https://sports.yahoo.com/pac-12-is-...lls-new-landscape-the-hard-way-165854023.htmlPac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff spent much of his media day opening remarks Friday bemoaning the profiteering and professionalism of college athletics — yes, yes, bless his heart.
He talked about being “disappointed” that USC and UCLA are leaving for the Big Ten “after a century of tradition and rivalries.” He said that college sports have “collectively lost sight of the student-athlete.”
He pleaded for the industry to “recalibrate” because “our long-term measure … can’t be how much money we can consolidate … we should be measuring how many lives we can change.”
Then he mentioned that the Pac-12 was actively looking to expand and took a shot at a previous Big 12 comment about being "open for business."
“We appreciate that,” Kliavkoff said. “We have not decided whether we're going shopping there or not."
In other words, which schools are the Pac-12 going to raid from the Big 12. (If any are even willing, which, of course, we'll get to later).
Kliavkoff noted that was an aggressive line, but said he had no choice.
“I’ve been spending four weeks trying to defend against grenades that have been lobbed in from every corner of the Big 12 trying to destabilize our remaining conference,” Kliavkoff said. “When you look at the relative media value between the conferences, I get why they're scared.”
This is modern college sports in a nutshell, a whipsaw back and forth from sepia-toned ideals and modern cutthroat capitalism. The people who run college sports — mostly football — can’t figure out what they want to be … other than well-compensated, of course.
Kliavkoff was bemoaning predatory conferences while threatening to be a predatory conference. And if he thinks it's dishonorable or disloyal for USC and UCLA to jump from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, then doesn’t all that also apply to the Pac-12 getting anyone to jump from the Big 12 or Mountain West?
Words are words. Media rights are media rights.
“Sometimes you just have to punch back,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens told reporters.
Indeed. And the Pac-12 needs to do plenty of punching if it wants to survive. It’s why Kliavkoff should scrap the hearts and flowers approach to describing college athletics.
This is a battle for money and only money.
"We are behind,” Kliavkoff said. “We have to close the gap in revenue.”
So can the Pac-12 actually poach from the Big 12?
A year ago, the answer was yes. It was the Big 12 that was reeling and vulnerable after Oklahoma and Texas announced they were leaving for the monied environs of the SEC. Any of the remaining eight schools would have jumped at a Pac-12 lifeline.
The Pac-12 didn’t call though. The Big 12 schools formed an odd bond born from being unwanted, added four new schools (BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston) and regrouped. They aren’t what they were, but they seem unified.
Which is why new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yourmark made it clear his league was “open for business” … a clear nod to any Pac-12 school that sought stability to the East.
So now the question may be who wins this tug of war and will the Pac-12 regret not “destabilizing” the Big 12 when it had the chance.
The Big 12 is offering calm waters more than anything else. Everyone in the Pac-12 knows that Oregon and Washington are desperately trying to get into the Big Ten and would jump at an invite. Meanwhile, Stanford believes that if Notre Dame ever goes to the Big Ten as a 17th team, the Cardinal will be invited to come as well.
So the Pac-12's future is based on hoping that desirable schools aren’t desired, because once they are, they are gone, a la the Bruins and Trojans, the moment their grant of rights ends.
It’s why the Big 12 is trying to draw in the remaining schools who are tired of getting ditched. Would Arizona and Arizona State see that league as a better fit? How about Utah or Colorado, which was a former Big 8 member?
This is like a Jenga tower, of course. If you get one, the whole place might collapse and then you pick whatever you want out of the rubble.
The Pac-12, meanwhile, might try to pluck the best of the Big 12 by waving what Kliavkoff suggests will be a richer television deal and access to the populous West Coast (even minus Los Angeles).
But would anyone go when loyalties seem shaky?
Or will the Pac-12 be forced to grab some Mountain West schools such as San Diego State, UNLV or Boise State? Or — more likely — just stick at 10 and hope for the best?
Whatever happens, the commissioners are saying the quiet parts out loud. Realignment often happens in silence. Not this time.
There is no collegiality, no commonality, no comity.
This is a fight, so ignore all that high and mighty rhetoric at the start because none of that applies here.
This is college athletics, after all.
All Big Ten universities currently have wrestling programs. But, it is not a requirement in joining the conference. Too bad. It would be cool seeing both schools host wrestling again.In related news, both UCLA and USC are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.
It's official: USC, UCLA to leave Pac-12 and join Big Ten in 2024
https://sports.yahoo.com/reports-usc-ucla-planning-to-leave-pac-12-for-big-ten-174647901.html
WASHINGTON - For years, universities have made millions of dollars off athletes' performances while the players received no compensation.
But the economic inequities many athletes endured for decades in college sports have significantly changed with NIL deals. And one college athlete is showing everyone else how it’s done.
What are NIL deals?
NIL stands for name, image, and likeness. On July 1, 2021, the NCAA implemented a policy allowing all incoming and current student-athletes the opportunities to earn money from NIL deals.
According to the NCAA, individuals can engage in NIL activities consistent with the law of the state where the university is located.
One college athlete reaping the benefits of NIL deals is someone you may not have heard of because he is not at one of the top Division I schools, but he’s building a substantial brand playing for an HBCU.
The ‘King of NIL’
Rayquan Smith is a two-sport athlete at Norfolk State University in Virginia. He’s a running back on the football team and a decathlete on the school’s track team.
It’s not just what Smith is doing on the field, but what he’s accomplishing off it. The 21-year-old is known around college sports as the "King of NIL" based on the 70 endorsement deals he’s signed during the past year.
Smith said he reached out to 100 companies to gauge their interest in signing him to an endorsement deal. Only three returned his calls, and two of them were rejections, he explained. But a hydration company called Smartcups gave Smith his first endorsement deal.
Smith’s endorsements include Body Armour, Arby’s, Champs Sports and Spikeball, a Chicago-based company that sells ball and trampoline sets used in a popular game played in small groups.
"When it (NIL deals) first started July 1, 2021, I didn’t know too much about it, I was probably the last person to it. I got on social media, I went on Instagram and Google to search it up to figure out why is it so big, what’s going on?" Smith told FOX Television Stations. "When I researched NIL deals, I learned that you can get paid to market yourself with different companies and it’s embracing and marketing yourself, and I felt like I was already marketing myself and now I can get paid for it, and I took advantage of the opportunity that was given to me."
Paying it forward by helping other athletes
Smith’s NIL success has led him to be a mentor for other athletes seeking to profit in the NIL space.
"When it comes to other student-athletes around the country like Power 5, Division II, or Division III, they asked the same questions, how do I get started? What do they have to do, and how can I get a NIL deal? At the end of the day, I want to help everybody. I try to reach out to everyone and help them get NIL deals. One student-athlete at a Division III school has built his brand and is succeeding now with his NIL deals, and another athlete at Temple University I helped him start. I just help different people through my one-on-one sessions and Zoom classes. I try to reach out to them because some people don’t know where to start and that’s my job to help guide them in the right direction."
The Norfolk State standout shared his advice for college athletes on strategies to land endorsement deals. He thinks athletes shouldn’t shy away from taking the initiative to secure an opportunity.
"When it comes to approaching a company, go to a company that will benefit you on and off the field. Most of my deals are useful for the sports that I play; I play football and run track. So, I try to get deals around that, which will benefit me on and off the field. I like Tik Tok and bowling, and I try to get deals around my interest to help benefit me as a person and my income at the same time."
He added: "What I would tell an athlete is to be yourself and don’t let others tell you what you can and can’t do. If you’re at a smaller school or a Power 5 school, go and get it, don’t wait for the companies, they aren’t coming to you. Unless you’re a top quarterback at Alabama or a top running back at Clemson, or a top player that’s talked about, most likely companies aren’t coming to you, you have come to them. Companies want to see you go out there and get it yourself anyway, they want to wait. Companies want to see how you can approach them and be professional about it."
Smith said he signed with an agency to help him manage his NIL deals and contracts so he can focus on school. Although he is basking in the money he’s making off his endorsements, Smith acknowledged saving his money has a lot of benefits in the short and long term.
"Saving is a big part of my family. We know how to save already, my mom taught me how to save. I just think saving is a common sense thing because you never know what’s going to happen later in life. And when it comes to taxes, I asked my agent a little bit about how to do things, I’m still getting used to it, I recently turned 21. I’m still learning the basics and how to maneuver money and how to do my taxes on my own while learning from others."
Will NIL deals impact recruiting?
Recruiting is one of the biggest tools coaches and scouts utilize to bring in top talent to their programs, but Smith believes NIL deals are playing a significant role. He cited an example of a player signing a $9.5 million NIL deal to attend the University of Miami.
"With NIL deals there are two ways to look at if it’s used in a good or bad way. NIL is for marketing yourself and building your brand, but on the other side, boosters are coming together to recruit top athletes, and at the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with that. Other athletes coming to universities will want the same kind of deals that another athlete has, and there could be an issue with that. Hopefully, there’s a NIL law where you can’t do certain things, if not, we’ll see where it takes us in the next 10-20 years."
The Richmond, Virginia, native believes athletes can acquire endorsement deals regardless of the school they attend. He said his endorsement success while playing at an HBCU not only brings exposure to athletes at black colleges, but to others at smaller schools across the country.
"I paved the way for a lot of athletes. I’ve shown that you can get NIL deals at a smaller school. So, there’s no excuse why you can’t get a deal. All you have to do is put yourself out there, and you have to want to post content. If you want to reach out to the companies, email them. They’re not coming to you, you have to go to them, and you have to go a different route if you’re not at a Power 5 school. Athletes at Power 5 schools can wake up and have an NIL deal sitting on the table. Well, we have to go to them and compose ourselves and send them a proposal and show them why they want to partner with us."
Smith said he has three years of eligibility at Norfolk State after undergoing surgery in March. He’s taking time off to recover and is not playing football this season so he can concentrate full-time on track when the season starts. He is set to graduate from Norfolk State in 2023 and told FOX Televisions he plans to explore other opportunities during that time.
Last month, Smith won the "Hustle Award" based on his endorsement success at the inaugural NIL Summit in Atlanta.
College football world reacts to stunning Big Ten plan for athlete compensation
By Kevin Harrish on July 22, 2022
The NCAA‘s recent rule changes allowing players to profit from their name, image, and likeness have changed the world of college athletics significantly in a very short time, but a plan currently being discussed by the Big Ten athletes and conference commissioner Kevin Warren could mark an even more seismic shift.
According to ESPN college football reporter Dan Murphy, Warren and leaders of an independent players association met this week to discuss some of the group’s demands and have agreed to start a conversation about a revenue-sharing model.
“Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren met with leaders of an independent players association this week,” Murphy said in a Tweet. “The group has asked to begin a conversation with the conference about demands including revenue sharing, and says Warren agreed to start that conversation.”
Revenue sharing, as the name suggests, would give college athletes a share of the money earned by the teams and conference as a result of broadcast deals, ticket sales, and more. While the NIL changes allowed athletes to profit from their own name, image, and likeness by signing endorsement deals, revenue sharing would allow players to directly profit from the on-field product for the first time.
This may be just the beginning of the revenue-sharing conversation, but if it ever comes to fruition it will change college athletics forever.
https://thecomeback.com/ncaa/colleg...ng-big-ten-plan-for-athlete-compensation.html
They all look like they’re trying WAY to hard to look cool, besides lil dicky
Olivia Dunne is a gymnast on Louisiana State’s women’s team.
She was an all-American in her freshman year and made the Southeastern Conference’s honor roll as a sophomore majoring in interdisciplinary studies.
Ahead of the start of her junior season, Dunne is also at the leading edge of a movement shaking the old foundations of college sports: a female student athlete raking in cash thanks to the passage in 2021 of new rules allowing college athletes to sign name, image and likeness, or N.I.L., deals.
Dunne, 20, won’t give specifics on her earnings, which at least one industry analyst projects will top $2 million over the next year.
“Seven figures,” she said. “That is something I’m proud of. Especially since I’m a woman in college sports.” She added: “There are no professional leagues for most women’s sports after college.”
Dunne, a petite blonde with a bright smile and a gymnast’s toned physique, earns a staggering amount by posting to her eight-million strong internet following on Instagram and TikTok, platforms on which she intersperses sponsored content modeling American Eagle Outfitters jeans and Vuori activewear alongside videos of her lip syncing popular songs or performing trending dances.
To Dunne, and many other athletes of her generation, being candid and flirty and showing off their bodies in ways that emphasize traditional notions of female beauty on social media are all empowering.
“It’s just about showing as much or as little as you want,” Dunne said of her online persona.
The athlete compensation and endorsement rules have been a game-changer for collegiate women, particularly those who compete in what are known as nonrevenue sports, such as gymnastics.
Sure, male football players have garnered about half of the overall compensation estimated to be worth at least $500 million, fueled by collectives formed by wealthy supporters who pay male athletes for everything from jersey sales to public appearances.
Women are more than holding their own as earners thanks largely to leveraging their social media popularity. Along with Dunne, other female student athletes have been minted millionaires by the N.I.L. rules, including Haley and Hanna Cavinder, twins who play college basketball at Miami; Sunisa Lee, the Auburn gymnast and Olympic gold medalist at the Tokyo Games; and Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, basketball stars at Connecticut.
But the new flood of money — and the way many female athletes are attaining it — troubles some who have fought for equitable treatment in women’s sports and say that it rewards traditional feminine desirability over athletic excellence. And while the female athletes I spoke to said they were consciously deciding whether to play up or down their sexuality, some observers say that the market is dictating that choice.
Andrea Geurin, a researcher of sports business at Loughborough University in England, studied female athletes trying to make the Rio Olympics in 2016, many of them American collegians. “One of the big themes that came out is the pressure that they felt to post suggestive or sexy photos of themselves” on social media, Geurin said.
She noted that some of the athletes had decided that making public such imagery wasn’t worth it while others had found it was one of the primary ways to increase their online popularity and earning power.
Scroll through the social media posts from female college athletes across the United States and you will find that a significant through line on many of the women’s accounts is the well-trod and well-proven notion that sexiness sells. Posts catering to traditional ideals about what makes women appealing to men do well, and the market backs that up.
Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer, one of the most successful coaches in women’s college basketball, sees the part of the N.I.L. revolution that focuses on beauty as regressive for female athletes. VanDerveer started coaching in 1978, a virtual eon before the popularization of the internet and social media, but she said the technology was upholding old sexist notions.
“I guess sometimes we have this swinging pendulum, where we maybe take two steps forward, and then we take a step back. We’re fighting for all the opportunities to compete, to play, to have resources, to have facilities, to have coaches, and all the things that go with Olympic-caliber athletics.”
“This is a step back,” she added.
Race cannot be ignored as part of the dynamic. A majority of the most successful female moneymakers are white. Sexual orientation can’t be ignored, either. Few of the top earners openly identify as gay, and many post suggestive images of themselves that seem to cater to the male gaze.
Other than the massive internet audiences, none of this is entirely new. The tension among body image, femininity and the drive to be taken seriously as athletes has been part of the deal for female athletes for generations.
We can go back roughly 70 years, as just one example, to the era of the top tennis player “Gorgeous” Gussie Moran, who grew famous as much for her body-hugging outfits and lacy underwear as for her tennis.
In the 1990s, the two-time Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Katarina Witt was a Playboy cover model, and she’s hardly the only female athlete to show up in risqué photo spreads.
Think of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition or ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue, in which artful photos of nude athletes have hooked a mostly male audience for years. But those depictions also continue to draw female athletes who see such shoots as a chance to promote body positivity, to feel boldly confident about the physiques they’ve honed through hard work, or to challenge norms about femininity.
Female collegiate athletes are certainly taking advantage of multiple ways to present themselves — while always having to be wary of society’s tendency to objectify.
Haley Jones, an All-America guard at Stanford and a candidate for the Player of the Year Award, said she didn’t want to play up sex appeal. Her endorsement income is driven by a social media image that portrays her as a lighthearted student-athlete without an overtly provocative tone.
“I don’t post bikini pictures,” she said in a recent interview. “Not because I don’t want to show my body. It’s because that’s not the top topic type of content that I want to post, and my audience isn’t looking for that for me.”
Welcome to the world of Haley Jones, Inc.
Jones, among the few Black female collegiate athletes considered to be a top endorsement earner, has learned to quickly deconstruct the pros and cons of the new era of commercialization.
She has endorsements with Nike, Beats by Dre, SoFi and Uncle Funky’s Daughter, a hair-care product for women with curly hair, among other companies. Rishi Daulat, her agent, said Jones had made over six figures since the N.I.L. legislation passed but declined to give a specific figure.
Jones was quick to note female athletes can choose not to participate in social media and lose out on the biggest profits. Or they can take part, make money, focus on the supportive fans and hold their breath with a sort of resignation about the swath of online reactions — often leering and sexualized comments on their social media platforms — that show how much they are objectified.
“You can go outside wearing sweatpants and a puffer jacket, and you’ll be sexualized. I could be on a podcast, and it could just be my voice, and I’ll face the same thing. So, I think it will be there, no matter what you do or how you present yourself.”
“This is the society we live in,” Jones added.
New Endorsements for College Athletes Resurface an Old Concern: Sex Sells
By Kurt Streeter | Published Nov. 8, 2022
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/08/sports/ncaabasketball/olivia-dunne-haley-jones-endorsements.html