In today’s July Newsletter, you can expect:

• Texas Football's Professional Revolution: 236 head coaching vacancies with minimal internal promotions drive Texas programs to adopt Director of Football Operations positions.

• Women's Basketball Gets Video Reviews: NCAA approves coach-initiated challenges for four call types starting 2025-26, requiring no timeouts but penalizing failed challenges with technical fouls.

• DeBoer's Youth Development Blueprint: Alabama's coach emphasizes energy over Division I dreams during South Dakota appearance, highlighting technology's impact on specialized athletes.

• College Basketball's Compensation Chaos: New revenue rules eliminate traditional collectives and require third-party review for $600+ NIL deals.
  
  

Texas High School Football’s Coaching Turnover Reality

Texas high school football is facing an organizational crisis. With 21.44% of head coaching positions opening after the 2024 season, representing 236 THSCA jobs across 2A-6A classifications, Texas is experiencing one of the highest turnover rates in a decade. The numbers speak for themselves.

But this challenge is sparking innovation that could fundamentally reshape high school football operations.

The Crisis Behind the Numbers

Our MyCoachingTree analysis revealed troubling patterns beyond the raw turnover. Only 3.72% of these openings were filled through internal promotions, suggesting widespread issues with succession planning and organizational stability. Most programs are starting from scratch with each coaching change, losing institutional knowledge and continuity.

Several Texas organizations are now advocating for a solution borrowed from college athletics: Director of Football Operations (DFO) positions at the high school level. This represents a shift in how high school programs would operate, introducing a level of professionalization previously unseen in prep football.

The DFO role would handle administrative oversight, operational coordination, and provide crucial continuity during coaching transitions. Rather than leaving incoming coaches to rebuild everything from recruiting systems to equipment management, these positions would maintain operational stability regardless of who's calling plays on Friday nights.

NCAA Women’s Basketball Implements Video Review Challenges for 2025-26 Season

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved a significant rule change, allowing coaches to challenge specific calls through video review in women's basketball starting next season.

New Challenge System Details

Following recommendations from the NCAA Women's Basketball Rules Committee, coaches can now challenge four types of calls at any point during the game:

• Out-of-bounds violations

• Backcourt violations

• Whether possession changed before a foul that would result in free throws

• Whether a foul was assessed to the correct player

The system requires no timeout to initiate a challenge, but failed challenges result in a technical foul for excessive timeout. Officials retain the ability to review incorrect player fouls independently.

Alabama’s DeBoer Shares Youth Athletics Insights During South Dakota Homecoming

Alabama head football coach Kalen DeBoer returned to South Dakota in July to address youth athletics at Sanford Sports Night, offering practical guidance drawn from nearly three decades of coaching experience.

DeBoer highlighted how modern technology has dramatically increased young athletes' access to skill development resources, creating a generation of highly specialized players. This advancement has intensified competition for roster spots across all levels, making work ethic and genuine commitment essential differentiators.

The Alabama coach emphasized his primary expectation for players: bringing maximum energy, attitude, and effort daily, a standard that applies regardless of competitive level.

Managing Modern Pressures

The veteran coach addressed the mental challenges facing today's young athletes, particularly managing external pressures from social media commentary and performance anxiety. He stressed the importance of maintaining positive attitudes while filtering out distracting noise. DeBoer also criticized the prevalent "Division I or bust" mentality among parents, encouraging families to focus on present moments rather than distant college aspirations. He urged parents to maximize quality time during car rides to games and appreciate the current athletic journey.

New Revenue Rules Continue to Challenge the Status Quo

College basketball coaches are navigating uncharted waters as new NCAA regulations threaten to fundamentally alter how players receive compensation, creating widespread confusion during the crucial July recruiting period.

The College Sports Commission recently reminded programs that traditional collectives can no longer serve as payment vehicles for athletes under the House settlement terms. Any NIL deal worth $600 or more now requires third-party review through accounting firm Deloitte, targeting systems where collectives facilitated millions in payments during recent transfer portal cycles.

Enforcement and Legal Challenges

Coaches remain skeptical about actual enforcement capabilities, questioning whether to prepare for strict rule adherence or assume business continues as usual. Legal challenges appear imminent, with player representatives and collective organizations already pushing back against the Commission's guidance, potentially creating further uncertainty through prolonged litigation.