Valentine: LUC built on 'mindset' and 'mentality'
Loyola Chicago head coach Drew Valentine praises the Ramblers' resilience in the Atlantic 10 regular-season finale and knows his team's "mindset" and "mentality" is pivotal in the NCAA Tournament.
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LSU's Kim Mulkey Sends Message to Flau'jae Johnson After Career Announcement
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7 hours ago
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With the NCAA landscape changing, can small schools thrive in college athletics without the big bucks?
ORLANDO, Fla. — As schools prepare to begin sharing millions with their athletes, there is no avoiding the reality that if you're not a Power Four school, you're at a disadvantage. With major conferences running the show, St. Bonaventure and Florida International don't even have a seat at the table. FIU and St. Bonaventure aren't necessarily worried about a head-to-head fight over top players with deeper-pocketed schools. The priority has become survival and finding a balance between athletics ambition and financial sustainability. Adrian Wojnarowski spoke candidly about the challenges he faced during his inaugural season as the general manager of the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team. Solidifying a recruiting class that would improve the team and embrace the school culture was not easy. After July 1, when lucrative paychecks will pretty much become mandatory for blue-chip prospects, it's not going to get any easier. With some 2,000 undergraduate students, the Bonnies are outnumbered in resources and revenue when competing even against other Atlantic 10 teams like VCU, Dayton, and Saint Louis. Wojnarowski, ESPN's former lead NBA reporter, thinks he has identified a formula for locating the ideal prospect. To him, St. Bonaventure is a landing spot for international players adjusting to a new culture and college life, transfers who may have fallen short at a high major and need development, or those looking to move up to a mid-major. He admits the school in upstate New York could be a pit stop on a player's journey. 'I want them to see that our environment, our coaching staff, our small school, especially for international players coming over, what I really try to sell is your adjustment to American college life,' he said at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and Affiliates Convention this week. 'I think for a lot of kids, it's easier in a school with 1,900 students than a school with 19,000. And you'll come to have two great years with us, and then you'll probably end up at schools with 19,000 or 29,000,' he said. 'And so you're selling, for us, we're your first step on the way to somewhere else, or the other one to me is we're the place to come when you've got to get the basketball right.' Female athletes appeal landmark NCAA settlement, saying it violates federal antidiscrimination lawIf the plan goes awry and a recruit slips away, one thing the former NBA insider refuses to do is blame the money. 'Fundraising is hard, creating new revenue streams is hard, but the one thing that I try to stay away from with us is not saying, 'Oh, we didn't get him because they offered more money,' and using that as a crutch all the time. I really examine when we lost a player,' Wojnarowski said. 'Are we being honest with ourselves in saying that we did everything outside the economics to make our case to this person?' FIU has more than 40,000 undergraduates, but the athletic department is using a similar philosophy, pinpointing advantages and opportunities to come from the settlement instead of the negatives. Similar to St. Bonaventure, FIU doesn't expect to come close to the $20.5 million revenue-sharing cap available over the next year. For a competitive edge, unlocking new revenue streams is fundamental. 'To compete, from a revenue standpoint, you have to think outside the box of your conventional fundraising and targeting donors,' senior associate athletic director Joseph Corey said. 'That's why you're looking at concerts being held at different venues, different festivals to generate extra revenue to bring in, different revenue streams, and not just fundraising going after the same donors. You've got to go beyond that in order to be able to compete.' Being based in Miami has its perks. Proximity to celebrities is one of them. In August, FIU secured a 10-year partnership with Pitbull, the singer and rapper who coins himself 'Mr. 305.' 'We did the partnership with Pitbull – Pitbull Stadium. He's on tour, but part of the deal was that he would be collaborating with us and doing events for us from a fundraising standpoint,' Corey said. 'You've got to think outside the box. Especially in a city like Miami, it's about the experience too.' Schools unlocking creative revenue streams is something that can be expected. FIU competes in Conference USA alongside teams like Liberty, Louisiana Tech, UTEP, Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State. The football team went 3-5 in 2024, finishing sixth in the conference. The men's basketball team finished last with a 3-15 conference record. It's hard to sell donors on losing teams. 'Let's call it what it is, FIU's not going to be able to keep up with the Alabamas of the world, the Georgias, Michigan, or Texas, but what can we do? We can be the best in our conference. That is our goal,' Corey said. 'Let's be the best in our conference and really compete there because once you're at the top of your conference, that means more revenue in other areas. Everyone wants to donate to a winner.'
USA Today
11 hours ago
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Clemson will face familiar opponent in 2025 ACC/SEC Basketball Challenge
Clemson will face familiar opponent in 2025 ACC/SEC Basketball Challenge NEWS: Matchups are set for the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge, per sources. UF @ Duke UNC @ UK UVA @ Texas NC St @ Auburn Clemson @ Bama LVille @ Ark OU @ Wake SMU @ Vandy A&M @ Pitt Miss St @ GT Miami @ Ole Miss LSU @ BC VT@SC Tenn @ Cuse Mizzou @ ND UGA @ FSUhttps:// — Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 11, 2025 Clemson basketball will face a familiar opponent in the ACC/SEC Challenge this year. CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported Wednesday that Brad Brownell's Tigers will take on coach Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa in the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge. An official date and start time were not announced. The matchup will be a rematch of teams who met twice during the 2023-24 season, including in the West Region final of NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles on March 30, 2024. After defeating New Mexico, No. 3 seed Baylor and No. 2 seed Arizona in the tournament, the Tigers reached the Elite Eight for only the second time in program history, and the first since 1980. Clemson fell to Alabama, 89-82, at Arena (Staples Center), denying the Tigers their first trip to a Final Four. Prior to that, Clemson and Alabama met four months earlier on Nov. 28 in Tuscaloosa, an 85-77 Tigers victory in the 2023 ACC/SEC Challenge. Last year, Clemson smothered No. 4 Kentucky in the ACC/SEC Challenge for a 70-66 win at Littlejohn Coliseum on Dec. 3 behind 11 points and 20 rebounds from Ian Schieffelin. Guard Jaeden Zackery led the Tigers in scoring with 13 points, and fans stormed the court after the victory. Clemson finished 27-7 overall last season and 18-2 in ACC play and was a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers fell to McNeese State, 69-67, in a first-round upset in Providence, Rhode Island. Clemson was ranked No. 23 in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Alabama went 28-9 overall and reached the Elite Eight before falling to Duke in the East Region final in Newark. The Crimson Tide were ranked No. 6 in the final Coaches Poll. Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
