Sports
The prospect of players getting paid is another concern for HBCU schools, where large NIL deals are still taking root
Marc Smith was relaxing in his basement when he got a notification on his phone. The athlete from his alma mater, Grambling State, had posted on social media about not having enough food and needing help.
The incident prompted Smith to found Icon 1901 Collective in April 2022 to assist Grambling athletes land paid sponsorships at the college best known for iconic football coach Eddie Robinson. Smith searched and couldn’t discover a single historically black college or university with a collective focused on name, image, or likeness compensation, so he expanded Icon 1901 to represent HBCU athletes elsewhere as well.
“These kids want to be included in the NIL space, and a lot of universities don’t have the resources to do that,” Smith said.
Outside of the biggest and richest athletic programs, the financial burden of offering solid NIL options to school athletes is a relentless concern, and it’s often especially evident at HBCUs. The 4 major HBCU conferences recently agreed to work together to extend the worth of HBCUs and send more athletes to the professionals, but now a brand new problem has emerged.
The massive $2.8 billion antitrust settlement agreed to by the NCAA and the nation’s largest conferences includes the prospect of schools paying athletes directly as early as 2025. The revenue split is a brand new and daunting factor for all schools with modest resources, including HBCUs.
“There may be some questions about how they’re going to handle this, but if past experience is any indicator, they’re going to find the will and the way, based on alumni unification, to figure out a way to move these institutions forward,” said Texas Southern professor J. Kenyatta Cavil, who studies HBCU sports.
Less money to spend
Only a handful of black colleges have NIL collectives that help secure deals for athletes, but those initiatives have intensified over the past yr or two, due to alumni mobilization and Deion Sanders’ time as football coach at Jackson State.
Many HBCUs don’t make as much money from sports as their Championship Subdivision counterparts. Of the 64 FCS schools, none reported less total sports revenue in 2023 than Mississippi Valley State’s $4.8 million, in line with Knight-Newhouse. Eight of the 11 worst were HBCUs.
Alcorn State, like Grambling and Mississippi Valley, part of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, reported $7.9 million. That in comparison with $68 million at James Madison, which topped the list (excluding Ivy League schools).
The overall picture
SWAC Commissioner Charles McClelland said he doesn’t know what the athletics landscape will appear like in the long run. But he knows the big-money schools and conferences don’t either, and whatever happens will ultimately affect his league and the remainder of the FCS.
The SWAC and Southeastern Conference are headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. That gives McClelland and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey a probability to satisfy and discuss potential changes.
“He told me one thing, he said, ‘Charles, we have the same problems. It might be just zeros at the end of the problems. We’re all in this together,’” McClelland said. “We have to share ideas. And what better opportunity to learn and grow than to share ideas with the SEC from a Southwestern Athletic Conference standpoint?”
Dollars and departures
Prairie View A&M football coach Bubba McDowell said his SWAC program lost a half-dozen top players to ZERO MONEY. His school didn’t have them, others did. He’s wary of what revenue sharing might do to HBCU recruiting and retention.
“It’s going to hurt a lot,” McDowell said. “That’s what these kids are looking for, and that’s what society has done for these young men. I’m not against it. I’ve said from day one that if we’re going to do this, let’s do it right. We just don’t know how to do it right yet.”
McDowell and his SWAC colleagues are realistic. Unless their last name is Sanders, now in Colorado, the perfect recruits probably went elsewhere anyway.
They’re also now more more likely to develop after which lose players who aren’t recruited or missed by greater programs out of highschool. Alabama State coach Eddie Robinson Jr. (no relation to Grambling’s former coach) went from the Hornets to the second round of the NFL draft at the identical school.
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Hornets star point guard Kisean Johnson left for Western Kentucky after last season.
“We’re still looking for the same type of kid,” Robinson said. “It’s just a matter of whether we can keep them once they develop into that type of player. That’s the part you don’t like.”
Rich in tradition
There’s no denying the tradition and passionate fans of HBCUs. The Bayou Classic between Grambling and Southern drew nearly 65,000 fans to the Superdome in New Orleans last season. The Magic City Classic between Alabama State and Alabama A&M drew greater than 52,000 to Legion Field in Birmingham.
“I think once you become part of the HBCU family, you go to all these big games and it’s more than just, ‘I moved 2,000 miles away from home, I got a big check and then I never went back to school,’” Robinson said. “Once you start coming to Alabama State, you come to the Magic City Classic, you’re 50 years old and you come back to the Magic City Classic. It’s just part of what you do.”
FCS Challenges
Black colleges aren’t alone of their uncertainty about share revenue with athletes. Athletic directors below the Power Four face three major financial concerns: Less annual money from the NCAA because of a portion of the settlement; determining how best to work with a limited donor base to offer their school a probability to sign athletes with NIL contracts; and determining how much they’ll take if their school decides to pay athletes.
“In general, FCS football programs struggle to retain talent because they don’t have established NIL collectives or partners,” said Blake Lawrence, CEO of Opendorse.com, a NIL marketplace. “I think there’s a growing need for these programs at HBCUs and beyond to have a real answer to the question of, ‘How do you retain talent using NIL?’ That’s going to become a growing need.”
HBCU Teams and Collectives
Opendorse works with dozens of schools in all three NCAA divisions which have or are attempting to develop NIL collectives. That group includes HBCUs Jackson State, Delaware State and Howard.
The Icon Collective website states, “For years, black athletes have built fortunes through their skills on the field, and some have made history through their college and national achievements.”
Smith said he and his team aren’t attempting to make HBCU athletes wealthy. He said his collective represents about 350 athletes from 45 black colleges, or somewhat lower than half of the 107, in line with the Department of Labor. He said contracts typically range from $500 to $1,000 per athlete and sometimes last three to 6 months.
“We’re not here to create millionaires or make college free for kids. I’m here to lighten the load,” Smith said.
His son, Jayden, signed a $20,000 contract with math tutoring company Mathnasium in October 2023. Jayden Smith plays baseball at Xavier University of Louisiana, an NAIA school, and does things like making promotional videos for YouTube.
Grambling basketball player Jimel Cofer signed a contract with the Buffalo Wild Wings after his layup sent the Tigers into additional time in a First Four victory over Montana State within the NCAA tournament. Marc Smith said the deal was value $5,000.
Krispy Kreme stores in Tallahassee, Florida, are offering a special “Dean Dozen” named after Florida A&M quarterback Kelvin Dean, who was named the Celebration Bowl offensive MVP.
Players perspective
Alabama State quarterback Andrew Body, a transfer from Texas Southern, said he had some interest from Bowl Subdivision schools while he was within the transfer portal. Going there could mean some NIL money, but he said he is patient and focused on a possible skilled profession, saying that “getting money in college now kind of takes away your appetite for the game.”
“It’s hard to compete (with NO money), but I think what kids miss the most is that if you do what you need to do on the field, some connections, some income, whatever it may be, will come your way,” Body said.
Grambling State quarterback Myles Crawley, the SWAC preseason offensive player of the yr, said in July that he had not signed an NIL contract but noted that “there’s nothing like the HBCU experience.”
“I grew up around HBCU coaches, so I always said I wanted to start at an HBCU and finish,” Crawley said. “I’m building a culture so the next guy knows he can have a career at an HBCU. The money might be different, but as far as culture goes, there’s nothing like an HBCU.”
Sports
Minnesota Timberwolves Guardian Mike Conley “Having a ball” in search of the first NBA finals
San Francisco-Minnesota Timberwolves Guardian Mike Conley Jr. He danced after his training before playing on the Chase Center floor as Spun D-Sharp Golden State Warriors, “Life is Good”. After the end of the song, the 37-year-old tried to summarize.
After leaving the first attempt, Conley threw a second before he went to satisfaction to the cloakroom.
“I did it essentially throughout the season,” Conley said on May 12 to scape about his pregame dunk ritual. “They were like:” You cannot immerse. ” I told them, “I’m almost sure I can.” My coaches and teammates told me that I was going to be 38 years old. “
Conley hopes that he’ll soon win flowers as one of the oldest NBA masters, but now his Timberwolves are set off to the finals of the Western conference for the second 12 months in a row. The 18-year-old NBA veteran never played in the NBA finals. Since joining the NBA in 1989, Timberwolves has also never played in the NBA finals, losing in the finals of the Western Conference in 2004 and 2024.
Standing on the road to Minnesota, which appeared in its first finale, is Oklahoma City Thunder, Semen No. 1 of the Western Conference, which on average 24 years. Thunder host The Timberwolves tonight in the game 1 (ESPN, 20:30 et)
“Simply excited about the challenge of us,” said Conley. “We can compete with one of the best teams in the league to reach the NBA finals. We worked hard and focused. It should be a great series.”
For the aging Conley, he hopes that his third time, when a shot at the NBA finale, is a charm.
In 2013, 26-year-old Conley first appeared in the finals of the Western conference, but his Memphis Grizzlys was swept through San Antonio Spurs. At the age of 36, Conley and Timberwolves lost in five matches with Dallas Mavericks in the finals of the Western conference in 2024.
After the series, he wondered if it was his last likelihood to get to the NBA finals.
“I was really shocked because I thought it was a special year,” said Conley about losing in the finals of the Western conference last 12 months. “I thought it would make sense and we will all do it. My first thought was:” How long will it take us back here? Will it happen next 12 months. Will or not it’s one other 12 months? I do not know. Will or not it’s the last likelihood I’ll get? “
“All these thoughts were influenced. But this made me go in the summer, hoping that we would be able to do it again this season and have a chance.”
Noah Graham/Nbae via Getty Images
Conley was chosen with the fourth alternative at the NBA Draft in 2007 by Grizzlies. The only players in the NBA still remaining from this draft are Conley, the striker Phoenix Suns Kevin Durant, Boston Celtics Center/Forward al Horford and Houston Rockets Jeff Green. Horford won his first NBA title at the age of 37 from Celtics last season.
Conley was born on October 11, 1987 in Indianapolis. He is now the tenth of the oldest player in the NBA with Los Angeles Lakers striker Lebron James the oldest at the age of 40. New York Knicks, PJ Tucker, just over 4 months younger than James, is the oldest player remaining in the playoffs at the age of 40. James Johnson James Johnson is 38 years old.
“It’s terrifying, but also an honor,” said Conley. “I don’t feel that I’m so old, but I’m so old. I have to be fine with it and look in the mirror and say:” Man, we’re still doing it. ” “
Conley performed 76 performances in the season in the 2023-24 season, most frequently from 2012-13, and played in 15 Playoff matches. The essential coach of Timberwolves, Chris Finch, said he wasn’t planning to play Conley in so many matches this season in the hope of his behavior. Conley also got here in this season with a everlasting injury of the left wrist, which hinders his ability to address basketball or golf playing out of season. He scored a mean of 8.2 points and 4.5 assists in 71 matches of the regular season this season, playing a 24.7 minutes per match.
“One of the most difficult injuries was my wrist for me,” said Conley. “I needed to be in the forged for about two months of last summer. And at the moment I could not shoot the ball, touch the ball. Nothing. It isn’t like me. Usually I work and do all the pieces I can. So after I enter a training camp, I had no strength (in the wrist). It was poor (it was still pain and I attempted to work for some things.
“I hesitated before doing things and being myself. It was a battle (season). This is something that I slowly ended with. I hope it will be even better next season.”
Conley has the purpose of the game in 20 seasons of NBA. The next season can be his nineteenth and last 12 months of the contract with Minnesota for $ 10.7 million. Based on how Conley takes care of his body, he appears to be ready to attain his goal.
Departing from Indianapolis, he began to be more severe and more routine with a food regimen and training scheme in 2018 after surgery ending the season on the left heel after trying various options for the treatment of the side heel and Achilles. Conley felt his body breaks down, and said he needed to make a change to proceed fidgeting with less pain.
“I stopped eating red meat about eight years ago,” said Conley. “I did the work of blood, and my body was in some things, and fewer of some things. And beef was one of them. Something I do every single day, I get up around 7:30 (in the morning). I won’t eat until drinking water after 11 am. It’s almost like a quick.
“I try to extend it until I end up with treatment and exercise. I try to eat a meal. Good work, cleansing the intestine and stomach. You must heal yourself from the inside at my age. Cut off the inflammation that cause pain and slow down you at the age of 35, 36, 37 years.”
It is claimed that James spends $ 1 million on his body which he rejectedto maintain your health. While Conley doesn’t invest $ 1 million, he says that he’s investing financially in health and longevity. He said that he’s in a cold bathtub twice a day, and likewise performs a sauna of red light and a pool every single day, in addition to red light therapy, cryotherapy, STEM units (which incorporates their wearing while sleeping if obligatory) and lies in Softball to free pain from sore areas.
“I don’t have as much money as he,” said Conley about James. “But I also put a lot of money into my body. My diet is a big deal. My recovery is a big deal. From time to time I think Lebron:” I’m attempting to do what you do. ” Whatever it is, I need all this help. “
David Sherman/Nbae via Getty Images
Perhaps the most difficult part of being one of the oldest NBA players for Conley is what’s missing at home.
Conley and his wife Mary have three sons: Myles, Noah and Eli. Conley left Noah’s birthday on May 12, because Timberwolves were on the way in San Francisco in Play -ffach. He left Mother’s Day, and likewise Timberwolves defeated Warriors 117-110 in the match 4 of their second round in San Francisco the next day.
“I missed my son’s seventh birthday, Noah James Conley,” said Mike Conley. “He is a family speaker. A little bit joker. Just a shiny, supermart kid. He is my twin, the one who looks like me the most. He still wants me to hug him.
“But my wife did a great job, making him feel enthusiastic about himself. He had his little friends with a birthday celebration. … I used to be sex after they sang all the best and his friends arrived. Double Whammy.
There are 11 players on Timberwolves who’re lower than 25 years old, including 20-year-old debutant Rob Dillingham. Conley shares the outline with the 23-year-old NBA Guardian All-Star Anthony Edwards. But after 18 seasons of the game with mainly younger collaborators, Conley says that he still has love and fervour for taking part in.
“I have a ball, brother, to be honest,” said Conley. “I tell the boys all the time:” If you see the day after I don’t smile and haven’t got fun here and do not love, tell me to take a look at. Tell me to go home. ” This is one of the reasons I’m here.
“You don’t get it anywhere else in your life, especially my age. You can’t really take it for granted.”
Sports
WNBA testing racial insults by fans performed in Angel Reese while playing Indiana, AP Source
WNBA examines racial comments addressed to Angel Reese by fans during Chicago Sky’s Loss from Caitlin Clark and fever In Indiana on Saturday, based on a one who knows the situation.
The person talked to the Associated Press on Sunday, provided that the league didn’t publicly discover the subject of mockery or allegations.
“WNBA definitely condemns racism, hatred and discrimination in all forms – they do not take place in our league or in society,” said the league in an announcement. “We are aware of the allegations and we look at this case.”
Reese, which is black, and Clark, which is white, met for the seventh time in his time Ongoing competition-and very reproduced. Clark was appointed Rookie of the Year last season, and Reese took second place in voting.
The union of WNBA players published an announcement shortly after the League comment on this matter.
“WNBPA is aware of reports of hateful comments on yesterday’s game in Indianapolis and supports the current investigation of WNBA in this matter. Such behavior is unacceptable in our sport”, statement. “According to WNBA’s policy,” No Space for Hate “, we trust the league that they will examine and have taken quick, appropriate actions to ensure a safe and friendly environment for everyone.”
The president and general director of Sky, Adam Fox, later said on Sunday in an announcement that the organization accepts the investigation of the league.
“We will do everything in our power to protect Chicago Sky players and we encourage the league to continue taking sensible steps to create a safe environment for all WNBA players,” he said.
Heaven and fever will play 4 times in the regular season.
“We are aware of the accusations of fans inappropriate behavior during yesterday’s game and we work closely with WNBA to end their investigation,” said the fever in an announcement. “We stand in our commitment to ensure a safe environment to all WNBA players.”
Reese had 12 points and 17 rebounds in 93-58 losses with fever. Heaven and Clark took the incident on the pitch, and 4:38 remained in the third quarter. It began with Reese organizing the offensive reflection, and Clark hit Reese’s shoulder hard enough to calm down the ball and lightweight Reese to the ground.
When Reese got up She tried to confront Clark In front of the Indiana Center, Aliyah Boston entered between the players. Clark’s third personal foul was improved to the gross 1, while Boston and Reese drew technical fouls after reviewing the repetition of the referees.
Both players left the sport after the match.
This season, the league has launched a “No Space for Hate”, a multidimensional platform designed to combat hatred and promote respect in all WNBA spaces each online and in arenas.
The league focuses on 4 areas: improved technological functions to detect hateful online comments; Increased pressure on the safety measures of the team, arena and the league; strengthening mental health resources; and adaptation to hate.
This shall be the primary league test.
“It’s nice words, but we have to see actions,” said Aces A’ja Wilson on Friday after training. “I hope that people can take actions and understand that it is bigger than basketball. We are real people for this. Every shoe we wear, every T -shirt we have, we are people. People must respect it. I hope that they pay attention and listen to words.”
(Tagstotranslate) Angel Reese
Sports
Antonio Brown detained by the police in Miami after the arrows fired before the boxing event of Adina Rossa
The police in Miami stopped Antonio Brown to shots fired before the boxing event displayed via the Internet Streamer Adin Ross.
The incident took place at the starting of May 17, when Miami officers reacted to a notification from the shot detection system. Film material published on social media also showed that Brown is fighting many individuals outside the event. Observers recording the incident showed that Brown is supposedly falling and later digging a security officer during the test.
According to the former NFL star allegedly kept Black pistol while racing one other person. The shots diverged outside the camera, which led to the arrival of the police.
After the police questioned Brown and several other other individuals with potential commitment to the shooting, Brown divided the details of the social media sample. Brown appeared in Ross “Kick Livestream to blame his involvement in the fight for” cte “like Reported by . CTE, regressive brain disease formally often known as a chronic traumatic encephalopathy, stays related to contact sport akin to football.
“I got a cte, I pulled out the blackout,” he said on the stream. “I ended, Adin … I don’t know what happened.”
However, in the next post Brown claimed that many individuals jumped him, attempting to steal his jewelry.
As for the boxing event that took place last night. Many people jumped me who tried to steal my jewelry and cause me physical damage. Unlike some movies circulating, the police temporarily stopped me until they received my story, after which they didn’t publish me. …
– AB (@AB84) May 17, 2025
“As for the boxing event that happened last night,” he began in his position that “many people who tried to steal my jewelry and do physical damage to me.”
He also shared how he plans to take legal actions, and video virus on social media is a false narrative about what happened.
He added: “Contrary to some of the films, the police temporarily stopped me until they received my story, and then I did not release me. I returned home tonight and was arrested. I will talk to my legal advisor and lawyers about those who jumped on people who jumped in.”
A spokesman for the Police Department in Miami, officer Kiara Delva, confirmed that law enforcement agencies had not arrested at the scene. They also didn’t report injuries in their statement. Despite the reports about the lack of arrest, other circulating movies allegedly showed Brown in handcuffs.
Although his skilled sports profession suddenly ended in 2019, Brown remained a controversial figure from the field because of insolence and legal issues.
The investigation of shots stays. The police didn’t call every other suspects involved in the fight.
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