It’s Friday Eve

What a great day it will be

Notes on a top Georgia OL and others:

They have ranked the Louisville 2024 recruiting class the 6th best class coming in the country 4 recruits ranked in the top 100 and 3 recruits ranked in the top 28.

Facing a crowded convention hall last month hanging on his every word, NCAA president Charlie Baker said what the attendees at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics came to hear: The settlement in the House vs. NCAA case had "put things behind us."
Well, at least for a few weeks it turns out. A series of lawsuits that could conceivably cripple the NCAA by their sheer volume and potential damages have struck again.
Where have we heard that before?
A new antitrust lawsuit seeking ongoing NIL rights for men's basketball players from the 1997, 2008, 2011 and 2014 national champions, filed Monday, is seeking unspecified damages. It follows a similar complaint last month from the NC State national champions from 40 years ago.
The sheer scope of the actions puts those championships in a whole new light. The suit, Chalmers v. NCAA, essentially states that Kansas' Mario Chalmers' game-tying shot in the national title of the 2008 NCAA Tournament against Memphis has been hijacked for profit on the NCAA.com website.



It doesn't stop there. The Power Five and Big East are also included in the suit for using images from former stars Sherron Collins (Kansas), Jason Terry (Arizona) and Ryan Boatright (UConn). There are 16 players in all. Other names may be added.
And you thought the NCAA had achieved cost certainty with House. Ha! The association's legal liability is merely getting hitched up to a different train headed off a different cliff.
Remember, it was only six weeks ago the NCAA and its conferences agreed to that settlement, which will pay former athletes $2.7 billion in back damages over the next decade. The schools also agreed to implement revenue-sharing. When opted into, it is expected to provide as much as $22 million per year to athletes.


"If the proposed settlement is accepted, it will bind the NCAA and all the schools in D-I for the next 10 years," Baker told that same NACDA crowd last month.
He forgot the part about his organization being a courtroom piñata for just about anything these days. Meanwhile, Pandora has been tapped on the shoulder in Chalmers v. NCAA. In Greek mythology, her box was a metaphor for great misfortune.
Using a sports metaphor, it's called piling on. In this case, what's to keep any former roster of national champions from filing similar complaints? The answer is even more chilling for the NCAA. The case was filed as a class-action, which means all players from that period could be added.


"The NCAA has for decades leveraged its monopoly power to exploit student-athletes from the moment they enter college until long after they end their collegiate careers," the Chalmers complaint reads.
Similar words have been included lately in almost every antitrust action against the NCAA and Power Five. By this point, it doesn't necessarily matter if the complainants even have a case. They have the means, and anything that drains the NCAA of its financial will is significant at this point in history. The NCAA's bank statement has certainly been nicked already, having faced $61.5 million in legal expenses in fiscal year 2023, according to USA Today. Since 2014, that total is $433 million.
At what point does the membership's patience run out when the association is averaging $1.18 million in legal expenses per week? Ten years? At this rate, the NCAA will run out of money to plug all the dikes in 10 months.


You'd think the NCAA learned its lesson after O'Bannon, Alston, House and the conga line of legal entanglements that has gotten it to this point.
How could the NCAA not address this issue, especially after crowing about legal certainty in House? (It is a settlement, by the way, that has yet to be approved.) Chalmers vs. NCAA looks a lot like that O'Bannon case that started this merry-go-round 15 years ago. In both cases, plaintiffs argued the NCAA used athletes' likeness for commercial gain without the players' permission.
You'd think the first thing the NCAA has to do is remove the highlights in question. As of publish, Chalmers' game-tying shot against Memphis in the 2008 championship game can be seen on NCAA.com with an advertisement for Invesco QQQ.


As for Chalmers himself in real time, the 38-year-old former NBA veteran and Kansas hero is playing in Ice Cube's BIG3, still hitting big shots.

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Have a great day

Plans to visit Louisville, per Tipton.

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Happy Monday

"Three-star Highland Home (Ala.) High DE CJ May will announce his commitment on July 13. Auburn, Syracuse, Louisville and Washington headline the finalists for the 6-foot-4, 225-pound edge defender from Alabama.

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It’s getting closer.

SMU just announced they hit their ACC Competitiveness Goal .... $125 MILLION.

This is ON TOP of the $159 MILLION they raised last year.

Great googily moogily,




DALLAS (SMU) - SMU Athletics today announced that it has surpassed its ambitious $125 million goal for the ACC Competitiveness Campaign. This monumental achievement comes on the heels of the department's record-setting year, having raised $159 million in cash and commitments for fiscal year 2024.

Launched shortly after SMU's September 1st announcement of its upcoming move to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the ACC Competitiveness Campaign was designed to bolster the university's athletic programs, ensuring they remain competitive at the highest levels of collegiate sports and effectively transition to the ACC.
_________________________

SMU has already set a new season ticket sales record for Ford Stadium and is on pace to more than double the amount of season tickets sold for the upcoming year.

To continue the momentum, SMU Athletics invites you to become part of the Game Changer program, by selling season tickets within your network. As SMU moves to the ACC, we need you to introduce SMU to your friends and colleagues. Signing up is easy! You'll be paired with a ticket sales executive and you will be helping us fill Ford Stadium this fall.

Be a Game Changer and Think B.I.G.:
Buy a ticket!
Introduce someone new to SMU!
Give – to the Mustang Club, ACC Competitiveness Campaign, Weber EZC and Boulevard Collective!


(Click the link to read the full announcement.)

Happy Saturday

It’s been a little quiet the last few minutes. I hope they’re ok.

Wouldnt hurt to extent an invite to Louisville and pick his brain to add a few new wrinkles. But perhaps simplicity is our ally. This seems like a system that takes a few years to adapt to. The “Flex” isnt a new term, though. John L brought what he called the “Flex” from Utah State which they had adapted from the University of Arizona. I had the opportunity to speak with John L at some length about what it was and how it differed from the “zone blitz” that Dom Capers, Dick LeBeau and Kevin Steele were employing

Link

Happy Friday

https://www.si.com/college/louisville/basketball/early-look-at-2026-big-board

More info about each player in article link.

Happy Fourth everyone

Emily Engstler had a career night for Washington Mystics yesterday. 23 points and 9 boards. Glad she has found her place in the WNBA. She is the teammate of Myisha Hines-Allen.

FYI other UL players in the WNBA include Dana Evans and Liz Dixon.

College Basketball Report revenue rankings have Louisville at #1 in the country ....


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