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Bragging rights game

I went to get braggin rights tickets today and basically they we are gone before they went on sale to public. I thought I saw something about they went on sale today to the public. Do they sell them to the universities before they go on sale to the public? Just asking because prices are crazy on ticket master

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My thoughts on the Portal + NIL

I'm not going to publish it as a front page story. It's exclusively for you guys.

Champaign -
Break out the Wild, Wild, West memes. It’s Portal season again, the annual chaos in college football when the “NIL” money flows and the depth charts go up in flames.

In a barrage of semi-comical posts to X (the platform formerly known as Twitter), athletes thank everyone in sight and announce that while they are a ____ for life (plug in your team’s nickname), they plan to enter their name into the Portal and are excited for what the future holds.

Illinois took its first hit on Thursday when starting running back Reggie Love announced that he intends to transfer after four season in Champaign. A former four-star recruit from St. Louis, Love led Illinois in rushing this season.

By all accounts, Love was a model citizen here. He was a tremendous representative of the university, and a leader and mentor of younger players. But now he’s gone, and it leaves you wondering why. If a level-headed athlete like Love gets caught up in transfer madness, then something is out of whack.

“I could see after my first year here that this time of year is kind of insanity,” head coach Bret Bielema said. “It’s a crazy world.”

Indeed it is, but you can’t blame athletes for participating in a system that they didn’t create to try to better their situation, both on and off the field. It’s their career and their life. Wish Reggie well and move on. He was one of my favorite players to cover.

No, this monster belongs to the power brokers who didn’t bother to ask if their creation was good for the long-term health of college sports. Nor did they regulate it to ensure that NIL actually means name, image, and likeness rather than pay to play. NIL + the Transfer Portal, in its current form, is a disaster.

If you want to pay college athletes to play, then pay them. Give them a share of the television revenue which is in great abundance. But let’s end the charade. The ambiguity surrounding NIL nurtures widespread rule-breaking. You can call it "tampering season" as much as Portal season.

Bielema told a story on Thursday of a player who he previously recruited who was looking to transfer. While waiting for the player to formally announce his intention to transfer and enter the Portal, the staff was informed that he already had 32 offers. Oops.

“It’s something we won’t do as coaches,” Bielema said. “It’s insanity. We do things by the book, but unfortunately a lot of the world doesn’t.”

And why would they? Cheaters prosper in college sports. Just ask Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who got a slap on the wrist from the Big Ten for a sign stealing scandal that would likely have ended the career of a coach at a lesser program.

But it’s Michigan. Rules are for the little people. And now all that stands in the way of the Wolverines and a trip to the College Football Playoffs is a date with heavy underdog Iowa on Saturday.

Many fans don’t seem to mind cheating as long as their team wins. Many of the faithful in Ann Arbor, including the fanboy media, actually portray Harbaugh as a victim of Big Ten commissioner Toni Petitti. Go Blue, and off with his head.

Volleyball Raina Terry named First Team All-Big Ten

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois volleyball's Raina Terry was named First Team All-Big Ten, the league announced on Thursday. This is the second-straight time Terry has been bestowed the honor.

Terry closed out her senior campaign leading the conference with 618 total points and finishing second with 539 total kills. The outside hitter's 4.69 kills per set ranked sixth nationally and second in the conference, while her 5.37 points per set were seventh in the country and second in the league. Terry tallied 13.18 attacks per set and 1,516 total attacks, both placing her third in the nation and atop the Big Ten.

During her reign of terror this season, Terry logged 10 matches with 20 or more kills, including seven against league opponents. The six-rotation outside hitter also registered three double-doubles this year. Terry paced the squad in kills during 28 of 30 matches in 2023.

In conference play alone, the senior placed second with 5.41 points per set and third with 4.72 kills per set. Terry also added 0.37 aces per set to rank 10th in the conference. The 28 strikes from the service line were fifth best in the league.

The Marengo, Ohio, native was the first player in the Big Ten to reach 500 kills this year, eclipsing the mark on her Senior Night in the Illini's match against Michigan (Nov. 18). In the Orange and Blue's contest at Ohio State, Terry posted a career-best 28 kills in just four sets against the Buckeyes.

After four years with the Illini, Terry sits 10th all-time with 1,634 career kills. She currently sits between AVCA All-America honorable mention Megan Cooney and 2020 Olympic gold medalist Michelle Bartsch-Hackley. Terry is also fourth all-time with 164 career aces. She is the only active player in the Big Ten with over 1,500 kills and 150 aces.

Terry is the 13th Illini player to take home multiple first team accolades. She is the first player to earn the award in back-to-back seasons since Jacqueline Quade, who earned the distinction in 2018 and 2019.

Additionally, Kennedy Collins was selected as the Fighting Illini's Sportsmanship Award winner.

Collins closed out her five-year career with the Illini in 2023. The middle blocker recorded 475 blocks, including 426 block assists. Both marks rank eighth all-time in the Illinois record books. The Zion, Ill., native played in 131 matches during her career, tallying 933 kills and a .304 hitting percentage.
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