#10: It’s not quite Steve Ballmer-level, but have you ever seen a President or Chancellor be this excited during a game? Utah Valley State last night played its first-ever game on national TV, and President Tuminez was on hand to celebrate with excited pom poms. (link)
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#9: The Athletic’s Staples pens a strongly worded riposte to Notre Dame President Jenkins and AD Swarbrick’s New York Times op-ed, asserting the piece “cloaked itself in nostalgia while nakedly asking the U.S. government to codify a system that will allow schools and their executives and coaches to enjoy all the benefits of running a couple of major American sports with none of the pesky annoyances like paying market value for the talent or negotiating with the workforce. … Instead of trying to find a way to pay revenue-sport athletes their market value as athletes, school administrators complain about the name, image and likeness system foisted upon them by state legislatures who grew tired of seeing schools break the Sherman Act in an effort to keep anyone from providing athletes anything beyond tuition, room and board. Swarbrick and Jenkins are correct that this did result in a sham system, but they conveniently leave out the reason.” Lots more. (link)
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#8: A second class-action complaint has been filed by former volunteer ACs in wrestling and track-and-field alleging antitrust violations by the NCAA similar to those submitted by DI baseball ACs in November. (link) |
#7: The NCAA issued a memo regarding the waiver process for undergraduate student-athletes who are two-time transfers, noting reasons for granting a waiver include student-athlete mental and/or physical health; exigent circumstances outside a player’s control and diagnosed education-impacting disabilities. Reasons for denying waivers include degree programs and/or institutional prestige not meeting student-athletes’ expectations, changing majors, lack of participation opportunity, changes to the athletic scholarship and coaching changes. (link)
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#6: ESPN has let EVP King go amid accusations of harassment, according to the New York Post’s Marchand, who reports the “harassment allegations were due to social media posts, which were brought to the attention of ESPN’s Human Resources.” Once the head of ESPN.com, King was most recently the executive at large for special projects, “giving him the responsibility for the overall journalistic direction of the company,” per Marchand. (link)
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#5: Check out Arkansas AD Yurachek’s reaction to the Hogs’ upset over Kansas on Saturday. Pretty cool courtside video as Yurachek, arms in the air, excitedly embraced the radio team. (link)
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#4: Delaware taps Atlantic 10 Asst. Commissioner/CFO Burk for its Deputy AD for Internal Operations post. (link) |
#3: Morehead State AD Jaime Gordon is the new Executive Director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Gordon will continue to lead the Eagles through the month of June before transitioning to the AVCA, which is located down the road from Morehead in Lexington, KY. Gordon previously served as Head Coach for MSU's Women's Volleyball program for 20 years. (link)
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#2: Sportico’s Libit pens an extremely lengthy and complex profile of Winthrop Intelligence/Win AD founders Ben and Drue Moore, observing the duo that built a business on transparency for the college athletics industry also “seem to have discovered the allures of inscrutability, embarking on a series of opaque, risky and invariably failing business pursuits in partnership with a man named Scott Brooks.” Libit characterizes Brooks as an “ex-felon with a court-documented history of mental illness” who has ingratiated himself with the Moores and under whose guidance the Moores have “pursued a hodgepodge of speculative and unfamiliar entrepreneurial endeavors…none of which have proven financially successful—at least not in the conventional sense. All the while, Win AD profits have been funneled through a convoluted asset-concealment scheme involving shell companies, trusts, collusive lawsuits and questionable bankruptcies.” Furthermore, Libit reports “their activities have been denounced in multiple courts, where opposing counsel and at least one judge have suggested the cousins are engaged in an illegal conspiracy.” The details are as numerous as they are multilayered, including Ben’s ex-wife calling Win AD a “cash cow” in divorce proceedings and, “They employed a daily housekeeper, a chef, and private tutors for their children, whom Elizabeth eventually began homeschooling so the family could travel around the world.” Full story, which includes the disclaimer: “Not unlike Win AD’s signature database, this article is built on thousands of public records, including state and federal court filings, police and jail documents.” (link)
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#1: St. Francis (NY) is eliminating its athletics program at the conclusion of the semester as part of an overall restructuring. SFC will honor the scholarships of student-athletes who wish to stay. The SFC Board of Trustees also granted President Martinez-Saenz’s request for personal leave and has appointed COO Cecere as Acting President. (link); Terriers AD Garcia: “I am heartbroken that a decision has been made to eliminate the college’s athletics program. … The COVID-19 pandemic has left an indelible imprint on St. Francis College and, as a result, Terrier athletics. … Our athletic department has been an outlet of opportunity for student-athletes from every walk of life and from every corner of our globe, and I sincerely hope that will be the legacy of Terrier Athletics. (link)
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