FUTURE OF NILSU
NCAA submits legal settlement that will transform NIL payouts for past, present and future athletes.
Read on page 2
ATHLETE PAYDAY
Legal settlement will have universities directly pay athletes
BY JASON WILLIS @JasonWillis4
Once prohibited, NIL is now a fact of life in college sports, and the details of how it will be regulated continue to be ironed out.
In recent months, the NCAA has been embroiled in legal battles that deal with NIL and athletes’ ability to accept money and other benefits for their work, most notably including the cases House vs. NCAA, Hubbard vs. NCAA and Carter vs. NCAA.
With Friday’s submitted settlement terms between the NCAA, the Power Five conferences and lawyers representing former and current college athletes (which have yet to be approved by the court), those regulations look a little bit clearer.
The implications for LSU and the college athletic landscape are paradigm-shifting.
First of all, the settlement proposes a system in which the Power Five schools (schools in the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and what’s left of the Pac-12) can directly pay their players by giving them a share of their revenue.
The amount each school in the Power Five could use would be uniform, set initially at 22% of the average power conference school’s athletic revenue (including television deals, ticket sales, etc.), which is estimated to be over $20 million per school.
The $20 million would represent a salary cap of sorts for Power Five schools, including LSU.
That system would first go into effect during the 2025-26 athletic year, and the percentage would escalate over the next ten years.
This new system will stabilize the current roster-building landscape and completely alter the way LSU and other schools approach attracting new talent.
It’s unclear how that money would be spread across each
school’s sports, but it’s expected that, with Title IX regulations, it would be based on equity rather than revenue generation.
For example, football players won’t be paid the same percentage of the school’s athletic revenue as they generate (which would be the majority).
The settlement also leaves open the question of how athletic programs in smaller conferences fit into the picture.
There is no such proposed system for the Group of Five conferences or the Football Championship Subdivision, which could exacerbate the existing competitive gap between those teams and the top-level programs.
The hope for this system is to cut down on the unchecked spending that has characterized
college sports in the post-NIL era and created inequity between schools that have wealthy boosters and those that don’t.
LSU, like many schools, has often been outbid on the market for commitments from transfers or high school athletes in the past few years by schools with greater resources.
With the new system, thirdparty NIL deals will be greatly reduced, and the NCAA will only allow those that are deemed “legitimate NIL activity.” The deals will need to pay athletes appropriately for the value of their endorsement compared to other athletes considered of similar prominence.
Helping to manage these third-party NIL deals will presumably be the role LSU’s exist-
B-16 Hodges Hall
ing NIL collective, Bayou Traditions, fills going forward.
The settlement has also taken arbitration and dispute settlement on the new rules out of the NCAA’s hands. That will now be handled by a court-appointed “special master.”
In addition, the settlement reached agreements for athletes seeking past damages for money they would’ve earned had the NIL system been in place when they were in college.
Division I athletes who played from 2016 on can make a claim for damages (based on the statute of limitations of the lawsuit), and the NCAA has agreed to pay almost $2.8 billion to former athletes.
According to ESPN, the highest estimated payout for an individual athlete is expected to be $1.8 million.
More and more former athletes are expected to apply for damages, and the amount of money they receive will be calculated based roughly on how much they might’ve earned based on the sport they played, what school they went to, their playing time and other factors.
In addition, the settlement included the expansion of how many scholarships teams are allowed to give across all sports.
Though schools aren’t required to use every available scholarship slot, they now can offer more than double the previous amount overall, which is especially significant in smaller sports.
Overall, the new settlement terms means more fair compensation for LSU athletes of the past, present and future, and a more stable regulation system for the post-NIL world.
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CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS
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ABOUT THE REVEILLE
The Reveille is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Reveille is an independent entity of the Office of Student Media within the Manship School of Mass Communication. A single issue of The Reveille is free from multiple sites on campus and about 25 sites off campus. To obtain additional copies, please visit the Office of Student Media in B-39 Hodges Hall or email studentmedia@ lsu.edu. The Reveille is published biweekly during the fall, spring and summer semesters, except during holidays and final exams. The Reveille is funded through LSU students’ payments of the Student Media fee.
FRANCIS DINH / The Reveille
The Mike the Tiger flag flies through the sky Jan. 1 prior to LSU’s 35-31 win over Wisconsin at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fl.
MORGAN COOK / The Reveille
Tiger Stadium shines Nov. 11, 2023, before LSU’s 52-35 win against Florida at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
NEWS DRAMA ON CAMPUS
LSU School of Theatre and Swine Palace 2024 to 2025 production schedules
The LSU School of Theatre and The Swine Palace announced their 2024 and 2025 season plans, which include all the performances and events taking place on LSU’s campus throughout the school year.
The LSU School of Theatre will produce two shows.
Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson— Apt. 2B
“Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson—Apt. 2B,” written by Kate Hamill, will be at the Shaver Theater from September 27 to October 6. The show is a feminine twist on the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Roleplay
“Roleplay” will be the second show, and it’s being produced at the Reilly Theatre. The play was created by Tulane University students and follows college students who navigate the university system, sexual assault, party culture and social pressures. “Roleplay” will run from March 14 to March 23.
The Swine Palace Theatre, founded in 1992, is a non-profit theatre company that works with the LSU Department of Theatre. It’s a professional theatre that has had numerous regional and world premieres and also trains LSU students.
The Swine Palace will produce two shows this season.
BY SARAH WALTON @sarahrosewalton POLITICS
People, Places, and Things
Duncan Macmillan’s play “People, Places, and Things” follows a woman named Emma in rehab. The play details her relationship with the world and her journey to recovery. “People, Places, and Things” will be at the Reilly Theatre from November 15 to November 24.
Red Velvet 1833, the Theatre Royal in Covet Garden produced
“Othello.” One night, the lead, Edmund Kean, collapsed on stage, so Ira Aldridge, a Black American man, took the role of Othello.
During the show’s run with Aldridge as Othello, there were riots pushing for the abolition of slavery. “Red Velvet” follows Aldridge and the other characters performing while dealing with the political shift right outside
their doors. “Red Velvet,” written by Lolita Chakrabarti, will be at the Shaver Theatre from February 7 to February 16.
LSU School of Theatre lab series shows
An important part of the LSU School of Theatre is its lab series, in which students are the driving force behind productions. This season, there will be four of these lab series shows.
“The R and J Project” is a show written and directed by Craig Ester, an MFA Acting Student. The play tells the story of the First Baptist Church Youth Drama Club’s production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” “The R and J Project” will be in the Studio Theatre from October 1 to October 6.
“No Exit,” written by JeanPaul Sartre, is a show about two women and a man locked in a room in hell for eternity. It will be in production at the Studio Theatre from October 29 to November 3.
“Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom” follows parents in a suburban town as they deal with their teenagers’ addiction to a zombie game that eerily resembles their own lives. Written by Jennifer Haley, the play will run from February 18 to February 23 in the Studio Theatre.
Marina Deyoe-Pedraza adapted a screenplay for and will direct “Rosita y Conchita,” a play based on a children’s book about a girl making her way through the afterlife. There is currently no date for the show to run.
At the end of the season, the LSU School of Theatre will have its Dance Convert and Physical Theatre Showcase on May 1 and May 2 in the Shaver Theatre. The day after, the Take Film Festival will take place.
Democrats back Fields for majority-Black congressional district
BY PIPER HUTCHINSON LA Illuminator
The Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee voted Saturday to formalize its support for state Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, in his bid to return to congress in the state’s new majorityBlack 6th Congressional District.
Fields got the state party’s official nod alongside U.S. Rep Troy Carter, who is running for his third term in the 2nd District, Louisiana’s other majority-Black seat. Also endorsed were Mel Manuel, running to unseat U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, RJefferson, in the 1st District, Sadi Summerlin, running against Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, in the 3rd District and Nick Laborde, running for the open Public Service Commission District 2 seat.
“I think that with the talent and the combination of excitement … I think we’re gonna be able to prepare all our candidates
for victory in November,” Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Randal Gaines said in an interview with the Illuminator.
Fields previously served two terms in congress in the 1990s, when Louisiana had two majority-Black congressional districts until Fields’ district was thrown out as an unconstitutional gerrymander.
Louisiana had a single majority Black district until earlier this year, when the Legislature drew another to comply with a federal court ruling that its congressional redistricting plan adopted in 2022 unconstitutionally discriminated against Black voters.
If elected, Fields will replace U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, who decided against running for re-election after the GOP-dominated Legislature chose his district as a sacrificial lamb to become the new majority-Black seat.
Should he win the 6th District seat, Fields will be slightly senior
to Carter in the U.S House, as Fields served two full terms while Carter has served less than a full year of his first term after winning a special election in April 2021 to replace former U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, who resigned to join President Joe Biden’s administration.
Both will face Democratic opposition.
Fields, Quentin Anderson and Peter Williams received nominations for the party endorsement, with Fields’ 95 supporters on the Democratic State Central Committee easily defeating Anderson’s 45 and Williams’ four.
A fourth Democratic candidate, Wilken Jones, did not receive a nomination.
Former state Sen. Elbert Guillory, a Democrat-turned-Republican from Opelousas who is also Black, is also running for the 6th District seat. He’s received the Louisiana GOP’s endorsement.
Carter will face several Republican challengers as well as fellow
Democrat Devin Davis, who received 21 votes for the endorsement to Carter’s 124.
Davis alleged State Central Committee members were threatened with retaliation if they did not back Carter. In interviews after the meeting, several members disagreed with Davis’ assessment.
Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis said there were disagreements within the party leadership about how to handle endorsements, but there were no threats of retaliation.
Though the state Democratic Party does not endorse judicial candidates, two candidates for a soon-to-be-vacant Louisiana Supreme Court seat stumped for votes. District 2 on the court was redrawn this year to be majority Black.
Leslie Chambers, a first-time candidate who worked for former Gov. John Bel Edwards and for East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome,
touted her bipartisanship working on criminal justice reforms in the Edwards administration.
John Michael Guidry, a judge on Louisiana’s First Circuit Court of Appeals, is also running for the high court seat. He also noted his record of bipartisanship, touting endorsements from labor groups and EAST PAC, a political action committee affiliated with the conservative Louisiana Association of Business and Industry that frequently stymies Democratic priorities in the Legislature. A third Democrat in the race, Marcus Hunter, was not present. Elections for Congress, Public Service Commission and the Louisiana Supreme Court will be held Nov. 5. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the two top vote-getters will meet in a Dec. 7 runoff.
All of Louisiana’s Republican incumbents in Congress, except for U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, will face Democratic opposition.
TARUN KAKARALA/ The Reveille Students ballroom dance during the International Fusion performance April 6, 2023, at the LSU Student Union Theatre in Baton Rouge, La.
MANSHIP IN FRANCE
Photos by Emily Boudreaux
The Olympics Project
View of the city in Marseille, France on July 24.
LSU mass communication junior Erica Howard looks out at beach crowd and a sail boat in Marseille, France on July 22.
Historic monument in Marseille, France on July 22.
Locals walking around the Vieux Port in Marseille, France on July 22.
Locals purchase fruits and vegetables at a stand in Marseille, France on July 22.
ENTERTAINMENT THIS WEEK IN BR
BY CAMILLE MILLIGAN @camillemill
JULY
Want to see your event in the Reveille? Email information to editor@lsu.edu.
Tarot & Tea at La Divina
La Divina Italian Cafe
TUESDAY AT 6
P.M. 30TH
Have a pressing question on your mind? Need spiritual guidance? La Divina is offering free tarot readings by Vaudeville Entertainment’s Roxanne LeBlanc from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. These readings are best served with a steaming cup of tea in one of the 12 flavors the cafe offers. Or, if the reading didn’t go as well planned, La Divina is offering a “Two Wines for $9” special.
Free Yoga on the Lawn Tin Roof Brewing
Stay in the flow with a free yoga lesson every Wednesday at Tin Roof from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m by Leela Yoga Lifestyle Studio. If yoga isn’t your style, Tin Roof has a wide selection of craft beer available. Check @tinroofbeer on Instagram for updates about the yoga lessons.
THURSDAY AT 7:30 P.M. 1ST
AUGUST
JULY
31 ST
A Thousand Horses
Manship Theatre Shaw Center For The Arts
Country and Americana fusion band, A Thousand Horses, is performing at the Manship Theatre on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Nashville based group has many high-energy hits like “Smoke” and “Highway Sound” that capture the band’s dynamic blend of rock and country. Tickets are available through Manship Theatre’s website.
Spoof Night!
Manship Theatre Shaw Center For The Arts
The Family Dinner Comedy Troupe presents an interactive movie experience during the showing of “Point Break” at 7:30 p.m. in the Main Theatre at the Shaw Center. The experience will include improv, commentary, drinking games and more. Tickets are $11.
AUGUST
P.M. 3 RD
Water Lantern Festival
SATURDAY AT 5
Zachary Community Park
2ND WEDNESDAY AT 6:30 P.M.
AUGUST FRIDAY AT 7:30 P.M.
The Water Lantern Festival is coming to Baton Rouge to put on an evening of celebration, serenity and light with thousands of paper lanterns. In addition to the lanterns, there will be food trucks, live music and other activities in this festival for all ages. The Lantern Festival takes place at Zachary Community Park from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
OPINION & SPORTS
What makes the 2024 Summer Olympics worth watching
BY THE REVEILLE SUMMER STAFF
As a kid, every aspect of the Summer Olympics seemed fascinating, from the athletes’ festive uniforms to the commercials that all suddenly began to feature sports. I was excited to sit in front of the TV and shout status updates about gymnastics and swimming to my parents in the other room.
Even though I’m much less glued to event coverage now than I was years ago, I still find the overall spirit of the summer olympics extremely compelling.
As a person who doesn’t consistently follow sports, the games evoke feelings of excitement, patriotism and competition that make for a memorable end to the summer.
It’s easy to take the variety in Olympic categories for granted and roll your eyes at the sheer number of events and their occasional obscurity.
That range of competition, however, is without a doubt one of the biggest strengths of the Summer Olympics. Almost any dividing line between what deserves to be an Olympic event and what doesn’t is arbitrary, as competition is the beating heart of the event. I think that as long as people are willing to compete at something and as long as it requires some minute level of physical execution, it can be an Olympic sport.
Seeing things like breaking at this year’s games and tug of war at previous ones is my favorite part of the Olympics. The more people that can be drawn in to compete and connect over that competition the better.
The opening ceremony was nothing less than incredible. The decision to have the ceremony across the city was genius and made for the best opening ceremony I’ve ever seen.
Having the teams on boats was a perfect way to change things up, and it allowed for some beautiful moments. The ceremony was the epitome of everything French.
My personal favorite moments were Les Miserables and Marie Antoinette. Incredible execution for that moment and everything across the board. Each moment felt very intentional, showing love and respect for the greatest moments in French history, art and life.
Every four years, for just 16 days, the Summer Olympics sparks excitement and unity across the country. We press pause on a chaotic reality, coming together to enjoy the pageantry and cheer on Team U.S.A.
It’s an opportunity to celebrate and be proud of who we are. Besides, who doesn’t love to kick back and watch sports we’ve hardly thought about in the past four years.
My favorite part of the Summer Olympics is the way I transform into a critical pseudo-expert despite having absolutely no clue what I’m looking at. At no other time of the year will I watch a diver hit the water with a splash I deem too big or a gymnast stick a landing with too much of a hop. Do I have any kind of understanding of what makes a good floor routine? No. Will I still go “tsk, tsk” as I lean back in my chair at a mistake? Absolutely.
Politics, sports, reality tv — there is nothing the general public loves more than to be an armchair pundit. I’m no exception to this rule. Did I get last place in my high school P.E. pickleball tournament? Yes. Do I believe that I know better than the world renowned coaches and athletes who have quite literally dedicated their entire lives to their sport? Also yes.
The only group that’s immune to my biting, expert-level criticism is the gymnasts, who are, in my mind, the coolest people on planet earth. I find it so hard to believe that they have the same genetic makeup as me and are capable of moving the way that they do. I’m a grown woman, and I still can’t do a cartwheel. Simone Biles, you will always be famous.
LSU’s secondary will be make-or-break for this year’s team
BY JASON WILLIS @JasonWillis4
This article is the first part of a three-part series highlighting the most pivotal position groups heading into LSU’s 2024 season.
When you talk about LSU football last season, the conversation begins and ends with how porous the defense was.
It says something that LSU’s defensive struggles were so profound that they managed to overshadow what was perhaps the greatest offense in LSU history, led by Heisman-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels and first-round receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.
Though there was plenty of blame to go around, the culprit of the offensive struggles was most often the secondary, which failed to grasp defensive fundamentals and often left receivers wide open or missed crucial tackles.
Simply put, watching the LSU secondary was a nerve-wracking and occasionally painful experience. If the unit was even average, the Tigers could’ve been one of the top teams in the country and the season could’ve gone completely differently.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Colin Falcon Editor in Chief
Jason Willis Sports Editor
Emma Duhe
Therefore, it’s fitting that as I examine the three position groups whose performance in 2024 will most define LSU’s season, I begin with the defensive backs. What’s changed?
The biggest change to the secondary is on the sideline, not on the field.
Head coach Brian Kelly recognized that a cleaning of house was needed, and that’s certainly what has taken place.
LSU has completely overhauled its defensive staff, bringing in defensive coordinator Blake Baker from Missouri, as well as secondary coach Corey Raymond and safeties coach Jake Olsen.
Raymond was the longtime secondary coach at LSU from 2012 to 2021 and helped build the team’s reputation as “DBU,” or Defensive Back University. He wasn’t retained when head coach Brian Kelly was hired.
Throughout spring practice after Raymond arrived, he focused on rebuilding and re-teaching the defensive backs, correcting fundamentals and pointing the group in the right direction, something that was sorely needed.
The new coaches have also
brought a new scheme that will introduce a position called the “star,” a versatile playmaker that plays close to the line of scrimmage as a sort of linebacker-safety hybrid.
Major Burns will occupy that role, which allows Sage Ryan to return to his natural position at safety after spending last season at cornerback.
As far as personnel change, LSU lost cornerbacks Denver Harris, Duce Chestnut and Laterrance Welch to the transfer portal, but Harris and Chestnut were away from the team for much of the year and Welch, though talented, was a work-in-progress.
The Tigers added safeties Jardin Gilbert and Austin Ausberry and cornerback Jyaire Brown as transfers.
Cornerbacks JK Johnson and Zy Alexander will return from injuries suffered last season, and PJ Woodland and Dashawn McBryde come in as the primary freshmen that could make an impact.
After a woeful season from LSU’s defensive backs, there’s appropriately been plenty of change.
The outlook
There was only so much the team could do to solve the issue
Editorial
with LSU’s secondary last year. There was a lack of talent there: the team didn’t have top options it could feel confident in.
As Kelly put it, no one else was walking through the door.
That same problem could emerge this season. Even with better coaching, does LSU just not have the requisite talent in the secondary?
In spring practice, Woodland and sophomore Ashton Stamps were the starting cornerbacks, two former three-star recruits.
Johnson and Alexander were admittedly both sidelined then, and Brown was relegated to the bench as a newcomer still earning his dues. Still, it’s clear LSU hasn’t been stocking up on elite talent at cornerback.
There’s a definite upside there.
Alexander showed flashes last season before his injury against Arkansas, and Johnson was once a starter for a solid Ohio State defense.
Still, the outlook of the cornerbacks hinges more on what could be than what currently is. Fall camp will be important as these cornerbacks get more comfortable with the new coaches and a pecking order emerges.
The safety position offers more reason for optimism: Burns has been moved to a role that better suits him, Ryan is back in his natural position after being one of the brighter spots in the secondary last year and Gilbert brings high-level experience.
LSU also has an exciting amount of depth this season compared to the past. In addition to Brown and McBryde, young players like Kylin Jackson and Ryan Yaites Jr. showed promise during the spring.
Even more freshmen who didn’t enroll early could make splashes in the fall. It seems very likely that several starting spots could be up for grabs.
Between all of the options the team has, you have to assume that the LSU secondary will, at the very least, show improvement from last year.
It might be a stretch to say it could be an elite unit; that would require several players making huge leaps.
However, if the offense is one of the best in the country like it’s expected to be, the defense only needs to be serviceable to support it. That seems well within reason for this LSU secondary this season.
Policies and Procedures Quote of the Week
The Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Reveille is an independent entity of the Office of Student Media within the Manship School of Mass Communication. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, The Reveille or the university. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to editor@lsu.edu or delivered to B-39 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must provide a contact phone number for verification purposes, which will not be printed. The Reveille reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consideration while preserving the original intent. The Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without notification of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Reveille’s editor in chief, hired every semester by the LSU Student Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.
“If you ever have the option, come to the Olympics. It’s, like, a fun time.” Adam Rippon
Camille Milligan
Colin Falcon
Sarah Walton Jason Willis
Riley White
Emma Duhe
FOOTBALL
