#10: UCLA AD Martin Jarmond joins the Bruin Report’s Brocast to discuss the latest in realignment and his name being mentioned for other open AD jobs. On the latter topic, Jarmond: “I don't respond to every rumor because I'd be wasting too much time doing that. By the way, don't believe everything you read or you hear. … I can tell you that I haven't interviewed anywhere. I'm happy here. I love being a Bruin.” Asked about what the additional Big Ten revenue can do for the department, Jarmond responds: “You talk about nutrition, you talk about traveling, you talk about academic support, you talk about just everything that impacts that student-athlete experience – mental health – there are things that we have not been able to do for our athletic program and for our student-athletes, quite frankly, that we should be doing and now we're going to have the ability to do. Next year, we're going to feed all of our teams a meal for the first time, all of our Olympic sports. We haven't been able to do that because that costs a couple million dollars.” More from Jarmond. (link)
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#9: Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek pens an op-ed for Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: “While college athletes benefiting from their name, image, and likeness has been widely accepted as a net positive for the athletes, what is on the horizon, thanks to California, puts the entire system at risk and threatens the viability of every non-revenue collegiate sport. This means women's and Olympic sports are facing an existential threat, and the athletes competing in these sports might lose the opportunity to compete and pursue their dreams. [...] Without congressional action to help create a nationwide standard that can be applied to all schools and conferences, the result will be more states like California taking legislative action, each one seeking to go one step further than the last. As we're seeing with the proposed legislation in California, this is wholly unsustainable for the future of college athletics as we know it. [...] Absent Congress stepping in, it is only a matter of time before we see opportunities for female and Olympic sports athletes wash away. If there is any chance of maintaining the collegiate athletic ecosystem that has become synonymous with the college experience not only for the athletes, but for students, fans, staff, and communities nationwide, a national framework provided through congressional action is our best hope.” (link)
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#8: Renovations to Vanderbilt’s FirstBank Stadium will continue during the season, and Commodores AD Candice Storey Lee tells fans: “I appreciate Commodore Nation’s patience this fall as we reimagine FirstBank Stadium and the future of Vanderbilt Athletics, together. We are forging ahead with the progress that we all deserve, in spite of the temporary inconveniences that accompany such a huge undertaking. By sacrificing together this fall, we can ensure Coach Lea’s team enjoys the home-field advantage it deserves.” Have a look at the progress so far. (link)
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#7: Grand Canyon has installed its new hoops court. (link) |
#6: TCU AD Jeremiah Donati has withdrawn his name from consideration for the same post at USC, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Mac Engel reports. Donati was unavailable for comment. (link)
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#5: Missouri shoots down a CollegeAD report that Tigers AD Desiree Reed-Francois is “pushing hard for the (USC AD) job,” stating she has “no interest in the job and the sources saying she is pushing hard for the position are 100% incorrect.” (link)
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#4: Mississippi State opened its new Softball Fieldhouse that looks to have all the bells & whistles from a new locker room to cages, offices, student-athlete lounge, sports med space & the Adidas branding you’d expect & more. Scroll down for a photo gallery. (link)
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#3: The Kentucky MBB team has been selected as a Mamba Program ahead of the upcoming season. Vanessa Bryant, the wife of the late Kobe Bryant, hand-picked the Wildcats as the first Mamba school in the partnership with Nike. The Cats will wear exclusive Kentucky-themed Kobe sneakers and apparel this year and “special uniforms featuring the Mamba logo are also possible in the future,” per Kentucky Sports Radio. UK HC John Calipari already has his own pair of Mambacitas, check them out. (link)
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#2: Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek tweets that he’s invited ESPN Men’s Basketball headliner Jay Bilas to campus in Fayetteville on Yurachek’s own dime to have “full transparency on our revenues and expenses. If you are going to make a seven-figure salary covering college athletics you should probably be educated on college athletics.” Yurachek’s invitation comes after Bilas called Yurachek’s recent op-ed about the need for NIL regulation “nonsense.” Bilas was quick to respond: “I’ve been there, and LOVED it!! What a fabulous place!! I didn’t sense poverty, nor the end of college sports around the corner. But, if that is indeed the case for you, Division II or III is open to join! Somehow, I doubt that is a serious consideration.” (link)
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#1: Stanford yesterday told Cal, Oregon State and Washington State that it has informed the ACC it would be open to joining the conference at a reduced rate, or potentially no media rights fees for several years, according to the AP’s Ralph Russo. (link)
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