Morning Buzz

Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby “plans to apply” for the NFL’s supplemental draft, a “stunning reversal in the saga over his eligibility.” Sorsby’s decision caps what had been an active legal day. The Big 12 filed for a federal injunction Monday morning for the “right to potentially discipline Sorsby under its rules.” The NCAA, separately, “asked an appeals court for an expedited resolution” to the local case, “requesting a decision on his eligibility to be made by the start of football season.” Jeffrey Kessler, an attorney for Sorsby, said that his legal team “plans to withdraw his lawsuit against the NCAA that sought an injunction for his eligibility.” Kessler said, “It is now moot, so we will withdraw it.” Kessler added that there are “no concerns about Sorsby being eligible for the supplemental draft” (ESPN.com, 6/15).

In a statement posted on social media, Texas Tech Board of Regents Chair Cody Campbell said the university “acted with the utmost integrity” throughout the entire process. Campbell said Sorsby and Texas Tech “stand on very solid and legitimate legal ground” but were faced with a June 22 deadline to enter the supplemental draft and “no practical way to resolve” all pending legal disputes and ensure his eligibility prior to that date. Campbell said Texas Tech “will not seek return of any payments already paid to Sorsby through his NIL agreements with the school” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/15).

Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has “signed a five-year contract extension,” according to sources cited by sports writer John Canzano. Sources added the new deal “matches the term of the league’s Grant of Rights and media-rights contracts,” which both run through June 30, 2031. The Pac-12’s presidents “voted unanimously to approve the extension” for Gould, and an announcement from the conference is “expected on Tuesday morning.” The newly reconstituted league begins officially on July 1 (JOHNCANZANO.com, 6/15). Gould’s previous deal was “slated to expire at the end of the month” (Ben Portnoy, SBJ).

Iran rallied for a 2-2 draw with New Zealand in front of an announced crowd of 70,108 Monday night at Los Angeles Stadium, but the team still “left frustrated by their fate on and off the field.” Following the match, FIFA officials “told reporters the Iranian team would only answer soccer questions,” but Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei “vented about more than the tie.” Speaking via a FIFA interpreter, he said, “I think perhaps our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.” Ghalenoei added the team “would immediately be flying back to Tijuana,” saying, “They said we have to leave immediately.” Ghalenoei: “We were supposed to stay until tomorrow lunchtime to recover.” Despite the challenges, Iran was backed by “a largely supportive crowd” (L.A. TIMES, 6/15). FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who attended the match, “went into the dressing room to speak to the team.” Asked what Infantino said in the dressing room, Iran F Mehdi Taremi said, “He just wants to help us. He said it’s the beginning of the World Cup now, and he will help us” (London TIMES, 6/16).

Hundreds of anti-regime protesters -- “mainly supporters of the former Shah -- gathered close to the stadium hours before the game to oppose the regime, and, in some cases, the team, too.” Inside the stadium, Iran was “missing a significant number of supporters.” FIFA recently withdrew about 1,000 tickets issued to the Iran federation after the U.S. Treasury Department “raised concerns that the sales would violate longstanding sanctions on doing business with Iran.” Still, Iran supporters “heavily outnumbered those of their opponents” (N.Y. TIMES, 6/16). The pregame atmosphere at Los Angeles Stadium was “considerably more tense than it was for the Americans’ opener Friday.” The police and security presence “was far more visible, too,” though there “didn’t appear to be many problems that escalated beyond verbal sparring” (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 6/15).

Iran had “threatened to halt matches if unofficial flags were brought ​in or slogans chanted.” But “numerous people carrying the lion-and-sun flag or wearing t-shirts with the symbol passed through security at the stadium without any ​issue” and the game “proceeded as planned” (REUTERS, 6/15).

In this World Cup’s “great convergence of 48 nations, one is conspicuously not receiving the same treatment as the other 47.” And however much Infantino “might try to posture as the ultimate peacemaker, he must surely see that the longer this problem persists, the graver the implications will be for his tournament’s integrity” (London TELEGRAPH, 6/16).

World Cup fans hoping to see two of the favorites to win the tournament are going to have to shell out plenty of dough. The get-in price for Tuesday’s France-Senegal match sits at $1,012, while Argentina-Algeria is currently at $893, per TicketData.com. The France-Senegal seats have not seen a major jump lately as the prices are up only 5% over the past three days and up 32% over the past seven. Argentina-Algeria prices are down 3% over the past three days and up 10% over the past seven. Tuesday’s match with the largest increases are Iraq-Norway, which at $528 is a 39% jump over the past three days and 82% increase over the past seven. Austria-Jordan will cost fans $393 to get in, a three-day increase of 22% and seven-day jump of 72%. SBJ has partnered with TicketData.com to track get-in prices and trends for upcoming games. For additional information on games, visit the World Cup page at TicketData.com.

In this episode of On Stage, Eric Shanks, CEO and Executive Producer of Fox Sports, joins Colin Cowherd, host of The Herd, for a candid conversation on leadership, media strategy and the enduring power of live sports. Recorded on April 15, 2026, at the CAA World Congress of Sports in Los Angeles, the discussion comes at a remarkable moment for Shanks and Fox Sports. As highlighted in a recent Sports Business Journal profile, Shanks has overseen some of the most significant moments in modern sports media -- from Super Bowls and World Cups to major rights acquisitions and the continued evolution of Fox’s sports portfolio.

Throughout the conversation, Shanks reflects on:

• Leading Through Big Moments: Lessons learned from managing some of the largest broadcasts and events in sports.  
• The Value of Live Sports: Why premium live content remains one of the most powerful assets in media.  
• Media’s Next Chapter: How audience behavior, streaming, and technology are reshaping the business.  
• Building Winning Teams: His leadership philosophy and approach to developing talent and culture inside Fox Sports.  
• The Future of Sports Storytelling: How broadcasters can continue to engage fans in an increasingly fragmented media environment.  

It’s an engaging discussion with one of the most influential executives in sports media, offering perspective on leadership, innovation, and the future of the industry.

For a deeper dive on Eric Shanks and his impact on the biggest moments in sports, check out this profile from SBJ’s finance reporter, Christopher Smith.

Angel City FC appointed Amy Taylor as CEO, effective July 27. Taylor, who brings three decades of experience across sports, consumer brands and media, will oversee all football, business and organizational operations. She takes over the role from team co-founder Julie Uhrman, who announced in January that she was stepping down and transitioning to an advisor role. Taylor joins the club from beverage company Zevia, where she served as CEO for five years. Taylor served as Dir of Game Operations for the Hawks from 1993-99, and in parallel produced events for the 1996 Atlanta Games. She then spent more than 20 years at Red Bull, rising to President and CMO for North America. She also represented Red Bull’s ownership interests in its MLS club, the N.Y. Red Bulls, and Red Bull Arena (Angel City FC).

Organizers of the 2028 L.A. Games are “working with the Trump administration to put on a tournament at the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles right before the Summer Games,” according to sources cited by POLITICO. The event will be what is known as a “pro-am” tournament and “is not expected to be an official Olympic event.” But it “is being considered as a high-profile kickoff to the Games in a sport and location that Trump values.” The prospect of holding a marquee Olympics-adjacent event at a golf course owned by the presidential family’s Trump Organization “highlights the extent to which organizers believe maintaining a productive relationship with the White House is essential to delivering a successful Games.” The actual golf competitions for LA28 are set to be held at Riviera Country Club in nearby Pacific Palisades (POLITICO, 6/16).

The Univ. of Oklahoma Board of Regents on Tuesday will “consider approving the issuance of bonds in an approximate amount” of $420M, which will “provide funding for the construction of student housing, parking and athletics projects -- a portion of which would go toward Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium master plan updates.” The board will meet at 9am ET at the OU Health Campus in Oklahoma City. The design for the west side stadium renovations “includes 47 suites, 64 loge boxes, approximately 4,000 new club seats and more improved fan amenities.” Regents will also consider authorizing a $2.3M purchase agreement with Opendorse, which “would provide the Sooners exclusive access to an NIL software platform” (OKLAHOMAN, 6/13).

Scorability, a college recruiting platform that started with football, is expanding its sports offering. The tool will now offer player evaluations for seven new sports: four on the women’s side (basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball) and three on the men’s (baseball, basketball and soccer).

Founded in 2023, Scorability positions itself as the LinkedIn of college recruiting, according to company co-founder & CEO Brian Cruver. Scorability creates profiles for college coaches, allowing them to scan through the millions of athletes hoping to be recruited. More than 225,000 football athletes are currently on the platform. Scorability is also used by more than 1,600 colleges, ranging from Power Four schools to junior colleges.

Initially for coaches, Scorability can now also be used by athletes (and their parents), with college programs prompting athletes to take mental assessments and get high school/club coaches to fill out assessments. With those features, it seeks to help coaches evaluate both on-field skill, but also other aspects like program fit and mental capability.

Scorability closed out 2025 with some significant financial moves. The startup announced a $40M funding round, which was led by Bluestone Equity Partners. A month later, the company acquired college sports camp organization platform Ryzer. That addition helped to expand its footprint across 1.2 million athletes.

Members of the NBA champion Knicks on Monday were featured on a “special championship episode dedicated to the team” on NBC’s “Tonight Show” with host Jimmy Fallon. Those present included G Jalen Brunson, F OG Anunoby, C Karl-Anthony Towns and coach Mike Brown, along with the rest of the team in studio. Fallon, a lifelong Knicks fan, “opened with a monologue” before filmmaker and director Spike Lee, also a lifelong Knicks fan, “crashed Fallon’s monologue to introduce” the team. It “sounded like Madison Square Garden inside the studio” as the team “walked out to ‘let’s go Knicks’ chants, confetti falling from the sky and the in-house band playing a cover of Queen’s ‘We Are the Champions’” (USA TODAY, 6/16).

Knicks President Leon Rose “sat amongst the crowd” with his wife, Donna, which “sparked constant ‘Thank you Leon’ cheers.” Fallon “briefly went into the crowd and asked Rose a few questions.” When Fallon “began taking questions from the fans, one actually had one for Rose -- how did he plan to keep this core together?” Rose “was true to form.” Looking at the couple of reporters in the attendance, he said, “You know I don’t talk to the media” (N.Y. POST, 6/15).

Meanwhile, Towns will be one of Seth Meyers’ guests on Tuesday’s episode of NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” while Anunoby “will be a first-time guest on the show” Wednesday (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/15).

Personalized nutrition app Hexis has raised a $2.1M seed round led by Apex Capital, which previously led its $2M pre-seed round in 2024. Also supporting the investment was Enterprise Ireland, ScaleX Investments and Sheffield United’s leading goal scorer, Patrick Bamford.

Hexis works with nearly 40% of Tour de France riders and 50% of Premier League clubs and is working to broaden its geographic reach with a particular focus on the US market. CEO David Dunne said the funding would support further product development and scaling.

“We very much want Hexis to be the global nutrition operating system for human performance,” said Dunne, who co-founded Hexis along with Sam Impey. “As sleep, as other areas of wearable tracking have evolved, nutrition has lagged behind because it’s a hard problem to solve, and it doesn’t require just a product team. It requires deep domain expertise, tacit knowledge, people that have been on the front line and have worked with hundreds and thousands of athletes and individuals across a range of environments and contexts.”

Hexis has multiple integrations with popular wearables and fitness apps such as Training Peaks, Apple Health, Fitbit, Garmin, Oura, Polar and, most recently, Whoop. It also syncs with enterprise trainings technologies such as Catapult and STATSports. Last year, the startup moved its headquarters from London to Dublin, where Enterprise Ireland has been a key supporter.

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