February 2023: the month in which we celebrated Black History; the month of love; and the month in which the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) issued its first-ever penalties for name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) violations. Ten (10) months since the inception of the Interim NIL Policy, the NCAA found that the head coach of the University of Miami, Florida (hereinafter, “Miami”) women's basketball team violated the NCAA rules by facilitating impermissible contact between two team prospects and a booster, as well as violating regulations on publicity before signing. The NCAA determined that there were violations as it relates to the rules on a head coach’s responsibility.

From his franchise-history-making signing back in 2019 to last week’s move to the Dallas Mavericks, Kyrie Irving has continuously made both himself and the Brooklyn Nets the main topic of discourse surrounding the sport. Among these discussions were allegations of Irving spreading antisemitic rhetoric, when he received public backlash after posting a link to a film on his social media. 

Athlete biometric data refers to an athlete's physical or physiological characteristics, such as heart rate, body temperature, or sleep patterns. The aggregation and measurements of athlete biometric data can be extremely valuable for various purposes, including improving an athlete's performance and detecting oncoming injuries. Wearable technologies provide valuable insights to student-athletes and coaches, who can track student-athlete performance through smartwatches, sensors, and other equipment.

Boy did I love you.  Regional play with long-standing rivalries.  Home and away with conference games that did not burden athletes with the long travel that could, heaven forbid, impact studies, (and bowl games don’t count!).   Alas, that is fast becoming a memory as the Pac 12 (let alone Pac 10 or my beloved Pac 8) has an expiration date as UCLA and USC announced that as of ’24 they are both off to the Big Ten.  One can only surmise that the logistics and stresses of East Coast games are all worth the bigger payday for being a part of the Big Ten.  Cynical?  Absolutely.