Sport & Story Daily April 9, 2024

Stay Ahead of the Game

April 8, 2024

Good morning! What Men’s Hoops?

South Carolina’s Title Win Smashes Ratings Records in Caitlin Clark’s Finale
In the least surprising sports news to come along in a while, the TV ratings in the grudge match that was the South Carolina vs. Iowa (aka “The Caitlin Clark Finale”) obliterated records.

Per FOS, “ABC/ESPN’s telecast of South Carolina’s thrilling 87–75 win over Iowa averaged 18.7 million viewers, ESPN said on Monday. The network said it was the most watched basketball game since 2019, beating the ratings for every sporting event outside of football and the Olympics in that period. It came up just short of the the 19.5 million who watched NBC’s broadcast of the U.S. vs. Brazil gold medal game at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Current South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley was part of that gold-medal-winning American squad.”
^{frontofficesports.com}

NCAA Mulls Ways for Women's Basketball Teams to 'Benefit Financially’
SBJ’s Josh Carpenter writes, “As negotiations slog on between the PGA Tour and PIF on a potential agreement and PGA Tour Enterprises continues to be built out, one consistent talking point in golf has been how the product will be improved with an influx of capital. Specifically when it comes to improving the product, much has been discussed about potential changes to it on TV or via other viewing avenues.

“The PGA Tour’s media deals with CBS, NBC and ESPN run through 2030, but could new money lead to changes to those contracts before then?”
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

On the Fly Podcast With Director of Athletics at JMU, Jeff Bourne
On the Fly Podcast Host Gene DiFilippo and Jeff Bourne, the Director of Athletics at James Madison University, engage in a wide-ranging conversation about JMU's transition to the Sun Belt Conference, the societal pressures on today's student-athletes in light of NIL policies, insights on the future of intercollegiate athletics, and more.

David Ellison in Talks to Acquire Paramount Global
David Ellison is "in negotiations" to take charge of Paramount Global, as he and his backers "have agreed to pay a little more than" $2B for Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, the family company that controls Paramount. But that deal "won’t close unless Ellison can merge his production company," Skydance Media, with Paramount, and "a number of hurdles stand in his way."
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

WNBA Commish Wants New Media-Rights Deal to Double Old One
As FOS’ Alex Schiffer writes, “Cathy Engelbert is betting big on the WNBA’s next media-rights deal. Speaking on CNBC a day after Iowa fell to undefeated South Carolina in the NCAA championship game, the WNBA commissioner is already talking up the impact Caitlin Clark will bring to her league a week before she officially joins it.”

The league currently makes $60 million from its media-rights package. 
^{frontofficesports.com}

USSF Training Center to Be Named for Arthur Blank
Per SBJ, The new U.S. Soccer Federation HQ will be named the Arthur M. Blank National Training Center, an honor that was bestowed during the facility's groundbreaking today. The first-of-its-kind center will be constructed in Fayette County with an estimated cost of $200M, $50M of which will be "covered by a pledge from Falcons and Atlanta United owner Blank." The news that Blank would be the recipient was "followed by a video about him and his philanthropic efforts," narrated by his son, Josh.
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

Report: Arkansas Hiring John Calipari as Its Next Head Coach
As On3’s Grant Grubbs writes, “Arkansas has its next head man. On Sunday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the program is signing Kentucky’s John Calipari to a five-year deal to be the Razorbacks’ next head coach.

“Calipari is coming off a disappointing postseason. Kentucky fell in its opening matchup against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament. The team’s nightmare scenario only worsened when it lost to No. 14 seed Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky has only won one game in the Big Dance in the past five seasons. Despite Calipari’s recent struggles, he boasts a stunning résumé.”
^on3.com

ESPN also wrote about who they think could/should replace Calipari here.

Women's College Basketball Seeks Sustainability with Clark Leaving for WNBA
As SBJ notes via a WSJ article from Rachel Bachman, "There is no question that women’s college basketball “will see an audience correction,” as the momentum around Clark “gathered so fast that it upended decades of norms in a matter of days.” NCAA President Charlie Baker "skipped" the Men's Final Four and attended the entire Women’s Final Four, which is believed to be the “first time an NCAA president has done that.”

Bachman notes Clark’s stardom has “even permeated pop culture.” For women’s basketball to build on the remarkable gains of the last few years, it “likely needs someone to succeed Clark as the face of the sport.” Clark has “reset what fame can mean for a women’s basketball player.”
^{sportsbusinessjournal.com}

NAIA Essentially Bans Transgender Athletes From Women's Sports
Per ESPN, The NAIA's Council of Presidents approved the policy in a 20-0 vote. The NAIA, which oversees some 83,000 athletes at schools across the country, is believed to be the first college sports organization to take such a step.

According to the transgender participation policy, all athletes may participate in NAIA-sponsored male sports, but only athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth is female and who have not begun hormone therapy will be allowed to participate in women's sports.
^espn.com

Direct NIL Payments Could Be Final Nail in Nail in Amateurism’s Coffin
The prospect of colleges directly paying athletes for what would be labeled name, image and likeness (“NIL”) is inching closer to reality. Once that happens, the NCAA and its member schools could see long-standing legal defenses evaporate and the line between athlete and employee fade.

In a separate Sportico article, the nonprofit tax exemption status of NILs is also in question: “On Friday, the watchdog publication Tax Notes obtained and published a copy of a denial letter the IRS sent in January to a collective seeking tax-exempt status, which widely ratifies the previous guidance issued last summer by a top official in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel.”
^sportico.com

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