What’s it worth to shut up a supposed partner?

That’s not rhetorical. It’s a real question the ACC must consider — especially now, after news broke late Tuesday night that the league and its noisiest two schools, Florida State and Clemson, are discussing a proposal wherein both universities would drop their lawsuits against the conference. All the ACC has to do to make that so?

Oh, you know. Nothing too wild. Just adjust its revenue formula (again), embrace another unequal distribution model and funnel as many dollars as possible to its schools 1) with the biggest brand values and 2) that drive the most television viewership …

Aka, the two schools actively suing the league.

During a regularly scheduled meeting of ACC presidents and chancellors on Tuesday, there were discussions (among other topics) about alternate revenue models, a person briefed on the meeting confirmed. Hours after that meeting, ESPN and Yahoo! Sports both reported that FSU and Clemson would be open to staying in the league if financial adjustments — more like concessions — are made. Gee, how kind of them.

Then there’s the second part to Clemson and FSU’s supposed pitch, reported by ESPN: potentially shortening the league’s grant of rights, possibly to 2030, which aligns with the expiration…

On Jan. 19, two days after he became the most coveted football player in the NCAA’s transfer portal, and mere hours after he welcomed Ohio State coaches for a recruiting visit, Caleb Downs announced his change-of-address plans. The freshman safety who’d earned second-team All-America honors at Alabama committed to the Buckeyes. Not long after, Downs and his father began relocating to Columbus.

Getting there was simple enough. Getting around was another matter.

Some wheels needed to be put in motion.

“I get a call from someone on the coaching staff and they said, ‘Hey, I’m here with Caleb and his dad now. Are you looking to add somebody else to your team?’” says Rick Ricart, the CEO and owner of Ricart Automotive Group in Columbus. “Would you be willing to do a car deal for him?’”

For decades, these were shifty conversations. Local car dealerships had long been conduits for the whispered inducements coaches or boosters promised talented players. When discovered, scandal erupted. Repercussions were often stark. Then came the seismic summer of 2021, when changes to Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rules allowed college athletes to earn money without fear of NCAA sanctions.

Car dealers nationwide quickly exchanged leases and keys for players boasting about their new…

(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)

During the season in this space, we often like to begin with a bit of pop culture or history or some other random bit of nonsense unrelated to college basketball. So, uh, is it OK if we just do that for the entirety of this final installment?

Because we’re going to be totally transparent here. For the first time in six years of making mock brackets for The Athletic, we go into Selection Sunday with no earthly idea of what the selection committee is going to do. Oh, sure, there are always small surprises, but for the most part, the field is obvious except for maybe one slot.

Not this year. After one of the wildest Championship Week Saturdays we can remember, which included two power-conference bid thieves and a still-hard-to-believe outcome in the American, we find ourselves utterly confused by the bubble. And whether North Carolina will hold on to that final No. 1 seed or if surging Iowa State will take it. At least we’re not alone:

Been doing this since 2006. It’s never been this hard for the committee, not only because of how close so many of these teams are, but because of the…

In an open letter published Monday, the NAACP urged Black college athletes to “reconsider any potential decision” to attend a public university in Florida following last week’s news that the University of Florida is eliminating its Diversity and Inclusion office.

The Gainesville university’s decision came in response to a law signed last year by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which prohibits the state’s public universities from using state or federal dollars for diversity programs or activities. In a March 1 memo, the university announced it would eliminate 13 roles, including the chief diversity officer, and reallocate $5 million it was spending on DEI initiatives.

Monday’s letter, signed by NAACP board chairman Leon W. Russell and president and CEO Derrick Johnson, is addressed to NCAA President Charlie Baker and current and prospective college athletes. It predicts that “while the University of Florida may be the first, it won’t be the last.”

Six public Florida universities — Florida, Florida State, Central Florida, South Florida, Florida Atlantic and Florida International — compete at the FBS level.

“Florida’s rampant anti-Black policies are a direct threat to the advancement of our young people and their ability to compete in a global economy,”…

(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)

Power conferences understandably dominate discussion, particularly Bubble Watch talk, this time of year. All the teams fighting in the middle, yearning for resume-supplementing wins, provide some of the most notable matchups and storylines.

However, it’s worth pausing and noting some of the more under-the-radar seasons in the country, especially the programs that we are trending toward hearing about in March. I can think of few teams more deserving of that mention than Marshall.

The Thundering Herd are 20-6, a standout record on its own but even more notable when recognizing this is the first time since the 2016 season they have eclipsed the 20-win mark and just the second time since they left the Southern Conference in 1997. This is West Virginia native Kim Caldwell’s first season at the helm in Huntington. She led her alma mater, DII Glenville State, for seven seasons, including a national championship in 2022. In her first foray as a head coach at the highest level of collegiate basketball, something special is brewing.

Find it your local newspaper #WeAreMarshall

(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s & women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)

The college season has been defined by stellar play in the youth of the game, with true freshmen piecing together some of the best collegiate seasons we’ve seen in basketball history. That’s unlikely to change as we head into March, as many of the top freshmen headline teams ripe to make runs in the NCAA Tournament.

Who are the freshmen going under the radar you need to know about who could make a splash in March?

Syracuse has been a superb watch this season, led by silky scorer Dyaisha Fair. Syracuse has a 41.1 percent offensive rebound rate, the fifth highest rate in the NCAA, according to CBB Analytics. More than 20 percent of the Orange’s total points scored come from second-chance opportunities.

Enter Alyssa Latham. The 6-foot-2 freshman has started the majority of the season for Syracuse and embodies the principles that have spurred on coach Felisha Legette-Jack’s team. Latham hustles like a sixth-year grad student, attacking the glass with a ferocity, blocking shots with tenacity and racking up mileage like few bigs can. Her offensive game is still unearthing, but she’s shown…

College softball is back. The season begins Thursday with a flurry of preseason tournaments, including the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge kicking everything off with a matchup between reigning champion Oklahoma and Utah Valley at 11:30 a.m. ET.

It all leads up to the Women’s College World Series, which begins May 30 and features the eight top teams in Oklahoma City. The final two will play a best-of-three series, with the national champion crowned on June 6 or June 7.

Before the action begins, here’s The Athletic’s preseason college softball top 25. Final 2023 rankings are based on the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25.

1. Oklahoma (2023 final rank: No. 1)

The Sooners are vying for their fourth consecutive national championship — and they’re well-equipped to do it. Oklahoma returns four first-team All-Big 12 selections from last season: INF Tiare Jennings, P Nicole May, C Kinzie Hansen and INF Jayda Coleman, the reigning conference player of the year. Though ace Jordy Bahl transferred to Nebraska, coach Patty Gasso struck gold in the transfer portal with the addition of Kelly Maxwell, a former Oklahoma State pitcher who led the Cowgirls to three consecutive WCWS appearances and shared 2022 Big 12 pitcher of the year honors with Bahl.

2. Stanford (No. 3)

The Cardinal are…

You’ve seen the three letters: NIL.

You’ve heard the buzz these three letters have caused around college sports, read headlines about universities filing lawsuits against the NCAA on the issue and watched commercials of athletes like LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne tumbling while wearing Vuori joggers or USC quarterback Caleb Williams drinking Dr. Pepper.

But what does NIL — “name, image and likeness” — encompass, and why is the line between what’s within the rules and what isn’t so difficult to discern?

Here’s a breakdown of the acronym that has changed college sports:

What is NIL? How’d we get to this point in college sports?

NIL stands for “name, image and likeness” and has become the universal shorthand for college athletes’ ability to become paid endorsers and monetize their success outside of their school-funded scholarships and benefits. Before July 1, 2021, college athletes were not permitted to receive profits from their name, image and likeness. Since then … a lot has happened.

That summer, in response to pressure from laws passed by state legislatures that permitted varying levels of NIL activity, the NCAA created an interim NIL policy: For schools in states with laws on the books, the state law would guide them; otherwise, schools could set their…

This offseason, the NCAA allowed college basketball coaching staffs to add two coaches to their rosters. Though these coaches can’t participate in off-campus recruiting, they can coach the players, and that’s a win-win: More coaches get opportunities on the sideline, and more players get direct attention in practices and games. (Hey, way to go, NCAA!)

This means there are roughly 1,500 assistants in women’s college basketball. And no, not all of them will go on to become head coaches. And frankly, some of them don’t want to. But many are gleaning as much as they can in their roles so that if the call comes, they’re ready to run a program as a first-time head coach.

Through conversations with coaches and trusted women’s college basketball insiders across the country, I’ve identified some of those rising stars. I did the same in 2020 and 2021 (not to break my arm patting myself on the back, but …), and from those lists, roughly half are running their own programs.

So, I’m hitting like Caitlin Clark pulling up from 3 on the left wing here, and I’m hoping I don’t have a heat check anytime soon.

As always, these are the parameters: These are coaches who have never led their own NCAA programs. I’ve done my best not to repeat coaches who’ve been on previous…

The biggest story in the basketball world this week was Tara VanDerveer officially claiming her status as the winningest coach in college basketball history. The last time VanDerveer had a coaching milestone, the occasion of passing Pat Summitt as the winningest coach in women’s basketball was commemorated in an empty arena during the pandemic season. Although Vanderveer said she appreciated the intimacy of celebrating with only her players in 2020, it was fitting that this record-breaking win came in front of a packed house at Maples Pavilion, with the exuberance of the crowd meeting the magnitude of the moment.

GO DEEPER

Thompson: Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer’s historic milestone deserves historic honor

VanDerveer’s milestone was almost put on hold by the second-biggest story in college basketball this week — a recent spate of high-profile injuries. Stanford star Cameron Brink missed most of the Cardinal’s game against Oregon earlier in the weekend and was ruled out shortly before the historic win against Oregon State. Fellow All-American Ayoka Lee of Kansas State had ankle surgery and will be out for at least one month. Then, Georgia Amoore took an elbow to the head during Virginia Tech’s loss to Duke and sat out Sunday against Clemson — the first time she…