#10: A New York federal court has granted a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by House settlement opt-out and former Villanova men’s basketball student-athlete Kris Jenkins over NIL restraints, Boise State assistant professor Sam Ehrlich reports. (link)
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#9: Michigan Interim President Domenico Grasso sent a letter to the campus community explaining the school will continue to investigate the events associated with former Football HC Sherrone Moore’s dismissal. NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach notes the investigation is being conducted by the Jenner & Block law firm, and “the scope of the investigation includes the alleged inappropriate relationship and the school’s response.” (link)
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#8: Check out the progress Missouri is making at the Memorial Stadium Centennial Project site. (link) |
#7: Eligibility certification violations occurred at Western Illinois across 12 sports over four academic years, according to the NCAA, which explains: “Due to the extensive nature of the violations, the school failed to monitor its eligibility certification process. In total, 23 student-athletes in 12 sports were permitted to compete in 349 contests while ineligible, four student-athletes received impermissible financial aid and seven student-athletes were not withheld from subsequent seasons of competition. The penalties for Western Illinois include three years of probation; a $25,000 fine; public reprimand and censure; vacation of team and individual records; participation in an NCAA Academic Performance (APP) data review; and attendance by select staff members with certification responsibilities at the NCAA Regional Rules seminar during each year of the probationary period.” (link)
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#6: Maryland welcomes back Terps alumnus and recent Miami (FL) Senior Executive Assoc. AD for Business Strategy and Capital Projects Matthew Smale as its new Deputy AD/CFO. (link)
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#5: Ohio announces that Football HC Brian Smith’s contract has been terminated for cause following an administrative review of allegations that he violated the terms of his employment agreement by engaging in serious professional misconduct and participating in activities that reflected unfavorably on the University. Interim HC John Hauser will continue to lead the program during the upcoming Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl on Dec. 23. (link)
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#4: President Donald Trump shared his take on NIL and the priority for funding to go to football programs: “I think that it’s a disaster for college sports. I think it’s a disaster for the Olympics. We’re losing a lot of teams. Colleges are cutting their, they would call them, sort of the lesser sports. They’re losing them at numbers nobody can believe. And they were really training grounds, beautiful training grounds. Hard-working, wonderful young people. They were training grounds for the Olympics, and a lot of these sports that were training so well would win gold medals because of it. Those sports don’t exist because they’re putting all that money into football. And, by the way, they’re putting too much money into football because colleges don’t make – even the most successful universities don’t make that much money. … I think the NIL is a disaster for sports. It’s horrible for the Olympics. I think it’s actually horrible for the players. And you’re losing all of these great sports. They’re not college football.” Trump also believes in a salary cap, especially given the strain that not having one puts on athletic department finances. Trump: “You’re going to have these colleges wipe themselves out, and something ought to be done. And I’m willing to put the federal government behind it. But if it’s not done fast, you’re going to wipe out colleges. They’re going to get wiped out, including ones that do well in football. They can’t pay $12M, $14M, $10M, $6M for players. They won’t be able to stop. There’ll always be that one player, they only have that player, they’re going to win the national championship. And they’ll have 100 colleges thinking the same thing. Colleges cannot afford to play this game. It’s a very bad thing that’s happening.” More. (link)
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#3: UC Davis has named former Cal State Bakersfield AD Kyle Conder as Senior Assoc. AD for Compliance and Human Resources. (link) |
#2: Check out the Adidas ad for Indiana QB/Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. (link) |
#1: The Big 12 is finalizing a deal with RedBird and Weatherford Capital that would infuse as much as $500M into Big 12 members who opt-in through a “multifaceted strategic business partnership,” with a focus on growing commercial operations, per Yahoo's Ross Dellenger. Details: “The Big 12’s RedBird partnership is a three-prong package. Redbird, a New York-based investment management firm with $12 billion in assets, has agreed to infuse millions into the Big 12 office as an initial step to help jumpstart the league’s revenue-generating business arm. The firm is also offering roughly $30 million to each member school in a capital credit line at a reduced rate. Schools are not required to accept the capital. At the center of the third part of the package is a strategic business relationship between the firms and the Big 12 in an effort to further evolve the conference office in a more professionalized environment.” (link)
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