UNDATED (AP) — The judge overseeing the sprawling $2.8 billion antitrust lawsuit settlement involving the NCAA and the nation’s five largest conferences has delayed final approval of the plan until it is modified to address concerns about roster limits. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken signaled she is ready to approve the rest of the settlement but wants both sides to come up with a way to not harm current athletes who will lose their spots on teams. The settlement calls for scholarship limits to be replaced by roster limits. Some attorneys argued that Wilken's order could throw college sports into chaos.
UNDATED (AP) — The surprise transfers of brothers Nico and Madden Iamaleava have prompted fresh questions about contracts and name, image and likeness buyouts for athletes in a college sports landscape looking increasingly like the pros. Nico Iamaleava, who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season, walked away from a reported $2.4 million NIL contract to join UCLA. Arkansas freshman quarterback Madden Iamaleava entered the portal this week to join his brother, according to multiple media reports. Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek says he would support efforts by the Razorbacks’ NIL collective to enforce buyout clauses in athlete contracts.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nikki Blue is joining the staff of Southern California women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb as an assistant. Blue is making a quick pivot from the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, who hired her as an assistant in January. She had been the interim head coach for the Phoenix Mercury over the final 28 games of the 2023 season after joining the franchise as an assistant in 2022. Before working at the pro level, Blue was an assistant at UNLV, Cal State Bakersfield, Grand Canyon and Arizona State over 16 seasons. She was a star guard for UCLA in the early aughts before playing five years in the WNBA.
