Timely sports PR note
Corners of college sports that criticize Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal ignore negative publicity brought on by coaches who continue to move at will. Or in one case, at Will. As in basketball coach Will Wade.
He’s a coach with a history of violations, including a two-year show-cause penalty after being the focus of a college basketball corruption case. There were things like federal wiretaps involved — never a good sign.
The most important thing to LSU, er, the Louisiana governor, who put his nose in school business again, is winning. Not unlike most schools with a lot of money on the line.
But this goes beyond Wade. It’s about reputation. It’s about coaches who jump into their own transfer portal moments after the final tick on their schedule. Wade, who earlier said he was staying at N.C. State past the one-year mark, is headed back to Baton Rouge for his second stint. LSU fired him in 2022 after those corruption charges surfaced.
Advantage Athletes
At a time when the NCAA loses in court more than it wins as it re-litigates athletes’ freedoms, Wade’s one-and-done, while not surprising inside basketball, isn’t the kind of publicity college sports would design. Athletes — you now have more ammo to maintain your infinite transfer fights.
Related — My post from NIL Publicity explains why NIL and the transfer portal are not killing Cinderella in the NCAA Tournament: https://nilpublicity.com/p/cinderella-didn-t-leave-the-dance-she-just-changed-clothes
👇🏼 (One MORE Note)👇🏼
R-Evolution speaks to women’s strength
As we close out Women’s History Month, I’m reminded of art I spotted on Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco during Super Bowl weekend (apologies for not capturing the full sculpture in this photo). R-Evolution, created by Marco Cochrane, included a description: “She is an expression of what it feels like to just be: a whole person; a woman radiating her energy into the world while breathing calmly,” the text reads.
Learn more about the art and its purpose by scanning the QR code.
Scan the QR code to learn more about R-Evolution, designed by Marco Cochrane.
©2026 Gail Sideman; gpublicity.com; SIDEbar
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