Vanderbilt Leads the Charge

Vanderbilt football players are among the college athletes who are filing a lawsuit challenging NCAA eligibility rules

September 3, 2025

Vanderbilt Football Players Among Athletes Filing Lawsuit Challenging NCAA Eligibility Rules
Two Vanderbilt football players are among 10 former and current college athletes filing a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA, challenging eligibility rules that allow athletes only four years of participation over five years in school, an attorney announced Tuesday.

“Now that college athletes can benefit financially from commercial use of their name, image, and likeness — and, starting this year, from compensation paid by NCAA member schools directly — forcing the athletes to forfeit a year of eligibility is an anticompetitive restraint on their earning potential,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney Ryan Downton in a news release.
^{Sports Business Journal}

NFLPA Collusion Appeal Will Test NFL Management Council Strength
Sportico’s Michael McCann writes, “The NFLPA appealing an arbitrator’s decision from January, which found NFL owners didn’t collude over restricting guaranteed money in players’ contracts, isn’t just about collusion, or the lack thereof.

“It’s also about the boundaries and responsibilities of the NFL’s Management Council (NFLMC) to share economic information with owners and high-ranking team officials. This latter dynamic could make the pending appeal a game-changer for the business and law of pro sports leagues.”
^Sportico

F1’s McLaren Valued at More Than $5B After Recent Stake Sale
FOS’ Colin Salao writes, “McLaren is poised to take home its second consecutive constructors championship in Formula One, but it’s also setting the pace off the track. McLaren Group Limited purchased the minority stake owned by MSP Sports Capital at a valuation of more than $5 billion, a source confirmed to Front Office Sports.”
^{Front Office Sports}

NFL Says Nielsen Undercounting Millions of Viewers
NFL Chief Data and Analytics Officer Paul Ballew said that Nielsen is “underestimating the audience” for games, according to Joe Flint of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Lower numbers can “cost the league’s media partners ad revenue and hamper its rights negotiations.” Ballew: “There are millions of viewers that we believe they are systematically undercounting.” The league has also been “experimenting with alternatives to Nielsen for additional viewing data,” including VideoAmp. A Nielsen spokesperson said it is “confident this will be the most accurately rated football season in history.” She added that Nielsen is “working closely with the league to innovate its data collection.”
^{Wall Street Journal via Sports Business Journal}

Options Emerge for Possible New Celtics Arena
Real estate brokers and developers have “already started to make their own short list of sites” for a new Celtics arena, including: Everett, Widett Circle, West Station, the former Gillette World Shaving HQ, Dorchester Bay City and Suffolk Downs, according to Shirley Leung of the BOSTON GLOBE. Although it “might seem a long shot” that the Celtics would ever leave TD Garden, the team’s new owners are “keeping their options open.”
^{Boston Globe via Sports Business Journal}

Saints Hire Ex-Falcons GM Dimitroff to Front Office
Saints EVP and GM Mickey Loomis announced today that the team has hired former NFL exec Thomas Dimitroff as a consultant. Dimitroff enters his first season for the Saints and 29th season in the league after previously serving in the front offices of the Falcons, Patriots, Browns, Lions and Chiefs. Dimitroff served as the GM of the Falcons from 2008-20, during which time he was named the NFL Exec of the Year in both 2008 and 2010.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Boston Legacy FC Names Jennifer van Dijk as First Team President
SJB’s Rachel Axon writes, “Boston Legacy FC has hired Jennifer van Dijk as its first team president, bringing the longtime sports and entertainment executive on board as the club prepares to start play next year. For van Dijk, the move brought her the kinds of things she wasn’t sure she could find in her next job -- a championship city with a team that could harness the growth of women’s sports and an ownership group committed to building a new franchise.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

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Ohio State is No. 1 in AP Top 25; LSU, Miami Into Top 5, Florida State is Back and Alabama Plummets
AP News’ Eric Olson writes, “Ohio State climbed to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll on Tuesday, LSU and Miami moved into the top five, and Florida State jumped back into the rankings at the expense of Alabama, which plummeted to its lowest spot in 17 seasons. The defending national champion Buckeyes received 55 of 66 first-place votes to move up two spots after their win over preseason No. 1 Texas. Ohio State is at the top of a regular-season Top 25 for the first time since November 2015.”
^{AP News}

UC San Diego Accepts Invitation To Join The West Coast Conference
Hero Sports’ KC Smurthwaite writes, “Realignment never truly sleeps, and UC San Diego is the latest program to shake up the western landscape. On the heels of its first taste of Division I postseason glory, the Tritons have accepted an invitation to join the West Coast Conference (WCC), beginning with the 2026–27 academic year.

“UCSD only recently completed its mandatory transition from Division II, becoming fully eligible for NCAA tournaments this past season. The Tritons wasted no time making history — winning 30 games, capturing the Big West Conference Tournament, and punching their ticket to March Madness in their first year of eligibility.”
^{Hero Sports}

On This Year’s CFB Rosters, Even Backup QBs Make Six Figures
FOS’ Amanda Christovich writes, “For some of the highest-rated quarterbacks this offseason, Week 1 of college football didn’t necessarily go as planned. Texas’s Arch Manning, the third generation of the Manning quarterback dynasty, underwhelmed in his much-hyped debut, losing 14-7 to Ohio State on Saturday. UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava, who dominated offseason headlines for his abrupt transfer out of Tennessee, made an all-but-forgettable start for the Bruins: a 43-10 loss to Utah Saturday night.

“One start isn’t much to go on. But if schools want to ensure they have a backup plan in case their star quarterback doesn’t pan out, they’ll still have to cough up some serious cash.”
^{Front Office Sports}

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