This year’s football transfer portal has been unprecedented and it's only getting started. And it's not only football - the entire college sports world is impacted. The reason? Name, Image, and Likeness. How do you keep up? NIL Wire exists to help you navigate, unpack, and stay informed with the changing landscape. Subscribe to our FREE email newsletter with just one click and keep up with the latest NIL news.
|
#10: Pac-12 Enterprises LLC, an affiliate of the Pac-12, plans to lay off 141 employees from the league’s San Ramon HQ between January and June of 2024. Those impacted reportedly include “more than two dozen senior or vice president-level roles, as well as directors, broadcast engineers, and an on-air host.” (link)
|
#9: Texas Tech has unveiled its new 25K-sq-ft baseball team facility, which includes a new team lobby, coaches' offices, locker room, training room with an underwater treadmill and cryotherapy station as well as new cages, a team lounge and a video analytics room. (link)
|
#8: Have a look at all the creative ways schools are announcing their new football signees on social media in a new D1.ticker database. So much creative talent across the industry. (link) |
#7: LSU Football HC Brian Kelly took the stand in former LSU Assoc. AD for Football Recruiting Sharon Lewis’ trial against the university. During his hourlong testimony, Kelly explained the decision to terminate the position that Lewis held, saying: “I don’t look at it as I terminated her, but the position.” Kelly was also asked about his relationship with Tigers AHC Frank Wilson, who Lewis claims sexually harassed her and began sabotaging her when she turned down his sexual advances during his first tenure at LSU. Kelly testified he did not personally know Wilson prior to hiring him, but “knew of him” and said LSU’s HR department cleared the hire. Wilson also took the stand and denied the allegations made against him by Lewis and other female staff members. (link)
|
#6: Sportico’s Michael McCann answers 25 key questions regarding student-athletes being classified as employees, starting with why they would be considered employees: “Many of these athletes say they spend more than 40 hours per week focused on their sport, despite NCAA and conference limits. Some are also nudged if not effectively forced to take courses that comply with their responsibilities as athletes. These factors vary by school and sport; for example, football and basketball players at Power 5 schools more closely resemble employees, while other athletes lead a more average ‘student’ life. Still, under applicable labor and employment law tests, some college athletes resemble employees.” McCann also points out that whether athletic departments report losing money or not has no bearing on the determination: “There is no test under employment law or labor law that determines recognition of employee status on an employer’s profit or loss. Also, even when schools report they’re ‘losing’ money on athletics, consider the uncalculated benefits athletics provide. Boosts to fundraising, alumni relations, admissions efforts and negotiations of media, broadcasting and licensing contracts are usually not captured in ‘athletics revenue’ but can prove incredibly valuable.” Lots more from McCann. (link)
|
#5: New Mexico State Football HC Jerry Kill and New Mexico AD Eddie Nuñez have agreed to move forward amicably following last weekend’s disagreement regarding the New Mexico Bowl. According to the Albuquerque Journal’s Geoff Grammer, Kill and Nuñez talked on the telephone Monday “at length, as did Nuñez and NMSU [AD] Mario Moccia in a separate conversation. They discussed possible reasons Kill believed Nuñez was actively trying to block the Aggies from access to the same UNM facilities the Fresno State Bulldogs, who beat NMSU 37-10 in the bowl game, had access to last week for bowl practices.” The New Mexico Bowl has since confirmed its own officials hired several uniformed Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputies to be present when NMSU practiced in the facility last Thursday, something that did not happen for Fresno State. The bowl also confirmed it was in charge of facility decisions, including initially placing the Aggies at Milne Stadium, a nearby high school field. Further comment from either school is not expected. (link)
|
#4: The WCC will vote tomorrow to add Oregon State and Washington State for the next two seasons for all WCC sports, except Football and Baseball, per CBS' Matt Norlander and Dennis Dodd, who add the measure is expected to be approved. The move would go into effect for 2024-25 and leaves the option for Baseball to join the WCC. (link)
|
#3: The Florida State Board of Trustees has approved a filing to challenge the ACC's withdrawal penalties, claiming "that ACC’s exit fees, and GOR penalty, violates Florida antitrust law; that GOR presents an unenforceable penalty; breach of contract claim; breach of fiduciary duty claim." More in tonight's Evening Standard. (link, link)
|
#2: South Dakota officially announces Dakota State (NAIA) Foundation & Alumni Association VP for Institutional Advancement Jon Schemmel as its next AD. Schemmel, who served as USD’s Senior Assoc. AD for Development from 2012-17: “My family and I are ecstatic to return to USD and the Vermillion community. This is truly a full-circle moment for us. To have the opportunity to come back to a place that has meant the world to me and my family is incredibly exciting and humbling. I look forward to reconnecting with the entire Coyote community.” (link)
|
#1: The NCAA has agreed to terms with multiple state attorneys general that, pending court approval, would prevent retaliation against student-athletes who compete during the TRO and convert said TRO to a preliminary injunction that would last through the spring sports season, per Ohio AG Dave Yost. The motion would vacate the December 27 injunction hearing and set a trial on the merits of the case no sooner than the end of the spring sports season. (link, link - full motion)
|
|
|