NCAA

Players at service academies across the United States, including Army linebacker Andre Carter II, may be prevented from playing professional sports right out of school if a bill being sent through Congress is passed.

A section of the National Defense Authorization Act states that not participating in active duty service after graduation from a service academy is considered "a breach of agreement to serve as an officer," according to Leo Shane III and Jonathan Lehrfeld of the Military Times.

The bill says a cadet or midshipman can't be employed as a professional athlete or otherwise until they have completed their commissioned service obligation. An explanation for authorization of the bill states:

"Service academy appointments are a zero sum game. Every appointment that goes to a graduate who does not complete his or her active-duty service obligation to pursue professional athletics could have been awarded to many other qualified young people who would have happily served their country."

Since 2019, some athletes from service academies have been able to apply to delay their active duty requirement and pursue a career in professional sports.

Carter, a 6'7", 260-pound linebacker, is likely to be a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft. The senior's best year came in 2021 when he posted 14.5 sacks, 41 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, one interception, two pass breakups, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 12 games.

This season, he had 3.5 sacks, 41 tackles, seven tackles for loss and two pass breakups in 10 games. The Black Knights finished the season 6-6.

If Carter can't play in the NFL immediately, it would be disappointing since he has dreamed about playing professional football his entire life. While Carter declined to speak to ESPN's Pete Thamel, his father, Andre, said Carter is "so upset."

"He was literally, visually upset because of the uncertainty. He was not happy. When you're in the military, everything is precise," his father said. "To have something at the eleventh hour kind of thrown out there when you are so used to having a regiment; he's in a fog about the whole thing."

Army head coach Jeff Monken told Thamel the policy change isn't fair to Carter, who could have left the service institution and played elsewhere:

"It's not fair. It's not fair to him. He was loyal to this team and institution. He could have left and he didn't. He still wants to serve. It's not that he doesn't want to serve. He wants to pursue the NFL and play, and then serve.

"I'm 100 percent against it."

If the bill is passed, players at service academies would need to complete two years of service before applying for an alternative service option. That could damage their chances of pursuing a career in professional sports.

The policy change could go into effect as soon as next week.

The Alabama Crimson Tide will have two of their best players available for their Dec. 31 matchup against the Kansas State Wildcats after all.

Quarterback Bryce Young and linebacker Will Anderson Jr. plan to play in the Sugar Bowl, head coach Nick Saban told ESPN's Chris Low on Friday. Saban added the Crimson Tide aren't expecting any players will opt out of the game.

Young and Anderson are both expected to declare for the 2023 NFL draft. Their decision to play in Alabama's non-playoff bowl game is a surprise as many top draft picks over the years have opted out of their respective bowl games to avoid injury ahead of the draft.

With both Young and Anderson in the lineup, Alabama should undoubtedly have the edge over Kansas State.

The Crimson Tide finished the season 10-2 and just missed out on a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Young, who won the Heisman Trophy last season as the best player in college football, is in the midst of another strong season despite missing time with an injury to his throwing shoulder.

The junior quarterback has completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 3,007 yards and 27 touchdowns against five interceptions in 11 games, in addition to rushing for 195 yards and four scores.

Anderson, meanwhile, won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for the second straight season as the best defender in college football after posting 10 sacks, 51 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, one interception and one pass breakup in 12 games.

The 2022 campaign has been a disappointing one for Alabama. In addition to dropping two games and missing out on the CFP, the Crimson Tide also didn't appear in the SEC Championship Game.

Regardless, they still have the opportunity to close out the season on a high note with a win.

Kansas State finished second in the Big 12 this season with a 10-3 record, sitting behind 12-1 TCU, which is set to play in the College Football Playoff.

The National Labor Relations Board's Los Angeles region has ruled in favor of USC football and basketball players seeking legal employment recognition, per Daniel Libit of Sportico.

The National College Players Association filed an unfair labor practice charge against USC, the Pac-12 and the NCAA on behalf of the athletes, and the NLRB found "merit" in it in Thursday's ruling.

NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo said in a statement that all three bodies have "maintained unlawful rules and unlawfully misclassified scholarship basketball and football players as mere 'student-athletes' rather than employees entitled to protections under our law."

NCPA Executive Director Ramogi Huma said, "Gaining employee status and the right to organize is an important part in ending NCAA sports business practices that illegally exploit college athletes' labor."

Huma previously helped lead a unionization effort by Northwestern athletes.

While the NLRB's Chicago region ruled in 2014 that Northwestern football players should be considered employees, the national NLRB board declined to assert jurisdiction. Per Libit, though, it would have to assert jurisdiction with this case since it came through an unfair labor practices charge.

Barring a settlement, this case will go before an administrative law judge. Any findings from the judge can be appealed to the national NLRB board.

Thursday's ruling comes after the NCAA announced that Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker will take over for the departing Mark Emmert as the organization's president March 1.

It is a new era for college sports thanks to name, image and likeness rules that allow athletes to make money, and Baker will be juggling how to proceed under such a system.

Thursday's ruling in regards to USC could be another challenge for the NCAA.

Baker has a background in politics, and Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reported those involved in the search saw him as "uniquely suited to the NCAA's present needs" because of a track record of "successfully forging bipartisan solutions to complex problems."

There will likely need to be a number of solutions reached as the NIL era continues, and Thursday's ruling could create another situation that has to be navigated by all sides.

Former UCLA, Cal State Fullerton and Team USA women's basketball coach Billie Moore died Wednesday at the age of 79.

According to ESPN's M.A. Voepel, Moore had been in hospice care at her California home because of cancer.

After playing basketball and softball in her youth, Moore's first big break in coaching came at Southern Illinois University where she served as an assistant women's basketball coach before becoming the head women's basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton in 1969.

Moore led Cal State Fullerton to a national championship in her first season there and went on to the Final Four of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) tournament in 1972 and 1975 as well.

Her success at Cal State Fullerton led to Moore being named the head coach of the United States women's basketball team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

In the debut of women's basketball at the Olympics, the Americans won a silver medal, losing 112-77 to the Soviet Union in the gold medal game.

The Olympic run catapulted Moore to the head coaching job for the women's basketball team at UCLA, and she once again experienced instant success, as the Bruins won the AIAW championship in her first season in 1977-78.

The AIAW tournament was the precursor to the NCAA women's basketball tournament, which became the preeminent tournament in women's college basketball in 1982.

With titles at Cal State Fullerton and UCLA, Moore became the first coach to lead two different schools to national championships in the history of major women's college basketball.

Moore also took UCLA to the Final Four in 1979 and had five more tourney appearances during her time at the school. Moore coached at UCLA from 1977 to 1993 and posted a 296-181 record, making her the winningest head coach in the history of UCLA women's basketball.

When adding in her time at Cal State Fullerton, Moore compiled a record of 436-196 as a college head coach.

Moore was recognized for her massive accomplishments in women's basketball in 1999 when she was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Deion Sanders' final season as head football coach at Jackson State will be the subject of a four-part documentary series on Prime Video from SMAC Productions.

Amazon released the trailer for Coach Prime, along with the announcement the first two parts will be available to stream on Dec. 29.

The series will follow Sanders and the Jackson State Tigers throughout the 2022 season. It will explore how the team and the community banded together over the course of the year, and it will feature a wide range of celebrity guests.

"I am HONORED and ELATED to share this inside look at how our program made HISTORY as JSU's first undefeated regular season football team. This group of young men are SMART, TOUGH, FAST, and DISCIPLINED with CHARACTER, and together, we were able to DOMINATE all season long," said Sanders. "You'll see it all this season—the highs and lows and the way this community came together. This is the most resilient and inspiring group of people I have ever met. I can't say enough about the people of Jackson."

This season marked Sanders' third year with the Tigers program. He built them into an FCS superpower, capped off with a 12-0 record and a SWAC Championship in 2022. It's the first undefeated regular season in school history.

Sanders will conclude his tenure at Jackson State on Dec. 17 against North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl. He accepted the head-coaching position at the University of Colorado on Dec. 3.

Jackson State was Sanders' first stint as a head coach at the collegiate level. He went 27-5 and won back-to-back SWAC titles in 2021 and 2022.

The holiday season is upon us, with college football giving its fans a special gift when early national signing day begins on Dec. 21.

The three-day signing period gives schools an opportunity to start solidifying their 2023 recruiting class, as well as hope their pitches to players who are either on the fence or decommitted from another program pay off.

A number of the best players in the 2023 class are already off the board. Fourteen of the top 15 players in 247Sports' composite rankings have committed, led by Texas landing Arch Manning.

2022 Early National Signing Day Announcement Schedule

Damon Wilson (5-star Edge): Dec. 21 at 12 p.m. ET

James Smith (5-star DL): Dec. 21 at 12 p.m. ET

Anthony Hill (5-star LB): Dec. 21 at 12 p.m. ET

Qua Russaw (5-star Edge): Dec. 21 at 12 p.m. ET

Jordan Hall (5-star DL): Dec. 22 at 2:30 p.m. ET

Desmond Ricks (5-star CB): Dec. 22 at 5:30 p.m. ET

Announcement schedule and recruit rankings via 247Sports.com.

Preview

What once seemed like a fairly standard recruiting season was shaken up on Dec. 4 when Deion Sanders was named head coach at the University of Colorado.

Even though a two-week timeframe would seem too short in recruiting, the Buffaloes seem poised to make a lot of noise.

Dylan Edwards, a 4-star running back who verbally committed to Notre Dame in August, opened up his recruiting on Dec. 8. He gave Sanders and Colorado a commitment two days later.

Sanders hasn't been shy about using social media in an attempt to land recruits, both those committing out of high school and anyone entering the transfer portal:

Malachi Coleman, a 4-star athlete and No. 63 overall prospect on 247Sports' rankings, has long been regarded as a safe bet to end up at Nebraska. He is from Lincoln and attends high school at Lincoln East.

On Dec. 1, Coleman announced he was decommitting from the Cornhuskers and opening up his recruiting. He tweeted on Tuesday he was taking an official visit to Colorado this weekend after previously scheduling a trip to Michigan.

While it remains to be seen just how much of an impact Sanders can make right out of the gate at Colorado, the top of the recruiting rankings are once again shaping to be a battle of SEC superpowers.

Per 247Sports' composite rankings, Alabama has the No. 1 class with 25 total commits. Safety Caleb Downs and edge Keon Keeley are the prize players, ranking in the top 10 among all players in the 2023 class.

Georgia is running second in the class rankings with 20 commits from players rated as 4-star recruits or better.

Despite losing Edwards to Colorado, Marcus Freeman is off to an excellent start in his first full recruiting cycle as Notre Dame's head coach. The Fighting Irish have 26 total commits, including 5-star safety Peyton Bowen and 21 4-star players.

A lot of things can—and probably will—change because high-school athletes can be difficult to read, but it's going to make for an interesting recruiting period.

Drew Brees is going back to Purdue as an interim assistant coach ahead of the Citrus Bowl.

The school announced Thursday that Brees will work on the field with players and participate in recruiting.

He said in a statement:

"I am extremely excited to work with our team over the next few weeks as we prepare for the Citrus Bowl. I see it not only as an opportunity to coach and mentor this group of young men, but represent all the former Purdue players that care so much about our program. This is also preparation for the future of Purdue Football with new head coach Ryan Walters. I had a great conversation with Coach Walters last night, and love the energy, passion and detail he will bring to our program. The future is bright, and there is no better time to be a Boilermaker!"

Per Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger, Brees wanted to help the football team as it transitions to Walters as its new head coach.

Former head coach Jeff Brohm left Purdue to take the same position at the University of Louisville. The 51-year-old is from Louisville and played football at the school from 1989 to 1993. He also worked as an assistant coach for the Cardinals from 2003 to 2008.

The Boilermakers had an inconsistent six-season run under Brohm. They went 36-34, and this season saw them play in the Big Ten Championship Game for the first time.

Brian Brohm, Jeff's brother and Purdue's offensive coordinator since 2017, will serve as interim head coach for the Citrus Bowl.

Walters was named as Brohm's replacement Tuesday. He spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator at the University of Illinois.

Brees, Purdue's starting quarterback from 1998 to 2000, is one of the best football players in school history. He is its all-time leader in passing yards (11,792), completions (1,026) and passing touchdowns (90).

In his final college season, Brees led the Boilermakers to a share of the Big Ten championship and an appearance in the Rose Bowl.

A victory in the Citrus Bowl will give Purdue nine wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1997-98.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker will be the next president of the NCAA, replacing Mark Emmert on March 1.

Baker has served as a Republican governor since 2015 but did not run for reelection this year. His term will end Jan. 5.

Emmert announced in April he was stepping down as NCAA president after 12 years in the role, planning to serve until June 2023 or until a new president was selected.

"With the significant transitions underway within college sports, the timing of this decision provides the Association with consistent leadership during the coming months plus the opportunity to consider what will be the future role of the president," Board of Governors Chair John J. DeGioia said in a statement at the time. "It also allows for the selection and recruitment of the next president without disruption."

The NCAA has undergone significant changes in recent years, most notably allowing players to profit off their name, image and likeness rights.

The governing body of college sports had been hesitant to allow NIL until individual states began creating laws legalizing it for athletes.

In June 2021, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the NCAA was not exempt from antitrust laws and therefore had to allow athletes to receive NIL payments.

Massachusetts lawmakers introduced a bill to legalize NIL in 2019, but it has not been signed into law. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has since approved NIL for high school athletes.

Other lawmakers have gotten involved in NCAA affairs as of late. Five Democratic senators introduced a new version of the College Athlete Bill of Rights in August. A bipartisan group in Congress has also attempted to create a federal law that would affect the NCAA's ability to punish member schools.

Baker's political background could help him navigate these issues.

According to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic, those involved in the search believe the 66-year-old is "uniquely suited to the NCAA's present needs" thanks to his record of "successfully forging bipartisan solutions to complex problems."

Baker also has experience as an NCAA student-athlete, playing basketball as an undergraduate at Harvard.

5-star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith announced his intention to play for Ohio State on Wednesday.

"What stood out to me the most was brotherhood and I could see it," Smith told Hayes Fawcett of On3. "It was obvious from the start with the players, with the coaches, and how they ran practice. I knew that there was no place like it and it was special, and it was a great opportunity I couldn't miss out on."

Smith is the nation's top-ranked wide receiver and No. 2 overall player in the 2024 class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. He chose the Buckeyes over offers from Miami, USC, Georgia, Florida and Florida State.

The Chaminade-Madonna Prep product is listed at 6'3" and 185 pounds, already giving him the type of frame that should make him an instant impact player at Ohio State. He said the Buckeyes'. recent history of developing first-round talent at the wide receiver position helped make his decision.

"That means a lot to me," Smith said. "It shows me that Coach Hartline is developing guys. I know coach Hartline will develop me to be the best version of myself into becoming a first-round pick like he did with Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave."

Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave were both taken in the first 11 picks of last April's draft, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba could also come off the board in Round 1 next year. Marvin Harrison Jr. is a mortal lock for first-round status whenever he becomes draft eligible in 2024.

The departure of Harrison could open up a hole wide-open for Smith to step in and become the next great Buckeyes wideout. He has the type of top-end speed and athleticism that makes him an ideal fit in Ryan Day's uptempo offense.

Smith is the fourth player to commit to Day in the 2024 class. He joins 5-star quarterback Dylan Raiola, 4-star offensive lineman Ian Moore and 4-star athlete Garrett Stover.