Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.
Former Ohio State and U-M Athletes Team Up with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Recently, the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry has seen more competitive times on the field. Unfortunately, even more recently, both schools have had to work through addressing past alleged transgressions of sexual assault in their athletic departments. But from this dark moment for both sides, the importance of unity is not lost on either one.
This week, former Michigan football player Chuck Christian and former Ohio State lacrosse player Mike Avery gave a press conference announcing their intention to partner with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Their goal is to create a program that will help provide education and shed light on the truth of assault and abuse in youth sports.
.@mwrightatty represents hundreds of athletes at both the @UMich and @OhioState and sees this partnership as a way to begin to eradicate sexual abuse from sports.https://t.co/aYES08ydwZ
— NCMEC (@MissingKids) May 19, 2021
The relationship between Buckeyes and Wolverines will always be a contentious one at best. But it is always powerful to see two rivals at such opposites of each other come together for an important cause—whether it be Blood Battle or helping victims of sexual crimes.
Power 5 Reports Combined Revenue, Kevin Warren's Salary
It is tax season, and with that comes new income information for the public to consider. Though this result may seem somewhat obvious following a season when some conferences limited themselves to six or seven games for each school, the pandemic hit the Power 5 pretty hard in the pocketbook in 2020.
Power 5 per-school payouts for FY20, per new tax records:
— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) May 20, 2021
Big Ten: $54.3M (down from FY19), except for U-Md, Rutgers
SEC: $45.5M
Big 12: $37M to $40.5M (down from FY19)
Pac-12: 33.6M
ACC: $30.9M to $37M (up due to ACC Network), with N.D. getting $10.8Mhttps://t.co/9e7Kf2Qwo4
Those may read as hefty sums, but after previously averaging collective annual increases of nearly $252 million since 2014, the Power 5 schools saw just $11 million more in combined revenue total than they did in FY 2019.
The Big Ten's tax return information also included the first public disclosure of new commissioner Kevin Warren's annual salary. The documents indicate that Warren received roughly $1.2 million from mid-September 2019 to the end of the calendar year. When adjusted for annual income, Warren's pay comes out to roughly $4.1 million. Also of note, Jim Delaney made $8.5 million for his remaining time as Big Ten Commissioner through the end of last June.
North Carolina Tar Heels: Football State Champions
We live in an era of creative participation trophies that includes everything from turnover chains to turnover chainsaws—and even we love ourselves a pair of gold pants around here. However, UNC's football program may have gone a bit far this week with their self-ingratiating:
A tribute to the accomplishments of the 2020 season!#CarolinaFootball #BeTheOne pic.twitter.com/un7N9i5bgT
— Carolina Football (@TarHeelFootball) May 18, 2021
It feels somewhat wrong to complain about something akin to "the unwritten rules of football" during a week when Tony La Russa said he was upset about his own player hitting a home run off a position player pitching on a 3-0 count. But apparently, it needs restating that state title rings need to be left in high school sports.
Imagine for a moment that The Ohio State University felt the need to gift itself state championship rings at the end of every season. An insatiable urge to stand tall above the likes of the Otterbein Cardinals and Wittenburg Tigers of the world. Over the last hundred years, everyone from your MAC friends at Bowling Green to your D-III buddies at Marietta would have had an entirely different level of dread and resentment for the Buckeye football team.
ICYMI
Highlights from Minicamps As Justin Fields and the Rest of Ohio State's Rookies Go Through Their First NFL Practices
Dan Hope delivers all the info you need on the rookie experiences so far for Justin Fields, Wyatt Davis, Trey Sermon, and the other newest NFL Buckeyes.
Film Study: How Ohio State Built the Best Running Game in Power-5 Over the Past Two Seasons
Kyle Jones walks Ohio State fans through how the Buckeyes have become the premiere rushing attack in recent college football, with a stop down Dave memory lane along the way.
Remembering the Last Time Ohio State Kicked a Game-Winning Field Goal When Devin Barclay Sunk Iowa in 2009
Most Buckeye fans think of Mike Nugent when it comes to late-game kicking heroics. But the need for a clutch boot has been absent for so long, our Kevin Harrish felt it was worth revisiting the last time Ohio State required one.
Up Next
- Monday, May 24th: Ohio State Men's Baseball plays Indiana in Bloomington.
- Friday, May 28th and Sunday, May 30th: Ohio State Men's Baseball plays Northwestern at home.
- Friday-Sunday, May 28th-30th: NCAA Rowing Championships, Ohio State Women competing for eighth title.
- Thursday, Sept. 2: Ohio State football opens its 2021 season at Minnesota
- Saturday, Sept. 11: Ohio State football hosts Oregon in its 2021 home opener
- Saturday, Nov. 27: Ohio State plays Michigan in The Game
