Welcome to the summer edition of Panther Bites, the Daily Eastern News’ sports newsletter!
If you take away one thing from this newsletter, be sure it is the number 265 thousand.
Read on to find out why.
What happens next?
Every year for the next decade, Eastern will lose roughly $265 thousand to the NCAA. Those funds will be used to pay off a $2.75 billion dollar settlement offered to former student athletes who couldn’t profit from recent NCAA rule changes.
Every Division I university will pay a portion of this settlement, yet, for a smaller school like Eastern, $265 thousand is quite the pretty penny. 2% of Eastern’s annual athletics budget (roughly $14 million) will be diverted towards the settlement.
The kicker: No former athletes from Eastern are getting paid, and Eastern had no representation during settlement negotiations.
As a result, the Ohio Valley Conference (Eastern’s athletic conference) sent a letter of concern to the NCAA, which cite eliminating coaches, cutting sports and limiting championships as a way to recoup the lost funds.
According to Eastern’s athletic director Tom Micheal, the way forward is foggy.
It is important to note that the settlement has not yet been approved. The NCAA is still awaiting a go ahead from Judge Claudia Wilken. There is still a chance that the terms of the settlement might change.
Until then, limbo.
Micheal said it’s a little too early to think about what (or who) could be affected by budget cuts. There’s no point in creating a new budget accounting for the funds lost, if the funds being lost is subject to change in the near future.
The OVC’s letter heavily emphasized the need for a new system where smaller schools shoulder less of the burden. As it stands right now, Eastern would lose roughly $2.6 million over the next ten years, which is, again, around 2% of the athletics budget every year.
For more, click this link for a deep dive into this legal nightmare.
moving on to less existential news…
Eastern’s softball coach to reunite with father
On June 20, Gerry Glasco, seven-year University of Louisiana softball coach, announced his departure for Texas Tech.
From 2018 to 2024, Glasco and the Ragin’ Cajuns saw sustained success in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). He led Louisiana to four SBC championships and five SBC regular season titles.
At Texas Tech, Glasco is commanding a program that is just barely keeping its head above water. Last year, the Red Raiders finished eighth out of 10 in the BIG 12.
2012 was the last year Texas Tech had a positive record in conference play. They went 13-10.
Fortunately for Glasco, he will not have to complete a program turn-around on his own. Eastern’s softball coach of five-years, Tara Archibald, will be stepping down and joining her father’s staff for the 2025 season.
Archibald is leaving Charleston after a historic 40-17 season, tied for most wins in school history since Eastern’s move into Division I. Her team earned the no. 1 seed in the OVC Softball Championship, finishing the season as runners up to Southeast Missouri State (SEMO).
For more, check out this article.
Stories to check out
Eastern’s athletic department has been somewhat active during this “off” season. Here are some of the highlights.
Tony Romo, Jimmy Garoppolo, Sean Payton and Mike Shanahan all made a pilgrimage back to their alma mater. The Eastern’s NFL alumni spoke on the state of college football while in Charleston.
Senior long jumper Ramsey Hunt represented Eastern’s Track and Field team at Nationals, where he finished 10th. Hunt was 0.62 meters off of first place, taken by JC Stevenson, Sophomore from USC. Nevertheless, the Nationals entry was exciting
QB1 Pierce Holley spoke on summer training in a Q&A with the Daily Eastern News’ very own sports editor, Zaria Flippin.
Shout out to Lindenwood University, a fellow OVC school with the most rugby players drafted into United States Major League Rugby (USMLR) with 17. They have, by far, the most players drafted. Second place had 8.
Sophomore sports reporter Chloe Proffit provided some insight on how both men’s and women’s soccer trains for their upcoming fall season.
Speaking of…
Unpacking the 2024 soccer schedule
Eastern’s 2024 soccer schedule for both men’s and women’s has been released.
The women open their season with an exhibition match at the University of Illinois on August 5. The men take a somewhat calmer route with their first match being an exhibition at Illinois-Springfield.
For more insight, I called on the DEN’s very own soccer beat reporter, Gabe Newman. He handled some of the finer details of the 2024 season.
At first glance, is there a rough stretch that pops out when looking at the schedule?
Gabe:
There’s always injuries and stuff like that, which can play a role down the road. Any game against SIUE for the men’s side will be tough. On the women’s side, they are pretty good too, but Morehead state won the tournament.
The men play six consecutive away games, they don’t play a single home game in September. So, September 4 at Evansville, September 17 at Wright State, September 24 at Bowling Green, and then they open up conference play with three on the road. September 28 at Southern Indiana, October 3 at SIUE and October 6 at Lindenwood.
Is there a home game for both men’s and women’s that Eastern fans should show out to?
Gabe:
Pretty much any conference game, those are pretty good. On the men’s side, the Southern Indiana game at home should be a win. For whatever reason, Eastern had Lindenwood’s number last year. That’s a Halloween game at home, and that’s also the second to last game of the season. That could be a real important one in terms of qualifying for the tournament.
The women are at home on October 20 against UT-Martin. Both teams have their last three conference games at home, so any one of those three last games are probably going to have a lot of implications whether it be qualifying for the tournament or seeding.
Who are some players to look out for next fall?
Gabe:
Sam Eckles is returning, he’s for sure returning. He’s the striker. I thought he’d leave, but he didn’t. Chad Smith is a real good goalie, he got really hot at the end of the year. Those two are good for the men’s side of things.
For the women, Ella Kratochvil is still there. Elisa Solis is a quality defender. I would say, Abby Reinl and Carys Grieve, both forwards. Reinl set a record for Sheboygan North high school in Wisconsin her senior year, and she was a freshman stand out last year. Grieve is the creative midfielder. She’s listed as a forward, but she kind of drops back and helps create as well.
Photo of the summer
Eastern has been using its athletic facilities to host various summer camps. Cross Country finished up their summer camp in the final week of June. On June 30, the campers ran a traditional relay with an untraditional baton:
Here is Plainfield North senior Caden Hockman, holding a banana (baton) in his mouth as he closes on the final leg of the relay.