Who Knew?

 

The NFL.com website has an Op-Ed under the headline USA Football's recommendations for youth play earn endorsements, reimagine the sport. The reason for noting that here? The authors are Dr. Paul Roetert and one Buddy Teevens, the Dartmouth football coach with a growing national reputation for promoting safer ways to practice and play the game.

Read the piece HERE. 

You already know who Teevens is. Roetert is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the managing director of the U.S. Tennis Association's USTA University with a PhD in biomechanics from the University of Connecticut. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in physical education from California State Fullerton.

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In the latest posting of their Slaughter & Rees Report, Matthew Slaughter, dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and Matthew Rees, Senior Fellow at Tuck and onetime speechwriter for President Bush, have penned a column headlined, How Might Student-Athletes Get Paid to Play? Three Key Questions. (LINK)

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For a little more background on the sea change in college athletics that takes effect today, an Associated Press story today begins (LINK):

The NCAA Board of Directors approved one of the biggest changes in the history of college athletics Wednesday, clearing the way for nearly a half-million athletes to start earning money based on their fame and celebrity without fear of endangering their eligibility or putting their school in jeopardy of violating amateurism rules that have stood for decades.

Find an Associated Press Q&A regarding what it all means HERE. 

And for a look at how a couple of sisters have already capitalized on the NCAA rule change, Yahoo Sports offers up a story headlined, Cavinder twins sign endorsement with Boost Mobile on NIL day, showing female athletes have plenty to gain. From the story (LINK):

It started with a synchronized dance to the "Chicken Wing Beat," the smooth dribbles of twins Hanna and Haley Cavinder hitting the pavement together as the beat drops. Nearly a full year later, the payday is here. 

Boost Mobile announced its sponsorship Thursday of the Cavinder twins, star guards for the Fresno State women's basketball team, ushering in the new era of college sports and proving female athletes will benefit from the name, image and likeness (NIL) changes that go into effect Thursday. 

The wire services today are filled with other examples including Miami Hurricanes quarterback D'Eriq King signing a $20,000 deal with "College Hunks Hauling Junk," and gaming app YOKE (whatever that is ;-) paying college athletes to play video games with people willing to pay for the opportunity to play them. Iowa basketball player Jordan Bohannon is signing autographs today at a fireworks store and Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz has introduced his own logo.

Green Alert Take: It is a brave new world indeed . . .

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EXTRA POINT

Happy Canada Day to our good friends north of the border! Not only do you have a great flag in the True North, but O Canada is a beautiful – and actually singable – National Anthem. (Click on that link and you'll be humming it for the rest of the day ;-)

That Certain Dartmouth '14 will be home for a couple of weeks starting near the end of the month and we've told her to be sure to bring her passport. It's a beautiful 75-mile drive from here to the border and if it's finally opened up by the time TCD'14 comes home we'll probably head to Quebec for a day.

Given the language, ever since the last time we went exploring the towns and villages on beautiful Lac Memphrémagog I've started jokingly referring to the region as "the south of France." Fingers crossed we'll be able to head up there with a chance to spend a few loonies having lunch in one of the province's charming eastern townships in a few weeks.