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Three of college athletics’ “Power Five Conferences” are aligning in response to the SEC’s expansion this summer to protect the collegiate model. This agreement is “among three gentlemen and a commitment from 41 presidents and chancellors and 41 athletic directors to do what we say we’re going to do.”


The Big Ten, ACC, and Pac-12 will unite together now that Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners will be added to the SEC in 2025. As Oklahoma and Texas leave, the Big 12 has now changed to the Big 10. After the Southeastern Conference made an expansion by inviting Texas and Oklahoma, three of the SEC’s Power Five peers countered with the creation of an alliance of 41 schools that span from Miami to Seattle.


“And to the three of us, we felt the stabilization of the current environment, across Division I and FBS — in Power Five in particular — this was a chance for a new direction, a new initiative that I don’t think has ever been done before.” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips stated.


Kevin Warren of the Big Ten stated that he hoped bringing the three conferences together would provide stability. “There is turbulence right now in college athletics.… There is a lot of work to be done,” he said.


The commissioner of the Pac-12, George Kliavkoff says their agreement would allow them to hit a reset button and deal with the current challenges in college sports such as academic and athletic excellence.



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Image courtesy of BIG3.com

Written by Kiara Desirai




It’s always a good day when it comes to Ice Cube’s innovative mindset.


In 2017, the BIG3 was introduced by none other than O'Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. While in its fourth year the league has been implementing marketing and media coverage like no other with the main focus being entertainment.


BIG3 is a professional 3-on-3 basketball league. Each year 12 teams are chosen to play on a half-court. Three on three basketball is considered the best form of basketball with a little streetball added to the mix, it’s faster, shorter and more exciting.


The NBA should be scared because this is a dope concept.



This is great marketing for retirees who want to continue building their brand. Many kids weren’t old enough to see icons such as Allen Iverson, or Joe Johnson. Now they can but with a formal introduction to the newer generation.


Creating a Black owned sport was a genius idea. The league's niche consists of a large live crowd and TV ratings with lots of press.


"The only way to really do this is to project that we believe it's a different thing. So now instead of being a different version of a playground game, it's something that's new and fresh," Co-founder Kwatinetz said. "We're never going to be the best of what we do as a niche sport. We're never going to be better than the NBA, but in the same way cricket and baseball or rugby and football [coexist], you don't have to be better than the other to be different."


The BIG3 partnered with Taco Bell, CBS, and Verizon as well as Triller for digital media. This will include 30 hours of live game coverage at no charge with the app and provide exclusive coverage of the all-star game.


Verizon acts as an associate sponsor of YOUNG3, BIG3's youth program that provides children in local communities with the opportunity to enrich their lives through the game of 3-on-3 basketball and provide custom social media content across BIG3’s owned and operated channels.


"BIG3's intersection of sports, music and entertainment make them a unique and powerful partner," said Rachel Chan, Director of Media, Strategy & Activation, Verizon.


The organization made some change over the past few years by lowering the minimum age from 27 to 22. They didn’t want the league to be boxed in as a retiring league so they accommodated and opened the league to all nonprofessional and professional athletes. Which introduced FIREBALL where they will hold tryouts to welcome the qualifying athletes.


“They’re treating these athletes like they was nobody,” Ice Cube told The Associated Press. “That ain’t cool. You cheered for them. You pretended like you loved them when they were part of the NBA. When they get in a different league, you’re acting like they don’t exist? What kind of (stuff) is that? One day soon, you’ll respect the league.”


The BIG3 has introduced a completely new sport known as FIREBALL3 which include unique rules in the league such as the 4-point shot and 14-second shot clock. Teams can also challenge a foul with “Bring the Fire.”


WNBA Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie joined on as one of the head coaches leading the Triplets to a league-best 7-1 regular season record.

Recently former Oakland Raiders executive Amy Trask joined BIG3 as the CEO. This could mean a possible collaboration with football players participating in the league at the first opportunity.

The groundbreaking league was created for the love of basketball and has nothing to do with the NBA, nothing about the league is similar, making it a powerful and legendary force to be reckoned with. It’s kind of like having All-Star Weekend for months.


With mental health being a major focus lately, the organization encourages and supports mental health for all players and plans to “create a culture where BIG3 players feel confident and empowered to address mental health issues.”


Not too long ago, Kanye West made an appearance at one of the games showing that this brilliant league is on to something.


Ice Cube was on a mission and executed. The BIG3 will be amazing for years to come and it will be great for basketball fans during the summer, in the off-season.


Can’t wait to see the league expand as well as the brand!





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The ladies and gentlemen chose Black excellence in every category for the Tokyo Olympics trials. Sha’Carri Richardson, Allyson Felix, Trayvon Bromell, Quanera Hayes, Christina Clemons from Track & Field as well as Simone Biles, Simone Manuel, the men’s NCAA 4×400 Championship relay team, and many more that succeeded to the Tokyo Olympics this past week.


We saw the unapologetic Sha’Carri Richardson excel at what she does best, in the Track and Field category making her one of the fastest women in U.S. sprinting history alongside the iconic Flo Jo. During the Olympic trials Richardson ran top speed at 10.86 which was one of the Top 10 fastest times in history, and missed Florence Griffith Joyner’s world record by 0.24.


Allyson Felix has been competing for some time now and now this is her time to shine. This is her fifth time competing for Team USA. Felix finished second with a time of 50.02 seconds in the 400m to clinch her fifth trip to the Summer Olympics.


Felix also endured a lot to get to this year’s Olympics with her pregnancy as well as Nike’s attempt to cut her pay by 70% when she returned to the track, and the company declining to protect her pay, if her post-pregnancy performances were not up to par. Through it all she succeeded and is now joining the many others in their Tokyo Olympics journey.



Then there were the North Carolina A&T State University who made history at the NCAA Track and Field Championships landing them a spot in the Tokyo Olympics. Akeem Sirleaf, Trevor Stewart, Daniel Stokes, and Randolph Ross ran the 4×400-meter relay. Sophomore Randolph Ross Jr finished with a 44.74 time and senior Trevor Stewart finished with a 44.90, where graduate student Akeem Sirleaf and junior Daniel Stokes will run for Liberia and Mexico.



The 24-year-old swimmer Simone Manuel also secured her spot with a major comeback for the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo by winning the 50-meter freestyle by -0.01 seconds. Manuel was previously diagnosed with overtraining syndrome back in March while experiencing symptoms that could have hindered her performance through trails. She fought a huge battle and ultimately made herself and the U.S. proud.




The Olympics will begin Friday, July 23rd where we will see all of this phenomenal individuals compete.




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