The Financial Revolution in College Football

In the ever-evolving landscape of college football, the influence of money has become more pronounced than ever, reshaping the dynamics of the sport. The advent of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals has introduced a new era where financial negotiations often overshadow athletic merit. This shift is epitomized by the recent developments surrounding promising quarterback Nico Iamaleava, whose lucrative $8 million deal has sent shockwaves through the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and beyond.

Nico Iamaleava: A Rising Star with a Price Tag

Nico Iamaleava’s journey into the limelight is a testament to the changing priorities in college athletics. Once, the focus was on raw talent and potential; now, financial considerations play a pivotal role. Iamaleava’s substantial NIL deal, valued at $8 million, has not only secured his future but also raised eyebrows across the college football community. Such a significant investment in a player yet to take a collegiate snap highlights the shifting paradigm where potential earnings can eclipse on-field achievements.

The Broader Impact on College Football

Iamaleava’s agreement is not an isolated incident but part of a broader trend that has seen young athletes command unprecedented sums. The case of Bryce Underwood, who reportedly secured a $10.5 million cap without playing a single game, underscores the growing emphasis on financial incentives. These developments have sparked debates about the essence of college sports, where the focus on education and athletic development is increasingly intertwined with commercial interests.

Navigating the New Normal

As college football navigates this new financial landscape, institutions and athletes alike face significant challenges. Schools must balance the allure of attracting top talent with the potential risks associated with hefty financial commitments. Meanwhile, young athletes are thrust into the spotlight, managing both the pressures of performance and the expectations tied to their lucrative deals. This new era demands a delicate equilibrium between nurturing talent and negotiating financial realities.

Reflecting on the Future of College Athletics

The rise of NIL deals and their impact on college football is a reflection of broader societal changes, where the lines between amateur and professional sports are increasingly blurred. As the sport continues to evolve, the focus must remain on preserving the integrity and spirit of college athletics. The journey of Nico Iamaleava and others like him serves as a reminder of the need for thoughtful consideration of how financial incentives are integrated into the collegiate sports framework.

In conclusion, while the financial revolution in college football presents new opportunities, it also poses significant challenges that require careful navigation. The stories of athletes like Iamaleava highlight the importance of balancing financial interests with the core values of college sports, ensuring that the essence of the game remains intact for future generations.

ATHENS, Ga. – Third-seeded Oklahoma State scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning at the NCAA Athens Regional to knock off No. 7 national seed and host Georgia, 11-9, at Foley Field.
 
With the win, the Cowboys improved to 30-24 and advanced to the Regional championship round, where they will need to defeat Duke twice to earn a Super Regional berth. UGA finished its season 43-17.
 
Kollin Ritchie and Brock Thompson each hit two-run home runs in the ninth, with Thompson’s opposite-field shot to left field providing the walk-off win.
 
Matthew Brown picked up his first collegiate win with a perfect inning of relief as he struck out the side with two runners in scoring position in the top of the ninth to set up the Cowboys for the comeback.
 
OSU starter Harrison Bodendorf worked five innings and allowed seven runs on six hits while striking out two.
 
The Cowboys jumped out to an early lead in its first at bat when Nolan Schubart smashed his 19^th home run of the season, an opposite field solo shot over the wall in left field. The blast was the 59^th of his career.
 
OSU added to its lead in the second. Alex Conover smashed his sixth homer of the season to right to make the score 2-0, and three batters later, Brayden Smith delivered a two-out RBI single to extend the advantage to three.
 
The lead did not hold up, however. In the third, UGA got a two-run homer from Slate Alford to make the score 3-2 before tying the game on an RBI double by Tre Phelps. The Bulldogs then went up 5-3 on a two-run homer off the bat of Christian Adams.
 
Trailing 7-3, the Pokes rallied to tie the score in the fifth. Two singles and a hit by pitch to open the inning loaded the bases, and a walk to Schubart brought home the first run. Up next, Ritchie picked up an RBI on a fielder’s choice, and Colin Brueggemann’s infield single plated OSU’s sixth run. The Cowboys knotted the score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ian Daugherty.
 
UGA regained the lead in the seventh when, with runners on first and second and two outs, Adams blooped a single into left field to make the score 8-7.
 
The Bulldogs tacked on another run in the eighth to take a 9-7 advantage.
 
In the decisive ninth, Schubart drew a leadoff walk before Ritchie stepped to the plate and drilled a pitch over the right-field wall to tie the score.
 
Following a Brueggemann single, the Bulldogs recorded two outs. But Thompson stepped to the plate and delivered an 0-1 pitch over the wall for his eighth homer of the season to set off the OSU celebration and keep its season alive.  
 

The Oregon Ducks face elimination in the Women’s College World Series for another night, and this time the Ducks will face the Oklahoma Sooners out of the SEC. Both Oregon and Oklahoma have one loss, meaning the loser of Sunday night’s matchup will be sent home while the winner stays alive to face Texas Tech.

The Ducks and the Sooners are set to square off at 4:12 p.m. PT from Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

After falling to UCLA in the first round of the WCWS, Oregon’s softball team beat Ole Miss in walk-off fashion and avoided elimination. The Ducks held a three-run lead early against the Rebels, but Ole Miss stormed back to tie the game in the 7th inning.

Oregon’s ace pitcher Lyndsey Grein pitched 9.1 innings and threw 96 pitches in the win over Ole Miss. How much will have she left against Oklahoma? Ducks pitcher Elise Solkosky has made relief appearances in both games of Oregon’s run in the Women’s College World Series.

The Ducks offense was stifled by UCLA pitcher Kaitlyn Terry, who limited Oregon to two runs over seven innings. Against Ole Miss, Oregon’s bats came up with six runs while taking advantage of some errors by the Rebels defense. The Ducks have one of the highest scoring offenses in the nation, but will they be able to perform against Oklahoma?

The Sooners have an ace of their own in Sam Landry, who shut down the Tennessee Volunteers in her first game of this year’s WCWS. Landry allowed one earned run over seven innings, a complete game. In Oklahoma’s loss to Texas, Landry pitched six innings and allowed three earned runs, but the Sooners offense was unable to take advantage.

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As a result, Oklahoma meets Oregon in the loser’s bracket. The Sooners’ program carries a championship pedigree under the leadership of coach Patty Gasso. The Sooners have won the last four national titles in softball.

Ducks coach Melyssa Lombardi spent years with Oklahoma’s program, including her time as a player, and she won four championships herself with the Sooners. Now, Lombardi is set to face her former program as she builds one of her own in Oregon.

“It’s a celebration. She has been with me for over 20 years. Like a sister to me. (Oregon assistant coach) Sydney Romero is one of my all time favorites. (Ducks assissant coach) Sam Marder worked with us. We know them very well. It’s going to be a battle. We’re both fighting for our teams,” Gasso said before the game against the Ducks. “But at the same time, there’s absolute mutual respect, which feels good in this game. To feel like you can feel that way against a team that you’re playing against.”

“I already know it’s going to be done professionally and the right way. That means a lot to me. If it’s not going to be us, I want it to be them. I’ll say that very clearly and out loud. They’ve lived in our program. And their program I think might mimic us a little bit by the way she’s coaching but I take that as a complete honor,” Gasso continued.

The Michigan football program has had its fair share of success the last few years. Even after a down season in 2024, it’s hard to argue against Michigan being one of (if not the) best programs in the sport over the last handful of years.

Still, despite the success the Wolverines have had, there are plenty of places where things could have gone differently. As fans know, football can be a complicated sport where the mere bounce of the ball in a game can reshape the course of an entire season.

Last week, we took a look back through the recent history of Michigan’s men’s basketball program to see where things could have gone differently, and today we’ll be doing the same for the football program.

What if J.T. Barrett wasn’t given the first down in 2016?

The scene is Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 26, 2016. Up 27-24 in overtime, Michigan needed a stop on fourth-and-one to beat Ohio State for the first time since 2011. On the play, Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett was stopped right at the marker, and upon replay review, was given a first down. The Buckeyes scored a touchdown just one play later and won the game 30-27.

There’s no sense debating the call by the officials at this point, but how would history be different had it gone the other way? For starters, Michigan would have won, finished the season 11-1 overall and booked a trip to the Big Ten Championship to face Wisconsin. We can’t assume the Wolverines would have won, but they did beat the Badgers, 14-7, at the Big House earlier that year.

We can’t say for sure how things would have gone, but at the very least, Jim Harbaugh might have received less flak for being unable to beat the Buckeyes.

What if Michigan lost to Rutgers in 2020?

This will act as an interlude to our next scenario, but fans were likely sweating out the 48-42 overtime victory over Rutgers in 2020, something that could have been a big turning point for the program.

If the Wolverines had lost that game, their record would have fallen to 1-4 and the chances of Harbaugh making out of the season with a job seemed slim. Even by winning the game, he did little to convince fans he deserved to stick around. Nonetheless, Michigan held onto Harbaugh, but it’s fair to wonder how things might be different if it didn’t.

What if Jim Harbaugh left after 2020?

Any way you slice it, the 2020 season was a disaster. The Wolverines went 2-4 and looked uncompetitive in most games. At the time, the criticism of Harbaugh was at its peak. Another part of the equation was Harbaugh didn’t have a long-term contract to keep him in Ann Arbor beyond 2021, only fueling speculation he would soon be out the door.

Instead, Harbaugh signed a contract with a reduced salary, reflective of the underachievement to that point. His return would ultimately spur Michigan on to its major run of success from 2021-23. But how might things have transpired if he did leave?

Well, fans spent the fall and winter of 2020 sorting through potential head coaching candidates. From Luke Fickell to Matt Campbell, fans were envisioning a new future that probably wouldn’t have been so bright. Needless to say, Michigan made the right call in bringing Harbaugh back, as Fickell has underperformed — 13-13 in two seasons at Wisconsin — while Campbell has gone 29-23 at Iowa State since 2020.

What if literally anything went differently in the Fiesta Bowl?

For the truly masochistic fans, I urge you to go back and watch the highlights from Michigan’s loss to TCU in the College Football Playoff. You’ll find countless places where the tide of the game could have turned.

What if Donovan Edwards didn’t get chased down on the first play of the game? What if J.J. McCarthy didn’t throw two pick-sixes? What if Roman Wilson was given a touchdown instead of being ruled down right before the goal line? And what if Kalel Mullings didn’t fumble after that replay review of Wilson’s overturned touchdown? What if anybody could make a tackle on defense? We could go on and on.

The loss marked one of the bigger upsets in the four-team era of the CFP. If the Wolverines had won the game like many experts had predicted them to, they would’ve faced Georgia in the National Championship.

While Michigan might have been a better matchup for Georgia than TCU — it lost to Georgia 65-7 — I still wouldn’t have bet on Michigan to win. While a victory in the Fiesta Bowl would have been great, it probably wouldn’t have given the Wolverines all that much better a shot at winning the National Championship.

What if literally anything went differently in the Rose Bowl?

If the Fiesta Bowl featured many unfortunate events for Michigan, the Rose Bowl featured some favorable ones. What if McCarthy had been intercepted on the first play, or didn’t catch the pass from Edwards on the trick play? What if Michigan hadn’t flawlessly executed it’s legendary fourth-quarter drive? What if Jake Thaw let the ball bounce into the end zone?

As you can see, perhaps the most memorable win from the last five years might not have happened at all. Had the ball not bounced in Michigan’s favor in this game, the program would have been looking at a third straight semifinal exit, and the legacies of Harbaugh and many legendary players like McCarthy, Blake Corum, Mike Sainristil and others would look much different without a national championship on their resumes.

It’s fair to wonder if Harbaugh or any of his players would have opted to try and run it back in 2024 for another shot at a title, but I’ll settle for winning it all in 2023.

What if Michigan didn’t upset Ohio State in 2024?

I guess we’ll never know…

Earlier this year, Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham said he surely lost recruits and current players due to NIL deals at other schools.

The Utes are hoping that revenue sharing through the House vs. NCAA settlement can help balance out the playing field.

The Big 12 annual meetings wrapped up in Orlando on Friday and among the attendees was Utah athletic director Mark Harlan. He talked about the Utes’ revenue-sharing preparation and what he hopes to do in Year 1, assuming the settlement is approved.

The Utes have been preparing for this for a while, per KSL Sports. Harlan and his team have brought Utah’s NIL collectives in-house, something that is allowed in the House settlement. He hired a chief revenue officer, Patrick Nowlin, who has been on the job for nine months. His job? Find creative ways to raise the money needed to be able to share up to $20.5 million per year with student-athletes.

Harlan also said they’re leveraging the experience of their university president, Taylor Randall, who at one time was the dean of the university’s college of business.

Harlan also said there has been some reorganization in the athletic department. And, continued sellouts for football games and generating more revenue from other sports, such as college basketball, are key to the effort.

“We feel very good about where we’re at, we’ve been preparing for well over a year, we’ve had working groups internally looking at how we’re going to distribute revenue,” Harlan stated. “We’re certainly going to be at the max distribution at the University of Utah, thanks to our great donors, our great administrative support, so we’re excited about it.”

The House v. NCAA settlement is a combination of three different cases brought by current and former student-athletes. It will allow for $2.75 billion in damages will be paid to thousands of college athletes over 10 years as part of restitution for their inability to access things like Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities.

The settlement also caps rosters and, in some cases, expands rosters, especially in the case of Olympic sports. Plus, it allows for schools to fully fund every scholarship offered, which wasn’t the case pre-House.

The House settlement doesn’t limit student-athletes from engaging in NIL and many schools are bringing outside collectives in-house. But every NIL deal of more than $600 must be vetted and approved by the new NIL Go system being developed by Deloitte.