WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:03.240 Potential Hall of Famer guy Eric Weddle's gonna stop vibe. 2 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:05.919 But on a Wednesday, starting things out, Josh for Long 3 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:08.599 covers the utes board, KSL Josh, Happy Wednesday. 4 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:09.199 Man, how are we doing? 5 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:11.160 I'm doing well? How about yourself? 6 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:12.519 Since I'm good, man, I'm good. 7 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:15.240 So since we're gonna have you at on your reaction 8 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:17.640 to the College Football Hall of Fame news. 9 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:19.440 I think that dropped about a week ago or so. 10 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:22.960 Yeah, yeah, well no, I was actually I think. 11 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:26.039 Monday Monday gotcha. So what do you think? 12 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:28.760 I mean, I think this is a no brainer. 13 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:32.240 Quite honestly, I'm I'm part of that committee that helps 14 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:34.560 select some of these guys, and he was a no 15 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:36.359 brainer to me as I was looking at some of 16 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:39.719 these these individuals who are the greats of college football 17 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:42.920 and then there's, you know, no question that the Alex Smith, 18 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:45.640 the Eric Weddles are the greats of U tough football. 19 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:48.640 I was I was not in the state during the 20 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:50.479 time that Eric Wettle played, so I don't I wasn't 21 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:53.240 familiar with his college game, but just watching kind of 22 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:55.960 the ambassador that D is to the program as well 23 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:58.039 as kind of what he did in the NFL like, 24 00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:00.719 this is a guy that truly cares about football being 25 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:03.840 played the right way, play the physical, but also more 26 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:06.120 just trying to help people grow. So I think there's 27 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:09.319 there's no better person to be kind of a candidate 28 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:12.680 for that. Knowing kind of who he is on and 29 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:15.599 off the field, that really kind of specifies like the 30 00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:17.680 types of people that the Hall of Fame wants to 31 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:21.159 represent and bring forward. So I think it's a great 32 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:22.000 opportunity for him. 33 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:24.640 I didn't know that you were part of that that committee. 34 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:25.200 That's really cool. 35 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:28.680 Illuminate us on the process, like how did these things 36 00:01:28.760 --> 00:01:31.439 kind of work and ultimately how did it end with 37 00:01:31.799 --> 00:01:33.079 Eric Weddle on the ballot. 38 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:37.040 So it's I'm only a part of it. So what 39 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:40.280 happens is is they have different regions and you have 40 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:43.159 to select a certain number of players from each region 41 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:46.200 that get brought up to the larger committee, which I'm 42 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:49.439 not a part of, but you basically rank the number 43 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:51.480 of players that you think should be presented to that 44 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:55.480 larger committee from your region. This is dating back to 45 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:59.599 guys you know, well before I was even born, But 46 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:01.920 it's it's looking at a bunch of these guys that 47 00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:04.439 you know have had great careers. They look at their 48 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:07.760 on the field, you know how they did, you know, 49 00:02:07.799 --> 00:02:09.520 what they did at the NFL, if that's what they 50 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:11.360 were able to do, as well as. 51 00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:13.759 Kind of what they do now nowadays. 52 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:15.000 And kind of like the service that they provide and 53 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:15.759 other stuff like that. 54 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:17.879 So it's kind of cool to kind of put. 55 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:21.719 These names that you've seen forever and compare them to 56 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:25.120 one another. I mean, for example, like Eric the Enemy. 57 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:29.479 You know, obviously a great coach out there, he's involved 58 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:32.599 in that kind of situations and being presented as somebody. 59 00:02:32.759 --> 00:02:36.919 So you get a wide range of college football players 60 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:40.039 and trying to see, you know, if it's their time 61 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:40.840 to be in the Hall of Fame. 62 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:42.560 And you know, some of them are on this list 63 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:44.520 for quite a while. Others are on. 64 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:46.439 Their for a shorter time, and I think Eric's going 65 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:48.280 to be on their first shorter time quite honestly. 66 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:50.560 All right, Well, good for our guy. It'd be fun 67 00:02:50.639 --> 00:02:53.199 to catch up with him today. All right, let's do 68 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:55.919 some off season college football storyline. Since you and I 69 00:02:56.039 --> 00:02:59.159 last spoke, certain things have kind of come down the 70 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:02.159 straight seeding. So we'll start with what's in front of us, 71 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:04.840 and then we'll get to the expanded sixteen team CFP, 72 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:08.439 but that's not until next year. The straight seating seemed 73 00:03:08.439 --> 00:03:10.520 to be one of those things there was such common 74 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:12.840 sense that I have no clue why they didn't do 75 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:15.879 it to begin with. So now we do have straight 76 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:18.560 seating coming up for the twelve team expanded CFP coming 77 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:22.400 up just simply this year. Do you agree with this 78 00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:24.680 endeavor and do you think it's probably something they should 79 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:25.680 have done right out the gates? 80 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:29.120 Yeah, I honestly don't know why they wanted to do 81 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:30.960 it the other way. I mean, I get it from 82 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:33.199 the standpoint they're trying to do whatever they can to 83 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:36.919 eliminate the selection committee really having full control over it. 84 00:03:37.479 --> 00:03:39.319 But I think you look at a lot of people 85 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:42.120 seeing Boise State and Arizona State being a three and 86 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:45.879 four seed and not being that highly ranked compared to 87 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.439 some of the other peers, what it could do to Oregon, 88 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:50.520 that kind of stuff. I mean, I think there's just 89 00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:53.719 a lot of unintended consequences as part of it, and 90 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:56.360 just an you know, a straight seating seems to be 91 00:03:56.400 --> 00:03:58.599 the easiest. This is the thing that everybody's familiar with, 92 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:01.400 whether you're playing, you know, Little League baseball, all the 93 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:03.599 way up to you know, football, whatever it may be. 94 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:06.840 That's how tournaments are, you know, one play sixteen or 95 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:09.240 whatever it may be, and you're used to that. So 96 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:12.039 I think this seemed like the easiest way. But college 97 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:14.520 football obviously have to try to overcomplicate things and make 98 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:17.399 things a little bit more complex and entertaining. 99 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:20.600 So we'll see. I think this will be a better system. 100 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:23.519 So now we move over to what's on the table 101 00:04:23.639 --> 00:04:27.360 for twenty twenty six, which is an expanded sixteen team CFP. 102 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:29.759 And it depends on who you talk to. 103 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:33.240 I think, well, most people out this way with the 104 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:35.680 big twelve foot print, we'll say the eleven plus five 105 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:38.839 or whatever model is the way to go. I also 106 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:42.199 think it's probably difficult to deny that the SEC and 107 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:46.759 the Big ten, you know, Josh, in any negotiation, it's 108 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:49.639 pretty simple, whoever has the leverage is going to come 109 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:51.600 out on top. And I think it would be a 110 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:53.879 fool's errand to pretend the SEC and the Big ten 111 00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:56.439 don't have some leverage. I don't know how much, but 112 00:04:56.560 --> 00:05:01.160 probably enough to push this for AQ each conference thing through. 113 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:03.560 Of course, Ryan Day comes out with his comments today 114 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:06.639 when the dust settles two part question what do you 115 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:08.920 think the sixteen team model will look like? 116 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:10.959 And what do you want it Josh to look like? 117 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:14.720 Ooh, those are two really interesting questions. 118 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:15.199 You know. 119 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:18.120 I've gone back and forth on this five plus eleven 120 00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:21.199 versus the four four two two one plan. I can 121 00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:25.040 see benefits and consequences of each. Honestly, though, like, I 122 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:27.600 think there's some undercurrent of all of this right where 123 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:30.600 I think it's it's more political play where you have 124 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:32.879 the ACC and the Big twelve saying hey, we want 125 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:34.879 to earn it on the field, which kind of is 126 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:36.920 a nod to the big or the Big ten, and 127 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.360 the SEC kind of saying hey, look we're going to 128 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:41.680 give you that, and we may take less because of it, 129 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:43.920 but we don't want to give you all the power, 130 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:47.160 you know, getting four automatic bids. But then on the 131 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:50.560 other hand, like you're giving up two straight guarantees that 132 00:05:50.600 --> 00:05:53.560 you're going to get plus a potential maybe third if 133 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:55.959 you managed to get in that high. You know, I 134 00:05:55.959 --> 00:05:58.480 think this is a really tricky situation. I think it's 135 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:00.839 probably going to land somewhere closer to the five versus 136 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:04.600 eleven guarantee, the top five conferences a spot and then 137 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:09.720 straight seed from there. I just, you know, I don't know, 138 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:12.040 this is hard. I feel like we're over complicating it 139 00:06:12.360 --> 00:06:14.480 for something that doesn't need to be that way. 140 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:15.000 If you want to. 141 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:17.879 Say it's sixteen teams, just the best sixteen teams are 142 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:20.560 in there. If you're really that worried about a selection 143 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:23.839 committee that you've put together, you know, that's that's. 144 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:24.360 The bigger problem. 145 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:26.639 But the reality is they all complain about the selection 146 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:30.800 committee when these are former coaches and these are former administrators. 147 00:06:30.839 --> 00:06:32.839 These are people that understand this at a high level. 148 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:35.319 This isn't just like you and I going out there 149 00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:38.040 and trying to select the sixteen best teams. These are 150 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:42.000 people with well intentioned, you know, reasons behind all this stuff. 151 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:44.720 And we're doing everything we can to kind of avoid 152 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:47.120 the selection committee, and we're going to try to give 153 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:50.240 certain conferences a number. Just the sixteen best teams need 154 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:52.000 to go in there. Like, to me, that would be 155 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:54.439 the best approach. I think that's what it is. You 156 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:58.319 see disparity between one versus sixteen. Can a sixteen seed, 157 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:00.800 you know, make a run or upset? Sure, you know, 158 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:04.160 any given days something can happen, But I think it 159 00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:08.160 gets really tricky trying to maneuver and finagle certain things 160 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:10.680 to try to get a certain number of teams in there. 161 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:13.199 And I just don't love that approach, even if it 162 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:16.199 is a guarantee just straight seated go from there. 163 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:20.079 So it's been a really wild news cycle over the 164 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:21.399 past couple of months. 165 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:24.199 As we all were awaiting the House v. 166 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:29.120 NCUBA Settlement to simply provide guidelines and guard rails and 167 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:31.160 just we kind of all thought that would be across 168 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:34.439 the line, and there have been a tremendous amount of 169 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:37.120 things that have stopped the progress, a lot of red tape, 170 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:41.000 roster number restrictions, and then what nobody saw coming. 171 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:43.000 I certainly didn't. I don't think anybody. 172 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:45.920 The Ross Dellingers of the world didn't seem to see 173 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:49.399 this coming. Are a couple of states, including Tennessee and others, 174 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:54.279 actually passing legislation telling their member institutions that reside in 175 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:56.279 their state, like, hey, just so you know, you don't 176 00:07:56.319 --> 00:07:59.920 have to adhere to what the NCUBA House Settlement Act 177 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:03.720 actually tells you to do with NIL funds and distributions. 178 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:05.240 So good news, if. 179 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:07.680 You're in our state, you do not have to adhere 180 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:10.920 to the guidelines that you will receive from this settlement, 181 00:08:11.240 --> 00:08:17.279 and then the P four conferences draft contracts and disseminate 182 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:21.120 those contracts to all their member institutions, saying, hey, regardless 183 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:23.279 of what your state law says, if you want to 184 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:25.560 be in one of our conferences, you do have to 185 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:29.879 adhere to what the House VNCAA settlement says about nil 186 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:33.440 distributions and such. And you know, Josh, at this point, 187 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:36.080 I just wonder if it's time for all of us 188 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:38.919 that love this sport, cover this sport and consume this 189 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:42.320 sport just to say, like, this is the new normal, 190 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:44.960 and it's just going to be a scenario where every 191 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:49.159 off season essentially the only people that are enjoying it 192 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:51.240 are the attorneys because they're going to make the money. 193 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:55.279 And I don't know if we're still high speed ahead 194 00:08:55.840 --> 00:09:00.919 to this pro football model, hybrid AFS, the NFC two 195 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:05.200 conference college football reality anymore. I just think we're kind 196 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:07.919 of in this space, and we'll be in the space 197 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:11.039 where quite some time where it's just kind of continued 198 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:15.919 chaos and lawsuits and filings and state legislation, and I 199 00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:19.000 don't really see an endgame. I've just kind of accepted 200 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:21.639 that from the standpoint of people that do the job 201 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:24.720 that you and I do. We're just in for these 202 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:30.320 lawsuits to be filed and then ultimately, you know, you 203 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:33.039 have these lawyers over here deciding they want to look 204 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:35.120 at this, and then they're going to push back on that, 205 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:39.679 and I just think we're kind of in for reshuffling 206 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:42.960 deck chairs and the Titanic in college football for the 207 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.799 foreseeable future. I don't know that I really see an 208 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:48.600 endgame anymore based off the chaos we've seen this offseason. 209 00:09:49.799 --> 00:09:51.080 No, I completely agree with that. 210 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:54.559 I mean, I think that's the frustration about a sport 211 00:09:54.840 --> 00:09:58.399 that everybody loves because it seemed more pure, right It 212 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:01.679 seemed like you had your agencies based on you know, 213 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:04.080 whether it be your family has always been you know 214 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:06.159 this this fan or you went. 215 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:06.759 To that school. 216 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:08.799 There was a lot of pride that went into that 217 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:11.039 more than just a professional team, right Like, there's different 218 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:14.519 types of pride for that, And now that's really chipping 219 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:17.039 away at the core of what college sports is. And 220 00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:19.879 I think that's you know, you're getting more of the 221 00:10:19.879 --> 00:10:22.039 hardcore fans, the ones that are paying attention to it 222 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:24.519 every single day. They are the ones getting riled up, 223 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:27.200 especially because they're the ones that understand the nuances. They're 224 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:30.360 the ones that don't tune in suddenly in August and wonder, Okay, 225 00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:32.840 what's happening. Who's on the roster. These are the people 226 00:10:32.840 --> 00:10:35.080 that are looking every single day. These are the ones 227 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:37.799 that are paying attention. These are the ones generally probably 228 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:40.200 maybe the boosters, the ones that are putting in the money. 229 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:44.279 When you start disenfranchising that group, I think you lose 230 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:47.039 the effect of what college sports can be, especially in 231 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:50.360 college football. We all understand that it did shift it away, 232 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:53.240 especially from an amateur model. It was always a mass 233 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:56.159 amateur model. There was always a lot of different things 234 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:59.200 that the NCAA screwed up. But now we're sitting in 235 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:03.840 a quasi professional realm where there's no you know, no 236 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:06.639 straight understanding of how it's supposed to be. There's no 237 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:09.720 collective bargaining agreement. There's, like you said, state laws that 238 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:12.240 are trumping the NCAA, which really doesn't have any legal 239 00:11:12.279 --> 00:11:16.279 power anyway. And it's just this big cluster that doesn't 240 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:19.679 really make sense for anything. And I think that, you know, 241 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:22.600 I don't know what the endgame here is, right like, 242 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:26.159 unless there's some sort of binding contracts, which will still 243 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:28.000 get challenged in court. But unless there's some sort of 244 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:31.320 binding contracts or certain things that kind of pull everyone together, 245 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:33.679 this is going to continue to be the cycle every 246 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:36.960 single year. And it's frustrating because most people, they just 247 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:38.960 want to tune into the games. They want to show 248 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:41.440 up on a Saturday, kind of relax from all the 249 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:44.799 stresses of the regular work week and just enjoy their team. 250 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:50.000 And now it's becoming much more professionalized, much more complicated, 251 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:52.320 and it just doesn't feel like the sport that we 252 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:52.799 used to know. 253 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:54.200 I mean, it's still fun, don't get me wrong. 254 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:57.120 Ratings are still high, everybody's still excited to watch it, 255 00:11:57.200 --> 00:11:59.399 and come August September, you know, we're all going to 256 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:02.159 forget what's happening in the summer. But there's still that 257 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:04.759 in the background that frustrates people, that makes them not 258 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:07.480 want to, you know, donate to the programs or or 259 00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:09.600 invest in in the same way, because one, you don't 260 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:11.240 know if the players are going to be there, you 261 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:13.080 don't know what it's going to look like. Your team 262 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:15.559 may be relegated suddenly, and you have no clue, and 263 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:18.759 so it's just kind of this complicated system and nobody 264 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:21.159 really has any standing to be able to make it work. 265 00:12:21.399 --> 00:12:24.080 One follow up here, because you're plugged into this stuff 266 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:26.039 in a way that I probably am not, because we've 267 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:29.440 been pretty basketball and hockey centric with the Stanley Cup 268 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:33.320 and NBA Finals draft coming up. But in twenty seven days, 269 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:37.879 D one athletic departments are scheduled to begin paying out 270 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:42.919 more than one billion dollars to athletes. And as of now, 271 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:47.360 without housing the NCUBA being settled, there are no rules. 272 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:51.559 There's no enforcement because the nc double A has been told, 273 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:52.600 oh hey, by the way, you. 274 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:53.559 Can't enforce anything. 275 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:58.320 So there's conference by conference enforcement and very little regulation. 276 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:02.600 And we're all waiting for this settlement to take place, 277 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:06.759 and they have twenty seven days before the more than 278 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:09.919 one billion dollars is set to be distributed to these 279 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:13.279 young people that play sports at schools. Are you hearing 280 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:16.000 anything about a finished line in sight? I can't believe 281 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.200 it's June fourth and we're still talking about this thing 282 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:19.159 not being done. 283 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:22.679 Yeah, I mean, everything has to be settled by July fifth. 284 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:26.399 If there is a settlement. Obviously, Claudia Wilkins could extend 285 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:28.919 it beyond that, but July first was the date that 286 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:31.759 everybody has given that everything has to be in July 287 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:33.799 first is the date that schools have to say, hey, 288 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:35.440 are you in the settlement or not? And if you 289 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:37.679 opt out, you don't have to pay athletes. There's a 290 00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:40.480 lot of other rules, but you're. 291 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:40.360 Not tied to it. 292 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:43.279 But most of these schools, especially at the powerfol level, 293 00:13:43.879 --> 00:13:46.840 have prepared for the last year plus to opt in. 294 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:47.519 They're ready. 295 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:50.120 Most of them at the very least are throwing one 296 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:52.519 year's worth of cash into this program to see how 297 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:54.080 it works, to try to make sure that they can 298 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:58.279 pay players, remain competitive in this landscape that nobody really understands, 299 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:01.360 and then kind of go from And so I think 300 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:04.440 whether the settlement passes or not, I really think most 301 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:07.279 schools are probably going to be moving forward that way 302 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:09.919 because to that point, the NCAA has nothing to do 303 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:12.360 with it, right, Like, they can't say no because what 304 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:13.879 are you gonna how are you going to stop them? 305 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:14.240 Right? 306 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:16.240 And at the end of the day, the NCAA is 307 00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:18.519 there to do the bidding of the NCAA pre or 308 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:22.080 the college presidents and kind of put it all together. 309 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:25.399 But when there's no framework and nothing there, it's going 310 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:27.679 to be chaos, So I don't know that there's going 311 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:29.399 to be a ton of change. I think the real 312 00:14:29.480 --> 00:14:34.039 problem though, comes with roster limits and scholarships, because there's 313 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.919 always been this this other end where Okay, you can 314 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:39.960 offer walk ons and you can still have your scholarships. Well, 315 00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:43.639 now everybody essentially is a scholarship player proportionally, and you 316 00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:45.879 have to be able to have a certain roster limit, 317 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:48.480 you have to have certain things. That's not going to 318 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:51.360 be equal if this settlement doesn't pass. So there's so 319 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:53.320 much to go into this, and obviously I don't want 320 00:14:53.320 --> 00:14:55.440 to get into the weeds of it, but I think 321 00:14:55.679 --> 00:14:58.279 there's going to be mass chaos. But at the same time, 322 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:01.080 I don't think it's gonna be me. As I'm saying this, 323 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:03.519 it reminds me of like if you remember, like when 324 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:05.679 Y two K was coming and everybody's like and your 325 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:08.360 milk is going to explode and everything, Like, I feel 326 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:10.639 like we're kind of getting to that level where no, 327 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:12.159 it'll be fine, you know. 328 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:12.960 We'll figure it out. 329 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:15.480 But I think it's kind of getting to that mass hysteria, 330 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:17.320 to a certain settle, like we don't know what's going 331 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:19.159 to happen, and so you kind of start going down 332 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:21.279 to the worst case scenario situation. 333 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:24.799 All right, Josh, let's move off of it and talk 334 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:28.000 about some storyline surrounding Utah football, And of course the 335 00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:31.639 storyline that everybody loves every year is the schedule release 336 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:34.600 when we actually get kick times. Let's start with the opener. 337 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:39.600 It's at UCLA. It's nine pm Mountain Time on Fox. 338 00:15:40.840 --> 00:15:43.600 I'll look, I'm single, I'm chilling, you know, like I've 339 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:45.600 got one sad. He's twenty four, he lives in New York, 340 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:48.559 so it doesn't really affect somebody like me. But I 341 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:51.559 can't imagine very many people out there with kids, or 342 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:55.480 deadlines or actual lives in a way that I don't 343 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:59.159 are thrilled about a nine pm kickoff for the opener. 344 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:02.200 Let's start there. Your thoughts, you'd tell you sala nine pm. 345 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:04.039 Yeah, I mean it's. 346 00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:06.039 Not ideal, especially for a game that a lot of 347 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:07.919 people thought could have at least a little bit more 348 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:13.960 national relevance just with Nikuayamilavia. But I think, look that 349 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:16.919 first day of college football, people are so excited to 350 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:18.919 have it back that I think you're still going to 351 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:21.000 get a lot of people tune into this game. It's 352 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:23.159 going to be on network TV, and so it's going 353 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:25.759 to be something that people can find readily. You know, 354 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:28.440 maybe you've heard about this Tennessee quarterback that went to 355 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.279 UCLA and you want to check it out. So you know, 356 00:16:31.639 --> 00:16:33.360 I still think you're going to get the die hards. 357 00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:36.799 The hard part here is I mean, like even here 358 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:38.919 in Utah, that's a nine o'clock game, right, I mean, 359 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:40.960 that's really hard for a lot of people to stay 360 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:43.000 up for. You know, some of these people are going 361 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.039 to church in the morning. Some of these people, you know, 362 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:48.120 have different things on Sunday that they do. That becomes 363 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:51.039 a really difficult thing. And so it's not the best. 364 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:53.519 But at the end of the day, it's college football 365 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:55.039 and we're going to watch it whenever it is. I mean, 366 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:56.879 if the game was at two AM, I guarantee you 367 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:00.399 people would tune in and watch it. So I you know, 368 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:02.399 I don't get too caught up on it. I do 369 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:05.720 like earlier games, and I think for a team like Utah, 370 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:08.119 they want to be more on the national spotlight, but 371 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:11.240 the last two years haven't afford to them that And 372 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:13.240 so I think you get the break where you are 373 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:16.160 on Fox. You get that National Line. But you're not 374 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:17.799 going to get it in the exact prime time that 375 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:20.119 you were thinking of, so it still works. It's still 376 00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:22.160 something that people are going to be excited for most 377 00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:23.759 you know, a lot of fans are going to go 378 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:26.240 out to the Rose Bowl and check this game out 379 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:28.759 and have fun, so it'll still be a good time. 380 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:32.039 I'm opener cal Poly four o'clock. That feels like a 381 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:32.880 really really. 382 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:36.440 Solid time then at Wyoming six o'clock, CBS Sports Network. 383 00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:39.559 But I'll ask you about the final game of the 384 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:43.200 regular season at least and will you be spending Thanksgiving 385 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:47.599 in Kansas as it's the day after Thanksgiving and it 386 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:51.319 is a ten to a m kick, which is aggressively early. 387 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:54.839 Your thoughts on that, Yeah, the ten AM one. 388 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:58.079 That one I'm more frustrated with because nobody likes that game. 389 00:17:58.119 --> 00:18:01.480 I mean, it's nice in the sense that it's early 390 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:03.279 and it's it's one of those things that people can 391 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:05.839 wake up after Thanksgiving and enjoy. 392 00:18:05.960 --> 00:18:08.920 But you know, covering games like that, it's tough. Last year, 393 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:10.039 I had to travel. 394 00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:12.880 On Thanksgiving, miss you know, spending time with my family 395 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:15.279 to go out to UCF to be able to have 396 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:17.440 the Black Friday game and that was a little later 397 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:19.160 in the night. But you know you have to take 398 00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:22.000 them the flights you're given this one, you know, this 399 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:23.880 one's tough. I mean, you know, I'm gonna be once 400 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:26.279 again on a plane on Thanksgiving ready for a ten 401 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:29.519