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Louisiana Tech University’s invitation to join the Sunbelt Conference did not appear a week ago as many interested parties had hoped over the past month.

Louisiana Tech was a former member of the Sunbelt Conference from 1991 through 2001.  However, the “old” Sunbelt did not sponsor football until the year 2001.

The Bulldogs bailed on the Sunbelt in order to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in that same year of 2001.

The 2001 version of the WAC featured prominent football members such as Rice, SMU, Tulsa, and UTEP.

Things changed in 2005.  Rice, SMU, and Tulsa joined the new American Athletic Conference, while UTEP joined Conference USA that same year.  (FYI – The Miners are leaving C-USA next year to join the Mountain West in 2026).

Louisiana Tech stuck around in the disintegrating WAC for several more years.  The Bulldogs finally left and joined Conference USA in 2013 and remain in C-USA today.

History is repeating itself for Louisiana Tech

The WAC fell apart, but Louisiana Tech decided to stick around.  It is hard to know whether that was an intentional move by the school’s athletics department (to be a big fish in a smaller pond, perhaps?).

A harder pill for Bulldog alumni (of which I am one) to swallow might have been that no other mid-major conference (perhaps) invited Louisiana Tech to leave the WAC at the same time.

Guess what?  It’s happening once again.

This time, it is Conference USA which is imploding.

The year 2022 saw six C-USA schools (UNC-Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, University of Alabama-Birmingham, and UT-San Antonio) leave to join the American Athletic Conference.  Those schools are located in medium-to-large television markets.

The next year saw C-USA have three more defections. 

Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss all joined the Sunbelt Conference in 2023.

Conference USA quickly recruited replacement members such as Liberty, Jacksonville (AL) State, Kennesaw State, New Mexico State, and Sam Houston State.  The University of Delaware and Missouri State are moving up from the FCS level to begin competing in Conference USA this fall.

Louisiana Tech has been left (again) as one of the “big dogs” in a declining athletics conference. 

This time, it is Conference USA.

Let’s change hats and examine this from the perspective of the Sunbelt Conference

The loss of Texas State University will leave the Sunbelt Conference with only 13 members by this time next summer.

Seven schools participate in the Eastern Division and (next year) six will be in the West.

The league currently has member schools in these sunbelt southern states:

Virginia (James Madison and Old Dominion)

West Virginia (Marshall)

North Carolina (Appalachian State)

South Carolina (Coastal Carolina)

Georgia (Georgia Southern and Georgia State)

Alabama (South Alabama and Troy)

Mississippi (Southern Miss)

Louisiana (UL-Lafayette and UL-Monroe)

Arkansas (Arkansas State)

The Sunbelt Conference may be considering adding one, three, or even five new members as the league seems to be positioning itself as the next tier just below the SEC and ACC.

Supporters of the Sunbelt Conference are boasting about recent athletic success stories.

The Sunbelt placed eight of its 14 football teams into post-season bowl games last year. 

Coastal Carolina’s baseball team just finished as the national runner-up to LSU in June’s 2025 College World Series.

Let’s peruse a map of the increasingly populated southern states.  There are no current Sunbelt members in the states of Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, and (soon) Texas.

What are you seeing, SwampSwami?

My tea leaves (OK, it’s actually the internet buzz) indicate that more than one Sunbelt Conference member institution is not in favor of Louisiana Tech being handed the departing spot of Texas State in 2026.

Those unknown online naysayers suggest that the league should take its sweet time and proceed with adding one or more teams very slowly.

The weather forecast for all mid-major colleges is becoming quite unsettled soon.

The financial implications of the recent “Big Ugly Settlement Agreement” (read my recent story here) is forcing some rather well known mid-major universities to increase their athletics funding soon or they may be forced to take a financial step backwards quickly.

Some athletic conferences are quietly establishing minimum dollar amounts (as in “x” million dollars per year) which each member institution must set aside annually to directly pay their athletes.

Yes, that just became legally acceptable beginning July 1.

Those mandates could drive a few top mid-major names to seek shelter in the more geographically-friendly and economic Sunbelt Conference.

The Sunbelt commissioner’s telephone is likely ringing daily with inquiries from potential new universities as the new economic realities surrounding today’s new pay-for-play athletics structure settle in.

It’s time to unveil the current line-up of Sunbelt Conference Beauty contestants!

The Sunbelt Conference office doesn’t have to be in a rush to select a winner to replace Texas State.  It might even pick three new schools and become a 16-team league.

As we begin the Sunbelt Conference Beauty Contest, entrants from the states of Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Texas may have captured the eyes of some judges.

Below is my list of possible schools which the Sunbelt Conference may be considering for future admission.

I’ll start with the pros and cons of my three current Sunbelt favorites:

Louisiana Tech (Conference USA) – Proximity to other Sunbelt teams (ULM, UL-Lafayette, and Southern Miss); a history of athletic success in Division 1; excellent athletic facilities; brings Shreveport (#84) TV market into play.  Negatives – would become the third Louisiana-based team in Sunbelt; had a history of reluctance to play football against ULM, UL-Lafayette, and other Sunbelt members.

Western Kentucky (Conference USA) – The Hilltoppers have six straight football bowl appearances; the baseball team won C-USA this spring; fans seem to be enthusiastic about becoming the first Kentucky entry into the Sunbelt.  Negative – a small TV market (#182)

Middle Tennessee State (Conference USA) – Would be the first Tennessee-based school in the Sunbelt; brings Nashville TV market (#29); stable history of NCAA Division 1 athletics.  Negative – small average home football attendance (13,953 per game).

Diminishing odds:

Florida International (Conference USA) – Would be the first Florida-based Sunbelt team; brings Miami-Fort Lauderdale TV market (#16); large local enrollment (44,000).  Negative – small home football attendance (11,728 per game) with games being played in a 20,000 seat soccer stadium.

UAB Blazers (American Athletic Conference) – Central location near several existing Sunbelt members; brings Birmingham TV market (#40); beautiful new football facility.  Negatives – Only moved into the American Athletic Conference in 2023; would face a reduction in TV revenue by changing conferences plus a possible exit fee from the AAC.

North Texas Mean Green (American Athletic Conference) – Would take Texas State’s position in the Sunbelt; brings Dallas-Fort Worth TV market (#5); large enrollment (47,000 students); has a long NCAA Division 1 sports history.  Negatives – Despite the school’s size, the athletics program lags in funding and suffers from weak home attendance.  Like UAB, it would receive lower TV revenue by moving to the Sunbelt but could offset some of those costs with lower travel expenses.

East Carolina Pirates (American Athletic Conference) – ECU would be an excellent geographic fit for other Sunbelt members in Virginia, West Virginia, S. Carolina, and Georgia; has a long history of competitive NCAA Division 1 sports.  Negatives – TV market is relatively small (#103); ECU (like UAB and North Texas) would take a revenue hit by dropping from American to Sunbelt Conference but lower travel costs would help to offset that loss. 

Long Shots:

Florida Atlantic Owls (American Athletic Conference) – FAU had some recent football success (Lane Kiffin – 2019) and its 2023 men’s basketball program played in the NCAA Final Four; the school is located in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale TV market (#16).  Negatives – Local fan support for most major sports is lukewarm in this beach community; though they have a more successful athletics program than nearby Florida International, FAU seems unmotivated to switch conferences again in the short term.

Memphis Tigers (American Athletic Conference) – Could become the first Tennessee-based Sunbelt member; football team has been nationally ranked in recent years; brings Memphis TV market (#48); football facility is being upgraded.  Negatives – This only makes sense if the school cannot keep pace with the rising cost of collegiate athletics.  Memphis considers itself to be a “big time” program in most sports.  I think Memphis would be the most unlikely school of this group to leave the AAC.

SwampSwami envisions another round of conference “Musical Chairs” coming soon

The NCAA’s recent $2.6 billion NIL “Settlement Agreement” is going to take a significant bite of revenue away from most mid-major athletic programs.

The Athletics Director at Conference USA member Western Kentucky sent a notice on July 1 to supporters that the NCAA will be deducting about $400,000 per year from the school’s annual share of conference TV and media revenues.  This informative read explains the difficulties facing most mid-major athletic programs right now.

Many athletics departments were already struggling to generate enough cash to pay for college sports. 

The loss of a few hundred thousand dollars per year in conference TV revenue is just the beginning of greater financial pressures.

I expect to see a few mid-major universities in the Sunbelt, Conference USA, AAC or other mid-major athletic conferences leave their current conference affiliations in the months ahead to seek a lower cost athletics home.

Long-time Sunbelt Conference member UL-Monroe could be one of those victims

The Warhawks have the smallest enrollment in the Sunbelt Conference.  They have struggled for years with weak home attendance and tight revenues as they have tried to offset the cost of its athletics programs.

ULM abruptly ended its women’s tennis program in mid-June due to costs.  Other schools will be forced to make similar economic moves to keep their athletics programs solvent.

Here’s a random thought. 

What if ULM (or any other mid-major conference school) could receive a cash payment from their current conference to vacate their spot and allow a better funded school to take its place? 

The departing school could use the proceeds to help fund a transition back into a more economic conference or even the FCS level for its football program.

The financial pressures of staying in so-called “big time” college athletics is going to force a surprising of changes in the months ahead.

This spinning is only beginning.

The post Welcome to the Sunbelt Conference Beauty Pageant! appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

***Update – Joey Chestnut (70 1/2) and Miki Sudo (33) captured first place honors in Friday’s 2025 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog eating contest.  Neither world record (76 for men and 51 for women) was threatened this year.

Happy 249th birthday, America!

Friday, July 4th will be celebrated around the country in a variety of ways.  Backyard barbecues, local fireworks displays, and a number of outdoor activities all make for a fun three-day holiday weekend.

The sports calendar is relatively bare this month

The summer heat brings a lull of major sports competitions during the month of July.

The NFL’s first exhibition game in Canton, Ohio won’t be played until Thursday, July 31 as the Los Angeles Chargers face the Detroit Lions.

College football teams will remain in hibernation in July until practices begin in early August.  Most will kick-off their 2025 season in late August or the first week of September.

Men’s golf will have its final major of the year in July.  The Open Championship will be played in Northern Ireland and is set to tee-off on Thursday, July 17.

Major League Baseball is nearing its mid-point of a lengthy 162-game regular season.  The annual All-Star Game will be played in Atlanta on Tuesday, July 15.

Never fear, sports fans! Major League Eating will brighten your July 4th this Friday in New York City

There really IS a group called Major League Eating.

They sponsor events in which men and women display their unique ability to consume massive amounts of food in a short period of time in contests for prize money paid by sponsors.

Let’s cover a little history as to how a unique Fourth-of-July hot dog eating contest has become a nationally televised spectacle.

Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs has its original location on Coney Island in New York City.  The company began holding its annual hot dog eating contest in 1972 with very little marketing fanfare and mediocre local interest.

A Columbia University English major named George Shea took a job with a New York City public relations firm in 1986.  Shea’s employer gave him the assignment of working with Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs to help increase sales by drawing more attention to the company’s annual hot dog eating event.

George Shea added some personal flair and fun to the festivities. 

He is the man who announces (like a wrestling promoter) a very creative “player” introduction for each of the contestants as they walk onto the dining stage prior to the start of Nathan’s annual event.

He and his brother (Richard) saw great potential in this hot dog eating contest.  They envisioned creating similar events sponsored by food companies to draw more attention to the product line.

In 1997, the two brothers formed Major League Eating (which organizes the competitions) and its governing body (the International Federation of Competitive Eating) which maintains the world records for different food groups.

Major League Eating conducts about 80 eating competitions per year around the United States.  Sponsors of these events pay the costs associated with this rather unique promotion and cover the prize money being paid to the “professional” eaters.

The group is best known for providing the most qualified contestants for the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Fourth of July competition at Coney Island.

The men’s and women’s winners each pocket a $10,000 first prize plus the coveted Mustard Belt.

Think of a professional wrestling title belt.

Second place finishers take home $5,000 in each division.

Friday’s annual Nathan’s hot dog eating event (available on ESPN2 at 11AM CDT) always starts with the popular (and very cheesy) contestant introductions by MLE’s founder George Shea.

How does someone qualify to enter the nation’s biggest hot dog eating contest?

There are several hot dog eating qualifying competitions which were held in the months leading up to the July 4th main event.

Hershey, PA, Washington, DC, Pleasanton, CA (San Francisco area), Kansas City, MO, Cleveland, OH, and Bristol, CT recently hosted regional events in May and June to determine the pool of hot dog eating contestants this Friday.

According to the Major League Eating website, contestants must be at least 18 years of age and sign a waiver indicating that they are aware of the potential dangers and risks associated with participating in one of these events.

The finalists are invited to New York City for the big Fourth of July finale.

These competitive gluttons will consume as many Nathan’s hot dogs and buns (though not necessarily at the same time) as possible over a 10 minute period.  A scorekeeper is assigned to each of the finalists to keep track and verify their total.

Water or other beverages may be consumed during the contest to assist in swallowing.  A penalty card may be assessed for sloppy eating or for any (ugh) regurgitation during the contest.

If the 10-minute contest ends in a tie, a “Sudden Death eat-off” will immediately follow.

Oh, my! Doesn’t that sound painful?

Meet current hot dog eating world record holder Joey Chestnut

Chestnut is Major League Eating’s equivalent of golf’s Jack Nicklaus + Tiger Woods in the world of professional eating.

His professional nickname is “Jaws”.

How appropriate!

The 41-year old Joey Chestnut holds 55 world records in various food groups and has won the Nathan’s Fourth of July contest an “incr-edible” 16 times.

His world record consumption of 76 hot dogs came during this event in 2023.

Each Nathan’s hot dog contains 155 calories and 14 grams of fat. 

An average hot dog bun is 140 calories and 2 grams of fat.

Joey Chestnut’s record hot dog eating performance meant 11,780 calories and 1,064 fat grams consumed (hot dogs only) plus 10,640 calories and 156 fat grams for the buns.

That massive total equals 22.420 calories including 1,220 fat grams – in just ten minutes! Most Americans are advised to that 2,000 calories per day is all we should need.

Chestnut’s training regimen consists of fasting for a period and then stretching his stomach with milk (usually goat milk).  He will get in eating “shape” by wolfing down 40 or more hot dogs at his home in the weeks leading up to the annual competition in New York.

Joey Chestnut (who is listed at 6’1” and 235 pounds) was an engineering major at San Jose State University.

He began eating “professionally” twenty years ago in 2005.

Chestnut was not allowed to compete in last year’s 2024 Nathan’s hot dog eating contest after he accepted a paid sponsorship from another company which just happens to make a plant-based hot dog product.

That didn’t go over very well with the title sponsor – whose hot dogs are made of the traditional variety.

There is good news in 2025! Joey Chestnut has been cleared to return and compete in Friday’s main event.

Have you heard about the Godfather of Major League Eating?

Japan’s legendary Takeru Kobayashi gained fame during the early 2000’s by dominating the Nathan’s Fourth of July hot dog eating contests.  He won the Nathan’s event six times during that period.

Kobayashi once had to withdraw from the Nathan’s Fourth of July contest back in 2007.

The promoters claimed he wasn’t able to compete due to (sorry) “Jaw-thritis!”

A young Joey Chestnut then arrived on the Major League Eating scene.  Chestnut had several classic battles with veteran hot dog eater Kobayahsi during a series of Fourth of July contests.

Those two hot dog consuming legends pushed each other to establish a series of new world records during some of their Fourth of July dog-to-dog battles.

Joey Chestnut would eventually “def-eat” Kobayahsi and pushed “The Godfather of Competitive Eating” into his Major League Eating retirement.

The now-retired Kobayashi (age 47) claims to be trying to design a healthier hot dog.

Good luck with that!

Don’t forget about Nathan’s hot dog women’s defending champion – Miki Sudo

This 10-time Nathan’s Fourth of July eating contest winner set a new women’s world record in 2024 by downing 51 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

Miki Sudo often competes against the men in other Major League Eating events around the country – especially when some type of a dessert or sweet is served for consumption.

Her world records include eating 2 oz. glazed donuts (87 in “ate” minutes), ice cream (16 ½ pints in just six minutes), steamed pork buns (39.5 in “ate” minutes), and cheese slices (348 in “ate” minutes).

The 39-year old Miki Sudo is 5’4” tall but weighs only 125 pounds. How does she do it?

Sudo enters this Friday’s Nathan’s hot dog eating contest in New York City as the unbeaten women’s champion with a perfect ten wins in her ten tries.

Frankly, who should be the “wiener” of this year’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating contest?

Las Vegas odds makers (yes, some people bet on these competitions) favor Joey Chestnut to win AND break his own world record of 76 hot dogs this Friday.

Long-time women’s champion Miki Sudo is such a heavy favorite that most wagering establishments decided against posting a betting line on the women’s competition.

The action starts Friday at 11AM CDT on ESPN2.  Do you have the stomach to watch this?

Joey Chestnut will have plenty of fans pulling for him to set another world record on July 4th.  My sources indicate that at least one of his relatives is planning to attend, too.

His “Auntie Acid” is expected to make her annual visit after the competition ends!

The post Hot Dog! Let’s Celebrate the Fourth of July! appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

The Houston metropolitan area is one of the nation’s most fertile grounds for high school football talent.

Check out the rosters of some of the top college football teams.  Houston and its sprawling suburbs is listed as the hometown of many great young football players.

NFL Hall-of-Famers like wide receiver Cliff Branch, linebacker Mike Singletary, defensive end Micheal Strahan, running back Eric Dickerson, and center Alan Faneca all played high school football in the Houston area.

It is hard to believe that the city of Houston’s largest college football teams (University of Houston, Rice, and Texas Southern) have never won a national title in the NCAA’s FBS or FCS divisions.

The Houston Oilers went from “Luv Ya Blue” to the Tennessee Waltz

The American Football League’s Houston “Luv ya Blue” Oilers were the last pro football franchise based in Houston to win a championship title.

The 1960 and 1961 Houston Oilers (owned by “Bottom Line” Bud Adams) won the AFL title during the league’s first two seasons.

Houston’s Astrodome was still a dream at that point.  Those early Oilers teams played on the football field used by the University of Houston.

That famous Columbia blue and white Houston Oilers uniform featured an iconic oil derrick on each side of the helmet.

The 1970’s Houston Oilers were coached by the popular Bum Phillips.

Coach Phillips’ Oilers vs. Terry Bradshaw’s Pittsburgh Steelers games were always brutal match-ups between two no-nonsense football teams supported by their equally hard-working communities.

The 1970’s Houston Oilers launched the “Luv ya Blue” era for the city.

There was even a catchy (but rather cheesy) Houston Oilers fight song which became quite popular with the team’s fans.

A common theme heard in Houston during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s was that team owner Bud Adams (it’s OK to “Boo!” here) was threatening to move his Oilers out of the 50,000 seat Houston Astrodome.   

He deemed the facility too small to make the kind of money that Adams desired in order to keep his pro football team in Houston.

The owner whined for years about wanting a bigger stadium (primarily paid for by local taxpayers, of course).  He frequently talked-up a possible relocation of the Oilers to Jacksonville, Florida. 

Bud Adams had been been bluffing but effectively shot himself in the foot with the loyal NFL fans in Houston.  Neither party trusted each other anymore.  

Adams eventually cut a deal to move his NFL franchise to Tennessee beginning in 1997.

The newly-dubbed Tennessee Titans played in Memphis for a few years while their shiny new football stadium was being completed in Nashville.

Enter – The Houston Texans

America’s fourth largest city holds 2.5 million people within the city limits.  More than seven million live in the metropolitan area.  They were left without an NFL team to cheer for.

The NFL wasn’t going to allow Houston (and its large, lucrative advertising market) to go very long without another pro football franchise.

The expansion Houston Texans (ugh – I still don’t care for the new team’s nickname) began play in the year 2002. 

The new owner paid an incredible $1 billion to buy another NFL franchise for Houston.

Houston has now supported its newest NFL team with 22 years of sellout crowds in the new NRG Stadium – located just a few hundred yards from the still-standing iconic Astrodome.

The new Houston Texans are now a perfect 0-22 in championship futility.  This team has yet to even play in a single AFC Championship game.

Then again, Houston’s arch-enemy Dallas Cowboys haven’t appeared in a title game this century, either!

Houston joins Cleveland, Detroit, and Jacksonville as the “Four Horsemen of NFL Frustration.”  None of those four pro football teams has played in a Super Bowl.

But this year (really!) might be different for the Houston Texans!

This NFL franchise has made some incredible strides in the past three years.

The biggest positive move came when Houston traded troubled young quarterback Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns.

Watson had 24(!) sexual misconduct lawsuits filed against him – most surfacing after the 2020 COVID season.  The Texans shipped Deshaun Watson to Cleveland in March, 2022 in exchange for three years of first round selections in 2022, 2023, and 2024 and a few lower round picks.

Houston has utilized those picks to secure a starting offensive guard Tauron Green (2022 pick), a talented defensive end Will Anderson, Jr. (2023’s NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year), and flipped the 2024 first round pick from Cleveland to make deals which landed three other starting players.

Another portion of the Texans’ puzzle was solved the next year in 2023.

First time head coach DeMeco Ryans (a former Texans linebacker) was named the team’s newest head coach just two years ago.

He became the sixth different head coach for this relatively young NFL franchise.

Also coming aboard in 2023 was first round selection quarterback C.J. Stroud.  The former Ohio State quarterback has been a pleasant surprise with his leadership skills and on-field performance for the Texans.

Stroud was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023.

His talent and calm demeanor on the field helped the Texans leap from 3-13-1 in 2022 to a 10-7 playoff team during his first season.

The 2024 Houston Texans posted another 10-7 record and captured another playoff berth.  The Texans lost the eventual AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs in Round 2 last season.

Off-season acquisitions and a favorable schedule give Texans fans hope in 2025

There are many reasons to believe that this year’s Houston Texans will be a legitimate contender in a very tough AFC.

Coach DeMeco Ryans was the former defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers.  He has transformed the Texans’ defense into a much more formidable unit.  Houston’s 27th ranked defense has climbed into the upper half of the NFL in just two seasons.

Expect the Houston defense to continue improving in 2025.

The Houston offense has been needing more help – especially at wide receiver, running back, and in the offensive line.

Houston sent a lowly 7th round pick to Jacksonville to bring former Texas A&M wide receiver Christian Kirk to the Texans.  The versatile Kirk was injured mid-season in 2024 with a broken collarbone.

The Texans also utilized this spring’s NFL draft to add Iowa State’s two starting wide receivers.  Second round pick Jayden Higgins and his Cyclones’ teammate Jaylin Noel (third round) give quarterback C. J. Stroud a couple of talented young wide receivers to spread the field in 2025.

Running game improvements were needed to take pressure of Houston’s passing game.  The Texans were a middle-of-the road 15th out of 32 NFL teams in rushing yardage in 2024.

Former Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb recently signed a one year contract to come to Houston.  He joins holdover (and former Cincinnati Bengals) running back Joe Mixon in the Texans’ backfield this fall. 

This one-two combination should make for an improved running game.

Then there are the offensive line issues.

The Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud was sacked an incredible 52 times last season.  That was the second highest total in the entire NFL.

The Texans have made a few upgrades (thus far) in recent months to bolster the offensive line’s shortcomings.

Houston used their second round draft pick to select an offensive lineman and haved added a few veteran players who were deemed expendable by their former teams.  The offensive line remains the team’s biggest question mark entering the 2025 season.  

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud would help his O-line in pass protection by making quicker passing decisions, too.

Houston Texans schedule is favorable for another 10+ win season

This team plays in one of the worst divisions in the NFL.  The AFC South features three competitors coming off losing seasons in 2024.

Indianapolis was 8-9 last year with Jacksonville (4-13) and Tennessee (3-14) bringing up the rear of a lousy division.

This year’s Houston Texans will open with tough road games at the Los Angeles Rams and at Tampa Bay in early September.   

Houston will hit the road for games against recent playoff juggernauts like the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs later this season, too.  

A Thanksgiving Day home game is coming against perennial playoff contender Buffalo.

Las Vegas odds makers believe that the Texans will win more than nine games again this year.  That would almost guarantee that Houston captures a third straight AFC South title by season’s end.

Playing the three best AFC teams will serve as a measuring stick

The good news/bad news for Houston is that playing regular season games against a trio of the AFC’s top playoff contenders in recent years – Kansas City, Baltimore, and Buffalo – will test this team.

Victories against any or all of those teams in the regular season should give the Texans added confidence during the playoffs.

Houston’s improving defense plus an upgraded offense featuring a couple of young speedy wide receivers and two veteran running backs makes football fans in Houston eager to get this season underway.

Former Houston Oilers coach Bum Phillips famously said that his team had knocked on the door during their first playoff season.  They beat on the door the following season.   

The third time, he wanted his team to kick that, uh…”son of a gun” in!

Two straight 10-7 seasons and early playoff losses have the 2025 Houston Texans ready to kick-in that proverbial playoff door.  This team and city are hungry to reach the AFC Championship game for the first time in franchise history.

The post Will the Houston Texans end the city’s Football Losing Streak? appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

The United Football League (UFL) is likely to lose another $50 million or more in its second season of spring football.  League owners would be smart to end that money-losing experiment soon.

Recent television ratings and low home attendance indicate that the average sports fan will not miss the UFL next spring if that league should fold soon.

The WNBA loses nearly the same amount of money as spring football’s UFL

The Women’s National Basketball Association began play in 1997.  A 13-team WNBA plays its schedule (a little more than half the number of regular season games as the NBA) from May through September.

Five of the 13 WNBA teams are owned by the same market’s NBA franchise owner and play in the same arena as their NBA counterparts.  The remaining WNBA teams are owned by others.

Former Iowa Hawkeyes sensation Caitlin Clark has pushed the WNBA to set all-time attendance records and television ratings in 2024.

The league is off to another good start in 2025.

Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever team clobbered her arch-enemy (former LSU center Angel Reese) and the Chicago Sky 93-58 in a game watched by a WNBA record 2.7 million television viewers on ABC.

The news seems very positive.

Did you know that the WNBA (like the UFL) also lost about $50 million last season?

Something seems very wrong with this picture.

One league (the UFL) played its games in nearly empty stadiums and drew less than half of the television viewers that the WNBA is pulling every week.  The women’s basketball league is now filling its arenas and attracting television audiences the UFL could only dream about.

The losses are definitely not due to huge salaries being paid by the WNBA today!

Spring football’s UFL paid its 45 players per team about $60,000/year in 2025.  That amounted to $2.7 million per team and a cool $22 million for the eight-team UFL.

This year’s WNBA is paying the 12 players on the 13 squads an average of nearly $125,000/year in 2025.  That works out to $1.5 million for each team.  It translates into a league payroll of approximately $20 million for the WNBA in 2025.

Caitlin Clark and the three other top picks in the 2024 WNBA draft received a maximum of $79,000 (correct).

The men’s NBA top first round choices signed contracts for upwards of $10 million per year last season.  Even 2024’s second round NBA selections received deals worth about $2 million per year.

Why is there such a vast pay difference between men’s basketball and women’s pro basketball?

The market delivers some brutal economic realities when viewing the NBA vs. the WNBA.

The NBA has a huge revenue advantage.  Its $10 billion in annual revenue dwarfs the WNBA’s estimated $350 million.

The NBA finally reached profitability 40 years ago.  The WNBA (regardless of its revenue level) has not.

Significantly larger media contracts, longer regular season (82 NBA regular season games vs. 44 for the WNBA), and lucrative worldwide merchandising have turned the NBA into the Godzilla of professional basketball leagues worldwide.

Let’s roll-out some comparative statistics between the two basketball leagues:

Some WNBA teams (like Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever) may now be turning a profit, but the league as a whole (now in its 28th season) is not.  

The term “revenue sharing” is a big deal in major league sports.  The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players calls for about 50% of the league’s basketball-related revenue to be distributed to the players.

Basketball players and owners in today’s WNBA appear to be sharing somewhere between 10% to 20% of the basketball-related revenues.

This disparity in revenue sharing has everything to do with the NBA becoming being profitable and projecting a viable long-term future.  The WNBA is still trying to tread water (financially speaking).

I’m fairly sure that the WNBA players wouldn’t want to share 50% of the owners’ recent losses.

Why are those television deals so drastically different?

New television contracts recently signed by the NBA with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon will provide the men’s basketball league with nearly $7 billion of media revenues every year for the next 11 seasons.

The WNBA’s current TV deal (signed last season) provides about $200 million in media revenue annually to the league.  That is significantly better than the former agreement which paid $50 million per season.

Let’s examine the differences in the two leagues’ media deals.

The NBA plays almost twice as many regular season games (82 vs. 44) compared to the WNBA with more than double the number of teams (30 vs. 13).

Now let’s add in the NBA’s extended (2+ months) playoff season from early April through mid-June.  There is minimal competition from other major sports on television during the NBA playoffs.

The WNBA’s playoffs come during a relatively brief one-month blitz from late September through mid-October.  They must compete for viewers and advertising dollars right in the middle of the NFL and college football seasons.

The NBA’s television advertisers delight knowing that the men’s league delivers a highly-sought male buying demographic (ages of 25 to 54).  That age group is most likely to buy new cars, home appliances, insurance, alcoholic beverages, and fast food.

The WNBA’s television demographics are surprisingly balanced with a nearly 50/50 split between men and women.  The fastest growing segment of WNBA television viewership have come (surprise!) from the NBA’s 25-54 year old male audience.

A very crowded sports calendar works against the WNBA

Playing the majority of its schedule during the summer months may seem like a bad idea for the WNBA.  The primary reason they chose that time is due to a very crowded major sports schedule occupied by long-time sports juggernauts.

The availability of basketball arenas is another reason why the WNBA has (yet) to play a traditional wintertime hoops schedule.  Several owners of the 13 WNBA teams own the city’s NBA team.  Those owners won’t do anything to risk the profits being generated by the market’s lucrative NBA franchise.

When do you think the WNBA should play its games? 

Football season (college and the NFL) dominates the sports headlines from August through January.

College basketball (men and women) then quickly takes the baton in February through early April’s crowning of national champions.

The NBA and NHL playoffs start that next week from early April through mid-June’s conclusion.

Major League Baseball’s lengthy 162-game schedule starts with a yawn around April 1 and concludes in late October with the World Series.

The WNBA has chosen to directly compete with baseball by tipping-off its season in mid-May and the having the league’s playoffs end in mid-October.

In auto racing terms, the WNBA is trying to draft off the June NBA Finals’ audience in hopes of adding new basketball fans.

There is ONE strategic advantage which the WNBA must exploit

This week’s NBA draft featured a first round filled with the names of many 19-year old college freshmen and foreign-born players.  I follow basketball rather closely but had only heard of about 20% of the players being selected in Wednesday night’s first round of the NBA draft.

The NBA only requires men’s basketball players to be one year removed from high school and 19 years of age during the year in which they enter the professional ranks.

Today’s men’s college basketball stars don’t stick around long enough to become true fan favorites by the time they enter the NBA.

The WNBA’s current requirement is that US college players must turn 22 years of age during the year in which they begin play.

That significant difference has helped popular young women’s basketball talents like Caitlin Clark (Iowa) and Paige Bueckers (U-Conn) grow a significant fan base during four years of playing college basketball.

The WNBA must capitalize on this marketing advantage.  The NBA’s “one and done” rule is a reason why the men’s basketball TV audience has plateaued in recent years.

History lesson – Most major sports leagues did not become profitable for decades

The early years of the men’s professional basketball NBA (established in 1946) didn’t become profitable as a league until the 1980’s.

Boston Celtics’ center Bill Russell finally became the NBA’s first player to receive $100,000 in 1966 (20 years after the league was founded).

Bill Russell’s inflation-adjusted salary would equate to $992,000 today in 2025.

It’s hard to believe that one of the NBA’s greatest players earned less than half of the $2 million/year contracts which will be paid second round selections after this week’s NBA draft.

The NFL was founded in 1920.  Some teams made money (like Green Bay), but the league itself wasn’t considered profitable until the late 1960’s.

Major League Baseball (which began in 1897) had a few profitable franchises like the New York Yankees.  MLB did not post a profit until the end of World War II during the late 1940’s.

The National Hockey League (1917) took more than 50 years to achieve overall profitability even though a few individual franchises like Montreal and Toronto had been making money.

The women’s basketball league must quickly develop more new stars and grow its television popularity

Play in the WNBA began nearly 30 years ago.  That sounds like a lot of time, but the league’s dramatic rise in home attendance and television ratings in just 13 months is a very positive signal.

Caitlin Clark’s immense popularity is akin to the rise of the NBA’s fan interest during the 1980’s as Larry Bird’s Celtics battled Magic Johnson’s Lakers.

Clark’s unique basketball skills have fascinated a younger generation and rekindled the interest of older fans, too.

The WNBA must add even more marketable former college stars to piggy-back off the boost which Caitlin Clark has given to the league recently.

Formative years in the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, and other major sports did not enjoy financial success across the league for decades (especially for its early stars).

The WNBA may be on the verge of taking its big step soon.

Then again, it might not.

Market forces will determine whether the women’s basketball league will be able to keep growing its television audience.  More permanent support from fans in the stands and (especially) from television viewers at home will give the WNBA a chance to move toward profitability over the next decade.

The trend is their friend – at least for now.

The post When (if ever) will the WNBA become Profitable? appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Three major sports events were held on Sunday afternoon and evening. 

The assembled crowds were solidly behind one primary participant. 

They cheered relentlessly from start to finish for their favorite.

As you may have guessed, Sunday’s overwhelming crowd favorites all won.

“Geauxmaha” Nebraska is the northern home of the Men’s College World Series Champion LSU Tigers baseball team

The Midwestern city of Omaha, Nebraska should be designated as the unofficial sister city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Sunday’s College World Series final game between the LSU Tigers and Coastal Carolina was another match-up between two very evenly matched baseball teams.

The Tigers entered Sunday’s game with a 52-15 record.  The Chanticleers (a rooster, by the way) were an equally impressive 56-12.

Charles Schwab Stadium in downtown Omaha holds about 25,000 baseball fans.  Sunday afternoon’s Game Two of the College World Series featured another sell-out crowd.

The stadium looked more like LSU’s famed Alex Box Stadium – only with twice as many Tigers fans on hand to watch the games in “Geauxmaha.”

More than 20,000 wild and crazy, purple and gold clad LSU fans found tickets to pack the stadium again on Sunday afternoon.

Coastal Carolina was listed as the home team on the scoreboard.  You would never have known that by watching this match-up on a sunny but very hot Sunday afternoon in eastern Nebraska.

LSU had taken a hard-fought 1-0 win in Saturday night’s opening game in this best-of-three series.  Tigers pitcher Kade Anderson fired a 3-hit, 10-strikeout complete game gem to carry his team to the Game 1 victory.

The two teams returned to the field in Sunday afternoon’s Game 2.  Temperatures reached the mid-90’s with heat indexes over 100 degrees for the entire game.

“Oma-hot” also applied to the coaches and umpires in Sunday afternoon’s game, too

Coastal Carolina’s head coach Kevin Schnall started the first inning by giving the home plate umpire a lot of unwanted assistance in calling balls and strikes.  He had been warned a few times to mind his own business, but the dugout criticism of the home plate umpire continued.

The umpire quickly ejected Coastal Carolina’s head coach after he came out of the dugout to express his opinions in person. 

The team’s first base coach also received the heave-ho after coming to his leader’s defense about the perceived ineptitude of the umpires.

“Coachless” Carolina got a bit of revenge by scoring a run in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead.

That’s when 20,000 LSU baseball fans really cranked-up the noise

The LSU Tigers faithful really love coming to Omaha.  Local business owners in Omaha also like to see thousands of fun-loving LSU baseball fans boosting the local economy during the College World Series.

The massive crowd of Tiger fans chanted, “Geaux…Tigers” and “LSU! LSU! LSU!” as their favorite team rallied in the third inning to tie the game at 1-run apiece.

LSU added four more runs in the fourth inning to take a commanding 5-1 lead and hand Coastal Carolina’s 6’8” starting pitcher Jacob Morrison (now 12-1) his first loss of the year.

LSU starting pitcher Anthony Eyanson scattered seven hits, but his nine strikeouts kept Coastal Carolina off balance.  A two run homer by Coastal’s Wells Sykes cut LSU’s lead in half to just 5-3 in the 7th inning.

Tigers reliever Chase Shores then entered the game – along with his 100 mph fast ball.

The thunderous LSU portion of the crowd roared its approval with every strike.  Shores struck out four of the eight batters he faced in a scoreless relief appearance to preserve the 5-3 win for LSU.

The Pelican State is the nation’s best for college baseball in 2025

Sunday’s win over Coastal Carolina brought LSU its eighth baseball national championship and second title in the past three years.

Louisiana may legitimately claim to be the nation’s top state for college baseball this summer.

LSU’s latest title plus LSU-Shreveport’s amazing 59-0 NAIA championship season have put the Bayou State solidly atop the college baseball world.

A loud home crowd pushes Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley to victory in Hartford

Longtime golf fans just knew that this was going to happen on Sunday afternoon.

I changed TV channels right after the LSU baseball game to watch the closing holes of the PGA’s annual event held in Hartford, Connecticut.  New England’s very own Keegan Bradley had pulled to within one shot of faltering Tommy Fleetwood with one hole left to play.

The 39-year old Keegan Bradley had already been selected to be the captain of September’s Ryder Cup matches at Bethpage Black outside of New York City.

The huge New England crowds in Hartford had already been saluting America’s fiery 2025 Ryder Cup Captain and regional favorite as he played each of the previous 71 holes.

Chants of “USA! USA! USA!” added to the golf drama coming down the stretch

Sunday’s final group in Hartford featured Great Britain’s hard-luck Tommy Fleetwood, Keegan Bradley, and PGA veteran Russell Henley.

Tommy Fleetwood (a 7-time winner on the European Tour) led by three shots with just four holes to go.  He was seeking his first victory in 84 attempts on US soil.

Fleetwood (a two-time Ryder Cup winner for the European team) has struggled to close out fourth round leads in golf tournaments played in the United States.

US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley had slowly pulled within one shot of the fading Fleetwood (who bogeyed two of the final three holes) as they stood in the fairway of the 18th hole late Sunday afternoon.

Tommy Fleetwood’s second shot from just 145 yards fell a few feet short of the 18th green.  It left him with a 50-foot chip or putt.

Thousands of New England golf fans roared their approval after Keegan Bradley’s second shot into the 18th stopped less than 6-feet short of the hole. 

Bradley now had a great chance of catching Fleetwood and forcing a playoff.

Unless…

Tommy Fleetwood’s third shot on the 18th hole rolled to about 6 ½ feet short of the hole.  It was still his turn because Fleetwood’s golf ball was outside of Keegan Bradley’s.

A massive green side gallery groaned as Fleetwood missed his par putt and settled for a bogey.

The huge crowd went absolutely nuts chanting “USA! USA! USA!” after Keegan Bradley rolled in his birdie putt to flip the script and take a one-shot victory Sunday afternoon.

Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is now #8 on the Ryder Cup points list.  The top six point-getters automatically qualify for the team.

Bradley could become America’s first playing captain since Arnold Palmer did it in 1963.

Runner-up (again) Tommy Fleetwood was (again) disappointed after squandering the lead in the final three holes.

“I would love to, you know, just go and sulk somewhere – and maybe I will – but there’s just no point making it into a negative for the future,” said Fleetwood.  “Just take the positives and move on.”

One positive for Fleetwood was the runner-up money of more than $1.7 million.  He has now earned more than $30 million on the PGA Tour without a win.

The popular-but-hard-luck Tommy Fleetwood leads the PGA Tour in that category.

OKC! OKC! OKC!

Topping off Sunday’s home crowd fanatics were the 18,000 blue-clad fans at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Arena for Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the gritty Indiana Pacers had battled for six games to a 3-3 series tie.

Sunday night’s first half of Game 7 in Oklahoma City featured a continuation of this Rock ’em, Sock ’em Robots battle on the hardwood.

The frenzied home crowd stood on their feet for the duration of Game 7 chanting, “OKC! OKC! OKC!” ad nauseam throughout Sunday night’s tense game.

Indiana led at halftime by a slim 48-47 advantage.

Indiana’s top guard Tyrese Haliburton (who was already dealing with a calf injury) suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in the first half.  The loss of Haliburton didn’t help Indiana’s chances of coming out with a win on the road in Game 7.

Then the second half was played

The home team and their exceptionally loud crowd turned-up the defensive heat in the third quarter as OKC took a 13-point lead entering the final quarter.

Indiana turned the ball over nine times during the decisive third quarter. 

The Pacers finished on the wrong side of a 21-7 turnover margin in Game 7.

OKC briefly increased its lead to 20 points early in the fourth quarter as the fans roared their approval. Indiana never came within ten points in the final minutes in losing 103-91.

The Oklahoma City Thunder won their first NBA title since moving from Seattle to the Sooner state in 2008.  OKC went 68-14 in the NBA’s regular season this year and won the NBA’s Western Conference by an amazing 16 games over second place Houston.

Home television viewers didn’t seem very interested in watching a couple of mid-America’s best teams play in the NBA Finals

The television ratings for this year’s first six games of the NBA Finals were the lowest since 2007’s San Antonio Spurs 4-0 sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The first six games of OKC vs. Indiana averaged less than 9.5 million home viewers.

That didn’t matter on Sunday night to the hungry home crowd in Oklahoma City.  The Thunder, buoyed by its frenzied fans, found another level of energy during the second half to give OKC its first major sports title.

Sports fans in Omaha, Hartford, and Oklahoma City should be hoarse today.

They definitely got their money’s worth on Sunday!

The post A Sunday of Home Court Advantages appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Full disclosure – Ol’ SwampSwami earned an M.B.A. from Louisiana Tech University in 1981.

This is not the first time I have discussed this issue.

Yours truly has been on this particular soapbox since October, 2021 (click here) and again last fall in October, 2024 (click here).

The rumors are flying this week that Louisiana Tech University may be offered a spot to join in the Sunbelt Conference very soon.

Actually, Louisiana Tech would be rejoining the Sunbelt Conference.

The Bulldogs were once a member of the Sunbelt from 1991 through 2001.

Louisiana Tech’s potential return to the Sunbelt Conference will depend upon several key pieces coming together soon.

Enter/Exit Texas State

Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas (formerly known as Southwest Texas State) has been a member of the Sunbelt Conference since 2013.

The Bobcats may decide (in a matter of days) to bolt the Sunbelt and move west if an invitation to join the newly-reforming Pac-12 Conference comes prior to the end of June. Texas State would remain in the Sunbelt for 2025 and join its new conference next summer in 2026.

You might remember that the former Pac-12 Conference effectively became the “Pack-your-bags” Conference one year ago. Every school except for two smaller TV market teams (Oregon State and Washington State) exited to join either the Big Ten or Big 12 Conferences.

The remaining Pac-2 Conference Beavers and Cougars are trying to reconstitute their league by romancing schools from other regional conference affiliations.

The NCAA told this currently-under-reconstruction (I’ll call it) “Pac Man” Conference that it must have at least eight members to start the fall football season in 2026.

Mountain West Conference schools Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State have already waved their hands and are ready to join.

That would make seven schools.  The reconstituted “Pac Man” Conference only needs one more volunteer to step forward – quickly.

Texas State University would bring the San Antonio (#37 TV market) and Austin (#49 TV market) into play for this new “Pac Man” Conference.

The fast-growing university in San Marcos, Texas has 40,000 students. The Bobcat faithful appear hungry to step up into a higher profile athletics conference soon.

The truth is that this new “Pac Man” Conference would fetch higher media revenues to Texas State than by remaining in the Sunbelt Conference.

Isn’t it always about the money?

The Sunbelt Conference has a current media deal with ESPN’s family of companies which pays member schools about $5 million per year through 2031.

Mountain West Conference schools (like Boise State) are currently receiving about $4 million per year with their media contract with FOX Sports.  That deal ends in 2026.

A new media agreement for this revived “Pac Man” Conference is expected to easily exceed those figures.

Did I mention the value of Conference USA’s media rights package?

C-USA schools currently earn $800,000 per year from the league’s media deals with the CBS Sports Network (not to be confused with “regular” CBS) and ESPN’s lower tier of networks.  The agreement runs through 2028.

Louisiana Tech might receive an invitation to return to the Sunbelt Conference – soon

Texas State’s exit from the Sunbelt Conference will open the door for someone to take their place.

Two teams from Conference USA appear to be the front runners to replace Texas State.

Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky (Bowling Green) are considered to be the favorites.  Middle Tennessee State University (30 miles from Nashville) may be interested, too.

Geographically speaking, Louisiana Tech would make the best choice to replace Texas State University. The Bobcats participate in the Sunbelt’s Western Division against Arkansas State (Jonesboro), South Alabama (Mobile), Southern Miss (Hattiesburg), Troy (Troy, AL), UL-Lafayette, and UL-Monroe.

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs would become the state’s third university participating in the Western Division of the 14-team Sunbelt Conference.

Louisiana-Lafayette and UL-Monroe would make for terrific geographic (and money saving) partners for Louisiana Tech.  Lafayette is less than 190 miles from both Ruston (Louisiana Tech) and Monroe (ULM).

Louisiana Tech is also just 240 miles from Hattiesburg (home of Sunbelt member Southern Miss).

The Bulldogs’ closest Conference USA rival is Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas (260 miles).  Jacksonville State in Alabama comes in second (geographically speaking) at 460 miles from Ruston.

The savings on transportation for student-athletes and fans would make the Bulldogs’ move to the Western Division of the Sunbelt Conference very appealing.

Adding another $4.2 million per year into the athletics budget ($5 million from the Sunbelt vs. $800K from C-USA) should make this a deal clincher.

I addressed the increasing costs of college athletics last week (click here) after a federal judge signed off on a $2.6 billion settlement agreement.  NIL payments for athletes going back to June, 2016 were approved along with significant changes allowing colleges to directly pay athletes starting on July 1, 2025.

Most major programs are going to try to raise more cash to keep playing.  Others may opt out of their current conferences in the next year due to rapidly rising costs.

Rivalries matter

Alabama plays Auburn in the Iron Bowl football game every year.  Can you imagine a season without Ohio State and Michigan?

Sadly, the Louisiana Tech athletics department has shunned playing in-state rivals such as UL-Lafayette and UL-Monroe in football for most of the past 25 years.

The Bulldogs haven’t played a football game against Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns since 2015.  The good news is that the two schools (who first played football against each other in 1915) have agreed to a home and home deal beginning in 2026.

The last time that the UL-Monroe Warhawks played football against against Ruston-based Louisiana Tech was in 2000. 

At the time, ULM was still known as the Indians.

The two schools are located just 35 miles apart on Interstate 20 in north Louisiana.

The good news is that Louisiana Tech (regardless of whether it joins the Sunbelt Conference) has agreed to host ULM again in September, 2030.  A return game will be played in Monroe in 2031.

It’s about time!

Rivalry games bring out the fans, too.

The biggest home football crowds for both Louisiana Tech and UL-Monroe have come when the two schools played against each other.

A few decades ago, local rumors whispered that a prominent Louisiana Tech athletics benefactor might consider ending donations if his beloved Bulldogs scheduled any games against rival UL-Monroe in football and basketball.

The truth remains that Louisiana Tech and UL-Monroe still have not played a football game against each other in 25 years.

Louisiana Tech’s move to the Sunbelt Conference would add $4.2 million in media revenue per year.  The added revenue might be enough to outweigh the wishes a few of the school’s major athletic benefactors.

Does the Sunbelt Conference want Louisiana Tech…or East Carolina…or Memphis…or all three?

This “Louisiana Tech to the Sunbelt” story assumes that the Sunbelt Conference actually wants the Bulldogs to replace Texas State if the Bobcats vamoose out west.

Internet rumblings today have two current members of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) kicking the tires of moving to the Sunbelt Conference, too.

The East Carolina University Pirates are located just east of Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Memphis Tigers are another AAC school which seems dissatisfied with remaining in their current conference.

Raleigh brings America’s 27th ranked TV market.  Memphis is #48.  Both would be a plus for the Sunbelt Conference.

The AAC’s media deal with ESPN through 2031 provides about $7 million per member institution. That would be a $2 million per year loss in revenue for each school.

Why would they want to do that?

Travel expenses would be significantly lower for both ECU and Memphis if they were participating in the more regionally-aligned Sunbelt Conference.

The Sunbelt currently has 14 member schools.

The league could easily add both East Carolina and Memphis and have 16 total teams – regardless of whether Texas State leaves.

What needs to happen for Louisiana Tech?

Texas State University must start this game of conference dominoes by announcing its departure from the Sunbelt Conference.  The Bobcats must exit by June 30 in order to save significant money when severing their contract with the Sunbelt.

That clock is ticking right now.

A Sunbelt Conference invitation to (I hope) Louisiana Tech should come within hours on the same day.  That’s because the Bulldogs would need to provide timely notice and write their own exit check to Conference USA to switch league affiliations beginning in the fall of 2026.

Louisiana Tech’s administration and athletics group must be solidly behind this move.  Any wavering by the Bulldog backers in Ruston will cause the Sunbelt Conference to hand the invitation to an eager Western Kentucky University or another school.

A Louisiana Tech exit from Conference USA can’t come soon enough

The time is now to let the decision makers at Louisiana Tech know that you eagerly support a departure from Conference USA and into the Sunbelt Conference.

It is also time for Louisiana Tech to end playing in Conference USA’s Junior Varsity-like midweek night football games during October (the best weather month of the year to attend a college football game). 

Many fans are working or have family obligations and cannot attend weeknight games.  These games are primarily played to benefit C-USA’s two television partners.  They want to attract a few eyeballs (and advertisers) during an otherwise empty weeknight schedule during the fall.  

The Bulldogs’ 2025 schedule shows C-USA October games being played on a Tuesday night, another game on a Thursday night, and even a Halloween Friday night kickoff on October 31.

This year’s football schedule also has the Dogs playing against relatively unknown college football barnyard creatures such as the Delaware Blue Hens and the Kennesaw State Owls.

Most North Louisiana sports fans would prefer to be playing football against regional rivals such as the Ragin’ Cajuns of UL-Lafayette and the ULM Warhawks every fall.

The Sunbelt Conference would significantly increase Louisiana Tech’s media revenues and would return a few of the school’s long-time in-state rivals back onto the schedule.

Leaving the far-flung Conference USA in favor of the Sunbelt is guaranteed to bring a refreshing shot of enthusiasm back to supporters of Louisiana Tech’s sports programs.

Make “Champ” a happier bulldog.  Just do it!

The post Will Louisiana Tech (Re)join the Sunbelt Conference? appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Here’s hoping that you had a terrific Father’s Day weekend.

My wife and I enjoyed a brief stay with one of our sons and his two youngsters in north Louisiana.  On Sunday, we had a nice video chat with our other son and his three young gents in the mid-Atlantic region.

All in all, it was a great weekend for catching-up with the family.

That also left time for my annual Father’s Day Sunday ritual.  I attempt to stay awake to watch the entire final round of the US Open men’s golf tournament.

Mission (almost) accomplished.

My wife said that I was assessed a 2-snore penalty for falling asleep for 15 minutes midway through the final round.

I claimed that I was simply resting my eyes for an exciting finish.

I woke up in time to be treated to a very unique and exciting US Open conclusion.

Former US Open champion Johnny Miller knows a thing or two about catching fire in the final round at Oakmont Country Club

I really miss the television commentary of long-time NBC analyst Johnny Miller.

The 78-year old Hall-of-Fame golfer still maintains a stranglehold on the final round scoring record at the always-difficult Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, PA.

Miller zoomed from six shots behind (he was in 13th place after the third round) with a record-setting final round winning score of 63 to capture the 1973 US Open held at Oakmont.

Johnny Miller’s final round magic overtook a cluster of stellar third round leaders such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf, and Julius Boros.

Every player in that elite group would be inducted into the World Golf Hall-of-Fame after their PGA careers ended.

Johnny Miller has watched years of incredible improvements in golf clubs to increase distance and in golf balls which now fly longer and straighter than ever.

Yet, Oakmont Country Club sent last year’s US Open champion, Bryson DeChambeau, home last Friday evening after just two rounds. 

DeChambeau finished 10-over par to miss the cut after shooting 73-77 on the first two days.

DeChambeau’s incredible length off the tee frequently found the five inch rough at Oakmont on far too many occasions.

There were four golfers in this year’s US Open field who failed to break 80 (10 over par) in either their first or second rounds at that mean and nasty Oakmont Country Club.

The weather was not a factor in the opening rounds, either.  Dry spring-like conditions prevailed in Rounds 1 and 2 with temperatures mostly in the 70’s.

Johnny Miller was asked his thoughts about why Oakmont was still playing so hard for this current crop of professional golfers.

He replied, “It’s still all about hitting the ball in the fairway.”

Indeed, Johnny!

Shreveport’s third round leader Sam Burns found the heavy rough too many times in Sunday’s final round.  He recorded two double bogeys and six bogeys en route to a disappointing final round 78 to finish at 4-over par.

Former Masters champion Adam Scott (playing in the final group with Burns) fared even worse.  He carded eight bogeys and one double bogey for a 79 to finish at +6 for the tournament.

Oakmont proved to be one of America’s toughest golf courses – again

Oakmont Country Club is 7,400 yards long with deep rough everywhere.  It plays to a very difficult par 70 with more than 140 sand traps to navigate at one of the nation’s toughest layouts.

It’s hard to believe, but this US Open bully (Oakmont) does not have a single water hazard on the golf course.

This brutal golf course had most professional golfers looking dazed and confused by the difficulties encountered once their golf ball missed the fairways or greens.

Smiles by the golfers were even harder to find as their golf balls were when buried deep in the gnarly rough.

The speed of the Oakmont Country Club greens (14.5 on golf’s putting surface speed measuring device called a Stimpmeter) appeared to roll even faster than those at Augusta National Golf Club this spring at  The Masters.

Try putting a golf ball on your kitchen floor for a similar test of speed.

The first two rounds of the US Open at Oakmont last week produced an incredible 378 3-putts by the top golfers in the world.  The next closest total was 242 3-putts recorded at Torrey Pines in San Diego early in 2025.

This year’s first two major championship winners were soundly defeated by Oakmont, too.

Masters’ winner Rory McIlroy never contended with his 7-over par final score this weekend.

Likewise for the world’s #1-ranked golfer, Scottie Scheffler.  This year’s PGA Championship winner finished at 4-over par at Oakmont, but he missed several birdie putts on Sunday which could have moved him into contention.

Other recent winners of the US Open struggled to even make the cut after two rounds Friday:

2024 and 2020 – Bryson DeChambeau – 10 over par (missed the cut)

2023 – Wyndham Clark – 8 over par (missed the cut)

2022 – Matt Fitzpatrick – 11 over par

2021 – Jon Rahm – 4 over par

2019 – Gary Woodland – 10 over par (missed the cut)

2018 and 2017 – Brooks Koepka – 6 over par

2016 (also held at Oakmont) – Dustin Johnson – 10 over par (missed the cut)

Journeyman PGA golfer JJ Spaun found lightning in a bottle over the final nine holes to win

JJ Spaun (whose lone PGA win came at the 2022 Valero Open in San Antonio) bolted to the first round lead at Oakmont Thursday with a sparkling 5-under par 65.

The golf course exacted a bit of revenge on Spaun during Rounds 2 and 3, but he was still tied for second place at three under par entering Sunday’s final round.

Spaun couldn’t have started his fourth and final round at Oakmont much worse than he did.

The 34-year old from California bogeyed five of the first six holes Sunday to card a woeful 5-over par 40 on the front nine.  Spaun’s second shot into the par-4 Hole #2 was so pure that the golf ball hit the flagstick but then rolled 40 yards backwards off the putting green and into the fairway.

He bogeyed that hole, too.

JJ Spaun was four strokes down with only nine holes remaining on Sunday.

But this was Oakmont!  No lead is ever safe on this difficult golf course.

A torrential rain soaked the golfers and fans midway through the final round to cause a 90-minute weather delay.

JJ Spaun said that the short break helped him to cool down, regroup, and play with more focus on the final nine as he overtook a very talented field.

Final round leader Sam Burns and second place golfer Adam Scott took turns missing fairways and bogeying their way through the entire back nine after the rain delay.

JJ Spaun’s drives began to find the fairways again once the action resumed on the back nine late Sunday afternoon.  He birdied four of the final seven holes to zoom up the leaderboard as others struggled to just make a par on most of the incoming holes.

It was a final round charge reminiscent of western Pennsylvania’s very own golfing legend, Arnold Palmer.

Spaun’s Arnie-like drive on the relatively short 315-yard par-4 #17 snaked its way onto surface of the green as the crowd went wild.  It led to an easy two-putt birdie as he moved to even par and a one-shot lead heading into the tournament’s final hole.

JJ Spaun then split the middle of the fairway on the difficult 18th hole with a perfect tee shot.  His second shot from the fairway splashed-up some lingering rain water but the ball managed to find the corner of the green.

Spaun rolled in a lengthy 65-foot putt for a birdie to cap his miraculous comeback. 

He finished the US Open as the only player in the field with an under-par final score (-1).

His late flurry of hitting the Oakmont fairways and greens propelled JJ Spaun to victory on Sunday.

Johnny Miller called this one.  JJ Spaun was the only golfer in contention to find fairways and greens over the final nine holes.

His amazing Father’s Day comeback earned the US Open trophy, a cool $4.3 million first place check, and a guaranteed spot in every major golf tournament for at least the next five years.

JJ Spaun’s Father’s Day Sunday on the golf course ended with his wife and two young daughters running onto the 18th green to hug the new US Open champion.

Spaun later told the assembled media, “It was just so cool to have my whole family there on Father’s Day. It’s just incredible.  I have no words to describe the moment.”

I do.

As Caddyshack’s legendary greenskeeper Carl Spackler once said, “It’s a Cinderella story…”

The post A “Cinderella Story” Father’s Day US Open appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

This story is definitely not about any current legislation in Washington, DC which may or may not happen anytime soon.

I’m going to try to explain the historic $2.576 billion college sports settlement agreement which was finally approved by a federal judge late last week.

The settlement agreement will (eventually) spread a lot of money around to many college athletes who competed in NCAA sports after June 15, 2016 through the present.

Feel free to read the entire 76-page ruling by clicking here (Warning – it’s quite boring!)

The big, ugly settlement agreement (I’ll refer to it as the “BUSA” in this post) also introduces the advent of revenue sharing with college athletes beginning July 1, 2025.

Did someone just say, “Pay for play is here to stay?”

Quick history:

A couple of lawsuits were brought a few years ago by former NCAA student-athletes against the NCAA and the Big 5 Conferences (the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC).

The lawsuits challenged current NCAA and/or conference rules which prohibited or restricted student-athlete compensation.  Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) payments to student-athletes finally became legal in 2021.  This BUSA goes five years further back to June 15, 2016.

Last Friday’s approval of the agreement resolved those lawsuits and created several new rules.  The changes will affect the major athletics conferences and force important decisions for all schools participating in NCAA Division 1 athletics.

How many student-athletes are (potentially) eligible for payment?

The BUSA identified a potential “pool” of 389,700 athletes who might be eligible for some portion of the loot.  Full scholarship Power 5 conference football or basketball (men and women) players were not required to apply in order to be eligible for compensation.

How the settlement money will be divided?

The BUSA valued the total cost at $2.576 billion. It is broken into two primary portions.

The largest ($1.976 billion) provides compensation to:

The remaining $600 million of the settlement will be divided as follows:

Would you like to guess how much the legal fees cost to produce this monstrosity?

Nearly $500 million (24.5%) has been designated for the Class Counsel (attorneys for the plaintiffs).

The lawyers significantly outperformed the athletes in terms of per-person settlement compensation from this deal, didn’t they?

When will the student-athletes start receiving checks?

Payments will begin as early as July 1 – as long as the student-athlete made a timely response to emails and letters sent by the attorneys prior to the BUSA’s approval.  Payments will be in equal amounts across the next ten years.

Which schools have to pay for these retroactive payments?

The so-called “Power 5” (well, that’s now Power 4 after the Pac-12 dissolved in 2024) are primarily on the hook for these payments.

The Atlantic Coast Conference has 17 schools (+ Notre Dame).  The Big Ten (18), Big 12 (16), and Southeastern Conference (16) which brings the total to 68 schools.

That works out to nearly $3.5 million/year per Power 5 school to be paid in each of the next ten years.

Where will the colleges get the money to make these retroactive payments?

Let’s utilize SEC member LSU as an example.

The LSU Tigers have a hefty annual athletics budget over more than $200 million.

The NCAA (or the SEC) will likely confiscate the money from LSU’s annual revenue distribution in order to pay the school’s “fair share” of the settlement.

Expect LSU’s enthusiastic boosters to be asked to ante-up and cover this loss of revenue.  Any financial shortfalls might cause a trickle down effect and reduce funding for a few of the school’s minor sports.

Each of the Power 5 Conference schools had their attorneys participating in the crafting of this BUSA.  The annual costs per school should not come as a surprise to any of the major universities.

What about the smaller NCAA programs?  Are they now on the hook for these payments?

There were 134 NCAA FBS Division 1 football schools in 2024.  That leaves 66 other non-Power 5 football programs. 

There were approximately 350 NCAA Division 1 basketball programs during the settlement period.

The final $30 million portion of the settlement is going to be divided among many schools.  It should be a relatively small amount per school.

However, the smaller athletic programs are going to have some big decisions to make very soon (keep reading).

This BUSA is causing a tidal wave of significant changes to college athletics around the country

Welcome to revenue sharing beginning this fall!

Each of the NCAA’s major college programs (the Power 5) will begin doling out a significant amount of their annual athletics revenue directly to scholarship athletes beginning this fall.

That’s right!

These new revenue sharing agreements will be in addition to any money which the student-athlete earns via third-party NIL endorsements.

The settlement agreement stated that no school will distribute more than 22% of their annual athletic revenues directly to student-athletes.

Welcome to (officially) the days of pay-for-play in college sports!

In fact, the Power 5 conference schools will start the 2025/2026 school year with an annual “cap” of $20 million.  The funding cap will rise by 4% per year and reach $32 million by 2034.

The non-Power 5 conferences and their member schools must make some important decisions soon as to whether to “opt in” and adopt this new revenue sharing idea.

The significantly lower television revenue generated by these smaller conferences/schools means that their 22% maximum athletics department revenue sharing won’t approach the $20 million “cap” in place for the larger conferences.

Who decides how much money a particular player in a sport will receive?

Each school’s athletic department will make its own decisions as to who gets what portion of the $20 million (maximum) pie at Power 5 institutions beginning this next year.

The BUSA estimated that the majority of broadcast revenues came from football (75%) with men’s basketball (15%), women’s basketball (5%), and other sports like baseball, softball and gymnastics providing the remaining 5% increment.

Most universities are expected to (generally) follow that guideline for payments made to participants in each sport – at least in Year #1 beginning July 1, 2025.

Some major programs are concerned about Title IX implications if less than 10% of the $20 million is funneled back into women’s sports.

Each school will be permitted make its own decisions with regard to spreading the revenue sharing money around within its sports programs.

Will the top football and basketball stars still get rich from big NIL deals?

That won’t be as likely going forward.

The settlement established a new third-party group called the College Sports Commission.

Attorney Bryan Seeley was named CEO of the new organization which will oversee all NIL transactions beginning this summer.

His group will review every proposed new NIL deal valued at more than $600 annually (correct).

Proposed NIL deals for athletes will be evaluated in three primary areas.

Who is making the payment? What is the business purpose?  What is a fair range of compensation for that business purpose?

Let’s say that a a top college quarterback lands a spot on an upcoming insurance company commercial. 

The new rules would stipulate that the QB should not receive more money than, let’s say, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid was paid for a similar role.

Student-athletes with existing NIL deals (no matter how large the dollar amount) will be allowed to continue (grandfathered provisions) until that agreement expires or the player leaves the university.

What happens to future NIL cheaters?

Good question! We all know that the biggest athletics programs are going to find creative ways to beat the system to keep an edge on their competition.

The new College Sports Commission permits third-party arbitration if the student-athlete and/or university should disagree with any NIL action or enforcement decision.

The NCAA will remain in charge of making all other enforcement decisions which are not part of the new College Sports Commission’s domain.

How will this affect mid-major athletic programs such as Louisiana Tech or UL-Monroe?

There’s good news and bad news here.

The good news is that schools like Louisiana Tech (Conference USA) or UL-Monroe (Sunbelt Conference) will not have to contribute a significant amount into the back-payment portion of the BUSA.

The conference itself will soon dictate whether Louisiana Tech or UL-Monroe must spend up to 22% of its athletics revenues to pay student-athletes.

Those discussions are underway and will have a profound effect on many programs.

The worst news is that many mid-major athletic programs were already struggling just to break even.  Where will they find the incremental revenue to pay players out of the school’s depleted athletics budget?

Some college athletic booster organizations have maxed-out in recent years in trying to prop-up their favorite university’s sports teams.

The state of Louisiana just passed a tax increase for online sports gambling to raise more money dedicated to college athletics.  This tax increase is expected to add up to $2 million per year for each state university’s athletics budget.

Other states around the country are also scrambling to find extra money to help bolster college athletics programs in what has become a much more costly athletics environment.

I expect to see conference realignment at the mid-major levels very soon as some programs finally wave the white flag of financial surrender.

Some athletics programs may drop to a lower NCAA division or into the NAIA.

Others may drop athletics entirely.

This Big Ugly Settlement Agreement just dropped a bomb on college athletics.

The post The Big Ugly Settlement Agreement appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Pittsburgh was the longtime home of PBS children’s show host Fred “Mister” Rogers.

His gentle voice and calm demeanor in his “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” television show became a regular in our home during our two sons’ pre-school years.

Parents felt like they could trust Mister Rogers.  His thoughtful and creative half-hour daily program projected a genuine care and personal regard for his younger viewers.

Fred McFeely Rogers passed away in 2003 at the relatively young age of 74 from stomach cancer.

Last Friday, another Mr. Rodgers arrived in Pittsburgh

Former Green Bay Packers Super Bowl winning quarterback Aaron Rodgers is now 41 years old.  He was voted the NFL’s Most Valuable Player by the Associated Press a whopping four times (2011, 2014, 2020, and 2021).

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers holds numerous NFL records and is a cinch to be voted into the NFL Hall-of-Fame in Canton, Ohio following his football retirement.

Aaron Rodgers still isn’t ready to hang up his cleats just yet.

He was pushed out of the starting quarterback position in Green Bay two years ago at age 39 in favor of former Utah State standout Jordan Love.

Rodgers surprised many by agreeing to be traded for the final two years of his contract to play for the AFC’s lowly New York Jets beginning in 2023.  His first season in New York ended in Game #1 in a nationally televised Monday Night Football game with a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture.

Aaron Rodgers still didn’t retire after that injury, though.

The veteran quarterback came back last season in 2024 and recorded a more “Aaron Rodgers-like” season of positive stats – even with a very bad offensive football team.

Rodgers passed for nearly 3,900 yards with 27 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for the 5-12 New York Jets.

The J-E-T-S last playoff appearance came in January, 2010 (15 years and counting).

The Jets fired last year’s coach and hired former defensive back Aaron Glenn in late January.  Aaron Rodgers (whose contract in New York had just ended) was told by the incoming head coach that his services were no longer needed.

Enter – the Pittsburgh Steelers

Likely Hall-of-Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was a fixture in Pittsburgh from 2004 through his retirement after the 2021 NFL season.

The Steelers have struggled to find an effective leader at the quarterback position ever since.

Former first round draft selection Kenny Pickett was thrown to the wolves to become the starting quarterback during his rookie season in 2022. 

Pickett posted 7-5 marks as the team’s starter in both 2022 and 2023.

He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles after just two years with the AFC’s Black and Gold team.

Ironically, Kenny Pickett just won a Super Bowl ring as the back-up quarterback with last year’s Super Bowl champs in Philadelphia.

Mitch Trubisky started seven games for Pittsburgh in 2022/2023.  Mason Rudolph was the team’s starter in five games played over the same period.

Both were sent packing after the 2023 season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers then signed veteran Russell Wilson from the Denver Broncos and Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears to fight for the quarterback job in 2024.

A 10-7 regular season ended with a big thud in a 28-14 playoff loss at Baltimore.

Russell Wilson jumped ship and signed a new one-year deal with the New York Giants.  Justin Fields also left town after signing a two-year $40 million contract with the (how ironic) New York Jets.

The Pittsburgh Steelers contacted Aaron Rodgers (who turns 42 this December) and made him an offer.

Rodgers then tormented Steelers fans by waiting for a few months trying to make up his mind on whether to retire or play football this fall in Steel City.

The Steelers didn’t help the anxiety levels of local fans by waiting until the 6th round of this spring’s NFL draft to select Ohio State quarterback Will Howard.  The team recently brought back former back-up QB Mason Rudolph in the event Aaron Rodgers failed to sign with the Steelers.

Aaron Rodgers finally signed a one-year $13.65 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers last Friday.

Rodgers’ new salary is a bargain for the Steelers – at least compared to the last three seasons.

The quarterback signed a three year contract with Green Bay in 2022 which paid him $50 million per year.  He became (at the time) the highest paid player in NFL history. 

The New York Jets had to honor (and pay for) the final two years of that contract to obtain Rodgers’ services.

The good – Aaron Rodgers is still a very talented quarterback

Pittsburgh gets an aging but highly accurate passer with the quickest release in the NFL.  Aaron Rodgers played quite well for most of last season for the New York Jets despite the team’s 5-12 record.

Rodgers will become a very talented mentor for rookie quarterback Will Howard and veteran Mason Rudolf.

Aaron Rodgers still has a quick release and enough arm strength to improve the Pittsburgh Steelers woeful passing game.

The Steelers recently added former Seattle wide receiver D.K. Metcalf but traded talented (and petulant) wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys.  Pittsburgh fan favorite tight end Pat Freiermuth is expected to see even more passes coming his way with Aaron Rodgers on the field this fall.

Rodgers could use at least one more veteran wide receiver with a proven resume if the Steelers are going to become legitimate AFC title contenders this fall.

Team General Manager Omar Khan (definitely not a crowd favorite in Pittsburgh) failed to select a young wide receiver during April’s NFL draft.  He recently signed 33-year old Houston Texans’ cast-off WR Robert Woods to provide more depth at the position.

Fans in Pittsburgh hope their favorite team will sign a higher profile wide receiver prior to the start of the 2025 football season.

Aaron Rodgers has earned a few hundred million dollars playing NFL football.

He was generously given back to some of his favorite causes.  Rodgers was conferred with an honorary doctorate by the University of California-Berkeley in 2018 for his ongoing charitable works with the school and on behalf of other local causes.

The bad – Aaron Rodgers often comes across as a flaky personality

Let’s establish that Aaron Rodgers is very sharp.

The former University of California-Berkeley student scored a 35 out of 40 on the Wonderlic test prior to being drafted in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.  That equates to the 96th percentile and significantly higher than the NFL’s average score of 20.

Aaron Rodgers loves the TV game show “Jeopardy”.

He even hosted the program for two weeks during 2021.  Rodgers auditioned to become the new host after Alex Trebek died of cancer in 2020.

Two years ago found Aaron Rodgers famously entering a “darkness retreat.”   He spent four nights isolated in a soundproof unit with few amenities as he searched his soul deciding whether to retire from pro football.

Aaron Rodgers emerged from his isolation chamber like Punxatawny Phil on Groundhog Day and announced his intention to continue playing football for another few years.

He was later traded by Green Bay to the New York Jets.

The tabloids have also highlighted Rodgers’ flirtation with psychedelic substances. 

Others have reported that Rodgers has dated a young woman who claimed she was a witch.

The ugly – Aaron Rodgers has a long history of injuries

Every NFL player will deal with injuries over time. 

Football is a collision sport.

Veteran NFL quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers are often hit very hard by oncoming tacklers in every game.

Twenty-one years of NFL experience has provided Rogers with several concussions, a foot fracture, a broken thumb, shoulder injuries, his 2023 Achilles injury, and countless other painful injuries from playing the sport.

Tom Brady played quarterback in the NFL for 23 seasons.  He (like Aaron Rodgers) was known for his extremely quick release of the football – especially near the end of his career.

The odds favor the 41-year old Aaron Rodgers getting hurt at some point this season in Pittsburgh.  The Steelers’ offensive line must do a great job to keep their QB protected.

Steelers fans will either love or loathe Aaron Rodgers

The blue collar fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers were not pleased that Aaron Rodgers kept the team waiting for months prior to signing with the beloved Black and Gold.

The majority preferred that the team move on without Rodgers and his penchant for selfish personal theatrics.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has the talent to ignite the Steelers offense if he can just stay upright and healthy this fall.

Thousands of Terrible Towel-waving Steelers fans will be overjoyed if the old Aaron Rodgers is able to make the Pittsburgh’s offense come alive once again starting in September.

Here we go!!! 

Everyone sing along…You know the tune!

“The AFC North is my new Neighborhood

For the Terrible Towel waving Steelers.

Won’t you cheer me?

Just don’t throw beer on me!

I’m your 41-year old new quarterback

Who’s too brittle to withstand another sack!

Where do I sign?

$13 Million will be just fine!

I have always wanted to play in the Steel City – for you

Since none of the other NFL teams – came through!

So…

Keep me upright and protected each game

Or I’ll blame the offensive line just the same…

Won’t you please…

Cheer for me, please!

Please don’t you boo…your QB!”

The post Aaron Rodgers’ New Neighborhood appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

*Full disclosure – The author is a graduate of LSU-Shreveport circa – uh – far too many years ago.

The City of Shreveport and its largest university received some very positive news over the past week.

The LSU-Shreveport college baseball team put the school and the city into the national headlines and the college record books just over one week ago.

The LSU-S Pilots (the riverboat variety) won the NAIA Baseball World Series for the school’s first-ever national team sports championship.

LSU-S won every single game they played this season.

Going 59-0 in 2025 just obliterated every season-best won/loss record for all other teams playing in the NAIA, the NCAA’s Division 1, II, and III, and the National Junior College Athletic Association.

The 2025 LSU-Shreveport “Perfect” Pilots baseball team went 33-0 at home, 14-0 on the road, and 12-0 in the playoffs.  That’s every game played during the months of February, March, April, and May without a single loss.

No other college baseball team at any level has ever posted an undefeated season.

Until now.

LSU-Shreveport has waited 58 years to enjoy this type of moment

It took the Louisiana legislature a few decades to even approve the idea for and fund the construction of LSU-Shreveport.

The state’s third largest city already had Centenary College (a private liberal arts school).  Public universities such as Louisiana Tech (65 miles to the east in Ruston) and Northwestern State (70 miles to the south in Nachitoches) were the closest state schools to the Shreveport-Bossier City area.

LSU-Shreveport opened its doors in September, 1967 to 807 students.

The school’s first two buildings (the Science building and Library) were constructed in a former cotton field located in what was, at the time, a rather sparsely populated area on the southeastern fringe of Shreveport’s city limits.

LSU-S began as a two-year college but quickly became a four-year university within just a few years after opening.

It was and still is primarily a commuter school for local students.  There is very little student housing available at LSU-Shreveport today.

Those of us attending classes at LSU-S during the 1970’s celebrated the opening of a third building on the campus.

The student-named “Snack Shack” was comprised of a couple of portable buildings linked together which functioned as the school’s book store and the students’ (cough) cafeteria.

The LSU-S Snack Shack (an air conditioned meet-up spot for the nearly 3,000 students in the 1970’s) was just a row of vending machines serving cold sandwiches, junk food and soft drinks.

Sports at LSU-S?  Ha ha – yeah, right!

I remember coming to visit a gentleman in the LSU-S admissions department prior to starting school as an incoming freshman in the 1970’s.  I asked him, “When do you think we will have some college sports teams on campus?”

The man looked a bit uncomfortable as he suggested that LSU-S expected to be playing college sports “within just a few years – probably before you graduate!”

That sounded great!   However, he was quite wrong.

The university cut a deal with the Louisiana Army National Guard in Shreveport to utilize the military facility’s multi-purpose building for student intramural basketball games.

Fort Humbug is located a few miles north of the LSU-Shreveport campus.

I can personally attest that Fort Humbug’s hardwood floor used for basketball was quite dusty and slippery.  That was because several Army tanks were occasionally being driven in and out of one portion of the building for storage each week.

The plus-side of playing basketball inside of that facility was feeling secure while standing at the free throw line and seeing multiple Army tanks lined-up across the baseline and along the sidelines.

It wasn’t until November, 1990 that LSU-Shreveport fielded the school’s first college athletics team as the men’s and women’s basketball teams tipped-off.

LSU-S had secured funding to construct a Health & Physical Education building during the 1980’s. 

It featured a full-court basketball configuration and bleacher seats holding several hundred students and fans.

The first LSU-S baseball team would finally come along two years later in March, 1992.

The team’s home games weren’t on the school’s campus, though.

With the financial assistance of Shreveport’s C.E. Byrd High School, enough money was raised to jointly fund and construct a baseball field on the LSU-S campus.

Pilot Field finally opened in spring, 1994.

The baseball field is still jointly used by the college and the high school today.

Funding woes nearly strikes out the LSU-S baseball team and the school itself

State funding cuts in Louisiana forced the students at LSU-Shreveport to make a surprising decision during the spring of 1997.

By a solid margin, the LSU-S students opted to reject a proposed increase in the athletics fee from $10 to $30 per semester to pay for the school’s existing sports.

Once a commuter school…???

The “No” vote forced LSU-Shreveport to cut its men’s and women’s basketball programs due to a lack of funding.  However, the LSU-S baseball team (which had lower operating costs than the basketball programs) was able to survive on the school’s remaining (but very tiny) athletics budget.

The Pilots’ basketball teams eventually returned to the hardwood six years later in 2003 after the LSU-S Student Government Association finally approved a fee hike dedicated to help pay for athletics.

In both 2006 and 2012, there were serious rumblings coming from the Louisiana state legislature in Baton Rouge which nearly resulted in a merger of LSU-Shreveport into the Louisiana Tech University system.

State college funding issues (always a hot topic in Louisiana) had the Shreveport-based member of the LSU system on the ropes.

Getting anything controversial passed through the nearly 50/50 Republican/Democrat state legislature in Louisiana has always been a hard sell.  No formal votes were ever taken on the proposed merger of LSU-S and Louisiana Tech during either of those legislative sessions.

Hopefully, none will occur in the near future.

LSU-Shreveport Pilots baseball hires Coach Brad Neffendorf in early 2020

The meteoric rise in the LSU-Shreveport baseball team over the past six seasons can be traced to the hiring of Coach Brad Neffendorf in early 2020.

Neffendorf came to Shreveport with a solid background as a pitching coach and a great recruiter.

The success of his teams at LSU-S has confirmed his reputation for developing young pitchers and finding top level college baseball talent.

LSU-Shreveport’s baseball team posted a season record of 45-16 in 2021.  That was followed by 53-8 in 2022, 47-10 (2023), and 44-11 in 2024. 

Coach Brad Neffendorf’s teams made it into the NAIA World Series in both 2021 and 2022.

This year’s 59-0 LSU-S Pilots’ pitching staff finished the season by giving up a minuscule 2.35 earned run average.  The team’s ERA was more than one run lower than the second closest team in the entire NAIA in 2025.

LSU-Shreveport’s bats thundered all season long with an eye-popping team average of .365 for the year. Three Pilots players (all seniors) batted over .400 for the season.

Three LSU-S players were named to the NAIA First Team All-America squad this week.  Two others earned Second Team honors.  

Third baseman Josh Gibson batted .439 with 71 RBI’s and 55 stolen bases.  Pitchers Isaac Rohde (16-0 with 2.09 earned run average) and Draven Zeigler (13-0 and a 1.76 ERA) were also first-teamers. 

Second baseman Vantrel Reed (with his .378 batting average) and pitcher Cobe Reeves (12-0 with a 2.1 ERA) earned spots on the NAIA’s Second Team.

Did I say that the LSU-Shreveport baseball team posted a classroom GPA of nearly 3.1 for the year?

LSU-S baseball coach Brad Neffendorf put together an incredible college baseball roster which has most of us scratching our heads asking, “Where did he find THOSE guys?”

This year’s baseball team had only three players from the state of Louisiana and just one hailing from the home city.  All but one player on the 2025 roster were transfers from other colleges or junior colleges.

Does LSU-S have a big stash of NIL cash in order to find these players?

That is highly unlikely given the school’s minuscule athletics budget and relatively low sports profile in the Shreveport-Bossier City region.

Wanna guess the average home attendance for LSU-S baseball games this season? 

If you said, “84”, you win!

Coach Neffendorf’s teams at LSU-Shreveport have won at least 44 games in each of the past four seasons.

High school and college baseball players who are looking for more playing time and exposure (to pursue a possible career in pro baseball or to earn more NIL loot at a bigger school the next year) know that LSU-Shreveport’s program is a surefire resume builder.

Sometimes the players find the school as much as the coaches are able to locate the players.

This year’s 59-0 perfect season at LSU-Shreveport will have even more talented high school, junior college, and underutilized major college players wanting to come play for the Pilots next year.

Coach Brad Neffendorf is likely receiving a lot of attention from NCAA Division 1 programs right now.

The Shreveport and Bossier City area is a great place to live and raise a family.  The LSU-S baseball coach is likely fielding many tempting offers to leave town and move up for significantly more money (and pressure).

Take a bow, LSU-S Pilots!

The national attention of having the first college baseball team to record a perfect season has LSU-S players and coaches taking a well-deserved victory lap.

The team was saluted by a joyous crowd of more than 1,000 last week in downtown Shreveport.

The city’s mayor and Louisiana’s governor proclaimed a special day in the team’s honor.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson (who also represents the city of Shreveport) advised the team that the President (a former high school baseball player) requested the LSU-Shreveport “Perfect Pilots” to travel to the White House soon to honor their 59-0 season.

Shreveport’s very own national sports personality Tim Brando (an exceptional baseball player years ago) recently commented on the LSU-S team’s amazing season.

“Teams may go undefeated again but not in a sport that requires you to play 50 or more games. The sport that is the most difficult to achieve perfection – is baseball.”

You got that right, Timmy B!

The 59-0 LSU-Shreveport Pilots have just posted a once-in-a-lifetime sports achievement.

Take as long as you wish to enjoy the accolades, Pilots!

This particular alumnus of LSU-Shreveport is soaking it in and enjoying the team’s success almost as much as the 2025 Pilots players and coaches are.

Don’t be surprised if loyal baseball fans in the bleacher seats behind home plate at Pilot Field next spring start a “We want a hundred!” chant at some point during April, 2026.

Why not?  It’s 59 games down and just 41 wins to go for the record-setting LSU-S Pilots!

The post LSU-S Pilots Navigate a Perfect Landing appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.