NCAA

Every year, when the calendars flip to March, millions of sports fans around the world begin their research in preparation for what they hope will be a perfect bracket as 64 teams embark on a journey to wear the crown as this year’s NCAA national basketball champion. 

One of the worst feelings in life is to be the subject of teasing. As a youth or an adult, no one ever forgets the sting of being teased.  I use that thought to describe what it must feel like to be a Notre Dame fan following their latest postseason loss in a college football playoff game.

A seismic shift in the world of college athletics took place late last week when the NCAA Board of Governors decided to settle an old name, image and likeness, or NIL, lawsuit for $2.8 billion, and the really big change was the decision to now share revenue with its Division I student-athletes.

As the final seconds ticked down on the NCAA Division One Women’s Basketball Championship game, my overwhelming thought for the teams was, “Relief!” When the final buzzer sounded with South Carolina 87 and Iowa 75, I felt delighted for coach Dawn Staley and her Gamecocks team.