Real estate developer Ted Segal, founder and president of EJS Group, is close to a deal to purchase MLS' Houston Dynamo and the NWSL's Houston Dash from majority owner Gabriel Brener for about $400 million, according to multiple people familiar with the transaction. Brener will reportedly maintain a minority stake in the Dynamo and Dash, as will most of the club's current minority owners, who include Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden and Golden Boy Promotions, Inc. founder Oscar De La Hoya. (Sportico)
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey confirmed that the conference distributed $23 million to each of its 14 member institutions by accessing future earnings from its media rights deal with The Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN to help offset the financial impact of the pandemic. The payments amount to more than half of the SEC's revenue distribution in 2019-20, when each school received $45.5 million, but Sankey said schools in the conference lost an average of $45 million in revenue this past academic year, with some programs losing as much as $70 million. (Sports Illustrated)
Duke University named Nina King, who chaired the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee this past season, its new athletic director effective Sept. 1, making her the first woman to hold the top job in Duke's athletic department. King, the school's senior deputy director of athletics for administration/legal affairs and chief of staff, will replace outgoing athletic director Kevin White. (ESPN)
COLLEGE SPORTS
NCAA to vote on NIL legislation June 22-23 The Athletic
The NCAA Division I Council is expected to vote on name, image and likeness (NIL) legislation in its June 22-23 meeting, "provided it is feasible to do so." The Council hopes to provide greater consistency in NIL opportunities nationwide for student-athletes since state laws become effective on or around July 1.
NCAA Division I Council approves reduced contact changes for preseason football The Athletic
The NCAA Division I Council approved a number of changes Wednesday that will reduce contact during the college football preseason. Among the approved amendments are: prohibiting drills that create unneeded contact; and reducing the number of contact practices from 21 to 18 (requiring at least seven helmet-only days and restricting full-pads days to nine).
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith gets contract extension Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch
Gene Smith is receiving a four-year contract extension that would keep him in place as the athletic director at Ohio State into 2026. The new agreement, which was obtained by The Dispatch, was approved Wednesday by a talent, compensation and governance committee of the university's board of trustees and a vote by the full board was scheduled for Thursday.
