What Does 5 for 5 mean for Cards WBB? -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 NCAA CAN'T MAKE UP THEIR MIND ON ELGIBILITY

Maybe you are asking what is "Five for five?" 

My brain went back to my childhood, when the DJ on the radio station would smoothly purr out..."Hey, we got another five hits in a row coming up for you here on W$#%...it's five for five , Louisville ." Or when we all started replacing handshakes with the words "Gimme five". high five and slapping hands. Which led to, "on the back side" and other such nonsense. like "high five or low five". 

If six were nine Watch the clip

It's also not like a sale on canned chili...you won't find five student-athletes available for five bucks available at your local Stop N Putt. 

What it is...is the current NCAA eligibility mode...which gives college athletes five years to play five seasons. It also give student-athlete a fifth year to transfer to another school if they choose. It used to be four years and you are done, but there were so many ways around that, like injuries and hardship and "Gee, I lost my homework on the way to Economics" excuse, "better grant me an extra year." The 5 for 5 replaced the 5 for 4. If six were nine...and it's 25 or 6 to 4.  

25 or 6 to 4  Watch the clip

For Cards WBB? It's means Carys Baker and Elif Istanbulluoglu could possibly return next year after this year. Both are probable high minute candidates for the squad this season...so that may not be a bad thing. After all...talent is going to play, while backups watch away. 

It took me five years to matriculate UofL , but I was working full time and could not take a full load some semesters. So, since college student-athletes could be considered "working" with all the time they put into practice, playing games, travel and such...the rule for five rule works. 

After the NCAA implemented the five for five rule, restricting athletes who had already exhausted eligibility from receiving another year of college sports...legal battles followed. A judge in the DIstrict Court of Colorado intervened and granted athletes a fifth year. 

As usual, when the NCAA is involved in something, it takes five people to light one match. One to hold the match, one to guide the hand to the striking surface, one to confirm the match is lit or unlit, one to review the previous action and one to yell when the match burns the fingers. 

Have a great Saturday. You have my permission to take five minutes to do something you might normally do in four. And listen to some Hendrix or Chicago.

paulie

Lark, Jean and Ulrich in NCAA Championships -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS WOMEN'S ATHLETES VYE FOR FIELD EVENTS TITLES

The NCAA  2024 Outdoor Track and Field Chapuonships begin today in Eugene OR and three UofL women's track and field student-athletes will participate in four different events, beginnng Thursday.

Soledan Jean, Payton Ulrich and Natalie Lark are the Cards going for the wins. 

Lark will compete in the pole vault and that event gets under way Thursday night at 9:00 PM ET. She earned her berth with a runner up vault in theA CC Championships. The 4.27m (14 feet) mark she hit  is her personal best. She is seeded 22nd in the NCAA Championships. 

Also on Thursday night, Jayden Ulrich will compete in the first of her two events...the shot put. She is seeded fourth in the qualifiers, after she won in the ACC Championships. Her openng throw was 18.66m (61-2.75) and it was the best of the day among the participants. The shot put throws will begin around 10:45 p.m. 

Two more women's events on Saturday will include Cards Soledad Jean in the high jump and Ulrich's second event...the discus. 

Jean set a personal best in the  NCAA East Regionals with a leap of 1.84m (6.04). She is only the third Cardinals women's track and firld atudent-athlete in history to ever clear six feet. She's seeded 15th for the contest, set to start at 5 p.m. ET. It is her first ever visit to the NCAA Championships. 

Ulrich follows on Saturday in her second event, the discus, She is seeded fuurth in the event...fter win in the  Pacific Coast Invitational and her personal best of 64.29m (210-11)qualified her formthe Championhips

All events can be seen on various outlets of the ESPN network...you can check GoCards for the direct links. 

Best of luck to all our Cardinals participating in Eugene!

paulie

Card Earns Post-Grad Scholarship -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

With the Bats in town, Daryl is otherwise indisposed pressing buttons at Slugger Field. In the case of Thursday's game, those buttons probably included "seek shelter" due to the thunderstorms that rolled in. At any rate, I'm feeling well enough to get back into these pages as I'm just about fully recovered from my first bout with Covid (nearly 900 days before I finally got got), so you'll get me today and tomorrow.

Michaela Dukes Named NCAA Post-Grad Scholar

Every year the NCAA hands out 126 postgraduate scholarships: 21 each to men and women from the three collegiate sports seasons. The scholarship is a one-time $10,000 award granted to a student-athlete continuing their education in an accredited graduate program. Any student-athlete who has graduated is eligible to be nominated by their school for selection. In addition to athletic and academic performance, community service, leadership, and other extracurricular categories are evaluated to determine the recipients.

This year, Michaela Dukes was named as one of the awardees. Dukes is a Kentucky native on the rowing team who graduated with a degree in Health and Human Performance / Biology. She was named to the Dean's List twice and was named a Dean's Scholar in six other semesters. In 2020-2021, Dukes was named to the All-ACC Academic Rowing team. Athletically, Dukes competed on the V8 boat for the Cards. She was on the crew that placed sixth in the Grand Final at the ACC Championships and picked up multiple victories during the season. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

How solid is the ACC? -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 IS THE CONFERENCE STRONG AS THE SHUFFLING GOES ON? 

(Case is out sick today, so you get a Paulie article today, you lucky kids...) 

Fall 2022 in "life in the ACC" should be some interesting times. As other conferences knock and "huff and puff" at the conference's door, wooing Clemson, Notre Dame and other ACC powers, where people wonder if the ACC should fire a pre-emptive strike and bring in a powerhouse school or two, and the Big12 reacts to being raided...how does the conference we joined in 2014 look?

First off, we are the newest member of the 15-team ACC conference, the "junior" in the family, but arguably the most successful athletic program in the ACC since we've joined. I can remember playing in the Missouri Valley Conference...where only Drake and Bradley remain as members when we were in there...and Cincinnati, Memphis and St, Louis were our big rivals. 

Our "bouncing around" to the Metro, C-USA, Big East and AAC hasn't seemed to affect our excellence in athletics too much. The real question is: Has Louisville reached the pinnacle of conferences to be involved in? Is it an SEC world and we're all just living in it, or can a revamped Big12, Big 10, Pac 12, and ACC square off toe-to-toe with the SEC. 

In women's sports, which is what we cover, but, sadly -- pretty much a non-factor in conference-realignment figuring -- I think the Louisville women's sports programs could hold their own and rise to the top in any conference out there. WBB, Field Hockey and Volleyball obviously leading the way -- with swimming right behind them and soccer, softball and lacrosse showing huge growth potential. 

Sadly, it is not women's sports that determines a conference change-over or re-alignment. We all know the SEC didn't include Oklahoma because of women's soccer or Texas because of softball. The women's sports become "passengers, not drivers" in schools jumping to new conferences. Was Maryland Field pleased when the Terps joined the Big 10 in 2014? Probably not, in terms of quality of in-conference competition originally...but the Big 10 schools knew they had to get stronger in Field Hockey to compete with the Terps and they did. Six Big 10 schools were atop the DI Field Hockey RPI's in late November. 1-6 they were, with Liberty 7th and Louisville 8th. 

The SEC would undoubtedly love to raid Clemson, Notre Dame and maybe even FSU to add strength to their football contingents. South Carolina and Florida would probably howl at this move (just like Kentucky would growl if the SEC courted Louisville) . When (and where) does iy end , though?  Does it all eventually become five conferences, with subdivisions, for the 350 DI schools? And, would we join the SEC if asked? After all, they DON'T play Field Hockey or Lacrosse. OK, they're not huge money makers, but they have a strong and loyal fan base here....plus two quality and highly regarded coaches.  

And, what kind of role will the NCAA play in future shuffling and changes?  Could there be a "power of 64" schools that pull away from the NCAA, form their own jurisdiction and governing body and create their own schedules, opponents and conference alignments? Yes, dear reader, the almighty dollar xould be the main underlying factor here.  

 It makes sense, this super-alignment of powerful schools' athletic programs. Surely Louisville (and Kentucky) would be a part of it, maybe WKU as well. 

Remember when?

But, I think the ACC is safe and solid (for now). I'd like to see an expansion to 16 teams (invite WVU and they'd come running) and create a solidarity where "invading conferences" would have to pay humongous amounts of money to raid the ACC and leaving schools pay a bunch, too, to leave. 

STAY TUNED, though. This is a horse race where five contenders are all within a length of each other as they turn for the stretch. Throw in the big factor (money) and simmer slightly until you're ready to serve.  

What are your thoughts on the ACC? Sound off in our comments section, if you've got a "take". 

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

Looks like there will be three of us on the podcast today, with Case out sick and Daryl busy at work. And, Jared is still recovering from "the COVID" so we'll see how effective he is. I'm OK and I'm guessing Jeff is (as of 10:30 a.m.) 

Join us at 11 a.m. today. Go to THIS LINK to listen.

paulie 

FH and WSoc face BC -- VB vs Va Tech -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Friday, Louisville fans!

I hope everyone is finding some fun fall things to get into this season. Fall sports, trips to Huber's, pumpkin carving and haunted houses. You know, the whole nine. I'm trying to figure out what I would like to carve my pumpkin into this weekend. I usually venture to attempt something Louisville themed... big surprise.

Some exciting personal news this week, I became an Aunt Thursday morning!! I look forward to meeting my nephew this weekend.  His father is a that team down the road fan... you bet your bottom that I will be doing my darnedest to keep that kid in a red onesie!   

Jared gave you the rundown on this weekend's events with a little preview in yesterday's edition of Cardinal Couple. The Field Hockey Cardinals look to start a new winning streak when they visit #12 Boston College this afternoon. The Volleyball Cards are on the road looking for a couple ACC wins to improve on their championship campaign.  Women's Soccer Cards has lost 3 of the last 4 matches by a score of 9-3.

FIELD HOCKEY - 1PM

Watch on ACCNX

Friday's game at #12 Boston College will mark the ninth top-25 opponent the Cardinals have faced this season. Louisville is 6-2 in those games with its only loss coming at the hands of then #2 (and current #1) Iowa on Sept. 19 and #2 Michigan on Oct. 10.  The Iowa loss also marked the first time the Cardinals were shut out since March 27, 2021 when Louisville fell 1-0 at then #16 Boston College.

The Cards lead the series with the eagles 5-4. The last meeting (3/27/2021), BC won 1-0 in Chestnut Hill in the spring season.  In the fall matchup, the Cardinals prevailed 2-1 at Trager Stadium on 10/4/2020.

WOMENS SOCCER - 4PM

Watch on ACCNX

Boston College enters Friday's match at Lynn Stadium with a 6-7-1 overall record and they are 0-6 in ACC play. In their six ACC games, they have been outscored 15-3. They are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to #5 North Carolina that saw them take a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute before UNC scored late in the 88th and 98th minutes for the victory. Louisville is 3-3 all-time against Boston College and 2-1 at Lynn Stadium.

Weather could be a factor today for the Kickin' Cards. Rain and thunderstorms are forecast for this afternoon -- we could have the dreaded "Oh,no ! -- there's lightning -- clear the field and wait 30 minutes" scenario. And, it's a double header to boot, the men are supposed to play after the women. Let's hope the elements don't interfere. 

VOLLEYBALL - 6PM 

Watch on ACCNX

UofL holds the series lead over Virginia Tech 24-4.  The last time the two teams met in 2019, the Hokies got the win 3-1 over the #23 Cardinals. It was VTs first win over the Cards since 1992. The series dates back to 1980. Junior Logan Mosley leads the ACC in total digs with 292 and is third in the ACC in digs per set with 4.11. Senior Angel Robinson is fourth in total blocks with 74 and also sits at 55th nationally. Tasha Vipond has also had a hand in the Hokie block with 63 total, good for 9th in the ACC.

                                                 *********

In other 'news'.... the NCAA pretending to do something... 

The Division I Women's Basketball Committee and the Division I Women's Basketball Oversight Committee on Thursday voted unanimously on a proposal that would expand the Division I Women's Basketball Championship field from 64 to 68 teams, effective immediately.

 

The proposal will now advance for consideration by governance committees. A final determination is expected by mid-November.
Since 2015, the format for the women's basketball tournament has provided the top 16 overall seeded teams with the opportunity to host the first- and second-round games at their home venues.

 

Under the proposed 68-team format for 2022, the opening-round games of the women's tournament would take place at four of those top 16 seeds' sites.

Starting with the 2023 tournament, the opening round would be hosted at one predetermined neutral site.

We will delve more into this topic on Saturdays recording as well as the results of these games, but I will touch on the March Madness news as our group chat did pick up some steam on it.. 

It doesn't make sense why the same tournament format would be used in both championships but it does... and that's money.  And maybe sprinkle in a little disbelief in there too, y'know?   It seems like the NCAA is patting itself on the back for doing something that should've happened as the men's did in 2011.  The 2022 March Madness tournament will be 40 years old (only 39th champion will be crowned *no 2020 champ*) and TitleIX is a 50 year old law.   You do the math! 

                                              ****************

I know the gang has some colorful opinions on the sporting news this weekend so make sure to tune in for Saturday's edition of Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. In case you missed it -- maybe you were out collecting Himalayan salt or wrecked your tricycle into the Louisville Football defense (and gained 12 yards) -- here's a link to last week's show. (And, it's freeeeee!) 

LINK: CARDINAL COPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST 10/9/21

Enjoy the weekend and don't forget the sunscreen! 

Go Cards
~Daryl  

 

NCAA Gender Disparity Report -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ALL IS NOT EQUAL WHEN IT COMES TO NCAA

The NCAA Gender Disparity Report was released yesterday.  What it contained was the equivalent to a sucker punch to the gut of women's sports.  In short, the more I read, the more disgusted I became.

I know that our premise and mission statement here at Cardinal Couple is the joy and excitement of UofL (and other schools) women's sports. I step away from that today to bring you highlights of the report -- a report brings neither joy nor excitement. 

                                                 *****************************

*EVERYTHING* at the NCAA exists to support D1 Men's Basketball.  Even the organizational structure.  EVERYTHING else is secondary to that

-- CBS paid $1.1B for MBB television and corporate sponsorship administration contract

-- NCAA paid $34M for a package of 29 other NCAA championship television rights.

-- It is estimated that the WBB tourney alone is worth around $100M, which is 3 times what the whole package was sold for.  If NCAA were a corporation, shareholders would be at the door with pitchforks

-- Sponsors for anything other than MBB had to pay CBS to be part of a "sponsorship program" they administered, and then separately pay ESPN to get commercials on their channels. Talk about your Strong disincentive. Money from the sponsorship program, regardless of which sport or championship was sponsored, gets accounted for as MBB revenue because it was part of the CBS contract

-- Revenue sharing to conferences is based on the advancement of MBB automatic qualifier from conferences. There was no similar incentive for a WBB automatic qualifier . And, naturally, this Influences how conferences and schools invest !

-- Food. A Texas based grocery chain) dropped off food bins for athletes. NCAA staff sent them back because some of the items were from competitors of NCAA corporate sponsors. Included in some bins were notes from a local youth group supporting the athletes and calling out the NCAA, the staff refused to distribute them.

-- On gift bags, the NCAA claimed, at the time, that spending was roughly equal This was not so, more than double on men’s. On supplies and accessories kits, $70k for men, none for women

-- On “March Madness” The singularly use of the term was blamed, during the tourney, on a contract with CBS, but that was not true. It was also said that women’s basketball staffs rejected it, also not true.  In addition, there were several documented instances over years where women’s basketball staff requested use of the mark, and were rejected, and even reprimanded for it.

-- Other branding. It seems three times the spending for signage at men’s tourney compared to women’s -- *after* attempts were made to address equitability in signage and four times more in the venues

-- Associated events: $5M for Miley Cyrus Final Four concert at men’s tourney, no comparable event at all for women’s tourney. 2019 Tourney Town: $19M for men’s, ~$300k for women’s

And, there's more. If you want to read more of the report...go to

https://ncaagenderequityreview.com/

Gender equality in NCAA Athletics?  Don't make me laugh...

-paulie 

Summer thoughts & opinions; FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Preface

I thought about something the last time I checked in that I think it would be a great opportunity to talk about some random things going on around us.  ...maybe not even necessarily about the Cards.. or sports even..  to get back to my roots of journalism and do a feature article.

When I started writing, it was mostly opinion and review based.  Never thought I would be a 'reporter' of any kind but I think it's safe to say I have done close to only that in recent years.   And I 100% came into this evening thinking what the heck am I going to write about tonight so I'm thinking now is the time to use my flex option on topics of discussion.  Think of it as a diary by Daryl. so here we go...

Hello again fans, 

It's Friday... there was a beautiful sunset last night after a very long stormy day in Louisville.  We opened the month of July with a day long storm clouding the city skies before opening to a gorgeous sunset of pink orange and yellows.  It woulda made a great backdrop for one of Jared's photo sessions!  

July makes me think of the Olympics.  I am excited for the Olympic games to start.  Got to watch a little bit of the gymnastics trials the other night. Your 2020 USA gymnastics team consists of :

Jamie Squire—Getty Images

Simone Biles, 24; Spring, Texas.

Sunisa Lee, 18; St. Paul, Minn. 

Jordan Chiles, 20; Spring, Texas. 

Grace McCallum, 18; Isanti, Minn. 

MyKayla Skinner, 24; Gilbert, Ariz.

Jade Carey, 21; Phoenix, Ariz.

Of course Simone Biles made the cut even though she did fall on her beam routine.. and while were on the subject, I'd like to thank Simone for falling off of the balance beam and making a mistake.  She was obviously upset for the misstep, (I do not believe her qualifying for the squad was ever in doubt) but she proved she is human.  There is so much pressure on athletes and Simone has been under that spotlight since she was about 16 years old.. it has been an incredible journey to witness and I look forward to her and the rest of team USA 2020 campaign in Tokyo.  

I think it will be interesting to explain to future generations about the 2020 Olympics held in July of 2021... like it will be some trick trivia question in a couple decades or something.  I don't know why the thought crossed my mind but I do look forward to reading about this part of the history books.  Also shout-out Spring, Texas on producing two Olympic gymnasts in that year(s).  Population about 61,000, getting two on the same squad seems like a pretty significant production. 

Moving on... 

In other big news of the week.. College athletes making cash for image.  AKA... NIL.

I admit I have been on pretty much one side of the fence of this argument for as far back as I can remember.. it was a topic in a couple of my college classes at UofL over 7 years ago and obviously a topic among anyone involved with college athletics for some time.  

If you've followed me long enough I'm sure I've voiced that opinion here and there... but I have never publicly said how I have moved closer to the fence and even crossed over on certain aspects of the proposal.  My agreements and concerns closely mirror what the others at Cardinal Couple have already expressed but I do want to mention the fact since we are here... Players are allowed to profit for their name and image and I just hope it doesn't get out of control. 

You know some people say that money is the root of all evil...  it can and does make murky water.  I can't pretend to know how to make it run smoothly and not spiral out of control.  But lets not forget what a crap-bag the NCAA is at governing student athletics... I did a lot of reading in the library at UofL surrounding athletics and the origins of them and how we got to where we are today and I do believe the original intention of the NCAA was in a good place..  but I think the once 'non-profit' organization with 'the best interest of the student athletes' has gotten far away from it's mission and a new governing body needs to be established but we are far from a day where that dream can be realized... this is MY diary, not yours! 

 
So to that I say screw the NCAA and let these athletes benefit off their own game since everyone else seems to be.  Hell, the reason I have certain well-paying button pushing jobs is because 11-12 women spend every single day practicing, working out and making sure to keep good grades, get enough sleep, drink enough water AND making special appearances around town to boost local morale all the while giving me memories of a lifetime while winning ballgames.  It truly is more than just a game...Its a lifestyle.  It IS life! 

It has become my life.  When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I had no idea! I had zero idea of the field I wanted to be in or the way I wanted to make money to navigate life with.  My mom did always say to 'do what you love, the money will follow'.. and I read a book expressing just as much.  So I think today I can say I have done that so far!  Going to and talking about games is what I always did and wanted to do and now I do that as 'work'.  I know how lucky I am to have the opportunity to do so and I believe the thousands of athletes who have given me that opportunity should benefit from that. 

Have a great start to the holiday weekend out there, Cardnation and cheers to the RED WHITE (&blue) :)

Go Cards
~Daryl 

SCOTUS Sides with Student-Athletes -- Other News -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Happy Tuesday, Cards fans! This week seems to have started off with plenty of news to talk about. The sports world had plenty to talk about yesterday and then a pair of former Cards had positive announcements.

SCOTUS Rules in Favor of Student-Athletes

It was a great day for student-athletes as the Supreme Court of the United States sided with them and against the NCAA yesterday. The Supreme Court unanimously voted in favor to uphold a district court judge's decision that the NCAA was violating antitrust laws by placing limits on the education-related benefits that schools can provide to athletes. Schools can now provide athletes unlimited compensation as long as it is connected to their education.

"The NCAA is not above the law," said Justice Brett Kavanaugh. "The NCAA couches its arguments for not paying student-athletes in innocuous labels. But the labels cannot disguise the reality: The NCAA's business model would be flatly illegal in almost any other industry in America."

Student-athletes still aren't at the point where they can profit off of endorsements and other benefits, but we continue to see things move in the right direction. Unlike your profitable sports, many of the non-profit teams don't get the luxuries of football and men's basketball. Even worse, walk-ons for different sports have an extra difficult time.

Although the NCAA technically allows student-athletes to make a profit from jobs not directly tied to their sport as well as be self-employed, the NCAA has consistently contradicted themselves over that. Former UCF kicker Donald De La Haye lost his eligibility in 2017 after amassing over 90,000 subscribers on YouTube and profiting off his videos. De La Haye chose to keep making videos and the profit from them. Was De La Haye on track for an NFL career? Most likely not. So he was making more off the videos than football would ever do for him.

There are all dozens of reasons you could lose your eligibility or have your name erased from the record books. On April 21, 2021, former UMass women's tennis player Brittany Collens wrote an article about how a minor scholarship error cost her her career even after she had graduated. Collens played at UMass from 2014-2017 and ran into a nightmare in 2020. She and her roommate had received an extra $252.00 in scholarship intended for a landline phone jack. The school self reported the error when they discovered it, but the NCAA decided the $504 gave UMass a competitive advantage. Collens and her teammates were stripped of their wins and UMass lost their 2017 A10 title.

I should make it clear that these cases are way different than point shaving or academic fraud, both of which are illegal and should be an immediate loss of eligibility and removal from office for those involved.

Student-athletes, especially those in the non-profits and those who walk onto their respective sport, don't have the extra benefits and often need more assistance so these athletes hopefully being able to make a profit off of their name would be beneficial to them.

The concern is still surrounding how it will change media and coverage. It's one thing for businesses and brands to market their products but you want to have your media out there promoting and highlighting the successes of someone's career.

We here at Cardinal Couple are aware of the compliance regulations and make sure we stay in compliance. This can range from buying someone food, to giving them a ride in the car, to giving them gifts, and so much more. Nearly all of our direct interaction with the student-athletes will come with the supervision or assistance from coaches or SIDs just as a cushion to make sure everything goes smooth, among other reasons such as providing resources such as stats and figures.

We will discuss the SCOTUS decision more on Saturday and see how this will lead to a domino effect with other laws.

Asia Durr Part of Jordan Brand Representation

On a much less confusing topic Asia Durr was one of 11 WNBA athletes to be signed with Jordan Brand. This is the largest ever roster of WNBA players for the brand as they want to give more women large contracts and give them a voice.

Durr is joined by Maya Moore, Kia Nurse, Aerial Powers, Satou Sabally, Dearica Hamby, Arella Guirantes, Chelsea Dungee, Crystal Dangerfield, Te'a Cooper, and Jordin Canada.

As a website that covers the Joy and Excitement of UofL WOMEN's Sports, we smile whenever the rest of the world acknowledges how great of athletes women are and they receive the recognition they deserve. Even better, this deal features one of our own!

Softball Alums

(Running with Wolfe -- a possible sequel for Kevin
Costner's Dancing With Wolves ? )  

Former UofL softball player Jordyn Wolfe announced she will pursue her MBA at Saint Leo University where she will also use her final year of eligibility. Wolfe spent four seasons with the Cards and saw action in the outfield and as a pinch runner, but was often seen dancing and cracking jokes in the dugout. We focus on the importance of academics fairly often here so we are glad to see Wolfe continuing her education. She's also playing in the FGCL summer league this year for the Saratoga Circus. 

Sticking with recent softball alums, we had a wedding this past weekend. Riley Schindler Bachman married Nathan Bachman up in Ohio. Riley was part of the Schindler twins at UofL (Paige), but sadly both had battled injuries during their careers. Nonetheless, we wish the newlyweds a congratulations!

USA Olympic Team Roster 

Sadly, neither Kelsi Worrell Dahlia nor Mallory Comerford made the final cut for the 2020 Olympics. Dahlia was an alternate in the 2016 Olympics and was part of a gold medal team. Both swimmers are on the current 2020-2021 Team USA roster, which is different than the roster for the Olympic team.

Louisville did have one person represented on the men's side: Zach Harting. Harting will compete in the 200 butterfly. We do wish our Cardinal the best of luck!

All eyes were on a Katie on the women's side, but not Katie Ledecky, who, to no surprise, made the final roster. It was 15-year-old Katie Grimes attracting all of the attention. Grimes touched second behind Ledecky in the qualifier. Ledecky, who also first qualified at the age of 15, told Grimes "You're the Now".

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics starts one month from yesterday with softball and football (American soccer) starting this Olympics off. The opening ceremonies doesn't actually happen until the third day with the closing ceremonies on August 8.

Now that we've gotten through all sorts of news - dang, it was a busy Tuesday write - you can get back to harassing Paulie for not hooking us up with free Bojangles yet.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Eligibility for All; Mooks' Career Night -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 NCAA Votes for Eligibility for Fall Athletes

Are you a collegiate athlete competing in a sport designated by the NCAA to take place in the "fall" in the 2020 season? If so, I have good news for you: this season is effectively null and void, at least in terms of eligibility. The NCAA had previously voted to cancel fall championships across the country, putting Olympic sports in the conferences that were still planning on playing in a very awkward spot. While they're still in an awkward spot, athletes at these conferences and across the country received positive news yesterday. The NCAA has declared a blanket waiver of eligibility for all fall athletes, similar to what they did for the spring season. However, this one comes with a situation that is a bit more interesting. The waiver is good regardless of how many competitions you participate in over the 2020-21 athletic calendar. Therefore, anyone that plays in games this fall (or spring if their fall season is moved to the spring) will not impact their free year of eligibility.

This is, of course, wonderful for the athletes. The unfairness we talked about with shortened seasons for smaller sports is negated, and players are not punished for opting out. My concern is that the NCAA is not necessarily looking out for athlete health with this move, as I feel they should have been more of a national leader on safety decisions for the fall. However, this does give teams that truly feel they have a handle on the COVID-19 situation in their area the freedom to continue practice and competitions with other teams that feel the same. On the flip side, it gives schools that do not have a handle on their situation but are pretending to that freedom as well. That said, any athletes that feel like they are in that situation are protected by opting out and maintaining that eligibility.

For once, and this feels strange to say, it seems like the NCAA has made a move that has a lot of flexibility but is mostly positive. When they made the decision about the spring sport eligibility, it was because they didn't really have a choice. The pressure was on for them to do it and it was a knee-jerk reaction to the sudden cancellation of all of the sports. Unlike the spring decision, the NCAA didn't actually have to make this one. Would it have been dumb if they didn't? Sure, but that hasn't ever stopped them before. Given the scattershot approach by conferences to the fall, the NCAA could have easily just said everyone that was playing should take it up with their conferences for putting them in that situation, but they didn't. They actually made a reasonable decision for the student-athletes. 

MHA's Big Night Can't Get Washington Back on Track

After beating the Dream on Wednesday, the Mystics needed to roll off a few more wins to get back on track to prevent the season from getting out of hand. With a game against the Dallas Wings on the line, it seemed like such an opportunity was there for the taking. Myisha Hines-Allen saw the opportunity and went for it. Unfortunately, much of the rest of her team didn't get the memo. The Wings took a 20 point lead into half time and it looked like the Mystics would be right back to getting thumped by teams that had no business thumping them. Instead, Washington came out of the break and rattled off a 29 point quarter. Scoring 29 didn't help too much, though, as they still trailed by 11. However, they managed to hold on to that momentum to close the gap in the fourth, tying the game to get to overtime. They only scored four in the final period. Dallas scored more than that.

Despite the loss, Hines-Allen had a career night. She played more than 42 minutes, the most of anyone, and picked up 35 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block. She was perfect from the free throw line and 3-4 from beyond the arc. The double-double was her fourth of the season, as she seeks to make the most of her expanded role. We've discussed it at length, but I think it's worth saying again: Myisha Hines-Allen has the talent and the determination to be a star in the WNBA. I'm glad she's getting the opportunity to show it.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Another week has come and gone, so it's time for another episode of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. We should have a full house this week, if memory serves, but you all know I've been wrong before. We actually have some positive news to talk about this week, so perhaps we won't rant for the entire hour. We'd love to have actual competition to discuss, but maybe we'll get back to that eventually. Tune in at 11AM for the live stream over at the Cardinal Couple YouTube channel or check out the show any time after recording. Be sure to subscribe and share with anyone else you think might be interested as well!

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

No Championships; What Are We Doing? -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ACC Yet to Announce Postponement of Fall Sports

Paulie wrote about this yesterday, so you'll have to forgive me for repeating topics, but what are we doing here? With the cancellation of fall sports championships by the NCAA, the ever-growing likelihood of conference-only seasons, and the continuing threat of cancellation at any point, why have the other three Power 5 conferences not gotten on board with the PAC-12 and Big 10? I know that we want to see fall sports. I want to see women's soccer continue their evolution as they have over the last couple of years, and I'm sure Jeff is itching to see a mostly intact volleyball squad pick up where they left off. However, we're getting closer to this creating a completely unfair situation for the fall student-athletes. 

Nick Saban was quoted the other day lamenting that the argument has become "we shouldn't have football" when he believes a more appropriate argument would be "we shouldn't have school." I think he's spot on, but he's missing the point. How many schools are opening to in person classes only because it would make no sense to have football without class? It would be unjustifiable. In the fall, in the southeast (and South Bend), football is king. If schools like Georgia were making a legitimate effort instead of putting a four foot piece of plexiglass on the front of the professor's desk, we'd probably not be having classes, and therefore we'd have no football. But that isn't the case. Those schools know who pays the bills, so they're open for business. We've talked about how these conference-only schedules are built to benefit football specifically in the past. College football teams already play 75% of their regular schedule in conference and don't play all of the teams in the league. Adding more conference games doesn't hurt their feelings, but it is a big hit to sports like field hockey, who play less than half of their regular season schedule in conference.

The closer we get to creating some hodge-podge conference-only schedules in the Olympic sports, the closer we get to fall athletes getting screwed. Spring sports received a waiver for getting two-thirds of their season canceled, but the NCAA, not mandating a postponement or cancellation of fall sports, has set up a bunch of athletes to play a half of a season, without the opportunity for a national championship, and have it count as a full season of eligibility. Frankly, it's a bunch of crap, and the conferences that insist their methods are plenty safe (despite some players saying otherwise; see FSU and Syracuse) are complicit in screwing over their non-football athletes. 

I understand that our goal here is to promote the joy and excitement of Louisville women's athletics, and this doesn't seem to be doing that, but I promise that is my ultimate goal. I want to see all student-athletes at UofL treated the same way, with the same opportunities. The organization that is allegedly in charge of keeping all college athletics on the same page and keeping student-athletes' "best interests" in mind has completely neglected those duties, and is now sitting back, claiming they've done all they can do. I'm mad about it. I want to see the young men and women we support at UofL and throughout the remaining conferences treated fairly, and I suppose that's it. End rant. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Can you guess what one of our main topics might be today? I'll do my best to take a few breaths before the show and calm down, but I imagine many of these points will come up. We'll also chat WNBA, some staffing news at UofL, and hopefully Paulie will continue our weekly quiz. I believe we'll have a full house so tune in at 11AM on the Cardinal Couple Youtube Channel for this week's live show, or check out the rebroadcast any time after the show ends.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

NCAA Decision -- Photo Highlights: Swimming and Diving -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

NCAA Decision

Yesterday evening the NCAA made their decision and it was pretty accurate to what we expected.  All spring sports athletes will be granted an extra year of eligibility.

There is also a rule where you can only play four years in a five year window, hence the room for a redshirt season.  That will be extended to six years.

Some teams are limited on roster size.  Those rosters and amount of scholarship spots will be increased for a year.

The teams this works for at UofL include lacrosse, softball, track and field, tennis, golf, and rowing, according to how the NCAA breaks down a season and championship.

That is great for many of our student-athletes, especially the ones who were seniors. 

Sadly, but as expected, winter sports are not included, meaning basketball is over.  We saw five of our women's basketball seniors throw on a Louisville jersey for the final time.


Photo Highlights: Swimming and Diving

Another sport whose season ended prematurely is swimming and diving.  Their regular season and ACC Championships had concluded but the NCAA Championships never happened.  Today, we take a look at some of the best photos from their season.

A bit of commentary...

It is difficult to catch meets since many of them occur on a Friday afternoon or Saturday morning and conflict with work, but I was fortunate enough to make it to a couple meets this season and hope to do so again next season.

To help protect myself and those around me I cancelled my visit to see Katy in a month.  As the COVID-19 worsens I did not want to put anyone at risk.  Delta was understanding enough to offer me a refund for my flight down.  My flight coming back was through American and those cold-hearted Muffet McGraw-esque folks cared about nothing but profits.  It's almost as bad as the no call in the final seconds of the Final Four when Myisha Hines-Allen went in for a layup.

Happy Tuesday, stay safe, and Go Cards!

Jared