Ranking every SEC live mascot from worst to first
Ranking every SEC live mascot from worst to first
The Texas Longhorns path to the College World Series in Omaha is now known. The full field has been announced for the NCAA postseason baseball tournament. The Longhorns have been named the No. 2 overall seed. Texas will also host one of 16 regionals in Austin.
Joining Texas in the Austin regional is UTSA, Kansas State and Houston Christian. The rest of the top eight national seeds are No. 1 seeded Vanderbilt, Arkansas at No. 3, Auburn at No. 4, North Carolina at No. 5, LSU at No. 6, Georgia at No. 7 and Oregon State at No. 8. Vandy won the SEC postseason tournament.
The SEC has six of the top eight national seeds. Ironically, preseason No. 1 Texas A&M did not make the postseason after a 30-26 overall record. Texas will open the Austin regional on Friday at 2 p.m. against Houston Christian, followed by Kansas State vs. UTSA at 7 p.m. at Disch-Falk Field. The regionals are a four-team double-elimination tournament.
The winner of the Austin regional will play the winner of the UCLA regional, which includes the Bruins, Fresno State, UC Irvine and Arizona State.
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Associated Press
40 minutes ago
- Associated Press
College sports commissioners laud $2.8B antitrust settlement, call for Congress to act
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 but acknowledged there would be growing pains in implementing its terms. In a 30-minute virtual news conference Monday, commissioners of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC renewed their call for congressional action to supplement and even codify the settlement and emphasized that cooperation at every level of college sports would be necessary to make it work. They said it was too early to address how violators of rules surrounding revenue sharing and name, image and likeness agreements would be punished and noted newly hired College Sports Commission CEO Bryan Seeley would play a major role in determining penalties. The new era of college athletics has arrived after U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken gave final approval Friday night to what's known as House vs. NCAA. Beginning July 1, each school can share up to about $20.5 million with their athletes and third-party NIL deals worth $600 or more will be analyzed to make sure they pay appropriate 'market value' for the services being provided by athletes. Some of the topics addressed Monday: Binding conferences to terms The conferences drafted a document that would bind institutions to enforcement policies even if their state laws are contradictory. It would require schools to waive their right to pursue legal challenges against the CSC. It also would exempt the commission from lawsuits from member schools over enforcement decisions, instead offering arbitration as the main settlement option. Consequences for not signing the agreement would include risking the loss of league membership and participation against other teams from the Power Four conferences. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said the document remains a work in progress but that he's gotten no pushback from his schools. 'I look to get that executed here in short order,' he said, 'and know it will be very necessary for all the conferences to execute as well.' Directives on revenue sharingThere has been no directive given to individual schools on how to determine the allocation of revenue-sharing payments, commissioners said. It's widely acknowledged that athletes in football and basketball are expected to receive the majority of the money. 'I know for all five of us no one is forgetting about their Olympic sports and continuing to make sure we've invested a high level for all of our sports,' ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said. College Sports Commission CEOThe commissioners said Seeley, as Major League Baseball executive vice president of legal and operations, was uniquely qualified to lead the CSC, which is charged with making sure schools adhere to the rules. 'Culture doesn't change overnight,' Seeley told The Athletic over the weekend. 'I don't expect that to happen overnight, but I do think that the schools that have signed on to the settlement want rules and want rules to be enforced. Otherwise they wouldn't have signed on to the settlement. I think student-athletes want a different system. So I think there is a desire for rules enforcement. There's a desire for transparency.' Sankey said Seeley is well-versed in areas of implementation, development and adjustment of rules and in NIL disputes requiring arbitration. Yormark said: 'You want people not to run away from a situation but to run to a situation. He ran here, and he's very passionate to make a difference and to course correct what's been going on in the industry.' Skepticism about enforcementDeloitte's 'NIL Go' program and LBI Software will track NIL deals and revenue-sharing contracts, and the commissioners shot down skepticism about the ability of those tools to enforce terms of the settlement. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said football and basketball coaches he spoke with in February were unanimous in wanting regulation. 'They have the responsibility to make what they asked for work,' he said. Congressional actionNCAA President Charlie Baker has been pushing Congress for a limited antitrust exemption that would protect college sports from another series of lawsuits, and the commissioners want a uniform federal NIL law that would supersede wide-ranging state laws. 'We're not going to have Final Fours and College Football Playoffs and College World Series with 50 different standards,' Sankey said, 'so that's a starting point.' Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said the willingness of administrators to modernize the college athletics model should prompt federal lawmakers to move on codifying the settlement. Sankey's meeting with TrumpSankey confirmed a Yahoo Sports report that he and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua played golf with President Donald Trump on Sunday. Sankey said he appreciates Trump's interest in college sports and that it was helpful to share perspectives on the path forward. Trump reportedly considered a presidential commission on college sports earlier this year. Sankey declined to disclose details of their talks. 'I think those are best left for the moment on the golf course,' he said. ___ AP college sports:
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
NBA legend Don Nelson wears Luka Doncic shoes to protest 'tremendous mistake' by Mavericks
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Power conference commissioners voice confidence in House settlement: ‘Our schools want rules'
The leaders of college sports' most powerful conferences voiced their confidence in the recently approved House settlement Monday, shepherding in a new era of college athletics in which schools can begin directly paying college athletes on July 1. 'The decision (to approve the settlement) on Friday is a significant step forward toward building long-term stability for college sports while protecting the system from bad actors seeking to exploit confusion and uncertainty,' SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. Advertisement The newly formed College Sports Commission (CSC) held a news conference Monday morning featuring commissioners of the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC. Established in the wake of Friday's approval of the House settlement, the CSC will oversee the implementation and enforcement of settlement terms, shifting much of the responsibility away from the NCAA. Bryan Seeley, the former head of investigations for Major League Baseball, has been announced as CEO and will report to a board comprised of the power conference commissioners. Those commissioners addressed a settlement that intends to reshape the college sports industry and install guardrails on name, image and likeness (NIL) payments that have become unregulated and sparked repeated legal challenges in recent years. 'Ultimately, it is incumbent upon everyone involved in college sports … to make the terms of this settlement work. We must be committed and embrace both the realities and opportunities ahead,' said Sankey, who acknowledged that there will be 'challenges and growing pains.' 'While this settlement does not solve every issue, it establishes a solid foundation for stability and a sustainable future,' Sankey said. The CSC has been tasked with oversight of the settlement's new revenue-sharing pool, which will be capped at roughly $20.5 million per school in the first year, as well as third-party NIL deals via the new NIL Go clearinghouse. NIL Go, which will evaluate any third-party NIL payments worth at least $600, is expected to be up and running this week and will determine whether those deals represent a valid business purpose and fall within an approved range of compensation. Those that don't fit the criteria will be flagged and forced to be adjusted or taken to arbitration. The aim is to stamp out the unchecked 'pay-for-play' deals popularized by NIL collectives. Advertisement The power conference commissioners did not offer specifics Monday on what the enforcement and penalties might look like under the CSC, but ACC commissioner Jim Phillips stated that Seeley will have a lot of input on those areas moving forward. Even prior to Friday's approval, there has been no shortage of questions or doubts from those inside and outside college sports about the viability of the settlement terms and the CSC's ability to enforce these new rules. 'It all sounds great in theory, but how will it actually work?' one power conference athletic director recently posited to The Athletic. The commissioners made clear in no uncertain terms Monday that they expect strict adherence and buy-in from their member schools. 'It's progress over perfection,' Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said. 'Our schools want rules and we're providing rules and we will be governed by those rules. And if you break those rules, the ramifications will be punitive.' Part of that process includes 'participation agreements' in which the schools agree to comply with the terms of the settlement and not seek legal action, regardless of any differences and discrepancies with state laws. 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(The commissioners did state that decisions on how the revenue sharing pool will be distributed will be made on a school-by-school basis.) To that end, the NCAA and power conferences, as part of the College Sports Commission, will continue to lobby Congress for things like antitrust exemptions and federal legislation that preempts state laws and addresses athlete employment status. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said he hopes the settlement will provide a foundation that encourages Congress to take action, and Sankey acknowledged that he and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua played golf with President Donald Trump on Sunday to discuss some of these same issues. There is no timetable for if or when Congress will take action, but lobbying efforts will continue in Washington, D.C.'I don't know if there is an exact timeline, but there is a sense of urgency, for sure,' said Yormark. 'I don't think we have to sell them on the topic, we just have to land in the right place that works for both parties on the Hill, and I think we're getting closer.'
