SBJ’s intrepid college sports reporter Ben Portnoy drew a crowd wherever he went, at one point Tuesday stopping at the bottom of an escalator and remaining there for more than a half-hour as a makeshift receiving line of sources approached. One could be overheard asking, “Are you tired of talking to people yet?” (Asked for comment, Portnoy quipped, “Can confirm. I will be consuming more coffee today).”
Playfly CEO Craig Sloan, A&W Capital’s Andrew Brown and PJT Partners’ Joe Lenehan all chatted in the breakfast area before the start of the conference. Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman was also seen chatting with Sloan later Tuesday, and she later caught up with former Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, outside the green room.
When Learfield Sports Properties President Kim Damron introduced Washington running back Jonah Coleman, she touted his impressive 3.91 GPA — only for AD Pat Chun to correct her with a “3.93.” Chun later added that Coleman, a Campbell Award finalist as the top college football student athlete, will be the first from his family to graduate from college.
Tulane sports law professor Gabe Feldman prefaced one comment by saying he didn’t want to be glib as he noted the clearest way schools could avoid Title IX scrutiny — “Treat women equitably, and then you can avoid Title IX scrutiny” — at which point fellow panelist Jessica Mendoza of ESPN playfully mimed her head exploding at the obvious but, too often, overlooked remedy.
Erika Barnes, the former executive senior associate director of athletics and SWA at Arizona, stopped Mendoza for a photo in front of the IAF stage. The two have a long history, playing softball together since they were teens.
JP Morgan’s Eric Menell and Frank Azzopardi of Davis Polk saw “The Wizard of Oz” at the Sphere on Tuesday night.
College Sports Commission CEO Bryan Seeley held meetings with roughly two-to-three dozen FBS athletic directors to discuss its work and the ongoing conversation around its participation agreement, which remains in mark-ups within the Power Four conferences.
The Power Four commissioners met this week in Las Vegas to discuss the College Football Playoff and the aforementioned participation agreement. The group has set a late-January deadline to make changes to the CFP field in order for it to take effect for next year.
The Pac-12 scheduled meetings on Monday in Vegas for their ADs in a deliberate pairing with IAF and NFF.
