But what if there was a giant, 60-million seat classroom we keep overlooking?

What if there was already a classroom where students are learning how to lead, how to fail and keep trying and how to handle themselves when things don’t go their way?

A place where teamwork wasn’t just a word on a post but rather something kids had to develop and live out in real time?

Youth sports represent that classroom. For decades, youth sports have been considered just a physical outlet that kids participated in to stay healthy and be active. What’s often overlooked is the depth of learning and development already happening within athletic environments.

According to the Aspen Institute’s , an estimated 54% of all kids aged 6-17 participate in some form of youth sports every year. In raw numbers, that’s over in the U.S. engaging in organized athletics every year. Sports are embedded in the lives of American youth.

With over half of our students participating in sports each year, we have the opportunity to treat their involvement as more than just an add-on. Instead, what if educators and parents viewed sports as another environment where real learning can take place? 

While sports should never replace academics, they should have a place at the table to help kids develop the tools they need to be successful adults.

Before I go any further, I need to name the challenge schools are facing: Administrators, teachers, and coaches are making impossible decisions because of a gross lack of funding. The work already being done is nothing short of heroic.

This conversation isn’t about funding. It’s about mindset. Too often, we pit educational tools against each other: arts vs. athletics, STEM vs. P.E. But what if they could work together? 

Some students thrive in traditional classroom settings. My kids fall into that group. School has always come naturally to them. But when the first time they stepped on a soccer field, they had to wrestle with failure in new ways school hadn’t required.

Because their academics had felt easy, my kids didn’t know how to respond when things didn’t come easily in sports. While they were praised for their success in school, their failure on the field brought critique and discomfort. At first, they shut down when they didn’t get it right. They would get frustrated and self-critical, claiming, “I’ll never be able to do this!” Then, over time, they learned the lesson we hope every kid learns: They can do hard things if they stick with it.

For other students, the process works in reverse. While they might struggle in the classroom, they light up under the lights. The field becomes the first place they feel confident, focused, and successful. If youth sports were viewed as a partner to education, these students could learn to apply the mindset they’ve already developed through sport to their academics.

The kind of development educators often hope to foster in a classroom is already happening organically on fields and courts. It’s easy to dismiss these moments as feel-good stories, but they’re actually meaningful learning experiences. Imagine what could happen if schools were to leverage that development and apply it to our classrooms.

Schools don’t need to choose between academics and athletics. But they also shouldn’t pretend that integration will be easy.

To do this well, it will take coaches who care more about kids than win-loss records. Coaches who understand they’re shaping people, not just players.

It will take teachers who can connect what happens on the field with what’s being taught in the classroom. Teachers who are willing to leverage the emotional growth sports often bring out.

And it will take administrators who can walk the tightrope of budget constraints, parental expectations, and student needs while still finding a way to lead with intentionality.

This isn’t about building a sports-first system. It’s about enhancing our student-first system in a way that recognizes how different environments can shape a child while treating each environment with the respect and thoughtfulness it deserves.

When we dismiss sports as something kids do outside of school, we risk missing one of the most impactful classrooms where kids are already discovering who they are, developing emotional resilience, and learning how to work hard. We also lose the opportunity to reinforce the growth already happening. And we leave too many students without the tools they need in the classroom.

If the goal is to raise kids who can navigate challenges and keep growing when things get hard, we can’t afford to overlook the role sports already play in the lives of our students. Not as competition to the classroom, but as a partner. 

This  was originally published on .

Just days after the California Department of Education and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) leaders refused to ban transgender athletes from high school sports, the Trump administration sued the state’s Education Department, the .

The U.S. Department of Education on June 25 said that the state Education Department and the CIF, which governs high school athletics, violated federal law and  to bar transgender athlete participation in sports or face legal action. 

On Monday, the California agencies . 

As threatened, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit, saying California’s transgender athlete policies violate Title IX, the landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. 

California’s high school athletics guidelines allow athletes to participate in sports aligned with their gender identity — a policy that is consistent with 2013 state legislation that allows students to participate on sports teams . 

According to AP, the federal Justice Department said California’s rules “are not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys.”

But California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said state law does not align with this interpretation of the federal law. 

The issue is the latest fight in a nationwide battle over the rights of transgender youth, AP reported. For example, some states have limited transgender girls from participating on girls sports teams. 

California’s policy for high schoolers does not have a legal or medical requirement, such as a documented name change or gender-confirming care, for transgender students to compete, . Student participation is based solely on their gender identity or expression.

$390,000 to Jaylon Tyson, a former basketball guard at UC Berkeley, from a group of private donors.

$3,000 to Jordan Chiles, a UCLA gymnast and Olympic gold-medal winner, from Grammarly, an AI writing company. 

$390 to Mekhi Mays, a former Cal State Long Beach sprinter, from a local barbecue joint. 

These payments — derived from data that public universities provided to CalMatters — were part of “name, image and likeness deals” requiring students to create on social media. 

Such sponsorship deals were unheard of just four years ago. In 2021, California enacted a law allowing athletes to make these kinds of brand deals. It was the first state to pass such a law, prompting across the country. 

This is the first-ever look at what many California athletes have actually made. University records show that money is flowing, but how much college athletes earn depends largely on the popularity of the sport, the gender and star power of its players and the fanbase of the university. While UCLA gymnasts earned over $2 million in the last three school years, university records show that players on the UCLA women’s water polo team earned just $152 during the same time frame, despite winning the national championship last year. 

For companies, these name, image and likeness deals are akin to paying any other celebrity or professional athlete to promote a product. University alumni and sports fans can’t give money directly to a student athlete — at least not yet — but they are allowed to make name, image and likeness deals. Many universities have private donor groups, known as collectives or booster clubs, that offer athletes money, sometimes more than $400,000 in a single transaction, in exchange for an autograph or participation in a brief charity event. Often, those deals are a pretext to send money to top-tier players and discourage them from seeking better deals at other colleges.

CalMatters reached out to every public and private university in the state with Division 1 teams, where the potential for profit is typically highest, and requested data that shows how much money each of its student athletes have made since 2021. State law requires all student athletes to report to their school any compensation they receive from their name, image and likeness, and public universities are required to disclose certain kinds of data upon request. Private universities, such as Stanford University and the University of Southern California, are not required to disclose any data about their students’ earnings. 

All of the public Division 1 universities responded to CalMatters’ inquiry, though they did not all provide the same degree of transparency. San Jose State and Cal State Northridge said they had no records of any deals.

There’s no consequence for students who fail to report what are known as NIL deals, so the data from public institutions may be incomplete. Still, certain trends emerge: 

• College athletes at the state’s public universities received millions of dollars from collectives or booster clubs. At four University of California schools, around 70% or more of all compensation came from these collectives, according to university records. That’s just below national trends, according to by Opendorse, a tech company that tracks students’ deals. 
• Male basketball players earned the most. While football is more popular and lucrative, nationally, many public Division 1 schools in California lack a football team. The football data may also be incomplete. For instance, all football players at UC Berkeley reported making a total of just over $113,000 since 2021 — less than what all San Diego State players made — even though Berkeley is in a more prominent conference. 
• For high-profile football or basketball players in particular, it’s becoming more common for students to transfer multiple times, often in search of better name, image and likeness deals. Some California institutions, such as UC Davis and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, have seen top athletes transfer colleges or threaten to transfer in order to attain better compensation elsewhere.
• Except for a few star players, such as Chiles, most female college athletes made very little, according to the data provided to CalMatters. 
• Collectively, athletes at UCLA and UC Berkeley earned more than double what those attending other UC and California State University campuses made. Some donors, such as those supporting Sacramento State and UC San Diego, have rapidly raised money to compete, while at other schools, athletic directors say they’ll never be able to guarantee such high-dollar deals. 

Schools often removed any information that could identify an individual student. While UCLA generally did not provide the individual names of its athletes, the school was more transparent than most and shared the date of each transaction, the name of the brand or company, the amount of money it gave, and the sport. In February, a UCLA gymnast reported receiving $250,000 from the beverage company Bubbl’r. Since then, Chiles has that brand, . In May, a UCLA gymnast reported receiving $210,000 from the cosmetic brand Milani for “social media” — just a few months before Chiles posted a video on Instagram, . One or more members of the UCLA gymnastics team have also reported deals with the food company Danone for $300,000 and with the health care company Sanofi for $285,000. 

Fresno State shared less information. In the 2021-22 academic year, the Fresno State women’s basketball team raked in over $1.1 million from multiple name, image and likeness deals, but the university did not disclose which players were involved or how many were paid. After influencers and former basketball players and transferred to the University of Miami in April 2022, the number and dollar amount of deals for the Fresno team diminished. In the 2023-24 academic year, the team made just over $1,000 from 10 different deals.

Money from boosters or collectives is the hardest to trace. In May, for example, a group of UCLA donors gave an undisclosed football player $450,000 for “social media.” 

While private universities are not required to disclose students’ earnings, market estimates from , a media and technology company focused on college sports, say the highest-earning Stanford University athlete, basketball player , could collect $1.5 million in the next 12 months. The top USC athlete, football player , could make $603,000 in the next year, according to the same estimates. These numbers are based on an algorithm that uses aggregate deals from college athletes across the country. Nationwide, the Opendorse report estimates that college athletes will earn $1.65 billion in the 2024-25 academic year. 

Soon, college athletes may make even more. A high-profile will likely allow schools to pay athletes directly, while still classifying them as students, not employees. If the proposed settlement agreement goes into effect, students could see payouts as early as this fall. 

If a school pays a student directly, the money should be divided roughly proportional to the number of male and female athletes, the Biden administration said in a U.S. Department of Education issued in January. The page . 

In the last few months, attorneys have rescinded federal labor petitions asking that USC and Dartmouth College student athletes be reclassified as employees, but new cases are likely on the horizon, said Mit Winter, an attorney who specializes in name, image and likeness law: “I do think at some point — two years, five years, whatever it is — at least some college athletes will be employees.”

A Times Square billboard reads: NIL has begun

For decades, college sports have been a big business, though most of the money flowed to universities, not students. Nationally, Division 1 universities reported in 2022, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). That’s more than the gross domestic product of . For schools with top-performing football programs, such as UCLA and Berkeley, and other kinds of marketing represent over a third of total revenue. 

Before California’s law went into effect, college athletes weren’t allowed to profit off their sport, though they frequently received scholarships equal to the cost of college tuition. On July 1, 2021 the new law took effect, and Haley and Hanna Cavinder were the first to benefit, with Boost Mobile, a cell phone company, and Sixstar, a nutrition company, just after the stroke of midnight. A proclaimed they were the first such deals in the country. 

Over the past four years, other California college athletes have signed advertising deals with clothing brands such as Crocs, Heelys and Aeropostale and food brands such as Liquid I.V. and Jack in the Box. FTX, the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, signed contracts with on the UCLA women’s basketball team in 2021. In 2022, the Biden campaign gave a UCLA gymnast $7,000, but public records did not disclose the purpose of the transaction. No other politicians appeared in any university’s data.

Last year, Visit Fresno County, a nonprofit that promotes tourism, paid former Fresno State football players and just under $10,000 to post Instagram videos about and , according to President and CEO Lisa Oliveira. She said the posts were so successful that she asked Agina to make another video, promoting a . 

But much of the money for students’ name, image and likeness doesn’t come from brands at all — it’s from private donors. Philanthropist and entertainment lawyer Mark Kalmansohn has given nearly $150,000 in 12 different transactions to athletes on UCLA’s volleyball, softball and women’s basketball teams since 2022, according to the data, which runs through May of last year. In an interview with CalMatters, Kalmansohn said he’s given more than $175,000 since May. “Women’s sports were almost always treated in a second-hand nature and given inferior resources,” he said, adding that his philanthropy is about “women’s rights.”

In exchange for money, he asks each recipient to issue a free license of their name, image and likeness to a nonprofit organization that’s relevant to the athlete’s sport. But he said that’s not the norm. “In men’s football and men’s basketball, it’s pretty obvious that money is not for an ‘appearance’.” Instead, he explained that it’s a way to support the player and keep the team competitive. 

Most donors give money to specific athletes through a collective, where the donors’ identities are largely hidden. At UCLA, public data through the 2023-24 academic year shows that a collective known as the Men of Westwood channeled nearly $2 million in private donations to the football, basketball and baseball teams. At Berkeley, collectives gave over $1.3 million to athletes since the 2022-23 academic year — the vast majority of which went to the men’s basketball team. 

Supporting ‘elite talent’ at UC and Cal State

For years, NCAA rules made it difficult for college athletes to transfer schools, but in 2021, right around the time that California started to allow name, image and likeness deals, the NCAA eased . The number of students who transfer suddenly and , according to NCAA data. In practice, the new rules means that a well-endowed collective can lure athletes who want to make more money. 

This year, over 11% of all Division 1 football players have tried to transfer colleges, an increase from the previous year, said Matt Kraemer, whose organization, , uses social media posts and tips from insiders to gauge college athletes’ transfer activity. Quarterbacks are even more likely to try to transfer, Kraemer said.

For institutions like UC Davis, the threat of losing a top athlete can be costly. Late in the 2023-24 academic year, donors from other universities promised top athletes lucrative deals if they agreed to transfer, so UC Davis formed a collective, , to make counter-offers, said Athletic Director Rocko DeLuca. “It’s a means to retain elite talent here at Davis.”

DeLuca said the collective gave men’s basketball guard $50,000 and UC Davis running back $25,000. Those transactions were for “social media, appearances, autographs,” according to the university's data. 

So far, all other UC Davis athletes — more than 700 students over 25 sports — have reported just under $19,000 in deals since 2021. A few other athletes received products, such as a free cryotherapy session or a commission based on sales.

In December, former UC Berkeley quarterback Fernando Mendoza transferred to Indiana University, where he later signed with a collective for an undisclosed amount. UC Berkeley then recruited former Ohio State quarterback Devin Brown It’s not clear if the Berkeley collective offered Brown a deal, since the university’s data doesn’t name Brown. 

Justin DiTolla, Berkeley’s associate athletic director, said the university is “not affiliated with the collective” and that the university provides “equal support to all student athletes.” “We recognize that there is a difference in NIL support,” he said, “But it isn’t under our scope or umbrella.” The Berkeley collective, California Legends, declined to comment.

At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, some football players sought more money through a name, image and likeness deal by transferring to another school, but they didn’t all succeed, said Don Oberhelman, the university’s athletic director. “That’s the dirty little secret of all of this: the number of kids who blow an opportunity.”

This fall, nine football players at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo announced their intention to transfer, he said. Six of them found a new university, he said, including University of Texas El Paso, San Diego State, Stanford, and Washington State — but three of them never received an offer from another school. 

Oberhelman said that his football coach begins recruiting a replacement the moment a player announces his intention to transfer. If that student doesn’t end up transferring, he may lose his spot on the football team and the entirety of his athletic scholarship, which can be up to $30,000 a year. 

“There’s raw emotion involved in these kinds of decisions,” he said. “I don’t think that’s how we would operate, but I can see a lot of people say, ‘You broke up with us.’” 

Oberhelman said he doesn’t know what happened to the three players from the football team who failed to transfer. “For me, it would boil down to: Did we promise that money to someone else? Did we find another transfer or a high school person to replace you? If we did, that would put your future financial aid with us in jeopardy.”

Small-town name, image and likeness deals 

Outside of top football and men’s basketball programs, many of California’s college athletes vie for smaller name, image and likeness deals, often with local businesses, lesser-known clothing or athletic brands, or anything else they can find.

Former Berkeley softball player got $50 from one woman to give a pitching lesson to her daughter. In July 2023, chiropractor Lance Casazza started giving out free sessions to at least one Sacramento State football player in exchange for social media posts.

, a basketball player at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, got her first deal through a local restaurant, Jewel of India, which occasionally has a pop-up tent outside the college gym. “I just said, ‘Hey I can market you. Let’s think of a cool slogan to put out.’” Customers who ask to “swish with Shah” at the checkout counter get a discount on their meal, she said. Shah doesn’t get any money, she said, but she does get free food whenever she visits. 

“It was just a cool relationship and connection that I made with this family and the owners of Jewel of India, where they just want to help me out and I want to help them.” 

Walking around campus, friends jokingly refer to Shah as their own “Jewel of India” and she likes it. “It’s such a marketable slogan now, and it kind of identifies who I am.”

Many Division 1 schools have their own websites where customers can buy gear with an athlete’s name on it, but last fall, no such platform existed at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, said Shah, so she created her own. She partnered with a company, Cloud 9 Sports, and launched her own apparel brand. It’s brought in about $2,000 in sales so far, but after the university and Cloud 9 Sports take a cut, Shah said she’s left with about $800. 

Shah said she was never told to report any of her monetary or in-kind contributions. After CalMatters asked, Oberhelman, the athletic director, said the school is now requiring it. “We haven’t done a great job following up because we’re just not going to have student athletes that are getting even five-figure deals,” he said. 

Oberhelman said he only knew of eight deals, each for $2,000, all to the men’s football team from a group of private donors.

Fresno State provided more data than Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but it did not designate which deals came from its collective, known as Bulldog Bread. On the collective says it has raised more than $690,000 in corporate donations for Fresno State. At the top tier, that includes money from former Fresno State quarterbacks David and Derek Carr, property developer Lance Kashian, and construction company Tarlton and Son, Inc. The collective recently launched a vodka brand in partnership with a distillery, where a portion of all proceeds support students’ name, image and likeness deals.

Athletes at UC Santa Barbara have reported $1,800 from their collective, Gold & Blue, but many other transactions reported by the school provide few details. According to the school’s data, an unnamed person or group made 15 deals with one or more members of the UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team, totaling over $50,000 in “appearance fees” for an event last August associated with Heal the Ocean, a local environmental nonprofit. 

The organization’s executive director, Hillary Hauser, said the nonprofit made no such contribution and had no events in August. University spokesperson Kiki Reyes said it’s “possible” that a collective made those payments, but she refused to respond to CalMatters’ questions regarding Hauser’s statement the event never occurred. 

From August 2023 to August 2024, male basketball and baseball athletes at UC Santa Barbara reported roughly $500,000 in compensation for appearance fees related to various charities. Over the same time frame, all other athletes reported receiving free products, sales referrals, and cash payments totaling about $1,000.

At UCLA, the CEO of the Men of Westwood collective, Ken Graiwer, is listed in university records as the “point of contact” for a $450,000 contribution, distributed over six transactions in the 2023-24 academic year, to the men’s basketball team for “public appearances.” For each of those transactions, the university’s data lists the Team First Foundation, a sports nonprofit, as the vendor. Neither UCLA nor the Team First Foundation responded to questions about who made the payment. 

A few months before those transactions, the Men of Westwood posted a few photos on its Instagram account, showing UCLA men’s basketball players on the court with smiling children from the Team First Foundation programs. In the post, the Men of Westwood said it was  

California universities try to ‘stay competitive’

Since becoming legal in 2021, the market for name, image and likeness compensation has exploded. Sports commentators, attorneys, and athletic directors say the landscape is a kind of “wild West” or “gold rush”: The money is pouring in, but the regulations are sparse or evolving.

CalMatters has partial data from the 2024-25 academic year, but early indicators suggest that even more cash will soon flow to players. In September, a group of Sacramento State alumni, including some state lawmakers, said they for name, image and likeness deals. Cal State Bakersfield and UC San Diego recently formed their own collectives too.

Last year, former Democratic Sen. Nancy Skinner of Berkeley — one of the co-authors of the — proposed to gather more data about spending by collectives and its impact on women’s sports. Newsom vetoed the bill, saying “Further changes to this dynamic should be done nationally.” 

Initially, the NCAA tried to prevent colleges from directly assisting athletes with deals, but the association has , blurring the lines between universities and the private collectives that support them. Many states have passed laws explicitly allowing universities to make deals directly with students. In October, Skinner and former Democratic Sen. Steven Bradford wrote to California universities, encouraging them to do the same. 

“I strongly urge California schools to make full use of (the watershed law) to stay competitive in college sports, especially now that other states are copying California and allowing their schools to make direct NIL deals with their student athletes,” said Skinner in a press release about the letter.

This spring, California District Judge Claudia Wilken is expected to approve a settlement between athletes and the NCAA that would further expand the ways universities can pay their players. In , a college could directly spend up to a combined $20.5 million per year on payments to all of its athletes. The spending limit would grow over time.

Regardless of the settlement, athletic directors at many of California’s public institutions, such as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal State Bakersfield, said they don’t plan on giving any more money directly to students because their athletic programs lack the cash. “They’re already on full scholarship, so there aren’t any more existing dollars we can really offer that person,” said Oberhelman, with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Even if the university did have the money, he said he’s concerned about the legal implications of paying students directly. “Are they going to get a W-2 now? Are we paying workers comp? Nobody seems to have answered a lot of these questions.”

DiTolla, at Berkeley, said the university will start paying its athletes once the settlement is finalized. UC San Diego joined Division 1 sports last year, and Athletic Director Earl Edwards said it is “seriously considering” paying its athletes too “if that’s what we need to do to be competitive.” UCLA refused to comment on the proposed settlement.

USC Senior Associate Athletic Director Cody Worsham said the university will “invest the full permissible $20.5 million in 2025-26.” Stanford refused to answer any questions.

While no Division 1 school in California has shared details about how it plans to pay its athletes, experts, such as attorney Mit Winter, say the proposed settlement is unlikely to change the current disparities in college sports, especially within the four most lucrative and dominant athletic conferences, known as the Power Four. Stanford, USC, UC Berkeley and UCLA are all in the Power Four. 

For female rowers like , a freshman at UCLA, the disparities among men’s and women’s sports — and between football, basketball and everyone else — are no surprise. “Those big sports do bring in the most revenue, and they’re the most watched,” she said, while acknowledging that other athletes, such as fellow rowers, “deserve much more than we’re getting.” 

Singer said she’s been working on building her social media brand and has nearly 3,000 followers on and just over 1,300 on . A few “very small companies” reached out to her through TikTok about promoting beauty products, but none of the brands felt like a good fit, she said. She has yet to agree to any deals or receive any funding from a collective.

Neither have most of her peers. The UCLA women’s rowing team has reported less than $500 in name, image and likeness compensation since 2021.

In the proposed settlement, each school will each be able to independently determine how to distribute their funds, but Winter said universities will likely follow their peers. “If you’re in UCLA, Berkeley….you’re in the Power Four and you’re going to have to stay competitive in recruiting,” he said. 

“Most of the Power Four schools have all sort of landed on a similar way they’re going to pay that money out,” he added: 75% to the football team, 15% to the basketball team, around 5% to women’s basketball, and 5% to all other sports.

This article was and was republished under the license.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill formally introduced Bill Belichick as its head football coach at a Thursday press conference after negotiating a $50 million contract over five years.

It’s Belichick’s first time coaching college football after 24 years with the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He led the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances and six victories, and won an additional two championships as an assistant coach with the New York Giants for an NFL-record of eight Super Bowl wins. He started his pro coaching career as an assistant with the then-Baltimore Colts in 1975.

UNC announced the decision on Wednesday. Belichick is replacing Mack Brown, who was fired from the head coach position last month.

“I’ve always wanted to coach in college football, and it just never really worked out,” Belichick said. “I had some good years in the NFL, so that was okay, but this is really a dream come true.”

The allows for a salary of $10 million each year, a colossal, but far from unprecedented, amount for college football. Only seven college football coaches made more than $10 million in 2024. Belichick becomes the highest paid state employee in North Carolina history.

It’s double the salary Brown earned during his final season at UNC.

The university also reportedly agreed to increase its NIL — name, image, and likeness — package for football from $4 million to $20 million while recruiting Belichick, according to .

“As I’ve said many times, we want to be the best public university in the United States, and that means excellence in everything we do,” UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts said. “We want to compete with the best, and we’ve hired the best coach.”

Although the final two years on his contract are not guaranteed, there are opportunities for bonuses of up to $3.5 million annually. Belichick also receives benefits like membership to the Chapel Hill Country Club.

Earlier in the day, the university’s board of trustees voted to approve the terms of employment for Belichick and women’s soccer coach Damon Nahas during a closed session.

The UNC System Board of Governors University Personnel Committee and the full board held back-to-back emergency meetings Thursday, discussing the contract in closed sessions.

Neither group officially revealed what they discussed, but one member congratulated Chancellor Roberts.

“Thank you to everyone, especially to Chancellor Roberts and his team, and we’re very excited for you,” Chair Wendy Murphy said.

Certain terms of coaches’ contracts require the approval of the UNC System president and the Board of Governors, according to .

“The Board of Governors does not approve the final contract, but did authorize certain proposed terms, as required by policy, prior to the institution executing the contract,” spokesperson Andy Wallace wrote to NC Newsline in an email.

Asked at Thursday’s press conference if in this new era of revenue sharing and player compensation, it was financially sound for the university to commit so much to football and men’s basketball (head men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis is paid just under $3 million in total compensation), athletic director Bubba Cunningham said he believed in this strategic investment.

“I think if you go all in on those two sports, those two sports provide all of the finances for the rest of the department,” said Cunningham. “The more successful we are on football, the more successful we are on basketball, the more opportunities we’re going to be able to provide for everyone else here. So, I’m delighted with it. And I think our future is incredibly bright.”

While others have expressed some concerns about the high-profile hire and where the football program may be headed, the 72-year-old coach sought to allay those fears.

“Excited for the opportunity to build and develop young student-athletes, young men, and prepare them for their life, either in the NFL or professionally. But the lessons they learn will be professional lessons,” Belichick said.

Building a more professional program will cost the university and its donors more money.

The contract also stipulates the university will work in good faith with the new head coach to contract with a general manager for the football program for a duration that matches that of Belichick at a compensation level not to exceed $1.5 million. Multiple media outlets have reported Michael Lombardi, who has worked for several NFL teams, will hold that position at UNC.

The Tar Heels last won a football conference championship in 1980. After a 6-6 season, they’ll face the UConn Huskies in Boston’s Wasabi Fenway Bowl on Dec. 28.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com.

As early as next year, North Carolina’s public high school athletes could get paid for sponsorship deals. The state Board of Education advanced proposed rules Thursday to allow students to profit from their name, image, and likeness.

NIL deals have been common in college athletics for some time and increasingly, more states have allowed high school athletes to get in on the action.

The State Board of Education initially prohibited NIL arrangements. But the N.C. High School Athletic Association told the board in July that more than 30 states have NIL policies in place, and some students were probably already accepting money on the side without any guardrails.

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The board voted to allow the proposed to move forward with a two-month public comment period commencing October 1. Following a review of those comments, the full board will consider permanent NIL rules for public high school students at its first meeting in 2025.

The proposed rules that advanced on Thursday would allow use of a student’s name, image, or likeness for commercial purposes in exchange for compensation to the student or an immediate family member.

Permitted activities include:

• Public appearances or commercials
• Autograph signings
• Athletic camps and clinics
• Sale of non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”)
• Product or service endorsements
• Promotional activities, including in-person events and social media advertisements

Student athletes would be prohibited from profiting from certain promotions involving adult establishments or entertainment services. Alcohol, tobacco, vaping, cannabis-related products and sports betting would be prohibited products for teen-athletes with NIL deals.

Athletic directors, coaches, and booster clubs would also be prevented from using an NIL deal as a recruitment tool.

Ryan Collins, Assistant General Counsel for the State Board of Education, said a very small percentage of students are going to be offered these kinds of deals and the state’s disclosure requirements basically puts local schools on alert.

“This is probably the most major decision or action that I have been part of since I’ve been on the state board,” said board member Dr. Olivia Oxendine. “It’s pretty monumental in terms of the ramifications and the consequences.”

Board member Kimberly Jones worried about how the arrangement might impact students active across social media.

“I’m aware that a number of students, whether they play sports or not, have built up social media personalities. Many of our kids are creating content at school, on the bus, et cetera, and those accounts are then monetized.”

“I think this would force an examination of that to the extent that the student is wanting to participate in athletics,” Collins answered.

The proposed rules would prevent a student athlete from appearing in their team uniform during an NIL promotion.

Board of Education Vice Chair Alan Duncan suggested that as the rules moved to the public comment phase, the state should include a provision specifying that NIL dollars should be deposited in a fund that would go to benefit of the student whose name, image and likenesses is being purchased.

Oxendine said South Carolina was exploring whether the money should be placed into a trust fund for the high school student.

“I don’t know that every digital NIL deal will be in millions of dollars range where a trust would be a sensible solution, but it certainly is an option,” Collins told the board.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association has recommended that the state adopt a financial education component to help students understand the deals to which they are agreeing. Because money is involved, parents should also be aware of possible tax implications. If a student is under 18, their parent or legal guardian would be party to the agreement.

Ian House, a student advisor to the state board of education, runs track-and-field at Cary’s Green Hope High School.

House told the board that even without a lucrative contract, there’s plenty of pressure both on and off the field for high schoolers.

“For those few students who will benefit from NIL, they may make athletics first and being a student come second. So, they’re an athlete-student, but not a student-athlete,” House cautioned.

House agreed with the portion of the policy that would prevent students from showcasing a brand while on the field or in uniform.

“If someone is there not to build those values, but simply there to make money, that’s defeating the whole point of why athletics are there, why you have the team building.”

Top-ranked high school quarterback the State Board of Education last month over its current ban on endorsement deals. The Grimsley (Greensboro) High School QB has since committed to play for the University of Tennessee.

What’s next?

The public will have a chance to weigh in on the proposed NIL policy during a comment period that will run from Oct. 1 through Dec. 6th. The state board will hold a virtual public hearing on Nov. 8th, process the feedback it receives, and vote on the final policy at its January 2025 meeting.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com. Follow NC Newsline on and .

At this year’s summer Paralympics in Paris, earned a silver medal in the F64 shot put. She also competed in the F64 discus event and came in 10th place. F64 is a for Paralympians with limb deficiencies and leg length differences.

“With able-bodied kids, they can use their body differently,” Middleton, a sophomore at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, The Daily Bulletin in an interview last year. “They have both of their legs. They can do certain things a lot stronger. But it doesn’t matter because I can still compete with them.” 

Middleton is one of three inspiring high school Paralympians on Team USA who are competing in Paris this year. Here are their stories:

ARELLE MIDDLETON, 16

Middleton was with a congenital femoral deficiency, which means her left leg is shorter than her right leg and her left hip is underdeveloped. Despite physical challenges, she competes alongside athletes without disabilities in track and field high school meets.

In 2023, when Middleton was just 15 years old, she was named U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School Female Field Athlete of the Year, and also a spot on the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field High School All-American list.

Her mother, former WNBA player Sandra Van Embricqs, encouraged Middleton to get involved in sports at an early age.

Middleton joined the Challenged Athletes Foundation, or CAF, at age 12 and frequently won competitions. But when she entered high school, her mother strongly encouraged her to join the Los Osos track and field team.

“I didn’t know how I would feel being with able-bodied kids,” Middleton told The Daily Bulletin. “They wouldn’t really understand as much as kids with a disability would understand, but I met some great people here. It’s good to be part of something with your school.”

The Paralympian plans to compete in both wheelchair basketball and track and field after she graduates in 2026. She believes cross-training will benefit her performance in each sport.

Several college basketball programs have already Middleton.

JORDAN WHITE, 15

At 15 years old, Jordan White is the youngest archer from the U.S. to for the Paralympics this summer. 

A sophomore at Hill Country Christian School of Austin, White’s math teacher Christopher Felleisen calls him a “phenomenal student.”

He’s also a quick learner. The Austin, Texas, native tried archery for the first time less than four years ago when he was looking for a new activity to keep him busy during COVID. He has since won six national records. And less than a year ago, he began working toward competing in Paris.

White was with a right leg that is shorter than the left, challenging his flexibility. He dedicates six to seven days a week to perfecting his form, strength, and mental agility and understands the role he plays in enhancing the representation of people with disabilities in archery. 

“I really hope that I can pave the way for other young disabled archers,” he Hill Country News in August.

“Jordan is a hard worker, asks great questions and is an extremely high achiever,” Felleisen told The 74. “What’s exciting about having Jordan in class is that he’s dedicated to doing well and it’s seen in his athletic performance, but his level of achievement is not very different in the classroom.”

White, who is part of a close-knit group of friends known as the ‘Lunch Bunch,’ takes part in his  high school’s engineering pathway program, which focuses on engineering and robotics classes. He’s also a member of the National Junior Honor Society and the yearbook staff. 

“He’s known for being incredibly intelligent and he’s at the top of all his classes, and everyone knows it,” added his academic and college advisor Jessica Pyo.

His teachers say they’re closely following his performance at the Paralympics.

“It looks like he’s having a lot of fun and this is a great story for him to tell, especially with college applications coming soon.” Pyo said.

MAYLEE PHELPS, 17

At just 17, Maylee Phelps has taken wheelchair tennis by storm and has secured a win in the first round of women’s singles in Paris. 

Phelps, a high school junior in Portland, Oregon, was with spina bifida, a condition where the spinal cord does not develop properly. This requires her to wear a leg brace and use a wheelchair.

The Paralympian began competing nationally at age 12, the International Tennis Federation’s Wheelchair Tennis Junior of the Year in 2023 and she scored the No. 1 position on the Cruyff Foundation Girls’ Junior Ranking. 

Phelps her homeschool schedule with at least five days a week of tennis practice and strength training. 

“She just absorbs,” U.S. national wheelchair tennis coach John Devorss the University of Oregon. “You tell her something and it just takes a few times and she’s correcting it herself, which is a great characteristic of any athlete is just be really coachable.”

Phelps and Devorss train in Salem, Oregon, which is more than an hour south of Phelps’ home in Portland. 

In her free time, the tennis player enjoys puzzles and playing with her dog Otis. She also volunteers at Shriners Hospital for Children, introducing children with disabilities to tennis.

A federal judge ordered Hanover County Public Schools late Friday to temporarily cease blocking a transgender middle school student from trying out for and, if selected, playing on a sports team this school year.

In February, the student, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, filed a lawsuit claiming the school division violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

ACLU stated that the ruling found that the school board “likely violated” both when it banned the Hanover student from the tennis team.

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“This order is a reminder to school boards that protecting transgender young people is part of protecting girls’ sports,” said legal director Eden Heilman, in a statement. “And it’s a flashing red light to any Virginia school board that might be tempted to think that VDOE’s anti-trans model policies give it license to abuse its power. As the court reminded Hanover County School Board in its ruling, no state policies can shield Virginia schools from accountability for violating federal law.”

Last year, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration overhauled the model policies for transgender and nonbinary students designed under former Gov. Ralph Northam to protect the privacy and rights of such students.

In February, ACLU and Freshfields filed three lawsuits challenging the Virginia Department of Education on the policies that some schools have adopted.

In opposition to a student’s right to decide who finds out about their gender status out of fear of being bullied or harassed, the governor sided with parents’ rights, directing the administration to overhaul the policies.

The administration the policies to require parental approval for any changes to students’ “names, nicknames, and/or pronouns,” direct schools to keep parents “informed about their children’s well-being” and require that student participation in activities and athletics and use of bathrooms be based on sex, “except to the extent that federal law otherwise requires.”

Freshfields and ACLU filed the Hanover case in two courts, the Eastern District of Virginia and the Hanover County Circuit Court. The third lawsuit involving a York County student was in July. That suit claimed that at least one teacher had refused to address the student by her correct first name.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect that the Hanover case is being heard separately in the federal and county courts. 

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on and .

In just a few weeks, these Olympians will be back to learning English and math with a proud story to tell.

Rivera, the youngest athlete on Team USA, a gold medal for the women’s gymnastics team finals, alongside decorated gymnasts Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee.

“This was such an amazing experience and just being with the team to support them meant the world to me,” Rivera after receiving her gold medal in Paris. “It was so surreal.”

The 16-year-old New Jersey native did not compete as part of gymnastics team’s final competition, however. Rivera failed to qualify for the final based on her performance in two individual events — the bars and beam. Her overall score still helped the U.S. women’s gymnastics team advance and clinch the gold.

absolutely loving the commentators talking about how important hezly rivera is to this team and how just because she isn’t competing, doesn’t mean she contributed any less to wherever they stand at the end of the night

— aman (@royaltothebay)

Rivera attends Inspire Academy, an online school that allows her the flexibility to balance a rigorous training schedule.

Like Rivera, Wilson in the first leg of the U.S. men’s 4×400-meter relay, helping the team to qualify for the final and making him the youngest male track and field athlete from the United States to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

Although Wilson, who is a rising junior at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland, admitted he “didn’t run his best,” he praised his teammates including Rai Jefferson, Christopher Bailey and Vernon Norwood, who helped support him during the run for gold. And he returned the favor as he them on from the stands of the Stade de France as they secured an Olympic-record victory. 

“I did what people said was the impossible…” Wilson on Instagram. “I’m the youngest US male track athlete to receive a gold medal at the Olympics!” 

The track and field sensation attention on social media when he his thoughts about the upcoming school year following his performance in Paris. He took to X and said, “Dang, I really got school in 2 and a half weeks #Gold #OlympicGamesParis.”

Dang, I really got school in 2 and a half weeks

— Quincy “Q” Wilson (@QuincyWilson5)

Jokes in reply immediately came flying in from fans after Wilson made this post.

“When the teacher asks for answers, raise your medal instead of your hand,” one fan said.  

“Them ‘what did yall do over summer break’ conversations gonna hit different lmao,” another added.

Like her high school Team USA counterparts, Shackell’s preliminary round participation helped earn her and her teammates Olympic medals. She a silver medal in the 4×200 freestyle relay with teammates including Katie Ledecky, Paige Madden and fellow high schooler Claire Weinstein. She also secured gold in the 4×100 medley relay with Regan Smith, Lilly King and Gretchen Walsh.

The 17-year-old, who will begin her senior year at Carmel High School this week, has made history as Carmel’s first female student to win an Olympic medal in swimming.

Many know her as an Olympian. We know her as a student. Welcome back to our Senior Greyhound ! We are so proud of you. Go Hounds!

— Tim Phares (@Tim4Phares)

“I was just happy to be there and happy to go as fast as I can, and get the girls the next night a good spot,” Shackell . “I’ve been wanting a gold medal or like any medal since I was little, like 8 years old and dreaming of that moment. To be able to hold it is crazy, I’ve been looking at it everyday.”

Shackell is also the second female high school student from Indiana to win an Olympic medal in swimming.

For Rivera, Wilson and Shackell, many fans anticipate their return to the Olympics podium in 2028, when the U.S. will host the Summer Games in Los Angeles, California. They’ve just got to finish their homework first. 

Learn more about the other high school students we rooted for on Team USA this summer here. 

Florida student athletes can now profit from their names, images, and likenesses — NIL for short — under a policy the Board of Education unanimously approved on Wednesday. The measure had been passed by the Florida High School Athletic Association .

Craig Damon, executive director of the association, said consultations with other state athletic association directors showed him that the payments are “really no different than a student having a part-time job.”

“It’s no different than a kid working at Publix or their local Chick-Fil-A, having the job, performing a service or a task, and getting compensated for that,” Damon said during the Board of Education meeting in Orlando.

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Florida joins more than 30 states in allowing students to capitalize on their NIL at the high school level, many following a 2021 NCAA ruling that allows college athletes to capitalize in this way.

Damon said the program in Florida is not the same as in college, where athletes like LeBron James’ son at University of Southern California has reportedly made millions capitalizing off his fame. On the college level, the potential to profit has driven athletes, in unprecedented rates, to transfer to new schools to tap into bigger financial opportunities.

“We don’t foresee kids making hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars off it. However, there will be those, that 1% of elite athletes that possibly may have that opportunity, but the majority of our student athletes it will be something local, with a local business,” Damon said.

Concerns about bad actors

The Florida rule does not allow collectives, or organizations that centralize donations for distribution to individual athletes, a difference from the NCAA rule.

The athletic association met Monday to further define collectives before the Board of Education would see the rule change. The Monday meeting resulted in language looking to clarify that team fundraising is still permitted, but collectives are not.

The athletic association has been made aware of potential bad actors in Florida and other states hoping to use athletes’ new avenue to get paid as a way to also make some money for themselves.

Board members suggested bad actors may prey on student athletes by presenting them with confusing contracts that have long-lasting implications, especially noting the vulnerabilities of minors entering contracts and families who may not have easy access to an attorney or advice from an agent.

“This could be a great opportunity for some student athletes, but we want to make sure that they do it in a manner that they’re protected and not exploited,” said board Chair Ben Gibson.

Florida athletes already have announced deals after the athletic association approved the amendment in early June, even though the rule needed Board of Education approval. Damon said athletes who accepted payments for their NIL during that time have not been penalized.

Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. remarked on the new rule, phoning in to give his report to the board. He was at a in St. Petersburg with Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday to announce workforce development grant funding.

“These athletes are excelling at their chosen sport, working long hours all year long to be successful,” Diaz said.

Similar to Damon, Diaz indicated that funds earned by student athletes could replace the role of a part time job.

“Students will now be able to utilize that hard-earned money for college tuition, housing, and food, once they graduate.”

“Florida student athletes are not pawns for your money-making scheme, so we will maintain vigilance with that and continue to evolve as necessary,” Diaz said.

The board suggested that the athletic association research ways to create a registry of all athletes who enter into NIL deals to ensure that students maintain compliance. Additionally, the board suggested the athletic association make available an example or template contract, to serve as a baseline to compare against contracts from businesses or donors.

Board members Wednesday, and athletic association members in June, acknowledged that this policy is a starting point and could stand to change in the coming months.

The rule prohibits some industries from sponsoring athletes, such as alcohol and tobacco, cannabis, gambling, and political or social activism, and prohibits use of school branding without permission.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on and .

Among the athletes competing on Team USA this summer, several are still in high school making their mark in sports ranging from gymnastics to skateboarding. Many of these students are first time Olympians, who will be competing while also managing their class work and other academic responsibilities. 

Young stars on Team USA, such as gymnast Hezly Rivera and sprinter Quincy Wilson, are already rising fan-favorites. 

Meet six high schoolers we’re rooting for on Team USA. Let the games begin!

PAIGE HEYN, 16

Skateboarding made its Olympic debut at the and is returning this year in Paris. 

All eyes will be on Tempe, Arizona’s Paige Heyn, one of the fastest rising women in the sport. Heyn is “almost single-handedly responsible for that level of progression in women’s skateboarding,” John Nicholson, Heyn’s coach with USA Skateboarding, said. “It’s funny to be a pioneer at 16. In a matter of six months, she has directly influenced her competition.”

“I don’t really do normal 16-year-old stuff,” Heyn said.

Known as a switch skater, Heyn’s ability to skate with both her left and right foot forward has set her apart as she competes. 

Heyn is a sophomore enrolled in the United States Performance Academy (USPA), an online middle and high school for young elite athletes. Despite constant travel and time zone changes, she prioritizes her academics, according to her USPA learning coach Blair Lunn. 

“She is really enjoying her World History class,” Lunn told The 74. “She is also learning American Sign Language.” 

CLAIRE WEINSTEIN, 17

Claire Weinstein became one of the youngest swimmers to for the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials at just 13 years old. Now at 17, she intends to keep making history.

With a lifelong record of straight A’s — which she’s recently demonstrated at the online Laurel Springs School — Weinstein’s teachers and trainers applaud her hard work, talent and focus.

“Claire absorbs information and training like a sponge,” Weinstein’s former full-time coach Carle Fierro told The 74. “She is efficient in quickly applying corrections to her technique, and is able to make connections in the water a lot of swimmers are unable to do.”

Fierro praised Weinstein for her remarkable sense of humor and hours of free time spent teaching young kids to swim. The teenager has committed to a decorative career as a top swimming recruit in her class at University of California-Berkeley. 

She is interested in either studying law or medicine, Claire’s mother Diane Weinstein told The 74.

QUINCY WILSON, 16

16-year-old Quincy Wilson a spot on the Team USA relay team, making history as the youngest-ever male U.S. track and field Olympian.

The upcoming junior is also an honor roll student at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland.

Wilson brings “absolute joy to the classroom through his excitement to learn something new” and a “positive, respectful, inquisitive nature to each subject, enhancing the learning of his classmates,” Bullis Head of Upper School Robert Pollinco said. 

Wilson has received an array of prestigious honors at Bullis, including the Freshman Manuel José Baca, Jr. Joy of Living Award — and most recently, the Sophomore Head of Upper School Award earlier this spring. 

When not on the track, Wilson enjoys video games like Fortnite and Call of Duty with his friends. 

Pollinco said Wilson is seen as a “consummate scholar, leader, athlete, artist, explorer and most importantly, true friend at Bullis School.”

ALEX SHACKELL, 17

17-year-old Alex Shackell the first female swimmer from Indiana’s renowned Carmel High School to make a U.S. Olympic team. Shackell recognizes she is a part of not only the standing history of Indiana sports, but the athletic legacy of her high school.

Carmel’s swimming program won its consecutive state championship under coach Chris Plumb’s leadership, who believed Shackell’s best opportunity at becoming an Olympian was if she competed in the 200-meter butterfly — and that’s exactly what happened. 

Shackell is a rising junior at Carmel, but has committed to swimming at University of California-Berkeley, where she will be a conference title contender. There, she will her older brother Aaron Shackell, who’s also competing in his first Olympic games this year.

THOMAS HEILMAN, 17

Earlier this summer, 17-year-old Thomas Heilman the youngest American male swimmer to qualify for an Olympics team since Michael Phelps.

However, Heilman dismisses comparisons to the Olympic champion, who has a total of 28 medals.

“It’s always great to be in the same conversation as [Phelps], but I’m trying not to worry about that too much and trying to take things day by day,” Heilman during a press conference after earning his ticket to Paris.

Heilman, an upcoming senior at Western Albemarle High School in Crozet, Virginia, and of the greatest high school swimming recruits of all time, has committed to the University of Virginia.

HEZLY RIVERA, 16

New Jersey native Hezly Rivera is the youngest person competing on Team USA’s roster.

After moving to Texas in 2021, Rivera began at World Olympics Gymnastics Academy. There, she is coached directly by Valeri and Anna Liukin, the parents of Olympic champion Nastia Liukin. The gym has collectively earned 36 World and Olympic medals, having trained Olympians like Carly Patterson and Gabby Douglas.

While Rivera enjoys baking in her downtime (her favorite creations include red velvet and chocolate cakes), spending time with her dog and laying down to rest and recover from six days of training is just as rewarding. 

Rivera attends Inspire Academy, an online school that allows her the flexibility to focus on training full time.

Pine Bluff, Arkansas

On a gray February morning, the Pine Bluff High School gymnasium was filled with colorful balloons and flooded with music and laughter as family and friends, students and staff gathered to celebrate four college-bound star football players signing their national letters of intent. 

Less than six miles away, a mother was mourning the loss of another beloved player, her 16-year-old son, Kendall Burton, who was gunned down just weeks earlier. 

Addressing a standing-room-only crowd, the four elated student-athletes all thanked the same person — and the heartbroken mother in her quiet apartment did, too: Coach Micheal Williams.

The two events painfully juxtaposed what Williams has worked hardest to achieve since returning to his hometown — creating a pathway to college for his players — and what he has fought so strenuously to keep at bay. between the ages of 10 and 19 in this town of roughly 40,000 were the victims of homicide between 2020 and 2022, according to the most recent data.

“Kendall Burton was a great kid,” said Williams, who’s built close relationships with all of his players, but especially this affable teen. “I would let him date my daughter, you know, that type of kid. I always tell everybody he was the coach’s son.”

Shaketa Simmons, Burton’s mother, said Kendall felt the same way: “He loved Coach Williams. He would always say, ‘Coach Williams got our back. He would do anything for us.’”

Williams, who understands the grinding poverty that can lead some students astray, has always encouraged his players not to squander the opportunity they’ve earned through sports. But he had struggled in recent weeks to relate that message: Burton was a clean-cut kid who stayed out of trouble and still, his future was taken from him.

Burton’s death devastated the coach and now he found himself summoning the young man, who he picked up every morning before practice, to help keep his teammates on track amid their sorrow.

“I tell them, ‘You have to carry on, fight hard to be that person you are because your friend is looking at you,’” Williams said. “‘He’s clapping from heaven.’” 

Boys to men 

A former Pine Bluff football player himself, Willliams, now 40, helped lead some of the most storied teams in the country, including the one belonging to Duncanville High School just outside Dallas: They won in the last two years and were in the nation. 

But no matter where he worked, he kept an eye on his football roots. He knew Pine Bluff players had talent, but somehow that wasn’t translating into college offers. Williams eventually discovered why: Some didn’t have the grades and none got the exposure they deserved.

Upon taking the coaching job in 2022, Williams immediately installed an academic-focused program: Players would practice in the morning and sit for study hall and tutoring in the afternoon. They would also participate in a character-building program — another of the coach’s initiatives — where they might learn to tie a tie or talk to a judge to better understand the criminal justice system.

“From Day One, I knew I needed to do something to try to change their grades,” Williams said. 

For the sophomores, juniors and seniors, he built each player’s social media profile on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and alerted the recruiters he’s worked with through the years.

“Once I started sending those things out, it started drawing attention to a lot of the great athletes we have,” he said. 

Among them: Jonathan Goins Jr., 17, and Landon Holcomb, 18, who both committed to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff at the Feb. 7 signing. Chandler Laurent, 18, and who has earned a 4.1 GPA, will play for Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. Makyrin Goodwin, also 18, is headed to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. All received full or partial athletic or academic scholarships. 

Goodwin, who plays both right and left tackle — really anything on the offensive line,  is looking forward to the next chapter of his life and thanked his coach for the progress he’s made until now. 

“He is the best coach I ever had,” Goodwin said of Williams. “He makes sure we do good in school and everything. He’ll just call and check on you sometimes.” 

Williams himself was an excellent running back — potential NFL material — but didn’t end up making it that far, in part, he said, because his high school coaches, whom he adored, weren’t focused on recruiting. So, he said, he did not have a shot at a big-time college. Instead, he attended Paul Quinn College in Dallas on a partial football scholarship. 

And that’s why, when he became a coach himself, he prioritized recruiting, getting his players on the right schools’ radar and making sure they had the grades to be NCAA eligible, which for Division I schools means a GPA of 2.3 or higher in their core classes and 2.2 or better for Division II.

Coach Williams is a godsend and he has a heart for children. Not just sports. I said children. And under his tutelage, they become men.

Principal, Ronnieus Thompson

Principal Ronnieus Thompson appreciates Williams’s hard-earned connections and partnerships with colleges and universities. Four of his senior players have been given scholarship offers at DI colleges this school year, including Goins and Holcomb.

 Two others penned national letters of intent in December — both to the highly regarded University of Missouri, part of the powerhouse Southeastern Conference and this year. Headed to Mizzou are Courtney Crutchfield, a four-star athlete who was the No. 1 high school football player in the state and number 11th in the nation under Williams’s leadership, and three-star athlete, Austyn Dendy, 17, who is ranked fourth in Arkansas. 

Bringing the total headed to college to eight, cornerback Perrea Little signed with DIII Centenary College of Louisiana just this week and wide receiver Marquez Brentley Jr. accepted an academic scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

“Coach Williams is a godsend and he has a heart for children,” Thompson said. “Not just sports. I said children. And under his tutelage, they become men.”

‘The person I am today’

The coach describes himself as strict. He doesn’t mind adding some bass to his voice to deliver a point on the field and players who arrive late to 6 a.m. practice will find themselves pushing a 45-pound plate 100 yards before moving on to exhaustive drills.

In his softer moments, he talks to them about family trouble, girl problems and how they sometimes can’t wash their clothes at home because the power has been cut off. In that case, Williams invites them to use the school’s washer and dryer. 

“I’ve been poor,” he tells them. “I know how it feels to wake up and there’s roaches in your food or maggots in your rice: You haven’t been through anything that I haven’t been through. But success comes from being a powerful young man and being able to fight through adversity.”

Sometimes, when Williams was a young boy, his own family would lose electricity and the three kids and their parents would all sleep together in the same room to keep warm. And it wasn’t uncommon for him to look out the window, he said, to see his parents picking up cans on the side of the road to afford a 49-cent pack of hot dogs.

“If we were going to play baseball, my mom would go out and search every thrift store to try to find us a glove,” he said. “It may have been old but, you know, we made the best out of it. It helped make me into the person I am today.”

Emmanuel Hudson, 16, and a defensive tackle, said the coach always comes through for him. He’s given the teen food when he’s hungry and, most recently, a dress shirt for a formal school event: Many come from a small collection Williams keeps in his office in case such a need arises. 

“He’s just been so good in my life,” Hudson said. “Like a stepfather, for real.”

It’s the type of support that’s helped him through the loss of his friend, Kendall Burton, who was shot dead Jan. 12 at an intersection close to his grandmother’s house. 

The investigation into Burton’s death remains open and Pine Bluff police did not respond to a request last week for an update. Earlier, department spokesman David DeFoor told The 74 police had a suspect in mind but not enough evidence to make an arrest. The department was asking for the public’s help, offering up to a $10,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction.

Simmons credits the entire team for being such a positive part of her son’s life, which was marked by a grave struggle long before he was gunned down: A growth on Burton’s neck when he was 8 was diagnosed as Hodgkin’s lymphoma. 

“Those are his brothers,” Simmons said of his fellow players.

Sitting in her son’s bedroom, which she’s turned into a memorial, his pictures and jerseys hung up on the walls, Simmons said it’s the family’s deep sense of faith that she leans on now that her son is gone. As a child battling cancer, Burton would tell his mother not to worry, that, “God got me.”

“When I think about my boy … I just want to cry, I just want to let loose,” she said. “But most of the time I can’t because the spirit comes to me and says, ‘No, I got Kendall.’ When I hear that, I’m like, ‘OK, OK, I hear you.’”

The new model students 

Williams’s father, Micheal Sr., a minister of music, drove a school bus for Pine Bluff for 20 years and had numerous jobs after that. He eventually became a preacher who also sang and played piano at a local church and nearby prison. At one point, he owned a used car lot in Pine Bluff, but his generosity undermined his efforts: A customer with a particularly heart-wrenching story might walk away with a free vehicle, his son said.

His father never saw Williams play when he was younger because he was always working. Now, he never misses a game: He broadcasts them on Facebook. Williams’s mother, Pamela, who became a nurse, remains her son’s biggest fan. Hers is often the loudest voice cheering from the stands. And her son’s spare supply of dress shirts and the like often comes from her, the result of Pamela Williams regularly bargain hunting for those in need. 

“She taught me the gift of giving,” Williams said. “They both did.”

It was that sense of wanting to give back and improve the lives and prospects of young people that drew him home. It’s a notion shared by many: Williams arrived in a city already working hard to bring about positive change. It opened an enviable in 2019 and has plans to long-neglected parts of the community, including historic buildings. But perhaps the most life-changing moment for Pine Bluff students will come when the district breaks ground on a new, state-of-the-art high school, replacing a decades-old facility with roofing so decrepit that it rains inside classrooms and hallways. 

“The right work is being done,” said Thompson, the principal. “Have we made it all the way there? Of course not. But we are taking those steps in the right direction.”

Thompson credits the coach for being a critical part of this effort, adding that his reach extends well beyond the field: When students struggle in other areas of their life, he’ll call upon their teachers and counselors for help. 

“We don’t have trouble with the athletes anymore,” Thompson said. “They used to be some of the biggest knuckleheads. Now, they’re model students and that’s the way it should be. I’m glad that he’s here.”

Micah Holmstrom, a 10th- and 12th-grade English teacher, said Williams’s mandatory study hall has allowed him to chase down students who were missing assignments or who needed extra help.

“I knew exactly where they were,” Holmstrom said, adding Williams’s emphasis on academics made his work even easier. “Those guys are so comfortable with him and it’s in a place that’s a familiar environment: They’re more willing to sit and hack through some of the difficult stuff than in class.”

Frank Lyles, a math teacher, uses the time to teach kids about complex topics they didn’t  understand in class, including parabolas, a U-shape curve whose contours students can find in their own game: Every ball they throw follows a similar arc, illustrating his lesson. 

Parents, too, credit Williams for helping their children stay focused. Nicole Dendy, whose son, Austyn, will pursue veterinary studies at Mizzou, said football is her son’s drive. 

“Football motivates him,” she said. “So, whatever it takes to get him on the field, that’s what he’s going to do.”

Hudson, the defensive tackle, helped prepare the gymnasium for the college signing day in Februrary. He was overjoyed to see older players recognized for their athletic and academic success.

“Coach Will and the other coaching staff have been hard on us to put the work in,” he said. “He said, from Day One, whatever we want, we’ve got to earn. So, I feel like we earned it and that’s why we got it.”

]]> /article/bill-would-open-missouri-public-school-sports-to-homeschool-students/ Sat, 13 Jan 2024 13:30:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=720384 This article was originally published in

A bill to allow home-educated students to participate in Missouri public school activities is back for the upcoming legislative session — and has been coupled with provisions rolling back state oversight of homeschooling families.

Sen. Ben Brown, a Washington Republican, pre-filed a 52-page bill that largely resembles the version he sponsored that cleared the Senate last session.

While it initially was only two pages and focused on giving homeschool kids the opportunity to play sports and join clubs in public schools, it now would add a new category for home-educated students and rescind attendance officers’ authority over homeschool families.

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“As a former athlete myself whose childhood was greatly impacted by my participation in the sport of wrestling, I feel strongly that it is wrong to deny these potentially life-changing opportunities to children,” Brown told the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee during a March hearing.

The Missouri State High School Activities Association policy is to allow homeschooled students to participate in their local school districts’ sports if they are enrolled in at least one credit hour of instruction, which is typically two classes in non-block-scheduled schools. School districts are allowed to be more restrictive and ban homeschool participation.

Brown’s bill would prohibit schools from requiring enrollment in classes, but any instruction or training required for the club or sport would still be allowed.

No one testified in opposition to the bill in March, but that was expanded to remove local oversight of homeschooling families.

Oversight

State Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat, said what concerns her about the legislation is “simply not knowing which students are being homeschooled.”

“It’s imperative… that when parents make the decision to homeschool their child, we have some reporting procedures in place so that we know which students are actually being homeschooled,” she said in an interview with The Independent.

The bill would remove a section of state law that says families “may provide…  a declaration of enrollment stating their intent for the child to attend a home school” to the local school district or the county recorder of deeds.

Kim Quon, a regional director for the Missouri homeschool advocacy organization Families for Home Education, told The Independent that the statute’s wording “causes confusion for everybody.”

She said the declaration of enrollment is optional because the law says they “may provide” that document. Quon recommends families notify a school in writing if a child is homeschooled, but some have felt obligated to do this by school administrators.

The bill also would rescind a law allowing attendance officers to investigate compliance with the state’s . The law requires home schools to offer at least 1,000 hours of instruction, with at least 600 of those in core subjects like reading and math.

Quon said families document their hours of learning but do not submit that information for review.

“We don’t submit our hours,” she said. “It’s not anybody’s business.”

She is also opposed to attendance officers checking on homeschooling families, saying: “There just doesn’t need to be that level of scrutiny.”

School attendance officers and the Department of Social Services’s Children’s Division can assess whether a child is being neglected after being removed from public school.

found that 36% of families that pulled their children out of public school in a three-year period had at least one accepted report of child abuse or neglect. A majority had multiple reports of abuse or neglect.

Quon said the Children’s Division could still investigate instances of neglect, but she is worried attendance officers may abuse their power.

The Independent asked if she heard of attendance officers investigating families that are tracking hours and homeschooling.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not aware of this happening too terribly much. But the fact that it’s there leaves that option for anybody to do that.”

Homeschooled athletes

Quon said homeschooling families have different reactions to the idea of their kids in public-school sports and clubs.

Some value the privacy of being detached from the school district while others desire access to the amenities their tax dollars help pay for.

Brown’s bill could help alleviate some homeschooling families’ privacy concerns, said Zeke Spieker, legislative assistant to Sen. Jill Carter, a Republican from Granby. Carter testified in favor of Brown’s bill in March.

“There’s always a concern that when you give school students access to these activities that there are going to be some strings attached that would cause a loss of homeschool freedom,” Spieker said. “So last year, in an effort to try to assuage some of those concerns, they created the FLEX category.”

Brown’s bill calls for the defining of “FLEX schools,” or family-led educational experience schools. The differences between FLEX students and homeschool students are that FLEX students can participate in public-school activities and obtain K-12 scholarships through the state’s MOScholars tax-credit program.

Spieker, who was homeschooled himself, said some homeschooling families are still concerned about the FLEX language.

He and his family have talked with home educators for years and made trips to the Missouri Capitol to ask for the ability to play in public school sports.

Spieker said he’s watched opportunities for homeschooled children grow during his family’s advocacy. His brother Jonah, a high-school senior, was homeschooled but played on Webb City’s football team.

Quon said the bill could benefit students further away from Missouri’s major cities the most, where there aren’t many options outside of public school activities.

She said the Families for Home Education’s position on the legislation is “neutral as long as nobody does anything crazy with the bill.”

Last legislative session, the bill expanded in a House committee to include provisions about four-day school weeks, school board vacancies, foster-child enrollment and other education matters. It was never debated on the House floor.

Nurrenbern said the amendments will likely determine the bill’s fate.

“There will be hopefully some good amendments that can be attached to this and make it,” she said. “If there’s more good than bad in the bill, I think it will pass.”

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Follow Missouri Independent on and .

]]> /article/alabama-bill-would-allow-high-school-athletes-to-make-money-off-of-their-image/ Tue, 12 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=719115 This article was originally published in

An Alabama state representative has filed a bill that would allow high school athletes to make money off of their image.

The legislation,sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, would be a name, image and likeness (NIL) bill for high school athletes. The bill is limited to the athlete and does not allow the use of “marks, including a school logo, school name, school mascot, or trademarked logo or acronym of an athletic association,” alongside some other restrictions.

“Because it’s already happening on a college level and what better way to get kids trained to the mindset of NIL by starting in high school,” Gray said in an interview on Monday.

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Alabama has had a state name, image and likeness law since 2021, The NCAA allows college athletes are allowed to profit from their image, name and likeness under NCAA NIL, ranging from the use of merchandise to autographs to running camps and clinics.

at least 30 states and Washington, D.C. have legislation that allows high school students to make money off of their image.

Gray’s bill says that no student athletes in the state “shall be prevented from receiving compensation for the use of his or her name, image, or likeness.”

Gray, who played football at North Carolina State, said he doesn’t think it’s fair that schools, but not the athletes, are allowed to make money off of athletes. One reason for the bill, he said, is the difficulty in predicting how long an athletic career might last.

“We may not make it to the NFL, NBA, WNBA, but a lot of athletes are training their entire lives for a moment where they can get actually compensated for their skills and talents,” he said.

Ron Ingram, a spokesman for the Alabama High School Athletic Association, said no one from AHSAA was available to comment this week.

Gray also said he wants to put Alabama on a level playing field with other state that have NIL laws for high school students.

“Monetization is important to me when it comes to student athletes, and especially on any level of high school, college or in the NFL because so many people are making money off the athletes and they’re not being able to capitalize on those opportunities, their sales, so this bill just really came from the premises of other states are doing it and we just need to move towards that,” he said.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .

]]> /article/should-universities-share-athletics-revenue-with-players-california-bill-sparks-backlash/ Sun, 16 Jul 2023 12:30:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=711450 This article was originally published in

For four years, Stanford student Liam Anderson has gone to what he calls his “full-time job.” He puts on his uniform, laces up his shoes and just runs. As captain of the Stanford track and field team, the public policy major has put in 20 to 40 hours of running, conditioning and physical therapy each week — a pace he’ll continue when he returns to campus this fall to pursue his master’s degree.

It’s a lot of time away from academics, with little financial reward, which is partly why Anderson has been supporting and advising California lawmakers on  that could dramatically alter college athletes’ compensation.  

“This is the only labor market where the primary labor input — the players — receive essentially zero compensation from their employers,” Anderson said.  “It is very difficult on a philosophical level to argue that these players do not deserve some form of compensation. To say a scholarship is enough is laughable.”

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, or the College Athlete Protection Act, would require California colleges to put some of their sports revenue into a fund that would pay student athletes when they complete their degrees.  Athletes could earn as much as $25,000 for each year they participate in their sport.  

But the bill has been controversial. Last week, its author, Assemblymember , put it on hold until next year after opponents — including the University of California, California State University and Team USA — argued it would further prioritize men’s basketball and football, causing campuses with tight athletic budgets to divert resources away from less lucrative sports. .

Supporters say the first-in-the-nation bill, which the state Senate could take up again as early as January, bolsters athletes’ rights by giving them a cut of the revenue they generate. It’s the latest flashpoint in the debate over student athlete compensation, in which California has .

As written, the bill would also require colleges to comply with a variety of health and safety standards, including paying all out-of-pocket health care costs for athletes injured on the field, and providing players with financial and life skills training. Sports agents seeking to represent student athletes would need to be certified by the state. A 21-member panel appointed by the Legislature and governor, with seats set aside for former college athletes, would oversee compliance.

The degree completion fund, however, has drawn the most attention since it would be a further blow to the amateurism model in college sports. California already catalyzed change within the NCAA when it  to make money off their name, image and likeness. NCAA policy now permits athletes to sign endorsement deals, but that money comes from private sponsors rather than the universities themselves. Athletes receiving it would be eligible for the degree completion funds, too.

Combined, California’s 26 Division I schools earned  in fiscal year 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Education. That includes media contracts, ticket sales, investment interest income, student activity fees and alumni contributions.

“Revenue is being generated. There are TV rights that are being negotiated for someone to make a lot of money, and it is not the student athlete,” said Holden, a Pasadena Democrat who played college basketball for San Diego State from 1978 to 1982. 

“This is an opportunity to really recognize the kind of sacrifices that many of these athletes put on the line on behalf of universities and the NCAA, institutions that make billions of dollars,” Holden added. 

Money for the degree completion fund would come from a university’s existing athletic revenue. Beginning in 2024, if an athletic department makes more annual revenue than it did in the 2021-22 academic year, the difference would be deposited in the fund. Athletes’ payments would depend in part on how much revenue their sport generates and how much their team already gives out in athletic grants.

Football and men’s basketball make up a majority of revenue brought in by athletic departments, and some of those funds currently go to subsidize other sports. That caused some supporters of those lower-revenue sports — such as swimming and volleyball — to worry that the bill would sap much-needed funding from their programs. 

“If schools do not have the budget to fund sports, they will cut sports,” says an open letter from Women’s Sports Foundation CEO Danette Leighton to Holden. “If this were the case, we know from history that women’s sports and men’s Olympic sports would be among the first to be cut.”

Of the 21 NCAA Division I sports, 19 will be contested at either the 2024 Summer Olympics or 2026 Winter Olympics. 

After initial concerns that the bill would violate Title IX by threatening the funding of women’s sports teams, lawmakers added an amendment to split the allocation of degree completion funds 50/50 between female and male college athletes.  

Some opponents, however, still weren’t convinced. 

“It’s great that (payments) would go towards some women, but if it becomes infeasible for schools to then support the programs at all, then we’re not really ahead of where we started,” said Maya Dirado, a Stanford graduate and Olympic gold medalist in swimming.

Elise Byun, a UC Berkeley gymnast and member of the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, said she believes that NCAA athletes should be financially compensated by their college beyond athletic grants. However, she said the bill as written could jeopardize funding for non-revenue and Olympic sports, as well as programs like mental health counseling that would benefit all athletes. 

“If the revenue that’s being taken is just giving back to football and basketball, we can’t advance the student athlete experience,” Byun said. “There’s no money left over to help bring up everyone.”

Also, the bill would not benefit athletes like Byun, who is not on scholarship, because degree payments would only go to those who receive an athletic grant. Division II, Division III and community college athletes would also be ineligible. 

The University of California and California State University also raised concerns. 

“The bill’s revenue sharing framework also would create broader inequities among our student athletes, as support for non-revenue sports would likely decrease and disproportionately impact women’s programs,” said Hazel Kelly, a CSU spokesperson. “This one-size-fits-all proposal is not appropriate for the broad diversity of size, scope and competitiveness that are the hallmarks of the CSU’s athletic programs.”  

Holden said athletic departments shouldn’t be worried about losing money for different programs because the degree completion fund doesn’t tap the department’s total budget, just the “excess” revenue generated above 2021-22 levels. The bill also prohibits schools from cutting athletic programs that were in place in the 2021-22 academic year.  

“So we have provisions in it to protect all programs within the athletic department  — men’s and women’s sports, from NCAA Division I football all the way to the rugby players who happen to be on a team if you have a rugby program — so that those programs would be maintained,” he said.

The next frontier in the debate over athletes’ rights

Holden declined further comment on why he had chosen to delay the bill, or the specifics of its formula for funding degree payments. The bill had been scheduled to be heard by the Senate Education Committee on July 5, but was pulled from the agenda that day and has become a “two-year bill,” meaning it can be considered in the second year of California’s two-year legislative session. That’s a common move by lawmakers who want more time to negotiate details of legislation and sway opponents.

While the bill likely faces a long road, its passage could further cement California’s status as a pioneer on college athlete compensation.

Mark Nagel, a professor of sport and entertainment management at the University of South Carolina, said that similar institutional blowback to college athletics reform has been seen before in the past and that prior concerns haven’t really materialized. 

“There’s always the idea that college athletics say that any change is going to cause the sky to fall and the world to end,” Nagel said. “We’ve already seen that, whether it’s high-, mid- or low-level programs, Division I universities and colleges have figured out ways to find that money.”

But Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College, said that universities making direct payments to athletes beyond scholarships creates a variety of financial issues because there are Division I schools whose athletic departments run on deficits.

“When they lose money, the school has to raise tuition, it has to raise athletic fees, it has to go to the state legislature for more subsidies, it has less money to provide for the education of the athletes. On all of those grounds, it’s a very problematic proposal,” Zimbalist said. 

A previous legislative attempt to establish a mandatory degree completion fund for athletes failed in 2022. The current bill passed the California Assembly before heading to the Senate. 

The National College Players Association, one of the forces behind California’s push to allow athletes to sign paid endorsement deals, is co-sponsoring the degree completion fund bill, and the California Labor Federation supports it. 

“Athletes throughout the state of CA would gain unprecedented and much needed protections, freedoms and rights.  Every athlete will benefit if AB 252 is approved,”  NCPA President Ramogi Huma said in an email.

CalMatters politics reporter  contributed to this story. This story and other higher education coverage are supported by the College Futures Foundation.

This story was originally published by .

 

]]> /article/texas-ag-sues-biden-administration-over-title-ix-interpretation/ Thu, 22 Jun 2023 15:30:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=710718 This article was originally published in

The Texas attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Biden administration over its interpretation of Title IX — which was expanded two years ago to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity — arguing that noncompliance puts Texas schools at risk of losing federal funding.

This lawsuit highlights an existing rift between Texas legislation and the 51-year-old federal civil rights law.

In 2021, the Biden administration said that Title IX, which protects people from sex-based discrimination in educational programs and activities, also applies to LGBTQ students.

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That same year, the Texas Legislature passed a law that bans transgender children in K-12 public schools from playing on sports teams that are aligned with their gender.

State law prohibits schools from following the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX, which the attorney general’s office said could put districts at risk of losing federal funding. During this year’s legislative session, Texas lawmakers passed , which expanded the existing restriction on transgender students to include athletics at the . And on Wednesday, Gov. announced he would sign what he’s calling the “Save Women’s Sports Bill” this week.

“Texas is challenging this blatant attempt to misuse federal regulatory power to force K-12 schools, colleges, and universities in our state to accept and implement ‘transgender’ ideology — in violation of state law — by misusing the Title IX statute to threaten the withholding of federal education funds,” said a statement from the attorney general’s office announcing the lawsuit.

“The Administration’s unlawful guidance could put at risk over $6 billion in federal funding that supports Texas K-12 and higher education institutions.”

The lawsuit was filed by , who is serving as the interim attorney general. was suspended and faces an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate later this summer. Paxton had previously been critical of Biden’s expanded Title IX regulations.

In the 2020 case , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employment discrimination on the basis of sex, applies to gay and transgender workers as well.

Subsequently, the Biden administration updated the Title IX regulations to comply with the Bostock ruling by prohibiting discrimination in educational activities and programs on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

In April, the Biden administration proposed an amendment that would prohibit blanket bans barring transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. The amendment applies to K-12 schools, as well as universities.

“Trans kids deserve to be respected in schools. Kids having their pronouns respected is a basic human right that cis people take for granted. Does the AG really want to tell Texas children that some kids deserve their teacher’s respect and others do not?” Johnathan Gooch, communications director for the LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Texas, said in a statement to The Texas Tribune.

“When the Supreme Court ruled that trans rights are part of Title VII protections, they rightly saw that trans and gender expansive people are protected under federal civil rights laws,” he said.

The attorney general’s announcement noted that this was Texas’s 50th lawsuit against the Biden administration.

Disclosure: Equality Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete .

This article originally appeared in  a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

]]> /article/as-march-madness-looms-growth-in-sports-betting-a-threat-to-college-athletes/ Sun, 12 Mar 2023 12:01:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=705717 This article was originally published in

When begins on , it’s a sure bet that millions of Americans will be making wagers on the annual college basketball tournament.

The American Gaming Association estimates that in 2022, 45 million people – or more than 17% of American adults – on the NCAA tournament. That makes it one of the nation’s most popular sports betting events, alongside contests such as . By at least one estimate, March Madness is the .

While people have been , one difference now is that betting on college sports is legal in many states. This is largely due to a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that for each state to decide whether to permit people to gamble on sporting events. Prior to the ruling, legal sports betting was only allowed in Nevada.

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Since the ruling, sports betting has grown dramatically. Currently, some form of legalized sports betting. And now, Georgia, Maine and Kentucky are .

About two weeks after sports betting became , someone, disappointed by an unexpected to Virginia Commonwealth University, and against Dayton .

The Ohio case is by no means isolated. In 2019, a Babson College student who was a “” was for sending death threats to at least 45 professional and collegiate athletes in 2017.

Faculty members of are concerned that the increasing prevalence of sports betting could potentially lead to more such incidents, putting more athletes in danger of threats from disgruntled gamblers who blame them for their gambling losses.

The anticipated growth in sports gambling is quite sizable. Analysts estimate the market in the U.S. may reach .

Gambling makes inroads into colleges

Concerns over college athletes being targeted by upset gamblers are not new. and have expressed worry that expanded gambling could lead to harassment and compromise their safety. Such concerns led the nation’s major sports organizations – MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL and NCAA – to over a plan to initiate legal sports betting in that state. They argued that sports betting would make the public think that games were being thrown. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled that it was if they wanted to permit legal gambling.

Sports betting has also made inroads into America’s college campuses. Some universities, such as Louisiana State University and Michigan State University, have to promote gambling on campus.

Athletic conferences are also cashing in on the data related to these games and events. For instance, the Mid-Atlantic Conference in 2022 to provide real-time statistical event data to gambling companies, which then leverage the data to create real-time wager opportunities during sporting events.

As sports betting comes to colleges and universities, it means the schools will inevitably have to deal with some of the . This potentially includes more than just gambling addiction. It could also involve the potential for student-athletes and coaches to become targets of threats, intimidation or bribes to influence the outcome of events.

The risk for addiction on campus is real. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, over 2 million adults in the U.S. , and another 4 million to 6 million may have mild to moderate problems. One report estimates that .

What can be done

Colleges and universities don’t have to sit idly by as gambling grows.

Two faculty fellows at Miami University’s – former Ohio State Senator William Coley and Sharon Custer – recommend that regulators and policymakers work with colleges and universities to reduce the potential harm from the growth in legal gaming. Specifically, they recommend that each state regulatory authority:

• Develop plans to coordinate between different governmental agencies to ensure that individuals found guilty of violations are sanctioned in other jurisdictions.
• Dedicate some of the revenue from gaming to develop educational materials and support services for athletes and those around them.
• Create anonymous tip lines to report threats, intimidation or influence, and fund an independent entity to respond to these reports.
• Assess and protect athlete privacy. For instance, schools might decline to publish contact information for student-athletes and coaches in public directories.
• Train athletes and those around them on basic privacy management. For instance, schools might advise athletes to not post on public social media outlets, especially if the post gives away their physical location.

The NCAA or athletic conferences could lead the development of resources, policies and sanctions that serve to educate, protect and support student-athletes and others around them who work at the schools for which they play. This will require significant investment to be comprehensive and effective.

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

]]> /article/nfl-pro-turned-educator-on-helping-student-athletes-reach-their-full-potential/ Fri, 11 Nov 2022 15:01:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=699600 Elite student athletes get so much attention for their physical gifts that their academic and personal identities are often overlooked. The result is that no matter how far they go in their sport, they may fail to live up to their fullest potential. 

Don’t get me wrong — it’s great to be celebrated for having special skills on the field or court. As a former NFL player, I know how good that feels. But as an educator, I also know student athletes need help to recognize there’s more to them than their athletic prowess. With a majority (57%) of high schoolers playing on a sports team, so many students across the country need to feel supported.

For me, sports served as a powerful coping mechanism during a difficult childhood in and out of the foster care system. I was honored in school as a football player, but it wasn’t until my junior year in high school that I realized sports offered me the chance to go to college. That’s when I began to see there might be more to life than football — and maybe there was more to me than being an athlete.

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This insight deepened over my four years at the University of Minnesota, where I started prioritizing school and earned a 3.9 GPA after the second quarter of my freshman year. After college, I enjoyed six great years as a cornerback with the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns before beginning a new chapter in education. I started out as a high school dean of students and then principal of Osseo Senior High School in Minnesota. In 2020, I was named the Minnesota High School Principal of the Year, which remains one of my most significant accomplishments to date. I then went on to serve as assistant superintendent at Osseo Area Schools.

Today, I am head of school at IMG Academy, one of the world’s most acclaimed sports, performance and educational institutions, and I have a front-row seat to the interaction between sports and academics for elite student athletes. As a result, I believe more than ever that we as educators need to support the full human potential of young athletes and celebrate the inherent brilliance they may not even realize they have.

It’s easy to forget what the “whole person” needs when dealing with high-performance sports, when so much attention flows to a youngster’s athletic gifts. Yet this is what all student athletes deserve, regardless of their sport or performance level. 

It’s tough for student athletes to think beyond the one thing they probably care most about — their sport — when so much of their time, energy and identity is wrapped up in athletics. Parents, coaches, teachers and mentors can help by asking three questions: “Who are you, really?” “What do you stand for?” and “How do you know what your values are?”

Not only can these questions help to enlarge young people’s idea of themselves, but asking them can also assist students in defining what matters to them in life, beyond their sport. And they point to the importance of identifying and staying true to core values, regardless of what others may say.

These aren’t easy questions to answer — or to ask. I’ve found that I have to be willing to ask more than once to get answers that go deeper than, “I’m an athlete. I play this position.” But stick with it and see what comes up, because these questions are guideposts to where students are heading. 

Adults can help prepare student athletes to dig deep for answers by considering these suggestions:

• No labels. As much as possible, avoid pinning tags or labels on student athletes. High-performance sports can narrow people’s views of who they are, but the role of educators is to keep reminding students that they are more than their scores or records, even if — or, especially if — those are stellar.
• Show vulnerability. Competing at an elite level requires toughness and discipline. But that doesn’t mean athletes should stifle their feelings, even those that are uncomfortable. When I talk about my NFL career to students, I also share about the pain I experienced in foster care and how lost I felt as a student athlete. It’s important to let young people see that even professional athletes have sad or hurt feelings. That’s just part of being human.
• Teach empathy. Showing vulnerability is important because student athletes need to recognize the humanity of others. Empathy is what brings out the best of human character. The greatest athletes understand this and act on it.
• Admit you don’t have all the answers. Most youngsters eventually figure out that adults don’t know everything. But if grown-ups have already shown that they recognize their own fallibility, they are far more likely to retain young people’s respect, even with those imperfections. 

Talented student athletes deserve the best support, coaching and resources possible so they can make full use of their talents and strengths. They also need to build a strong foundation for developing a true sense of self through exposure to rich experiential learning such as internships and volunteer opportunities, relevant instruction and transferable life skills.

This will ensure that once they move into college or career, they will have been exposed to alternative avenues to success. And from a holistic standpoint, they will have acquired the values they need to achieve and persist in the bigger game of life.

]]> /article/louisiana-colleges-boosters-could-soon-pay-student-athletes-recruits-directly/ Mon, 23 May 2022 13:30:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=589700 Legislation that would allow Louisiana universities and their deep-pocketed supporters to pay student-athletes directly moved one step closer to the governor’s desk Wednesday.

, authored by Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, would allow colleges, universities, their affiliates and boosters to compensate student-athletes for use of their name, image and likeness. The proposal advanced out of the House Education Committee without objection Wednesday morning.

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The bill would put Louisiana “in line” with the other states that have passed similar legislation, Connick said. The bill doesn’t allow “pay-for-play” payment arrangements between schools and student-athletes, he said.

The bill was also amended in committee to include that name, image and likeness (NIL) contracts between companies and student-athletes that are shared with the school shall remain private and confidential.

The legislation would also allow colleges and universities to directly pay prospective collegiate athletes. The Louisiana High School Athletic Association .

The bill would also allow athletic boosters, or to directly or indirectly facilitate compensation for student-athletes. Connick said the change would put Louisiana’s NIL laws “in line with the other states that are doing this.”

Student- athletes are still barred from making money off endorsements of tobacco, alcohol, illegal substances or activities, banned substances or any form of sports betting.

The bill moves to the House floor for a full vote, where it will move to the governor’s desk if passed.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jarvis DeBerry for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on and .

]]> /article/louisiana-universities-could-soon-be-allowed-to-pay-student-athletes-directly/ Mon, 11 Apr 2022 16:01:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=587600 Last year Louisiana jumped on the bandwagon to allow college sports stars to benefit financially from their through endorsement deals. Now state leaders want to follow suit and allow schools to pay their student-athletes directly.

, authored by Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, would allow colleges, universities and university affiliates in Louisiana to compensate student-athletes. The proposal advanced out of the Senate Education Committee without objection Thursday.

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The bill would put Louisiana “in line” with the other states that have passed similar legislation, Connick said.

“Because (the Texas Legislature) has allowed this, (Texas A&M) has one of the best recruiting classes in the nation,” Connick told the committee.

The legislation would also allow colleges and universities to directly pay prospective collegiate athletes. The Louisiana High School Athletic Association .

Student athletes are still barred from making money off endorsements of tobacco, alcohol, illegal substances or activities, banned athletic substances or any form of sports betting.

The bill moves to the Senate floor for a full vote.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jarvis DeBerry for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on and .

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