game at a level where no player was on the team more than two years. Sorber, who retired in 1997 and became an avid golfer, had a record of 415-85-22 and was named national coach of the year five times.

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“He touched everyone, not just in soccer but as a person,” said his son Mike, who had a long playing career that included starting for the United States at the 1994 World Cup before becoming a coach himself, as an assistant with St. Louis University, in Major League Soccer and with the U.S. national team. “He found the best in everyone and brought that out. That was his specialty.”

“Pete taught me how to be a player, a coach, a friend, a father, a husband and a man,” said Matt McVey, who played for and coached with Sorber and is still an assistant at Flo Valley, “and at least 800 other guys like me, just by example. One of first things he said was, it’s not fun if you don’t make it fun.”

In addition to coaching at Flo Valley, Sorber also was an assistant coach with the indoor St. Louis Steamers from 1979 to 1985.

Gene Francis Sorber (as a child, someone called him “Little Pete,” after his father, and the name stuck) was born Aug. 1, 1929. He attended South Side High (now St. Mary’s), didn’t go to college and played only as an amateur in the extensive club system that existed in St. Louis at the time. He served three years in the Navy, then went to work for the Wabash Railroad and as a fireman in the city of St. Louis.

It was while a fireman, working on the snorkel crew out of a firehouse downtown, that he joined Flo Valley. Keough was leaving Flo Valley to take the SLU job and recommended Sorber, who had retired as a player two years before and had been coaching at St. Mary’s, for the job, figuring Sorber could fit that into his fireman’s schedule the same way Keough had juggled coaching and being a mailman.

Sorber had been skeptical of taking the job because of the long commute from his home on the South Side but said yes. The success was immediate, and after two seasons, he was able to quit being a fireman and work full time at Flo Valley, adding the job of gym supervisor.

Some prominent local players moved through Sorber’s program, including Steve Pecher and Denny Vanniger, both of whom went straight from Flo Valley to play in the North American Soccer League (“Without Pete, there’s no Pecher,” McVey said) and later for the U.S. national team. Mike Margulis was playing at Flo Valley when he was selected for the 1972 U.S. Olympic team.

Sorber is survived by his wife of 64 years, Marlene; his son, Mike, currently the coach of St. Louis City SC’s under-16 academy team; and two grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.

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Borghi, goalkeeper on legendary U.S. soccer team, dies at 89

City SC beat writer Tom Timmermann and co-host Beth O’Malley reflect on a disappointing, crushing loss for City SC and what the team’s future looks like after acquiring a young striker from Minnesota in the transfer window.




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Utah football legends will be inducted into Utes Hall of Fame

Two standouts from the 2012 Utah football team are set to have their college careers immortalized this fall. Former defensive linemen Star Lotulelei and Nate Orchard will join five iconic Utes as part of the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025, the school announced on Tuesday. C.J. Cron (baseball), Georgia Dabritz (gymnastics), Bernt […]

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Two standouts from the 2012 Utah football team are set to have their college careers immortalized this fall.

Former defensive linemen Star Lotulelei and Nate Orchard will join five iconic Utes as part of the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025, the school announced on Tuesday. C.J. Cron (baseball), Georgia Dabritz (gymnastics), Bernt Lund (men’s skiing), Ashley Mason (women’s soccer) and contributor Kem Gardner will be inducted alongside Lotulelei and Orchard this October.

“The rich history of Utah Athletics has been established by the accomplishments of countless individuals who have worn a Utah uniform or contributed to Utah’s success in a significant way, and the most distinguished of those are recognized with enshrinement into the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame,” said Utah director of athletics Mark Harlan in a statement. “We are excited to announce seven additions to the Hall of Fame, whose legacy of success will forever be documented by their induction into the Hall of Fame. We look forward to celebrating these exceptional Utah Utes in October, as we congratulate the Class of 2025.”

Lotulelei became one of the program’s most decorated defensive linemen over the course of his three seasons in Salt Lake City, bringing home All-America First Team honors from the Associated Press and the Walter Camp in 2012, while being named to the All-Pac-12 first team for the second straight year. Lotulelei was also recognized as the best player at his position in the Pac-12 in 2011, which earned him the Morris Trophy for his efforts.

Utah Utes defensive tackles Tenny Palepoi (91) and Star Lotulelei.

November 3, 2012; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes defensive tackles Tenny Palepoi (91) and Star Lotulelei (92) celebrate a sack during the first half against the Washington State Cougars at Rice-Eccles Stadium. / Russ Isabella-Imagn Images

Lotulelei finished his college career with 22.5 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, five fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles. After the Carolina Panthers selected him No. 14 overall in the 2013 draft, Lotulelei went on to serve as a full-time starter for his first seven seasons in the NFL, including five with the Panthers (2013-17) and two with the Buffalo Bills (2018-19). Buffalo released him in March 2022.

Orchard, who was teammates with Lotulelei for two seasons from 2011-12, was a dominant force along Utah’s defensive line in his own right. By the end of his four-year stay in Salt Lake City, Orchard was tied for fifth in school history in career sacks (25) and had set the single-season school record with 18.5 sacks in 2014, earning him All-America first team honors from the likes of Walter Camp, ESPN and Phil Steele, among other outlets. He also received the Ted Hendricks (top defensive end) award and was the Morris Trophy winner in 2014 as well.

Utah Utes defensive end Nate Orchard and Utah Utes defensive back Brian Blechen.

Aug 28, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes defensive end Nate Orchard (8) and Utah Utes defensive back Brian Blechen (4) look on during the fourth quarter against the Idaho State Bengals at Rice-Eccles Stadium. / Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

Orchard was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2015 draft and went on to play seven seasons with four different teams in total.

Lotulelei and Orchard will be the seventh and eighth former Utah football players inducted into the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame since 2020. The program honored former punter and kicker Louie Sakoda last year after inducting Eric Weddle (2022), Chris Kemoeatu (2022), Anthony Brown (2021), Alex Smith (2021) and Eddie Johnson (2021). The entire 2008 team that was credited by Anderson & Hester as the national champions of the sport that year was enshrined by the school in 2023.

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