D1.ticker Top Ten - the most clicked stories of the past week |
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#10: NCAA President Charlie Baker releases a letter outlining the need for staff reductions and reassignments within the Association, as well as the consolidation of regulatory affairs and governance into a single operating unit as a result of the House settlement. Baker writes that with the transfer of enforcement and regulatory activity away from the NCAA to the College Sports Commission, the newly-combined “governance and policy” group will be guided temporarily by Senior VP of Governance Kevin Lennon in the role of Acting Senior VP of Regulatory Affairs while a search is conducted. Moving forward, “AMA and governance teams will reorganize under one leadership team and align by division. Enforcement and the Eligibility Center will continue to be separate teams but will now report to the senior vice president of governance and policy. Hearing operations will continue to report to legal affairs. Additionally, many communications, information technology and human resource functions that currently operate out of regulatory affairs and governance will move into the NCAA’s enterprise-wide, functional departments that handle these issues.” Baker goes on to note that a combination of not backfilling open positions, transferring functions and a voluntary separation program will result in 20-30 fewer full-time employees throughout regulatory affairs and that all other national department offices won’t be impacted. (link)
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#9: After 30 years at Arkansas, Chief Public Relations Director Kevin Trainor was among the athletic department’s recent layoffs, and he talked with 103.7 The Buzz from SEC Media Days about what is next for him. Trainor: “It was a surprise, certainly, to me, but it’s been an incredible 30 years. We’ll see what’s next, but how could I be bitter about something that’s been such a big part of my life for 30 years? Great memories and most of all the relationships. I love the University of Arkansas, I love the state of Arkansas … I look forward to seeing what’s next, but by golly, Arkansas is home and that’s where I want to be.” (link)
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#8: Memphis has been hit with two years of probation, a $30K fine, a vacation of records and a reduction of 1% of the combined men’s basketball and softball budgets after the NCAA Committee on Infractions uncovered academic integrity violations. During the investigation, former academic counselor Leslie Brooks was determined to have compensated two softball student-athletes to complete coursework and provide test or quiz answers to a men’s basketball student-athlete, resulting in three student-athletes combining to compete in 20 contests while ineligible. As a result, Brooks also received a 10-year show-cause order, prohibiting her from participating in any athletically-related activities over that time frame. (link)
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#7: When The Collective Association objected to the College Sports Commission, saying its commentary was “not only misguided but deeply dismissive” of collective organizations, Utah AD Mark Harlan pushed back on X, writing: “Maybe this is just me, but has this group been under a rock? Makes me appreciate the team at the Crimson Collective who knew that after the settlement agreement, the game charged. True NIL….not that hard.” (link)
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#6: Check out the progress at Coastal Carolina Baseball’s Springs Brooks Stadium. (link) |
#5: Check out drone footage of the updates to USC Baseball’s Dedeaux Field. The stadium features include fan experience enhancements such as a variety of seating options, outdoor social spaces, an indoor hospitality space, multiple concession locations, expanded restrooms, a video board and an audio system plus a brand-new press box, coaching and support staff offices, and a team meeting space. (link)
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#4: Now that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has been signed into law, how will it impact college athletic departments? James Moore Partner Katie Davis lays out several key changes, from the excise tax on executive compensation for employees making over $1M to new complexities in endowment tax to cutbacks in energy credits and changes in charitable giving tax deductions. Davis warns: “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is a sweeping new law, and more questions are more likely to come up.” Check out the full analysis here. (link)
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#3: House plaintiffs attorneys have sent a letter to NCAA and power conference leaders calling for a retraction of the College Sports Commission's guidance on NIL collective deals issued earlier this week, per Yahoo's Ross Dellenger. Jeffrey Kessler and Steve Berman plan to bring the issue before Federal Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins, who has been appointed to resolve settlement disputes, writing: “There is nothing in the Settlement Agreement to permit (NCAA and conference) or the CSC, acting on their behalf, to decide that it would not be a valid business purpose for a school’s collective to engage in for-profit promotions of goods or services using paid-for student-athlete NIL. To the extent the NIL payment is for the promotion of a valid business purpose, it is irrelevant whether that payment comes from a NIL collective or any other third party.” A CSC spokesperson responded to Dellenger, stating: “The guidance issued by the College Sports Commission yesterday is entirely consistent with the House settlement and the rules that have been agreed upon with class counsel. The defendants have been in close coordination with class counsel on the key provisions in the memo and will continue to work with them to resolve any concerns they may have.” (link)
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#2: CBS News senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs via X: “(President) Trump intends to sign an executive order soon on NCAA's Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) program that has reaped millions of dollars in revenue for top college athletes, sources told @edokeefe and me.” (link)
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#1: The College Sports Commission has released a list of all participating schools who have opted into revenue sharing. (link); Which means here’s the list of those that have opted out. (link)
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