UNDATED (AP) — Conference commissioners lauded a judge’s approval of a $2.8 billion antitrust lawsuit settlement as a means for bringing stability and fairness to an out-of-control college athletics industry. They also acknowledged there would be growing pains. Commissioners of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC renewed their call for congressional action to codify the settlement and emphasized that cooperation at every level of college sports would be necessary to make it work.
UNDATED (AP) — Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Vitale is sticking around college basketball with a new contract extension and a new event named in his honor. ESPN announced Monday that Vitale has signed a contract through the 2027-28 season. In addition, ESPN Events is launching the Dick Vitale Invitational. The first matchup is a game between Duke and Texas on Nov. 4 in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the opening days of the college basketball season. The announcement comes on Vitale’s 86th birthday and months after he returned to the airwaves after being gone for two years amid a fourth cancer battle.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The ghosts of the old Pac-12 will be lurking at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, this weekend when the College World Series begins. Oregon State, UCLA and Arizona will be back in the city where they combined for eight of the 24 national baseball championships won by the conference. UCLA coach John Savage said this CWS is for the West. The Pac-12 went all but dormant last July when 10 of its members dispersed to other conferences.
UNDATED (AP) — The $2.8 billion NCAA settlement is being touted as a path to stability for college sports, clearing the way for schools to pay their athletes within certain parameters. Football and basketball players are expected to be the highest-paid athletes on campus. Most projections estimate 75% of revenue sharing will go toward football. It begs the question: What happens to the non-revenue-generating sports?
