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UConn settles with former men's basketball coach Kevin Ollie for $3.9 million


Myron Medcalf
ESPN Staff Writer

The University of Connecticut and former men's basketball coach Kevin Ollie have reached a settlement of $3.9 million for claimed reputational damages and attorney's fees to conclude the lengthy legal battle that has ensued between them since his firing for allegedly violating NCAA rules in 2018.

The settlement effectively ends a potential federal race discrimination suit Ollie had considered against the university.

Ollie, a former UConn point guard who guided the Huskies to a 127-79 record and the 2014 national championship in six seasons as head coach, was let go after two losing seasons.

After he was fired, Ollie sued the school after it refused to pay him the money remaining on his multimillion-dollar contract. The school cited the alleged violations for its decision to fire Ollie with cause and without compensation.

In January, an arbitrator ruled that UConn had "improperly fired" Ollie and he was awarded $11.1 million.

Per a joint statement between Ollie and the school on Thursday, the $3.9 million settlement has resolved "all outstanding matters related to his former employment with the University of Connecticut and to avoid further costly and protracted litigation."

"I am grateful that we were able to reach [an] agreement," Ollie said in the statement. "My time at UConn as a student athlete and coach is something I will always cherish. I am pleased that this matter is now fully and finally resolved."

The NCAA's investigation of Ollie's alleged violations led to two years of probation for the school and three-year show cause penalty for Ollie.

Ollie, who coached his alma mater to a national championship in 2014, continued to fight for what he and his team called an improper dismissal before an arbitrator ruled in their favor earlier this year.

Ollie's legal team called the January ruling "vindication" for Ollie, who had been accused by the Committee on Infractions of deceptive actions within the investigation.

Thursday's settlement comes as Ollie's three-year show cause is set to expire, which could open the door for him to return to collegiate coaching.

Candid Coaches: Should college basketball keep the 30-second shot clock


The votes are in, the quotes are thought-provoking and the question lingers: Is the 30-second clock hurting college hoops?​


By Matt Norlander

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Graphic by Keytron Jordan

CBS Sports' Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander surveyed roughly 100 coaches for our annual Candid Coaches series. They polled everyone from head coaches at elite programs to assistants at small Division I schools. In exchange for complete anonymity, these coaches provided unfiltered honesty about a number of topics. Over the course of three weeks we are posting the results of our summer survey on the state of college basketball.

For almost a century, men's D-I basketball didn't have a shot clock. In 1985, after some conferences experimented with one for a few years, the NCAA officially instituted a shot clock for all of its games.
A whopping 45 seconds per possession were allowed.

That first generation of the shot clock era lasted for nearly a decade. In 1993, 10 seconds got lopped and men's college hoops played with a 35-second clock for more than 20 years. Another shave came in 2015 when it was cut to 30. In the past decade, there has remained a push by some to get the clock 24 seconds, which is the length in every other major men's iteration of competitive organized basketball around the globe.

Some argue college basketball has playing and coaching styles that are accentuated by a longer shot clock and that those attributes shouldn't be taken away in the spirit of trying to emulate the NBA or other professional leagues.

With that in mind, we wanted to see where college coaches stood on this topic in 2022.

How long should the shot clock be: 24 or 30 seconds?​

30 seconds50%
24 seconds50%

Wanxi Sun Named BIG EAST Men's Co-Golfer of the Week


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NEW YORK – Seton Hall junior Wanxi Sun (Danville, Calif.) was named BIG EAST Men's Co-Golfer of the Week on Wednesday.

Last week, Sun put together one of the finest single-tournament golfing performances in Pirate history, and in the process, lifted The Hall to the team title of the Alex Lagowitz Memorial. With three sub-par rounds, he shot a remarkable 11-under-par, 67-68-60-205, to win the individual title by five strokes over the second-place finisher, Villanova's Ryan Palmer. Sun's 205 is tied for the second-lowest par-72, three-round score in program history. Furthermore, his 11-under-par is tied for the most strokes under par ever for a Pirate.

It's Sun's first career win and second career top-5 finish.

Sun shares the award this week with Connecticut's Jared Nelson who was 15-under-par at the Doc Gimmler last week.

Sun and the rest of the Pirates will return to the links on September 24-25 for three rounds of golf at the Dartmouth Invitational at Montcalm Golf Club in Enfield, N.H.
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Candid Coaches: How many teams should be playing NCAA Division I basketball?



The sport grew to 363 teams this year, but as D-I awaits further transformation, what's the best number for college hoops?​



By Matt Norlander


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Graphic by Keytron Jordan

CBS Sports' Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander surveyed roughly 100 coaches for our annual Candid Coaches series. They polled everyone from head coaches at elite programs to assistants at small Division I schools. In exchange for complete anonymity, these coaches provided unfiltered honesty about a number of topics. This is our final week of posting the results of our summer survey on the state of college basketball.

Our Candid Coaches poll question from Monday addressed the looming curiosity over whether the NCAA Tournament might face any tweaks or remodels in the coming years. The only reason the controversial topic is potentially up for debate is due to the existence of the NCAA Division I Transformation Committee, which was formed in 2021 to help modernize college athletics.

Among the litany of actions that committee has been tasked with, the biggest in scope is redefining what it means to be a Division I institution and/or deciding if Division I will be tiered out into subgroups based upon university resources, spending budgets, conference affiliations and other to-be-determined factors. College basketball is the biggest elephant in that room. The sport's roster of teams has bloated yet again, increasing to 363 for the 2022-23 season, up five from a year ago. No American sport has more teams under one umbrella than D-I college basketball; it's 726 when accounting for men's and women's. Twenty-five years ago, Division I basketball had nearly 60 fewer schools.

When does it stop? Is it already too big, or can the sport support this many teams? Should the transformation committee splinter Division I up into two, maybe even three subdivisions? That's today's Candid Coaches poll question.

How big should Division I basketball be?​

Stay at current size53.7%
Cut by 15-20%26.3%
Cut by ~40%12.6%
Cut by 50% or more7.4%

Pirates Return Home to Face Army in Non-Conference Finale


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South Orange, N.J. – Seton Hall men's soccer returns home to wrap up non-conference play on Tuesday night against Army at 6:56 p.m.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS NIGHT
In partnership with the Office of International Programs, Seton Hall men's soccer will be hosting International Students Night on Tuesday. All international students are invited to attend the match and can sign up at the marketing table for a chance to participate in an on-field soccer skills challenge at halftime. Seton Hall will also honor the Office of International Programs pregame. In addition, there will be free soft pretzels available while supplies last.

LAST TIME OUT
Seton Hall earned its third shutout victory of the season with a 1-0 win on the road over Fairleigh Dickinson. The Pirates played a man down starting in the 48th minute after Luca Dahn (Kahl, Germany) was issued his second yellow card of the match. Quenzi Huerman (Vannes, France) scored his third goal of the season and his second in as many matches.

LINDBERG SEARCHING FOR 200
Head Coach Andreas Lindberg sits just one win away from 200 for his career. Now in his fifth season in South Orange, Lindberg has amassed a career record of 199-68-32 in 17 seasons as a head coach.

With his 200th win, Lindberg would become the third coach in Seton Hall history to surpass that milestone, joining Ed Kelly and Manfred Schellscheidt. Lindberg would also become the fifth active BIG EAST coach to hit that mark.

SCOUTING ARMY (2-2-1 THIS SEASON; 8-7-3 / 4-4-1 IN 2021)
  • Army was selected to finish sixth in the Patriot League preseason poll.
  • Enter play having won each of its last two games, both by shutout. Army has not allowed a goal in its last 203:18 of game time.
  • The Black Knights have one common opponent with the Pirates this season, as they tied Fairleigh Dickinson, 1-1, on Aug. 29.
  • Army and Seton Hall met last season in West Point, with the Pirates earning a 3-2 overtime victory. Johannes Pex (Stephansposching, Germany) scored the game-winner in overtime.
  • Army leads the all-time series 24-4-2, however the Pirates have won four of the last five meetings.
NEWS & NOTES
  • Seton Hall has won its last five matches, and 14 of its last 15, when scoring the first goal.
  • If Quenzi Huerman scores, he will become the first Pirate to score in three straight matches since CJ Tibbling, who did so during the 2020 season.
  • The Pirates' first three wins of the season have all been shutouts, the second time in three seasons that has occurred. Seton Hall has only had its first four wins of a season all be shutouts twice (2020 and 2014).
  • The win over Oregon State was the Pirates' first over a top-10 team in the United Soccer Coaches rankings since beating No. 2 Georgetown to win the BIG EAST title on Apr. 17, 2021. The win also marked the first time Seton Hall has defeated a top-10 non-conference foe since winning at No. 3 Virginia in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
  • The Pirates conceded just one goal through its first three matches of the season, the program's best defensive start to a season since 2005.
  • Fourteen different Pirates found the back of the next last season. Of that group, nine of them return for the 2022 season.
  • This season's roster boasts 12 freshmen, the most since the 2018 team which featured the same number.
  • The Pirates also welcome in a pair of transfers: junior Quenzi Huerman (Vannes, France) from Palm Beach Atlantic, and sophomore Tyler Hutchinson (Cliffside Park, N.J.) from Clemson
WATCH
All PSN and BEDN events can be seen on FloSports, one of the leading streaming services in the world. Special Seton Hall pricing is available only through this link for fans who want to subscribe to watch Seton Hall events, home and away, as well as all other live events on the FloSports platform. Fans with a .edu school address can purchase a subscription for $6.99 per month, and all other fans can purchase a subscription for $12.50 per month. The non-Seton Hall pricing on FloSports is normally $29.99 per month.

The link to watch all Seton Hall Men's Soccer games can be found here.

NFL Power Rankings for Week 2


23 New York Giants 1-0

The Saquon Barkley Show has been renewed. A finally healthy Barkley totaled 194 yards from scrimmage with a touchdown and the game-winning two-point conversion. The Giants didn’t just snap a streak of five straight season-opening losses, they are .500 for the first time at any point in a season since the end of the 2016 after a 21-20 win over the Titans.


30 New York Jets 0-1

Dropped passes. Missed blocks. Fumbles. Blown coverages. Name a sloppy mistake and the Jets made it during a 24-9 loss to the Ravens. Joe Flacco has lost his last seven starts but will make at least two more with Zach Wilson sidelined … unless head coach Robert Saleh caves to the fans calling for third-stringer Mike White.

Candid Coaches: Should the NCAA Tournament stay as is with automatic bids


The Big Dance hasn't seen a change in more than a decade, so what's the point in tweaking a near-perfect event?​


By Matt Norlander

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CBS Sports' Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander surveyed roughly 100 coaches for our annual Candid Coaches series. They polled everyone from head coaches at elite programs to assistants at small Division I schools. In exchange for complete anonymity, these coaches provided unfiltered honesty about a number of topics. This is our final week of posting the results of our summer survey on the state of college basketball.

Earlier this offseason, sources told CBS Sports that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey had been vocal in meetings with major college sports stakeholders over his willingness to consider changing the NCAA Tournament. This was confirmed in August, when Sankey went on the record (albeit with language that was equal parts understated and vague) with Sports Illustrated.

"Just take a fresh look at all of it," Sankey told SI. "As we think collectively, everyone goes to the corner and says, 'I have to hang on to what's mine.' But how do we contribute and build it better together?"

Sankey's words carry significant weight because, aside from running the almighty SEC, he is also co-chair of the Division I Transformation Committee. That commission is 21 people deep and has the ambitious duty of outlining and helping administer an overall restructuring of NCAA athletics as we know it, tectonic-like changes that are scheduled to materialize in the near future.

What the SI story did not include was Sankey referencing an inflammatory detail that sources shared with CBS Sports earlier this summer: in one meeting with high-ranking NCAA officials, Sankey postulated over the idea that the NCAA Tournament(s) in basketball deserve at least a cursory look at a format without automatic bids -- or at the very least, a marked reduction of them.

It's an idea ripe for everlasting wrath from college basketball fans. The NCAA Tournament is nearly perfect, and Sankey would become public enemy No. 1 in basketball if he led a charge to remodel one of the best sporting events in the world. But what do coaches think about the potential to reshape March Madness?

OT local baseball TV

During the last Subway series I turned on SNY and the game wasnt on, so figuring it was only on the NYY station, I watched about 6 innings of Michael Kay before I got smart enough to try Channel 11. Maybe cause I am used to them, maybe cause of my feelings for Gary C cause he is our guy, or maybe cause they are just far better, but I was shocked at how, for me at least, inferior the Kay broadcast was. Talking to an old friend the other day (I was absolutely sick as a dog the day of the IW BET finals heroics - this guy had bought me a ticket, and I said I was too sick to go, up there on my worst decisions...I was sick as hell, but I could stil walk...) he is a huge NYY fan, and agreed about Kay vs Cohen.

Do you Yankee guys agree?

Rooting for Aaron the break the record btw. And wondering what NL team breaks this Dodger's heart...my money is on Atlanta again though the Mets and St L scare me too. Even Phillie...

Gordon Named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week


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South Orange, N.J. - Following a shutout victory at Iona on Sunday, senior Grace Gordon (Chester Springs, Pa.) has been named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week. Classmate Abbie Roberts (Bedfordshire, England) was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.

Gordon picks up her second career conference goalkeeper of the week honor after she made five stops against the Gaels. Four of her five saves came in the second half, helping securing the Pirates' third victory of the season. Gordon currently ranks 17th in the nation, and first in the BIG EAST, for save percentage (.900) and 18th nationally for goals against average (.360).

Roberts scored her second goal of the season and her career on Sunday, both of them serving as game winners. Her tally came in the 73rd minute and was one of her two shots on goal. As a defensive midfielder, she helped Seton Hall in a clean sheet effort against the Gaels.

Jon Rothstein “Never speculate on speculation”


By Zack Cziryak

The existing nucleus is perhaps the most important component for Seton Hall’s season in 2022-2023, as roster continuity is going to be the name of the game for successful college basketball programs, perhaps more than ever in this new age of player movement and earning potential. Rothstein points to the most recent tournaments as evidence, noting that 17 of 20 starters on last year’s Final Four teams and 33 out of 40 over the last two years were with their respective program the prior year.

"I've said this consistently, everybody wants to talk about should we recruit high school players? Should we recruit transfers?' ... The most important thing when the season ends in March or April is going to be re-recruiting your own players because it's proven right now that the programs that are able to keep their own rosters intact are the ones that are going to be successful,” Rothstein said.

Roster continuity is the chief reason Rothstein is projecting a successful season for the Creighton Bluejays, who bring back a core of Ryan Nembhard, Ryan Hawkins, Trey Alexander, and Arthur Kaluma while adding Baylor Scheierman, arguably the most sought after transfer out of South Dakota State.

"The door is open, in my opinion, for Creighton to have a tremendous, tremendous season and maybe even their best season ever under Greg McDermott,” notes Rothstein, who believes the Bluejays have a realistic chance to top the #3 seed in the NCAA tournament they earned when National Player of the Year Doug McDermott was donning the Blue and White.

"I just think that the entire nation is sleeping on Ryan Nembhard. I don't think people realize how good this kid was as a freshman," Rothstein said, noting that he didn’t play after a wrist injury suffered on Feb. 23.

Looking east Jay Wright’s retirement ends an era in Southeastern Pennsylvania for Villanova and the current iteration of the Big East, the stability of the assistant coaching staff to support Kyle Neptune and developments at other programs has Rothstein intrigued by the conference’s depth and competitiveness.

"I firmly believe this ... I think when you look at the Big East with Thad Matta going to Butler, with Sean Miller going to Xavier. And you look at the fact that Georgetown has improved its roster exponentially compared to last season and ... let's face it, I think you have an expectation that DePaul's going to be competitive when they play you. I think you can make the case that the Big East is in position to be as competitive one through 10, maybe one through 11, as it’s been since realignment.”
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