The Daily Mississippian | December 5, 2024 by The Daily Mississippian

MISSISSIPPIAN THE

Thursday, December 5, 2024

Search for Jay Lee detailed in Herrington trial

The trial of Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr. — who is charged with capital murder in the death of Jimmie “Jay” Lee — continued Wednesday with the jury hearing witness testimony from former University Police Department Capt. Jane McGregor-Mahan, who oversaw the initial investigation of Lee’s disappearance. Lee, 20, was a prominent

figure in the Oxford-Lafayette LGBTQ+ community who graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2022. He was last seen on video surveillance footage at 5:58 a.m. on July 8, 2022, leaving Campus Walk Apartments.

Although Lee’s body has yet to be recovered, he was declared dead by Circuit Court Judge Gray Tollison on Oct. 15. Mahan was called to testify regarding the University Police Department’s investigation into

the disappearance of Lee.

During her testimony she detailed the timeline of the investigation, which began on July 8, 2022, when Lee was reported missing by his mother, Stephanie Lee. UPD attempted multiple welfare checks, Mahan said, but after further concern from Stephanie Lee on July 9, officers began tracking Jay Lee’s phone and issued a Be on the Lookout (BOLO)

Rooster’s last call: Oxford says farewell to an iconic bar

Rooster’s Blueshouse, a cornerstone of Oxford’s bar scene, is preparing to close its doors at the end of December. For 17 years, the bar on the Square has been a beloved stomping ground for students and locals alike, offering live music, hot wings and its famed balcony.

The decision to shut the bar comes from the building’s owners, the Phillips family who leases through Crye-Leike Oxford Real-Estate and chose not to renew the lease, according to Rooster’s owner Scott Michael.

While no official reason was provided, a manager of Oxford Grillehouse, the restaurant below, said they have plans to expand into the space to create an upscale bar.

Neither the Phillips family, Crye-Leike Oxford Real Estate or Oxford Grillehouse have responded to requests for comment from The Daily Mississippian.

Michael reflected on his business journey with Rooster’s.

“I’ve been there 17 years. I put a lot of money in the building back in 2008 and was told I would be there as long as I wanted to lease

Theatre Oxford’s “The Peppermint Bear and the Two-Headed Dragon” opens at the Powerhouse today at 6 p.m.

The show, which has been a huge hit with younger audiences in years past, will have four performances through Saturday, Dec. 7. Friday’s performance will start at 6 p.m.; Saturday’s shows begin at 2 and 6 p.m.

“I consider it a sort of promotion, since I was the sassy little sister elf for the last two years,” Stack said.

Stack performed the same role in the late 1980s when earning her B.A. in dramatic arts from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

“The Peppermint Bear shows follow a fairly standard plot line — a villain appears to create havoc during the elves’ busy season,” Stack said. “Peppermint Bear helps resolve the problem, and the villain transforms into helpful North Pole Assets. This year, it’s a two-headed dragon that has awakened from a 100-year sleep and is hungry for elves.”

Rene Pulliam, an asso -

This is the third consecutive year that Theatre Oxford has put on this production. Paula ET Stack has been involved in the production for all three years, and in this year’s performance she plays “Mert,” the head elf.

ciate professor emeritus of the University of Mississippi Department of Theatre and Film, has also been involved with the production since its first run three years ago.

“I am a founding member of Theatre Oxford, along with my husband, Christopher Schager,” Pulliam said. “I had to pull away for a few years, as my job at the University of Mississippi took most of my time. When I retired in 2019, I came back to Theatre Oxford.”

Pulliam is the production manager for “The Peppermint Bear and the Two-Headed Dragon.”

MARY EVANS

MARY EVANS Assistant News Editor

ANTONELLA RESCIGNO / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr. looks over his shoulder during trial testimony in the Lafayette County Courthouse on Dec. 4.

Rooster’s Blueshouse

to alert law enforcement.

Mahan confirmed that UPD conducted extensive searches including checking hospitals, jails, hotels, apartment complexes and parking lots — as well as reviewing camera footage from Lee’s apartment complex, Campus Walk.

Mahan said that the Oxford Police Department was prompted to take jurisdiction of the case on July 10, 2022, when Bandit Towing notified the UPD they had towed Lee’s car from Molly Barr apartments. UPD continued to assist in the investigation.

Mahan also testified about the investigation’s findings, including photographs, Lee’s personal belongings and food left out in Lee’s apartment. She also confirmed that Lee’s laptop and vehicle title were collected for evidence.

Mahan was also asked about her knowledge of Lee’s participation in Code Pink drag performances and Lee’s friendship with Jose Reyes, who testified Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Mahan said she had limited knowledge of the concept of drag performances, though she was aware Lee had participated in Code Pink shows.

Regarding Reyes’ and Lee’s friendship, Mahan read from a card from Reyes to Lee — placed in evidence by the prosecution — that said, “I’m forever proud of you, Jimmie, my sister always.” The defense had earlier asked if Reyes and Lee were in a romantic relationship.

After Mahan, Mark Hodg-

es, the current lieutenant of investigations of the OPD Criminal Investigations Division, was called by the prosecution. Hodges verified that surveillance footage of Lee’s car driving on Molly Barr Road was from July 7, 2022.

Aside from law enforcement personnel, HVAC technician Kizziah Carter from Tunica, Miss., also testified. Carter lived in Oxford at the time of Lee’s disappearance.

On the morning of July 8, 2022, Carter said, he was driving through Oxford on his way home roughly eight to 10 minutes after he left work at 7:30 a.m. He saw Herrington jogging near a gas station on Molly Barr Road, Carter said.

Carter recognized Herrington due to him being a mutual friend of his girlfriend. After recognizing Herrington, Carter said he slowed down and offered him a ride.

Carter described Herrington as sweaty but not excessively so and said it was likely from running. Carter also said that this was the first time he had seen Herrington jogging in the area.

Carter’s testimony also included details about a traffic stop for speeding that was made when he was giving Herrington a ride. He was shown surveillance photos and body cam footage from the stop. Carter confirmed that he was the driver seen in the footage and identified Herrington in the courtroom.

On Tuesday Dec. 3, the jurors heard the defense and prosecution’s opening statements. They also heard witnesses including Lee’s mother, Jennifer Buford, an adviser and clinical instructor in social work at UM, and Lee’s friends Reyes and Khalid Fears.

The trial is set to continue today at 9 a.m. in the Lafayette County Courthouse.

This is the third day of the trial. Jury selection occurred on Monday, Dec. 2, in Hattiesburg, Miss. The jury consists of 12 jurors and three alternates, seven of whom are men and eight women. Four are Black and 11 are white.

A sketch of the courtroom during the Timothy Herrington Jr. trial on Dec. 3

GRAPHIC: KAT MOORMAN / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Former UPD Capt. Jane McGregor-Mahan testifies at the trial of Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr. on Dec. 4.

ANTONELLA RESCIGNO / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Defense attorney Kevin Horan and prosecutor Ben Creekmore confer during the trial of Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr. on Dec. 4.

ANTONELLA RESCIGNO / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Kizziah Carter testifies at the trial of Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr. on Dec. 4.

ANTONELLA RESCIGNO / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

and have business there. So I’m very disappointed,” Michael said.

While the closure marks an end of an era for many, Michael was proud of the lasting appeal the bar had for many regulars and newcomers alike.

“The customers, the people, they came to the bar for the wings, for the music, for the balcony and for the entertainment. That’s what made it special,” Michael said.

Easton Curry, a bartender at Rooster’s for the past five years, felt the loss was personal.

“It’s not just losing another bar. It’s one of my favorites,” Curry, a University of Mississippi alumnus, said. “Rooster’s is one of the coolest bars on the Square because when students are here it gets slammed packed with college kids. But whenever it slows down, like during the summer and winter, we get slammed by locals.”

Rooster’s closure follows a challenging period for Michael, who faced charges of sexual assault and kidnapping in April 2023.

The last document available

regarding the case is a circuit court subpoena from the Lafayette County Courthouse. On the bottom of the document,

“The

“There was a lot of talk that it was gonna hurt us. … It was definitely less crowded for like a week or two, but after that, it was

customers, the people, they came to the bar for the wings, for the music, for the balcony and for the entertainment. That’s what made it special.”

- Scott Michael Rooster’s owner

“I’m pretty sad because I feel like it’s an iconic place on the Square, and I just remember when I toured people were like ‘Go to Rooster’s. You have to go to Rooster’s,’” Kuzik said.

Kuzik talked about its famous Wednesday karaoke nights.

“A lot of our memories were made freshman year going to Rooster’s on Wednesdays for karaoke night. It’s part of the experience, especially for freshmen,” Kuzik said.

Aiden Wheaton, a senior marketing major from Cumberland, R.I., said Rooster’s appeals to all students.

“Even if you don’t go there often, it’s this iconic destination for freshmen, sophomores and upperclassmen,” Wheaton said.

ery night a girl falling down those stairs,” Kuzik said.

While Rooster’s prepares to make its exit, Michael has plans to open a new Rooster’s Blueshouse in Memphis and has aspirations to expand to other places, such as Nashville, Midtown Memphis, Beale Street and Austin.

“We’re opening up in December in a Rooster’s Blue House in Memphis. ... We’re going to Nashville, Memphis Midtown and eventually Beale Street,” Michael said. “We’re also working on a deal in Austin, Texas.”

“charges dismissed” is handwritten next to a stamp, signed by Lafayette County Sheriff Joey East, stating that the plaintiff could “not be found in Lafayette County” on May 10.

Michael said he was advised by his lawyer not to comment on the charges.

Curry said the charges left a mark on the business at the time they were pressed.

just back to normal,” Curry said.

Curry was surprised when he heard the news of Rooster’s closure.

“It was kind of a surprise to all the workers because we were all going steady, until we weren’t,” Curry said.

Patrons like Emily Kuzik, a senior marketing major from Denver, also mourned the loss of the bar.

Wheaton said Rooster’s had a lasting effect on her circle of friends.

“You meet everyone at Rooster’s. You go out with your roommate because you don’t know anyone, and then your whole pledge class is there — it all just kind of falls into place,” Wheaton said.

One of the most notable features of Rooster’s was its lengthy staircase.

“I remember almost ev-

Within the last five years, multiple bars have closed and opened in Oxford. As lower-priced, student-oriented bars like Rooster’s give way to more upscale venues, some worry about how it will affect the college town’s seasonal student population.

“Oxford is focused on being a family-oriented town. But I mean, there’s so many more college kids here than locals, in my opinion.” Curry said. “I understand it’s seasonal, but I think the college kids deserve to have a place where they can go.”

Where to catch Z’s before making A’s: top nap spots on campus

JILLIAN RUSSELL News Contributor

Life on campus can be extremely busy. Between balancing classes, jobs and extracurriculars, students sometimes sacrifice sleep to get everything done. Fortunately, the Ole Miss campus provides many convenient places to catch up on sleep during the day.

“For me personally, I have long days at school,” John Champagne, a junior biochemistry and biology major from Bay St. Louis, Miss., said. “I come on campus around 8 a.m. and stay until 9 p.m. for an SI session. I have upwards of three to four classes in one day. So it’s almost imperative to find somewhere to take a break for a little bit.”

After taking naps on campus, he feels more awake and able to push through his work for the day.

“A quick power nap makes me feel refreshed and recharged. Like, I could go another couple of hours without feeling tired,” Champagne said.

According to the Mayo Clinic, scheduling regular naps can boost mood, improve performance, increase alertness and reduce fatigue. It’s important to nap in the early afternoon before 3 p.m. to avoid interfering with nighttime sleep and to keep naps between 15-20 minutes to avoid entering a deeper sleep cycle.

Max Griffith, a senior film major, tends to sacrifice sleep on nights he stays up late writing. He likes to fit in sleep when he can but tries to avoid sleeping for too long.

“It’s a good day if I get two naps in,” Griffith said. “They are a priority to me. I tend to plan my day around my sleep. Fifteen minutes is all I need sometimes. I’m not down to enter the cycle.”

The Well inside the Turner Center’s first floor is a popular place to rest on campus. It’s accessible Monday-Thursday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Well overlooks the Turner Center’s pool and is known for its comfortable bean bags, rest mats and the soothing

sounds of swim and scuba classes.

“My favorite sleep spot on campus is The Well,” Musa Thomas, a junior finance major, said. “If I’m tired or just want to relax, I go there to lie down and listen to the water.”

The LGBTQ+ lounge, located on the fourth floor of Lamar Hall, is a safe and welcoming space on campus. The lounge is open when Lamar Hall is open, typically between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (Check for extended hours during exam weeks.)

“I like to go to the LGBTQ lounge in Lamar,” Champagne said. “They have lots of comfy couches, a really good view of the residential colleges, and it’s usually very quiet.”

The Duff Center has rooms that can be reserved for studying — and potentially sleeping. The second floor, pavilion-adjacent entrance, has booths located across from the front desk that can be used for sleeping. The Duff Center is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“My favorite spot is the booths at the front of the Duff Center on the second floor,” Logan Harden, biology student, said. “They are comfy, mostly secluded and kind of hard to find if you don’t know where you are going.”

The third floor of J.D. Williams is the designated quiet floor of the library but can tend to be busy during the day. If open, the library’s study cubby desks can be used as headrests. For a more secluded space, check out the fourth and fifth mezzanine floors.

The Grove stage turf, benches and trees are great options to enjoy beautiful Oxford weather on a sunny day. Noise levels can vary, and there may be some interruptions from landscaping or campus tours.

“I like sleeping outside. I think it’s more relaxing and primitive,” Griffith said. “I think it probably does some sort of good for the body.”

On a college campus, operating on a lack of sleep is understandable if not relatable. The

campus culture allows students to sleep in public environments without feeling embarrassed and knowing their belongings are safe. If you plan to take an extended nap, you may want to place your items in a locker available in the bottom floor locker rooms of the Turner Center.

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Max Griffith takes a nap in The Well.

JILLIAN RUSSELL / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

“I make sure all of the elements of a production are working together in sync, keeping communication channels open,” Pulliam said.

Additionally, Pulliam serves as properties designer and the director of the youth elves ensemble.

“For properties design, I am in charge of gathering all scenic elements and the items actors carry on and off stage,” Pulliam said. “As director of the youth elves ensemble, I am working with Professor Emerita of Movement for the Actor and Dance Jennifer Mizenko, choreographer, to create a short pre-show, which will run before ‘The Peppermint Bear’ each performance.”

Pulliam expressed hope that the event will immerse the audience in the holiday spirit.

“This will be quite an event. As the audiences enter the

Powerhouse, all will be greeted by the Holiday Art Market with lots of amazing local artists selling creative gifts for all,” Pulliam said. “As they enter the theater, it will be a magical

to opportunities with Santa, Peppermint Bear and the elves,” Pulliam said. Stack agreed that children in years past have enjoyed this production.

for the stage and screen major from Las Vegas, is director and choreographer for this production. This is Lane’s first time in both roles, which, he said, has been a learning curve.

“This will be quite an event. As the audiences enter the Powerhouse, all will be greeted by the Holiday Art Market with lots of amazing local artists selling creative gifts for all.”

- Rene Pulliam

associate professor emeritus of the UM Department of Theatre and Film

es for the first time as well.”

Despite the challenges, Lane is proud of how the production has turned out. He is particularly grateful to have worked with such a talented cast.

“My favorite part of this show in particular has been seeing my vision as an artist come to life,” Lane said. “Seeing the actors that I’ve cast truly embodying the roles, while also wearing the costumes that I picked on the set that I’ve imagined…it’s truly magical. I hope everyone has a great time experiencing it.” Lane encouraged both students and locals to attend the production.

experience, from Santa’s workshop on stage to the many decorations around the theater.”

Pulliam believes children especially will enjoy this show, in part because, after the production, audiences are allowed to meet the cast.

“After each performance, there will be pho -

“Having done this show several times, I have to say, the most exciting part is how the kids react to the story we’re telling — we sing, we dance, we interact with the kids who get to sit up front on the rug and share hugs and smiles after the show,” Stack said.

Gavin Lane, a junior acting

Kroger partners with Grove Grocery to gather donations

This month, Kroger shoppers in Oxford will have the opportunity to round-up their total or make a donation to benefit Grove Grocery, the University of Mississippi’s campus food pantry.

Established in 2013, Grove Grocery helps alleviate food insecurity among the university’s student and faculty population.

“We give out canned food, refrigerated food, frozen food, but we also have hygiene products and meal swipes as well,” Capri Lobotzke, student director of the pantry and junior biomedical engineering major, said. “We offer delivery options and pickup options, so we cater to all the options for students here.”

The round-up program is only the latest in a series of partnerships between the pantry and Kroger.

“We’ve been with Kroger for the past few years, at least since COVID,” Lobotzke said.

“We shop there every other week and spend about $4,000

shopping for the pantry. It’s been a great partnership, not only opening up their store for us to shop in but also for the donations they have made.”

Grove Grocery received approximately $10,000 in donations from Kroger during the round-up campaign from last year, Lobotzke said.

There are plenty of pressing needs for the food pantry.

“One of our biggest struggles has been keeping food in the pantry this year,” Lobotzke said. “Within just a couple days, we’ll be totally out even buying such a large amount of food.”

Lobotzke said that Grove Grocery is working on building more partnerships with the community.

“This money will help us build these partnerships as well as with buying the goods that patrons want and need,” Lobotzke said.

Beyond funding the existing operations of the food pantry, donations from this month will help fund new initiatives as well.

“We also have a new food

recovery program that we’re working on,” she said. “We’re trying to cut down on the large amount of food waste on campus. This money will help us develop this program as well.”

These donations are only one way to help Grove Grocery. Students interested in volunteering for the organization are encouraged to email grovegrocery@go.olemiss. edu or visit the pantry’s social media pages for more information.

In addition, students are encouraged to donate any leftover meal swipes to the pantry before the end of the semester. This can be done through the GET app.

“The biggest challenge has to be that this was my first time doing anything,” Lane said. “From making schedules to leading the artistic team and keeping up with the many different departments, all the new information was a challenge. Not to mention, I was choreographing all of the danc -

“This show in particular is a great way to support Theatre Oxford as a whole and local artists,” Lane said. “Since this is my first show to direct and choreograph, having audience support and feedback would be extremely beneficial.”

AIDAN PONIATOWSKI News Staff Writer

Grove Grocery is located in room 213 of Kinard Hall.

XINYI SONG / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

It’s a Whole New Ball Game...

College sports have undergone significant transformation recently. From name, image and likeness (NIL) and conference realignment to revenue sharing and the transfer portal, the changes present both opportunities and challenges. As a school in the heart of the SEC, Ole Miss is caught up in all the upheaval.

In a comprehensive, months-long investigation, students from the University of Mississippi delved into the current realities and future uncertainties within college sports. This special report focuses on the ways that fans and former Ole Miss athletes are reacting to the changes and how Ole Miss Athletics is adjusting to life with both NIL and transfer portals, with the direct payment of players as a real possibility for the future. We look at the impact on female athletes at Ole Miss and explore how one HBCU in Mississippi is feeling the transformation of college sports a bit differently than you might expect. This initiative is a collaborative effort from the University of Mississippi’s School of Journalism and New Media, The Daily Mississippian and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. Through the articles here and the videos provided online, we hope you gain a deeper understanding of how college sports is evolving and recognize the significant contributions of these dedicated student journalists.

Russ Eddins

Janelle Minor

Jaleah Walker Bradford Williams

Jake Daley

Sadie Rosengrant

Erika Dierke

PHOTO: REESE

Winning at What Cost? Rebels Fans Grapple with NIL Impact on Ole Miss Football

JALEAH WALKER BRADFORD PERKINS

Decked out in red and blue and holding those ubiquitous Solo cups, tens of thousands of people poured into the Grove to watch the Ole Miss Rebels play their first SEC game of the year against the Kentucky Wildcats on Sept. 28.

Most fans were sure of a win, but they were not so sure they liked the way the game has changed in the era of transfer portals and name, image and likeness (NIL) deals.

Kade Giles, a junior sports and recreation administration major, was one of those fans in the Grove before the game.

“I think it’s essentially turning college sports into pro sports,” Giles, an Ocean Springs, Miss., native, said. “It has just turned into which booster club can throw the most money at players, and I don’t think that’s good for college athletics.”

The introduction of NIL deals has brought both excitement and chaos to big-time college sports. It marked a significant shift in the way athletes can monetize

Association (NCAA) approved its NIL rules in 2021, the move was mostly hailed as a positive change.

“It’s probably overdue that players get paid for their likenesses when you think about how much money a student athlete makes for a program like Alabama, Texas or USC or how much money Jaxson Dart makes for Ole Miss,” Michael Katz, Ole Miss Athletics reporter for the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, said.

However, Katz said, after three years college athletics programs are still grappling with the consequences of the decision.

“I don’t think there’s enough overarching gov-

“It has just turned into which booster club can throw the most money at players, and I don’t think that’s good for college athletics.”

- Kade Giles junior sports and recreation administration major “ I wish there was a process in place where everyone on the team gets compensated fairly because those stars aren’t able to put on those performances without everyone else involved.”

their personal brands, allowing them to benefit financially from their skills and popularity.

For years, the debate about whether college athletes should be compensated raged, with many people calling for reform. When the National Collegiate Athletic

ernance,” Katz said.

The initial launch of NIL deals, which promised to strengthen athletes financially, has morphed into a complex scenario that few anticipated.

“They got this ready to go because they knew that it was time to, and then they sort of let it all out

of the bag without realizing maybe they hadn’t thought everything through all the way,” Katz said.

The rush to launch the NIL system left significant gaps in oversight creating an environment ripe for dissatisfaction, confusion and controversy, Katz said. Now three years into the NIL era, athletes, schools and sponsors are finding ways to adapt to a system that continues to evolve without clear guidelines.

“It’s hard to go back and sort of undo things or change things, because it’s been going on for three, four years now,” Katz said.

The lack of comprehensive regulations has led to stories of unmet promises, contract disputes and a growing sense of unpredictability in how deals are structured and enforced.

“You just get these messy situations where it’s a lot of he said, she said. Every day is something new and some crazy story about someone who says they weren’t getting the money that they wanted, and then the other side says, ‘Well, actually this person asked for more money and they breached the contract.’”

One way Ole Miss has responded to the new college sports environment is through the formation of The Grove Collective. The NIL collective, designed to support Ole Miss student-athletes, has become an integral part of the university’s strategy to remain competitive in an era when NIL deals can significantly influence recruiting and player retention.

By providing athletes with sponsorships, promotional deals and other financial opportunities, The Grove Collective ensures that Ole Miss can offer its athletes a way to maximize their earnings while representing the school.

Katz acknowledged that inequality has always been a potential consequence of NIL.

“The schools that can generate the most money are getting the best players,” Katz said.

The Grove Collective has helped Ole Miss build a competitive football roster

every year, not as people that have signed to play for four years,” he said. “Your favorite college team is almost professional now.”

Ole Miss fan and Illinois native Jackson White is a junior majoring in business management. He thinks NIL rules need to change.

-

Dwayne Nesmith

former Ole Miss football linebacker

that might not have been possible in the past, according to Katz.

“Without NIL, is Ole Miss a top 10 team, a top five team, College Football Playoff favorite? Probably not.”

Fans do want to win, of

“There should be more fairness to the NIL and how things are regulated, how much people can pay to have players and how much money they can just throw out there,” White said.

Former Ole Miss baseball pitcher and current Biloxi High School Baseball Coach Hawtin Buchanan was tailgating in the Grove for the Kentucky game, too. He said NIL and the transfer portal affect not just players and fans but coaches as well.

“I hope this doesn’t hap-

course, but NIL has changed the way some view the athletes. Jack Rose came to Ole Miss from Mahomet, Ill., to major in sports and recreation administration. At the Grove for the Kentucky game, Rose said he now feels less connected to individuals on the team.

“It’s more like some of the players just want to go for the money, which sucks, but I mean that’s life,” Rose said.

While NIL has dramatically changed athlete recruitment and compensation, it is not the only factor transforming college sports. Katz notes that the rise of the transfer portal in 2018 is closely linked to the NIL era, as players now have the ability to move schools not just for playing time, but also for better financial deals.

Ole Miss Football Head Coach

Lane Kiffin gets credit for the way he works the transfer portal, and Katz said that is a critical skill.

“If you don’t embrace the transfer portal, you’re done. You’re cooked. You are not going to be able to field an elite team anymore.”

Kade Giles, a junior from Ocean Springs, Miss., and an Ole Miss fan, said thanks to NIL and the transfer portal all of college football has changed.

“You have to view the athletes more as free agents at the end of

pen, but I think the one thing you may see is just shorter coaching tenures at certain universities,” Buchanan said.

He adds that when NIL money gets involved, expectations for immediate results can escalate quickly.

“When somebody is giving money to a program to try to see the football team win or try to see the basketball or baseball team win, if that team’s not winning, they’re going to say, ‘Why am I donating money if this coach is not winning games or things like that?’”

Former Ole Miss basketball player Marshall Henderson had a lot to say about NIL and the transfer portal as well.

“I think that players should be paid. My reasoning first though was from when I played and it wasn’t off of being a college athlete or off your performance and how you do. For me, it was the fact that you’re in the public eye and there’s people always out there trying to bring you down and especially that being the media,” Henderson said.

Henderson, known for his fiery personality on and off the court, emphasized that beyond performance, the pressures of public scrutiny play a significant role in why athletes deserve

Kade Giles (right)

PHOTO COURTESY: KADE GILES

Michael Katz

PHOTO COURTESY: MICHAEL KATZ

compensation.

“People do some of the craziest stuff and with the media having access to things and the ability to try and bring you down when something positive is going on,” Henderson said.

“Just to have everything out there for anyone to find and take advantage of, and then there’s the athlete – you’re not allowed to do anything about it and you can’t respond. For me, that alone is why college athletes should get paid.”

Henderson, who has also had experience as a coach at the community college level, shares Buchanan’s view on the pressures that NIL and the transfer portal place on coaches.

The chart displays NCAA revenue-sharing estimates in millions for SEC schools in the 2025-26 fiscal year**, highlighting three key components for each school: The green bar indicates how much money the schools are expected to allocate to athletes in revenue sharing. (The cap is $21 million, and Ole Miss and Mississippi State are the only SEC schools that are not expected to reach that cap.) The orange bar shows how much money the schools would have available to allocate for athlete revenue-sharing (up to 22% of total revenue) if they were allowed to exceed the $21 million cap. The blue bar is the estimated total revenue for each school. **Vanderbilt data not availiable.

services industry, said more needs to be done.

“The compensation is significantly skewed toward those star athletes,” Nesmith said. “It does appear that some of the critical components of putting that entertainment on the field, some of the people involved in that, are not being compensated in what would be considered a fair compensation model. If you were to put this together from the ground up as a professional sports league, I think you would compensate those people higher.”

Buchanan fears the impact will eventually find its way into high school locker rooms.

“There’s just the thought in the back of high school coaches’ minds that now with NIL being a factor, what if some of these boosters putting together NIL deals for a kid heading to a Division I school start offering money early, under the table, to keep that kid interested or ensure he doesn’t jump

“You know, I think what Coach (Mike) Gundy said at Oklahoma State was he was tired of people calling him after the season had already started, asking for more money,” Henderson said. “He’s like, ‘Hey, we’ve negotiated things, we have contracts, and now we’re playing the season.’ Issues during the season from outside the locker room, like requests for more playing time or money, are going to be more frequent. There’s going to be more outside influence coming in about these problems, and that’s probably tougher for college coaches now compared to previous years.”

into the transfer portal after a year,” Buchanan said. “If that happens, it could ruin the high school kid’s eligibility. If they’re promised a certain amount of money and they start accepting it while still in high school, it could cost them their eligibility and potentially sideline them for their senior year. For some schools, that’s their best player, and losing them could have a huge impact.”

Former Ole Miss football linebacker Dwayne Nesmith, who played for the Rebels

from 1980 to 1984, also has mixed emotions about the changes in college sports.

“I think it’s very good that college athletes are able to get compensated for their ability and the work they put in,” Nesmith said. “But I wish there was a process in place where everyone on the team gets compensated fairly because those stars aren’t able to put on those performances without everyone else involved.”

Nesmith, who now works in the software and professional

Reflecting on how NIL and the transfer portal would have impacted his own career, Nesmith said, “It would have changed the composition of the team on an annual basis quite significantly. Some of my friends might have left, and I wouldn’t have the relationships I have today.”

It’s those relationships among the athletes, the fans and their teams that may be changed or even lost forever in an era of NIL and transfer portals. And as the fans who watched Kentucky end the Rebels fourgame winning streak will tell you, losing is never easy.

Breaking Barriers: Ole Miss Female Athletes Thrive with NIL

Part 1:

Ole Miss volleyball player Julia Dyess and soccer player Kelly Brady are two female athletes benefiting from the Grove Collective. For them, NIL deals have opened doors to new experiences

Part 2:

Emma Trainor is a communications assistant for Ole Miss Athletics. She discusses the imbalance in marketing and financial support between male and female athletes.

Part 3:

Ole Miss female athletes say NIL not only allows them to leverage their personal brands, but also increases interest in women’s sports.

ERIKA DIERKE

Bigger paydays ahead for college athletes

College athletics are on the cusp of the biggest transformation since the National Collegiate Athletics Association was created in 1906.

A proposed settlement of the landmark House v. NCAA case, which includes a resolution of three antitrust lawsuits filed against the NCAA and power athletic conferences, clears the way for schools to begin paying players directly through revenue sharing starting as early as 2025.

The resolution received preliminary approval by a federal judge in October 2024.

The agreement designates $2.78 billion in retroactive payments to former college athletes dating back to 2016 who could not earn compensation from name, image and likeness (NIL) deals. It also allows college athletic departments to make revenue sharing agreements with players. And in an effort to eliminate pay-forplay payments that have become commonplace among booster-led NIL collectives, the settlement facilitates the establishment of an enforcement agency by the NCAA and power conferences to ensure the new NIL model is implemented consistently.

Indirectly, the settlement further advances the idea that amateur student athletes could be considered university employees.

“I think the amateurism model is gone,” Associate Dean for Re-

search and Montague Professor of Law at the UM School of Law William Berry said. “When the House settlement becomes final, we’re going to have revenue sharing, and so I think the student athlete model is essentially dead if the House settlement goes through.”

The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by former Arizona State swimmer Grant House and Sedona Prince, a former Oregon and current TCU women’s basketball player, who alleged the NCAA’s rules violate antitrust laws and exploit student athletes. The plaintiffs claimed that the NCAA’s restrictions on NIL payments and control of TV profits prevent athletes from realizing their true market value.

A final hearing for approval of the settlement by Senior United States District Court Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California is scheduled for April 7, 2025.

Even after the House settlement is finalized, legal challenges may continue unless federal legislation outlines NIL rules, according to Brennan Berg, associate professor of sport and recreation at UM. Berg’s article titled “The Policy Discourse of Name, Image, and Likeness in College Athletics” was published last year in “The Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics.”

“Once this new system (dictated by the House settlement) gets put in place, it will get legally challenged. … I have a hard time imagining you have one lawsuit that is going to accommodate and

represent tens of thousands of college athletes across the county,” Berg said. “I imagine you’re going to have a lot of college athletes who just say, ‘Hey, I’m aware of the House settlement, but that did not represent me or my interests. I had no say in it.’”

Commissioners of the Power Five athletic conferences — Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern — helped craft the NCAA’s response to the lawsuit with input from school athletic directors.

“Judge Wilken has to go through different processes from a legal perspective, but they’re

Our goal is to rectify this injustice and pave the way for a system where athletes are rightfully recognized, compensated and treated fairly for their contributions.

- Evan Selik an attorney representing Reggie Bush “ “

saying it will probably be next April or so before the final settlement,” Ole Miss Athletic Director Keith Carter said. “And that’s if there’s no hiccups and no roadblocks. We’re kind of preparing that revenue share (with players) would start July 1, 2025. … All of our legal counsel from the SEC office and outside legal counsel are confident and hopeful that it will settle in April or so.”

Legal precedent for House

NCAA

The primary precedent for the House settlement was Alston v. NCAA. In that 2021 ruling, the Supreme Court rejected the proposition that the NCAA was immune from federal antitrust law and overturned NCAA rules that capped the amount schools can pay student-athletes for education-related benefits. Prior to the Alston case, NCAA rules limited student athlete compensation to the cost of attendance. That included tuition, fees, room and board, books and other expenses. In the Alston ruling, the Supreme Court determined that schools could distribute as much as $5,980 a year to students in education-related compensation.

RUSS EDDINS

Jaxson Dart on the Walk of Champions with his sponsored Beats headphones on Sept. 21.

LUCY SPRINKLE / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Keith Carter

Alston v. NCAA should have served as a warning for what was to come in college sports. It laid the groundwork for future challenges to the NCAA’s restriction on student athlete compensation. Administrators in the NCAA and athletic departments simply were not prepared for a case like House v. NCAA.

“We probably should have (taken) a more forward thinking approach to this,” Carter said. “If we had gradually kind of worked toward this it probably would have been a much easier process, but now with the lawsuits and obviously with the things that are happening, it’s moving really fast.”

Unresolved legal challenges

In August 2023, Reggie Bush, a former Heisman trophy winner with the Trojans, sued the University of Southern California, the Pac-12 Conference and the NCAA for profiting off of his name, image and likeness without compensating him.

Bush and his attorneys are seeking compensation for years his name was used for marketing and to prevent his name from being used for financial gain without compensation again.

“This case is not just about seeking justice for Reggie Bush; it’s about setting a precedent for fair treatment for all college athletes,” Evan Selik, an attorney representing Bush, said. “Our goal is to rectify this injustice and pave the way for a system where athletes are rightfully recognized, compensated and treated fairly for their contributions.”

Four former University of Michigan players, including quarterback Denard Robinson and wide receiver Braylon Edwards, have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA and the Big Ten Network. They are seeking more than $50 million, saying they have been “wrongfully and unlawfully denied” the opportunity to earn money from their NIL.

The future of NIL

State legislatures led the charge for NIL compensation. California’s “Fair Pay to Play Act,” a statute that allows collegiate athletes to acquire endorsements while still maintaining athletic eligibility, was passed by the state legislature in 2019. To date, 32 states have passed NIL laws, most of them modeled on “Fair Pay to Play.” Mississippi’s law allowing student athletes to receive compensation for use of their name, image and likeness went into effect on July 1, 2021.

Mississippi universities can place limitations on when student athletes can participate in endorsement-related activities, can control what athletes wear during university-sponsored events and can require athletes to notify their universities of any NIL transaction within three days of the agreement taking effect. State law also places restrictions on student athletes endorsing alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes or any other type of nicotine delivery system, sports performance-enhancing supplements or gambling and sports wagering.

Several federal bills that would regulate collegiate athletes’ compensation have been introduced by both Democrats and Republicans, but none have gained much traction in Congress. That means the House v. NCAA settlement, when finalized, would initiate the most transformative change

to college athletics nationwide.

In the plan laid out in the lawsuit settlement, schools would be able to begin sharing revenue with players as soon as the 2025-26 school year. Twenty-four percent of the $2.75 billion settlement designated for former athletes will be taken from Power Five schools’ share of NCAA revenue and be paid to former college athletes who were deprived of NIL opportunities by the NCAA.

“The NCAA will pay (the $2.75 billion in back-pay to former college athletes). They will pay it out over a 10-year period,” Carter said.

But each university must determine how it will compensate players in the future.

“Obviously, we’re going to be in charge of figuring out how we pay the current rev share for the current student athletes starting in 2025,” Carter said.

Student-athletes are currently paid by NIL collectives, including the Ole Miss’ Grove Collective. However, with the settlement, student-athlete pay will likely shift to athletic departments, with funds coming primarily from donors and corporate sponsorships. This shift will give the departments more flexibility on how they can fund the revenue share.

For Ole Miss, Keith Carter wants to make sure The Grove Collective plays a role in the future of college sports.

“Whatever scenario plays out in the settlement, we know that we’re going to want to have Walker Jones (founder of The Grove Collective) and his team involved in our solution here at Ole Miss. We’re working almost daily on what that could look like,” Carter said.

Impact on Title IX

Every NCAA athlete, going back to 2016, will have the opportunity to participate in the revenue share. A plan for notifying every former NCAA athlete from 2016 on is currently being made.

“We will make sure that any athlete that we had at Ole Miss that fell into that window will have the opportunity to either opt-in or opt-out of the case,” Carter said. “Every school should definitely reach back and reach out to those student athletes.

Historically, Title IX, the law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance, has dictated scholarship distribution among student athletes. It is not clear now that might apply after the House settlement. The money could be split 50-50 between women’s and men’s athletes, it could be weighted toward the sports that generate more revenue or it could be allocated according to another formula.

“It’s interesting to note that after the Supreme Court’s decision (in) Loper Bright last spring, administrative law is changing quite a bit, and it’s not clear to the degree which the Office of Civil Rights’ interpretation of Title IX is even applicable anymore,” Berry said.

In the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts must exercise independent judgment when interpreting statutes, rather than deferring to government agency interpretations.

Congress may have to pass a new law to clarify how Title IX applies to the payment of athletes.

“It’s not clear what the law says about this kind of compensation because it has always been illegal and prohibited under NCAA rules. And so it’s not clear that Title IX is going to mandate anything. It’s not clear that Title IX applies to anything but athletic scholarships,” Berry said.

College athlete employee status

For years, some have said that college athletes should be considered employees because, while facing major risks by playing sports, athletes generate considerable income for institutions they represent.

On Sept. 29, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board published a memo stating that student athletes could be seen as employees under federal law, but the issue remains unsettled. If student athletes are given employment status, they also may be able to unionize and negotiate collective bargaining agreements.

“While players at academic institutions are commonly referred

to as ‘student-athletes,’ I have chosen not to use that term in this memorandum because the term was created to deprive those individuals of workplace protections,” NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo wrote in the memo.

In July 2024, a U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia ruled in Johnson v. NCAA that athletes could not be barred from bringing Fair Labor Standards Act claims and remanded the case to a lower court to determine whether the athletes can be considered employees under the statute. The Fair Labor Standards Act sets federal minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for most private and public sector employees.

“With professional athletes as the clearest indicators, playing sports can certainly constitute compensable work,” U.S. Circuit Judge L. Felipe Restrepo wrote.

The NCAA has long held the position that student-athletes are amateurs who voluntarily participate in sports as an extension of their education, that they attend college for an education, not to be employed as athletes.

The NCAA says it has been expanding core benefits for athletes, from health care to career

preparation, and wants to help schools steer more direct financial benefits to their athletes.

“A lot of the conversations I’ve had with people in Congress (who favor making athletes university employees) is: ‘The reason we’re interested in employment is because of the compensation questions,” NCAA President Charlie Baker told reporters in June. “If the court blesses (the House v. NCAA settlement), then it puts us in a position where we can go to Congress and say one of the three branches of the federal government blessed this as a model to create compensation without triggering employment.”

Even though a settlement of the House v. NCAA lawsuit could significantly transform the way schools compensate current and former student athletes starting next year, it likely will not be the final word on the issue. College athletics is a big money game, and more challenges over who gets compensated and how much they are paid are expected.

One thing is certain — the power of college players is growing stronger.

Brennan Berg

PHOTO COURTESY: BRENNAN BERG

winners and losers in the game of conference realignment

College athletics is undergoing a seismic shift, as traditional geographic boundaries and historic rivalries give way to decisions driven by big money.

However, amid the chaos of conference realign -

gon in the Pacific Northwest. Generations-old rivalries, such as UCLA vs. Cal — schools that had met every season for the past 92 years — were abandoned in the realignment.

“This all happened because of money,” UCLA Basketball Head Coach Mick Cronin said in an interview with reporters from Fox News. “That’s just the reality. It’s not all because of

“Ole Miss has a chance to be a symbol of everything major about the new era: NIL, the transfer portal and the expanded College Football Playoff.”

- Seth Emerson sports writer for The Athletic

makes sizable annual payouts to its member schools, the University of Mississippi is in an extremely advantageous position.

“Ole Miss has a chance to be a symbol of everything major about the new era: NIL, the transfer portal and the expanded College Football Playoff,” Seth Emerson said in an August 2024 article in The Athletic.

However, as the third-smallest SEC school, Ole Miss’ resources are limited compared to other member schools. In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the Ole Miss athletics department, which fields teams in 18 NCAA sports, lost more than $8 million.

But with a growing student body (the school experienced an 11% increase in enrollment between fall 2023 and fall 2024) and payouts coming from the SEC’s multi-billion dollar TV deal, the university is in a strong situation to capitalize on the movement within college athletics.

modern era successfully raising more than $10 million for Ole Miss Athletics and student-athletes as of March 2024. According to the recruiting website On3, The Grove Collective is the sixthmost lucrative collective.

“At The Grove Collective, we’re business as usual. We’re not going anywhere,” collective executive director Walker Jones said in an interview with the Locked On Ole Miss podcast in May 2024. “We’re well positioned to adjust and adapt to whatever comes our way from … this evolving landscape.”

It’s all about the money

The biggest motivator behind conference realignment is money, with massive television deals driving most of the movement. Those broadcast rights are fueling the growing disparity between the socalled Power 2 conferences (SEC and Big Ten) and the rest of the FBS conferences.

not been reported because financial statements will not be released until early 2026. However, it is projected that the conference will receive an estimated $811 million annually from its new deal.

The next most valuable conference is the Big 12, which receives approximately $380 million per year from its TV deal.

The newest College Football Playoff TV deal, worth $1.3 billion, pays the Big Ten and the SEC each 29% of the total contract. The ACC will receive 17% and the Big 12 will receive 15% of the total deal, proof of the growing disparity among major conferences.

ment, the University of Mississippi emerges in a stronger position than many traditional powerhouses.

The saga of three California universities serves as a cautionary tale.

In 2024, the University of California Berkeley left the Pac-12 Conference, which was disintegrating around them, to become a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, headquartered a continent away. Athletes must fly more than 2,700 miles to play games at most of the other ACC campuses on the East Coast.

Cal’s move was precipitated by the departure of Pac-12 stalwarts USC and UCLA to the Big Ten Conference. The Big Ten now includes 18 member schools stretching from Rutgers University in New Jersey to USC and UCLA in California and Washington and Ore -

football. It’s because expenses and bills have grown. That’s the reality of it. And what I would tell you is this is not the end-all fix. It’s far from over.”

While other conferences have completely remade themselves in the past few years, the Southeastern Conference — Ole Miss’ home since 1933 — has simply expanded its geographic footprint by adding traditional football blue-bloods Texas and Oklahoma this year.

After the most recent realignments, the Big Ten and the Southeastern are widely considered the top conferences in college football. The Big Ten had $879.9 in revenue in fiscal year 2022-23, while the SEC had $852.6 million. The next closest was the ACC, which reported $706.6 million.

And as a founding institution of the SEC, which

“Having a strong conference and being the powerhouse that we are will continue to be important,” Keith Carter, vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics at UM, said. “The SEC has traditionally been the best football conference in the country.”

Another key to financial success is the emergence of NIL collectives, which raise money that is in turn awarded to players whose names, images and likenesses are used to promote the schools.

The collectives enable schools to stock their team rosters with the best players. The ultimate sign of success for football teams, of course, is selection to participate in the new 12-team College Football Playoffs. The CFP TV deal is worth $1.3 billion, which generates sizable sums for participating schools.

The Grove Collective, the NIL program for Ole Miss athletes, has thrived in the

The Big Ten’s newest TV deal with Fox, NBC and CBS began in 2023 and was worth $7 billion over seven years, giving the conference a payout of $1 billion per year.

The SEC’s 10-year me -

While Ole Miss may be in a good spot during conference realignment, this is not the case for many other schools. At least 32 FBS universities nationwide have changed primary athletic conferences since 2022. The main catalyst for this movement was the dissolution of the former Pac12 conference, which resulted in 10 members moving to the Big Ten, Big 12 and the ACC.

“It’s a couple hundred million dollars. I’m not losing sleep over it.”

dia deal, which started this year, extended ESPN’s commitment to the conference to $5.25 billion, potentially worth more than $7 billion after the additions of powerhouses Texas and Oklahoma. The SEC’s exact numbers have

The University of Oregon received approximately $20.8 million per year as a member of the Pac-12, but now, after switching conferences, will receive over $70 million each year from the Big Ten. The Pac-12 dissolution has left schools scrambling, especially the two conference members left standing — Oregon State and Washington State. The Pac-2 recently

- David Miller chairman of the SMU’s board of trustees

JAKE DALEY SADIE ROSENGRANT

Map of Power Four college athletic programs

GRAPHIC COURTESY: JAKE DALEY AND SADIE ROSENGRANT

added five Mountain West Conference schools (Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State) to reform the Pac. Sophomore track and field athlete Ryan Forson, a Washington State student, is unsure whether this was a good move.

“I think the quality of competition will go down a little bit,” Forson said.

Schools that traditionally have been in the middle-tier of college athletics are increasingly faced with the challenge of attempting to move up to the “big leagues” or risk being left behind in their current conferences. For schools such as BYU, which was an independent, and SMU, which was in the American Athletic Conference, their moves to the Big 12 and ACC, respectively, are a step up in competition and revenue. Cincinnati and Houston also jumped from the American to the Big 12, one of the current power conferences, in the past few years.

SMU even opted to forego earning TV revenue from the conference for nine years to gain membership in the ACC.

In the interim, David Miller, the chairman of the SMU’s board of trustees, and other boosters pledged $200 million to the school’s athletics, according to Yahoo Sports.

“It’s a couple hundred million dollars. I’m not losing

phis, a 90-minute drive north of the Ole Miss campus, the issue of realignment has been much more challenging to navigate. Currently a member of the American Athletic Conference, Memphis has for years aggressively pursued membership in one of the power conferences.

Daily Memphian columnist Geoff Calkins says the school is on “a quest to try to … get in a better conference.”

When the school’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ed Scott was hired in early 2024 from the University of Virginia, it was clear that conference change was a primary goal. A clause in Scott’s contract offers a financial incentive for joining a power conference.

With the Pac-12 desperate to add schools to stay alive, many thought Memphis would try to take advantage. However, in late September, Memphis surprised many fans by announcing the school would remain in the AAC.

As with all realignment decisions, this was about money, but with a twist. It would have cost the university $20 million to exit the AAC, according to several reports, with the Pac-12 covering only $2.5 million of that cost.

Calkins said a switch to the Pac-12 would not have been “prudent financially.”

Gary Parrish, sports col -

sleep over it,” Miller responded when asked by ACC commissioner Jim Phillips about the financial commitment, according to Yahoo Sports.

Florida State University has considered leaving the ACC for either the SEC or the Big Ten, going so far as suing the ACC in 2023 to get out of its contract. The conference’s media rights are locked in at approximately $372 million per year until 2036, and FSU believes it can get better payouts elsewhere.

However, the ACC threatened to punish FSU (one of its most recognizable brands) to the fullest extent, which could have meant the school owed more than $500 million to the ACC if it left the conference.

The flip side of conference hopping

For the University of Mem -

nament in 2022 and 2023. However, the Tigers lack high-caliber in-conference competition, which could count against the team come NCAA tournament selection time. Moving to the Pac12 would have allowed the Tigers to play consistently high-ranking teams such as San Diego State and Gonzaga.

On top of that, playing lackluster AAC opponents does not generate much enthusiasm among Memphis fans.

Calkins believes that staying in the AAC could damage the program.

“It’s a disaster for Memphis basketball,” Calkins said.

The Memphis Basketball team is saddled with the unenviable job of desperately trying to keep fans involved and winning out during their conference schedule while also attempting to prove their worth with grueling matchups during their early season non-conference schedule.

A Southern Miss success story

The University of Southern Mississippi’s recent switch to another athletic conference proved to be a positive choice.

The costs of realignment

For some schools that have switched conferences, increased TV revenue is counterbalanced by increased costs, primarily team travel.

Since West Coast schools Stanford University and Cal left the Pac-12 to join the ACC, their football programs will combine to travel more than 44,000 miles this season to accommodate games at East Coast schools.

According to Stanford Senior Associate Athletic Director Matt Doyle, who spoke in an interview with ESPN in July 2024, the school’s travel budget was estimated to double. It will be even higher in 2025 when Stanford adds another charter flight to the football schedule.

Stanford already faced financial deficits and planned to cut 11 varsity sports in 2020 before eventually reversing course. The specter of eliminating smaller sports such as women’s field hockey and men’s volleyball could resurface if financial strains associated with travel intensify.

umnist for CBS, argued that a move to the Pac-12 would have been “a move in the right direction,” but not the final move. It would have simply been step one in a process of constantly trying to make it into the exclusive club of power schools.

But that may be a long time coming.

“The truth of the matter is that Memphis doesn’t drive a lot of TV eyeballs, and that’s what this is all about in the end,” Calkins said.

While the decision to stay put may have been the correct one financially for the Memphis athletic department, staying in the AAC could hurt the school’s core sports teams.

The Memphis men’s basketball team is a source of great pride for the university, appearing in the NCAA tour

In 2023, Southern Miss departed Conference USA in favor of the Sun Belt, one of nine teams that left Conference USA in favor of another conference between 2022 and 2023. Southern Miss had a smaller exit fee to pay than many other schools, approximately $3 million. And the new destination provided a more lucrative TV deal. The full value of the payout has not been revealed by ESPN or the Sun Belt.

Hattiesburg TV sports reporter Taylor Curet says that the national exposure the Sun Belt provides by broadcasting games during the week has made the conference switch a great move. USM fan response was overwhelmingly positive as well, invigorating new excitement for programs that had not experienced great success in past years.

Curet believes that fans were “over Conference USA” and the lack of recognition that came with it. Even as the debate around switching conferences continues at some schools, Southern Miss vouches for the payoff.

The Big Ten faces similar travel concerns as West Coast teams USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington join the league. Even landmark Big Ten schools such as Ohio State have been affected by the changes.

“Our travel budget, just so everyone knows, went up over $2 million to adjust for this,” OSU athletic director Ross Bjork said during his halftime appearance on Ohio State’s radio network during OSU’s 35-7 win over Iowa on Oct. 5.

College athletics’ uncertain future

As changes within football, such as new NIL and transfer rules, continue to drive movement in college athletics, the SEC and Big Ten have risen in status to pseudo-governing bodies. The NCAA, which for generations has been the governing body for hundreds of schools small and large, is further shrinking into the background. The pending landmark decision to pay $2.78 billion to former student-athletes and introduce a revenue-sharing program with current student-athletes, negotiat -

ed in the proposed House v. NCAA settlement, was essentially dictated by the Power 5 football conferences. As the gap continues to widen between traditional blue-blood football programs and those on a lower tier, there have been discussions about college football breaking away from the NCAA and creating its own governing body. Two proposals are the Super League and Project Rudy. The Super League proposal includes 72 top teams competing in 12 region-based, six-team conferences (Power 12), with the 64 remaining teams competing in a Group of 8 conference. The top Group of 8 teams would be eligible for promotion to the Power 12 at the end of the year similar to the European professional football model. Project Rudy, a proposal that came out of the SECBig Ten meeting this fall, would include a 70-team structure backed by private equity firm Smash Capital and exclude lower-tier programs. The 70 schools would be sold as one media entity, and games versus current Group of 5 and FCS opponents would be eliminated.

It is unclear what this reshuffling would mean for the lower tier of college football as well as other college sports that are governed by the NCAA. However, the landscape of college sports continues to change, and how we see college sports is evolving.

Throughout the upheaval, the University of Mississippi is well-positioned to thrive in a new era of college athletics. As a founding member of the SEC, Ole Miss is firmly entrenched in the conference and should benefit greatly from larger revenue and exposure from the conference’s revenue deals. Additionally, Ole Miss teams will not have to travel nearly as far to compete within the conference as universities in the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten must now, which helps limit travel expenses and eases equipment logistics. And Ole Miss’ highly regarded NIL collective and marketing strategies bring more eyes to the athletics department than ever before.

GRAPHIC: HALEY REED / THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN

Taylor Curet

PHOTO COURTESY: WDAM

Beyond Power four: The NIL Journey for HBCU Athletes

When Serdarion

Locke took on the role of athletic compliance director at Jackson State University (JSU), he quickly realized that the world of name, image and likeness (NIL) was not the same outside the Power Four institutions.

“The opportunities in general regarding NIL look different for our HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) student-athletes,” Locke said.

The NCAA’s approval of NIL in 2021 allowed student-athletes to profit from their personal brand. But for athletes at schools like JSU, navigating this space has been particularly challenging. Locke, who had previously worked at Western Kentucky University and UNLV, said HBCUs often lack resources for educating athletes about NIL.

“At UNLV, we had five fulltime staff members and four graduate assistants. Here at Jackson State, we just have two fulltime staff members,” Locke said.

According to Locke, that puts HBCU athletes at a disadvantage when it comes to profiting from NIL rules.

Locke said HBCU student-athletes often do not know how to build their personal brands and secure partnerships.

“They don’t really under-

stand how they can get deals and what that looks like,” Locke said.

While athletes at Power Four schools often receive extensive support from dedicated departments, at JSU, those responsibil-

“When (Sanders) was here, it absolutely had an effect, not only here at Jackson State but across the HBCU landscape,” Locke said. “Since he’s departed, a lot of that attention has followed him to Colorado, but we still have a ton of people that continue to follow Jackson State football and Jackson State athletics.”

Maintaining that momentum has proven difficult after Sanders’ exit, but JSU running back Ahmad Miller has had some NIL success.

“I do little side deals for different companies through apps, but not anything major right now,” Miller said. “For sure, yeah, it’s very beneficial.”

JSU has multiple NIL collectives and partnerships for their athletes, which puts them ahead of many HBCUs in the state. Still the Memphis native says the choice to come to JSU was about finding a family, not just about potential earnings.

“(JSU) showed a lot of love. It was just, without question, one of the spots I had to come to,” Miller said.

his recruiting trip to JSU.

While Wilson knows some people just evaluate the financial aspect, Wilson said other factors matter to him.

“(I want) a place to be supported and a family that just looks after each other,” Wilson said.

Fleming and Wilson both have the opportunity to find that family on game days in the parking lot of the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Miss., with JSU Tigers fans like Jesse and Shavon Austin.

“The reason we actually come out here is for them to see that they have our support. When they drive up on the lot, they need to see us. They need to know that we are depending on them, and we’re pushing them to win and be the best that they can be,” Shavon said.

The Austins have been supporting the team for 20 years.

“It’s a big old family reunion,” Shavon said. “You look around, and we just see people that we went to school with and hadn’t seen in years. But we just pick up where we left off.”

ities fall on the compliance staff.

“You’re essentially putting more work on the same number of people within your athletic department,” Locke said.

Yet, the Jackson State Tigers have been luckier than most — thanks to former JSU Football Head Coach Deion Sanders.

Ahmad’s brother, Aubrey Miller Jr., also played football at JSU, and though Ahmad recognized that athletes often can get better NIL deals at Power Four schools, he sees value in being at JSU.

“It’s not about the money for me,” Miller said. “I love the game of football and building connections, genuine connections.”

Joel Fleming is a senior linebacker and wide receiver at Velma Jackson High School in Camden, Miss. He said potential NIL earnings will not change his college decisions.

“No, not at all. I know what I wanna be. I know where I am going to be,” Fleming said.

North Carolina Central University and Howard University are already recruiting Fleming, along with Jackson State. He said he just wants the opportunity to be great at his sport.

“Whoever gives me the opportunity, I’m gonna show them what I can do,” Fleming said.

Tyquereis Wilson, a senior defensive end at Union Parish High School in Farmerville, La., echoed some of the same sentiments on

Curtis Stapleton, a member of the JSU Association of Alumni Athletes, appreciates the emphasis on the love of the game and support for the athletes he sees on his campus. He said he believes that NIL has the possibility to distract coaches from supporting student athletes holistically.

Stapleton is a former AllSWAC offensive lineman and has worked as a collegiate and high school football coach in Mississippi and Alabama.

“I’ve talked to college coaches when I’m trying to get my players recruited. (They say) that they’re looking for kids that are ready to play right now,” Stapleton said. “They don’t have the time to develop a high school player.”

Stapleton, who was an assistant coach on Alabama State University’s 1991 national championship team, encourages current HBCU coaches not to get discouraged if they struggle to recruit top players in this new era.

However, Stapleton said the coaches might get something even better.

“They’re going to be more committed and dedicated to that school than this hot shot that’s coming from (another) college,” Stapleton said. Locke remains optimistic about the potential for growing NIL opportunities at HBCUs.

“There’s a lot of money out here for them,” Locke said. “They just have to put the work in to go and get it.”

“You’re not going to get your top players — those FBS and the group of five going to get the real, top players,” Stapleton said.

Jackson State University fans rally, waving flags to show their support for the team.