Just read Utah is planning to revenue share the full 20.5M (under the proposed NCAA rules) with it's athletes.

I also read, WSU was going to share 4.5M with football. Unclear what they are planning to do with hoops.

Just sharing this as it illustrates how far we are off and how much better WSU needs to do in this new era. Clearly the media/TV deal - and what conference we are in - is the difference between being "in the game" and "watching the game." Currently we are "watching the game."

So, any thoughts on how this will pan out?

The Hyper-Intelligent Loyal One thinks the MW will offer some concessions on both the poaching fees and the exit fees, but not much. In addition to the dollars themselves, if the MW gives up too much the Pac-? will just turn around and poach UNLV. Especially since MW $ promises to UNLV are highly dependent on the poaching/exit monies.

As I have stated previously, I think the Pac-?'s lawsuit is a joke and should have simply been thrown out. Our arguments are pathetic. On the exit fees, these are standard in all conferences, although I've read where indeed they are often bargained down.

Click for free article

Edit: If the San Diego Union-Tribune won't let you read the article for free, then here's MSN with the same article for really free:
MSN: San Diego State, 4 others formally leave Mountain West

I suspect Baumgartner to be involved as well.

Politics aside, any Cougar fan or college sports fan should welcome the reform. WSU can't compete in this NIL pay to play era, so any guardrails from the Feds would be welcome news.

Former WSU coach Mike Leach eligible for Hall of Fame under new criteria​

CREG STEPHENSON
May 29, 2025
Tribune News Service

The College Football Hall of Fame has adjusted its eligibility requirements for coaches to be inducted, which is good news for supporters of former Washington State coaches Mike Leach and Jackie Sherrill.

The winning percentage requirement has dropped from 60% to 59.5%, meaning Leach and Sherrill, among others, are now eligible. Sherrill had a career winning percentage of 59.89, while Leach’s was 59.62.

“The NFF is committed to preserving the integrity and prestige of the NFF College Football Hall of Fame,” NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell said. “This adjustment reflects thoughtful dialogue with leaders across the sport and allows us to better recognize coaches whose contributions to the game extend beyond a narrow statistical threshold.”

Other eligibility requirements remain unchanged. In order to be considered, candidates must have coached for at least 10 years and in at least 100 games, and be retired for at least three years (the latter requirement is waived for retired coaches who are at least 70 and active coaches who are at least 75).

But the winning percentage requirement was especially a sticking point when it came to Leach, who died suddenly at age 61 in 2022 while coaching at Mississippi State. Known as an innovator whose “Air Raid” attack influenced a generation of coaches, he won 158 games in 23 seasons at Texas Tech, WSU and Mississippi State.

Sherrill — an Alabama graduate who played fullback and guard for the Crimson Tide under Paul “Bear” Bryant in the mid-1960s — also fell just short of the 60% threshold in 26 seasons at Washington State, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M and Mississippi State. Still living at age 81, he had a career record of 180-120-4.

Still active, but also now eligible or near eligible for induction under the new criteria are Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz (59.83) and West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez (59.01). Rodriguez spent three seasons (2022-24) at Jacksonville State.

CREG STEPHENSON.

With exceptional growth ( Ellensburg stadium, GameDay productions, NIL agency and Corp tie-ins ) CEO Biggs plate is more than full ! Help him with your input on candidates for additional corporate staffing. Provide feedback on this list of finalists :



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Canzano, put some Leach quotes from historical text exchanges they had. Some things that caught my eye...

“ESPN owns the product with the other conferences. They can borrow from the Pac-12 if they want to pick up our games,” he wrote. “Which are they going to push hardest?! The games that they own? Or the ones that they borrow?”

After Mario Cristobal left Eugene for Miami, Leach confessed that he would have loved to coach someplace like the University of Oregon.

“I beat the Ducks with my guys,” he quipped. “Imagine what I could do with theirs.”

Wrote Leach: “Some of my favorites are San Luis Obispo, Encinitas, and Carlsbad. Unbelievable places. I like places where I don’t have to drive much. Hawaii. The Oregon Coast is off-the-charts beautiful, but breezy.”

Leach on Seattle…

“Seattle people all have the illusion that it is the greatest place on earth, and amazingly, they think everyone else does too. Ohio people are sort of like that. They think everyone wishes that they could live in Ohio.”

Looks like we have restocked for the next year. Not sure that we will know much about the quality for several months. Look forward to Seattle U being in the WCC this year.

Interesting call here.

Your thoughts? If you can find other angles, please post them.

Malicious contact or Obstruction?



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Donald Trump 'Considering' NIL Executive Order Following Meeting With Nick Saban

The former Alabama head coach explained to the President of the United States that he wants to 'reform' NIL, not destroy it.

www.si.com

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban retired in January 2024 for a variety of reasons, but the then-72-year-old's most brought-up cause was due to the massive takeover of NIL.

The NCAA created a system in 2021 where college athletes can profit off their name, image and likeness, and while Saban hasn't necessarily been an enemy of that, he has not been in favor of the current state of it.

For the past year or so, a big reason why many college athletes and recruits have committed or transferred to schools has been based on how much they will be paid and which programs offer the most NIL money. It's gotten to the point where some athletes are making millions of dollars per year.

Saban has been a strong advocate for developing players both on and off the field, and this large sum of money on the table somewhat eliminates that. The University of Alabama hosted Saban and President of the United States Donald Trump during Thursday night's commencement where they both spoke to the graduates.

But according to Josh Dawsey, Rachel Bachman and Laine Higgins of The Wall Street Journal, Saban spoke to Trump about the issues of NIL on that same night.

The Trump administration is considering an executive order that could increase scrutiny of the explosion in payments to college athletes since 2021, after the president met with former Alabama coach Nick Saban, White House officials said, per The Wall Street Journal.

"Trump said he agreed with Saban and would look at crafting an executive order, people familiar with the meeting said. Trump told aides to begin studying what an order could say, the people said. Saban didn’t propose ending NIL but 'reforming' it, according to a person with direct knowledge of the meeting. He described how it was causing an uneven playing field, the people said, with an arms race among powerhouse schools."

I’m in Colorado for my future son-in-law’s graduation from the Colorado School of Mines. They’ve recently restarted a tradition where the graduates wear cowboy hats instead of mortarboards. The students can get custom branding for the hats based on their degree or whatever they want. Personally, I think it’s pretty cool.


https://www.minesnewsroom.com/sites...raduatecomm1-20250509-tm-08.jpg?itok=Q0DBNf8C

SEC Coaches apparently supportive of the 5+11 format, figuring they'll earn the at larges on the field. Quite a difference from the 4-4-2-2-1-3 plan. That one sucks, but I could maybe go for a 3+3+2+2+1+5 format.

We are dangerously close .

Hadn't really been following it, but here we are. 18-36, 11-19 (last place) in the MW. Missed their tournament. So much for "Back to Omaha".

I see that BSU, CSU and USU don't play Baseball. So our glorious new league will have 5 Baseball-playing schools? That will be fun.

I sense this rhetoric is to gain leverage of their desire for more automatic bids, but this is getting ridiculous. Let them break away. Let them lose access to the NCAA basketball tournament. Their greed is what is wrong with college athletics.