A Grip on Sports: The answer to all your college football questions these days seems to be money – from inside and outside your favorite school
A GRIP ON SPORTS • There are distinct aspects to any college football season. Training camp kicks it off. The games follow, nonconference and those against conference foes. Bowls and playoffs. Recruiting. And, finally, where we are now. The hype season. In actuality, the part of summer that kicks off the whole show.
•••••••
• The Big 12 Conference is leading it off. Media days at Jerry Jones’ team headquarters in Dallas. Sixteen schools. With a former entertainment industry leader now the commissioner. Perfect casting, right? After all, college football is nothing if not an entertainment business of its own sort these days. With players making more money than the Eagles. Not the Super Bowl champs, the ancient rock group.
OK, probably not that much – though we’re pretty sure Don Felder will earn less this year than K-State’s starting quarterback – but still a whole bunch of moola.
More, actually, than was expected. The whole idea of the recently enacted terms from the settlement of the House lawsuit was to give college athletics a soft salary cap. To limit how much money each school could share with athletes. To level the non-playing field, so to speak.
But if the comments coming from the Big 12’s football coaches Tuesday are any indication, the process that was supposed to control (and tamp-down) name, image and likeness payments from boosters isn’t helping. Yet.
The oversight hasn’t been established to a great degree. There is still much in the way of uncertainty on how the terms will be enforced, with the attorneys for both sides still meeting to iron out the particulars.
In other words, money is still flowing, supporters of many schools are still trying to exploit any loophole possible and the level playing field seems to be tilting, for some reason, toward Lubbock, Texas.
Texas Tech’s investment – ya, that’s the right word – in football recruits has grown to a new level. Others are following. The clarity – and limits – schools wanted still seems miles away.
• You think this is just an issue among the Power Four conferences? Think again. The Big Sky has been divided into haves and have-nots as well. Three conference schools have opted into the House revenue sharing system. The other seven full members, including Eastern Washington and Idaho, have decided not to participate.
Which means, what exactly? Montana and Montana State are just continuing a long-standing tradition of outspending other conference schools. They are the SEC of the Sky, the places where it just means more. And by means, we’re also using the definition that has to do with money.
Sacramento State is just passing through these days, with its fairly new president Luke Wood, an alum, spending money like a drunken legislator en route to the school’s ultimate destination, Big Time College Athleticsville.
Will this stratify the conference? Maybe, but it has been stratified for decades. Whatever Sacramento State is doing has no relevance, really. The Hornets will be gone this time next year. And the Griz and Bobcats have been on a different plane, financial, than most of its brethren as long as I can remember – and that’s a long time. Besides, it hasn’t always translated into success. Other factors, such as coaching, come into play as well. And always will.
• We’re still a distance from baseball’s All-Star break but that doesn’t mean many new power marks haven’t been set.
Cal Raleigh clubbed his 36th home run of the season Tuesday night in New York and, in doing so, broke a tie with Ken Griffey Jr. for the club’s pre-break record. He’s not alone. In the other dugout, Aaron Judge tied his Yankee record when he hit his 34th of the season an inning before Raleigh’s belt. Judge hit 34 last year as well.
Shohei Ohtani did the same with the Dodger pre-all-star record yesterday, with his 31st homer.
And it’s not because the All-Star Game is later than usual this season. The July 15 date is a day earlier than last season and is quite a bit earlier than the latest non-strike – or the pension-funding second games in 1960, 1961 and 1962 – game, held July 25, 1972.
•••
WSU: Around the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we linked Jon Wilner’s look in the Mercury News at Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark’s remarks to kick off the conference’s football media days Tuesday. We also link it here. … John Canzano takes a deep dive into the Pac-12’s newest member, Texas State. If you want to know about the school, this is the column to read. … As we like to say, recruiting never stops. A four-star running back from California is headed to Washington. … Oregon had some good news as well yesterday. … Oregon State will be playing California this season. … Colorado is known for attracting football transfer. One player who left is having a fine time at Arizona State. … The Sun Devils were in the spotlight at yesterday’s Big 12 media day. … That light awaits Utah’s veteran coach Kyle Whittingham today. … Arizona didn’t draw the interest its neighbor to the north did. … Utah State, whose president left for Washington State, is in the market for a new athletic director again. … Even USC has had to tighten its belt these days. … Colorado State will start the football season underappreciated. … In basketball news, the Corvallis newspaper has picked a 13-member all-quarter-century Oregon State women’s basketball squad. … The Mountain West threw a wrench into its schools’ basketball scheduling. It announced yesterday Grand Canyon is joining the conference now, a year earlier than previously announced. That means everyone from San Diego State to Utah State and beyond has to re-do its schedule. … Money talks. The NCAA’s 68-team bracket will walk out the door soon.
Gonzaga: Kelly Olynyk won’t be making any of the Washington Wizards’ all-time teams. The veteran has been traded again. Theo Lawson has all the details in this story. … Theo also has a story on Chet Holmgren and the Thunder agreeing to a $250-million contract extension.
EWU: We mentioned the Big Sky above, though we didn’t talk about the conference’s golf offerings. We leave that to Jim Meehan, as his column today delves into the Eagles building a men’s program again. Eastern hasn’t had a men’s program in a couple decades. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, conference commissioner Tom Wistrcill’s contract will now run through 2030. … Recruiting never stops. Certainly not for Montana and Montana State football. … Idaho State’s top rebounder from last season will play his hoop in Europe this fall. … Southern Utah’s quest for a new athletic director coincided with its return to the Big Sky.
Chiefs: Andrew Cristall helped Spokane make it to the WHL finals recently. Now the 20-year-old is trying to make the Washington Capitals.
Indians: Trailing by five runs heading into the bottom of the ninth Tuesday night at Avista, Spokane rallied. Scored four times. But that is all and fell 5-4 to Hillsboro. Dave Nichols was there and has this game story.
Sounders: The club updated Stefan Frei’s status Tuesday. … The Gold Cup success of some players may change the U.S. roster a bit next summer in the World Cup.
Mariners: There was one happenstance in last night’s 10-3 loss to the Yankees I didn’t understand. Logan Gilbert was flying along. Had retired 11 of 12 hitters. Held the Yanks hitless until the fourth inning. Then the rains came. And he sat for 35 minutes. Usually that means a starting pitcher’s day is done, especially one who already has dealt with arm issues this season. But Dan Wilson sent him back out to the bump, where New York began feasting on pitches that didn’t have the same location or velocity. Weird. … The Mariners have the third pick in the upcoming MLB draft. Who will they take? … Logan Evans is back in the starting rotation.
Storm: Did Seattle pick the right player with the No. 2 selection in the WNBA draft? And is it time to reset expectations for the Storm this season? … Just how much is Caitlin Clark worth to the WNBA? Enough to fix the officiating issues?
Golf: The upcoming Rosauers Open has a need for volunteers.
•••
• Another near-90-degree day in Spokane. Sort of kills my plans to go snowboarding this afternoon. Ah, well. My first foray into risking life and limb flying down a snow-covered mountain will have to wait for another year. Someday I will fulfill the promise to my son. Until later …