With unanimous adoption of the House settlement yesterday, college football essentially died in favor of a semi-professional model. Saban retired this offseason as arguably the greatest coach in college football history. Staff hires and questions about his age factored into his decision, he told Paul Finebaum this month.
Blackburn spent the past 17 years with the Baltimore Ravens, most recently as director of college scouting. Dippre is a big-bodied, athletic and strong option for quarterback Jalen Milroe in intermediate routes. Depending on how DeBoer and offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan use him, Dippre could be in line for a big season. Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer answered "there’s no question" when he was asked how big it was bringing left tackle Kadyn Proctor back into the fold. In the post-2023 season cycle, 31 programs hired new coaches, the most since 2012 (31) and 2021 (29) according to FootballScoop.com.
Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the Alabama football program as the college football offseason continues. As odd as it may sound, 2024 may be the perfect time for DeBoer to take over in Tuscaloosa. As the program undergoes a massive shift, so does the rest of college football. Major conference realignment takes effect, the College Football Playoff is expanded and there’s still much uncertainty regarding name, image, likeness and the transfer portal.
Niumatalolo’s first priority was retaining as many players as possible from the 2023 roster. San Jose State was at a perceived disadvantage because classes began Jan. 24, three days after Niumatalolo was hired, and the school’s period to add or drop classes to change a student’s academic schedule without a penalty didn’t end until Feb. 19. Konya, San Jose State’s athletic director, estimated that the Spartans spoke with at least 30 initial candidates at the start of a five-day search-and-hire period, including Niumatalolo, whom San Jose State contacted Jan. 17. Two days later, after gauging interest and narrowing the search to two candidates, Konya began face-to-face interviews at a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport. Then, DeBoer began to assemble a coaching staff and initially brought three coaches with him from Washington and retained only Freddie Roach and Robert Gillespie from Saban’s staff. Marlie Giles started the sixth inning off for Alabama with a leadoff single followed by a Bailey Dowling double, which Giles was called out at third base.
Now, all that’s left for him to do is reassure Alabama fans that the team will pick up right where it left off under Saban by making the College Football Playoffs and be in contention to compete for a national championship. "Our clients are the bedrock of the NCAA's multibillion-dollar business and finally can be compensated in an equitable and just manner for their explanation extraordinary athletic talents." Andy Staples of On3 recently revealed his latest college football Top-25 rankings following the conclusion of the spring transfer portal. While there are a lot of drastic changes going on in Tuscaloosa, Staples isn’t convinced that it is going to lead to the program’s downfall. He has DeBoer and Alabama ranked No. 3, behind only No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs and No. 1 Ohio State.
Kristen White got things started in the top of the first with a lead-off single, advancing to third off of a fielding error. White crossed home plate follow a wild pitch, giving Alabama the 1-0 lead. The Crimson Tide added another run and went up 2-0 in the top of the second inning behind a Riley Valentine single to score Marlie Giles, who reached base after being hit by a pitch. Even in retirement, former Alabama football coach Nick Saban keeps himself busy. After spending just a couple of months back home with the Iowa Hawkeyes, Proctor changed his mind and announced his intentions of returning to the Capstone to play for new Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer.
The Oklahoma Sooners join the SEC and are given a nice gift in getting to play Alabama at home in their first season with the conference. In 2024, the Sooners flew under the radar, but are going to look to make a splash in their first season with the SEC, as they’ve been overshadowed by Texas, who is also joining the conference and is expected to be a national title contender. I don’t believe fans are immediately counting this as a win, but I haven’t seen too many talk about how dangerous of a game this will be, especially late in the season. "This settlement is also a road map for college sports leaders and Congress to ensure this uniquely American institution can continue to provide unmatched opportunity for millions of students," the joint statement said.
Some type of federal legislation or antitrust exemption is likely still needed to codify the terms of the settlement, protect the NCAA from future litigation and pre-empt state laws that attempt to neuter the organization's authority. As it is, the NCAA is still facing lawsuits that challenge its ability to govern itself, including setting rules limiting multiple-time transfers. The settlement is expected to cover two other antitrust cases facing the NCAA and major conferences that challenge athlete compensation rules. Hubbard vs. the NCAA and Carter vs. the NCAA are also currently in front of judges in the Northern District of California. The suit also argued that athletes were entitled to a piece of the billions of dollars the NCAA and those conferences earn from media rights agreements with television networks.