Starting 5: Key NIL partnership for University of Louisville, 4 from Racing honored, more

The University of Louisville made a significant move this week in college sports' name, image and likeness arms race.

U of L athletics on Wednesday announced a partnership between its exclusive multimedia rights holder, LEARFIELD's Louisville Sports Properties, and the 502Circle collective.

Athletics director Josh Heird in a statement said the agreement "will benefit all parties" by allowing 502Circle to "integrate even more with the U of L brand, build additional revenue streams for continued growth, and provide more support than ever before" to athletes as they navigate the NIL landscape.

What will that look like? 502Circle's president, Dan Furman, told The Courier Journal the collective gained the ability to use the Cardinals' logos in the endorsement deals it is facilitating for athletes — up to this point, athletes could not wear school-issued gear while carrying out promotions. It can also now run in-venue advertisements at Louisville sporting events and during radio broadcasts on the U of L Sports Network.

Before entering into this agreement, Furman said, "there was a little hesitation" from an NCAA compliance standpoint in how closely 502Circle worked with U of L because it wasn't a corporate partner. Now that they've officially joined forces, he said it opens the door for deeper collaboration on how to best engage the fan base.

Similar deals have been inked at schools such as Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina and Tennessee.

"You're seeing a lot of the collectives that have the same goals and aspirations that we do step into these agreements and partnerships, because everybody knows the value behind it," Furman said. "Everybody knows that there's opportunity to continue to expand our reach and our footprint, from a fan and a donor base standpoint, so that we can continue to build opportunities out for our our athletes in the NIL space."

Spearheaded by Louisville native Marc Spiegel of Rubicon Technologies, 502Circle launched last August. Athletes it signs — the entire women's basketball and volleyball teams, for example — are paid on a monthly basis as they carry out promotions for the collective and businesses with which it is associated.

Furman did not have an update on the 502Circle's growth since June, when he said its combined one-time and monthly donor base was around 400.

Around the city: Four Racing Louisville FC players named to Challenge Cup All-Tournament team

Racing Louisville FC came one win short of its first National Women's Soccer League trophy, falling 2-0 to the North Carolina Courage on Saturday in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup final in Cary, North Carolina.

With the loss, Racing dropped to 0-9 all time against the Courage but headed home with the second-largest share of the in-season tournament's $1 million pot.

Four Racing players were named to the Challenge Cup's all-tournament team: midfielders Savannah DeMelo and Jaelin Howell, defender Abby Erceg and goalkeeper Katie Lund.

Racing heads into the final four games of its third NWSL season in seventh place with a club-record 24 points. In sixth place, the Washington Spirit hold the final playoff spot with 26 points.

Performance of the week: No. 7 Louisville men's soccer snaps losing streak to No. 19 Kentucky in dominant fashion

The seventh-ranked Louisville men's soccer team had lost three straight to Kentucky heading into last week's game against the No. 19 Wildcats at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.

The Cardinals ended that streak in dominant fashion, 4-2, behind an unrelenting offensive attack.

Konstantinos Georgallides found the back of the net less than nine minutes into the match; ACC Offensive Player of the Week Gage Guerra scored twice; and Parker Forbes' first collegiate goal capped off the winning performance.

U of L recorded 26 shots (13 on goal), the most in a single game since September 2021, while holding the Wildcats to just nine total. With the victory, it improved to 4-0 — its best start to a season since 1998.

"For the goals that we want to accomplish this season, this is a huge step forward," Guerra said after the game.

"To come out and beat a really good opponent," he later added, "it makes a statement out there — to show these coaches and teams that are making these rankings that we are not a team to be messed with. We are legit."

Louisville opened ACC play on the road Friday night by playing No. 4 Syracuse to a 2-2 draw.

High school recruiting: St. Xavier basketball's Jeremiah Jackson lands offer from Cincinnati

Boys basketball: St. Xavier's Jeremiah Jackson now has two Division I scholarship offers to his name. Cincinnati was the latest to reach out on Sept. 2, joining Ohio in pursuit of the 2026 guard.

Girls basketball: Emaree Gober, a 2024 guard at Butler, ended August by picking up her first scholarship offer, from Oakland City — an NAIA program in southwestern Indiana. At Male, 2024 guard Kalani Brock received an offer on Sept. 3 to stay home and play at Simmons College.

Mark your calendars

• No. 2 Louisville volleyball wraps up nonconference play with two of its most-anticipated matches of the season at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals host No. 19 Kentucky at 8 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN) looking for their third consecutive win in the rivalry. At 1 p.m. on Sept. 17 (ESPN2), they'll take the court against No. 5 Stanford.

• It'll be a busy weekend at Lynn Family Stadium. Racing Louisville FC plays the Houston Dash at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Paramount+), followed by a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday (WBKI, ESPN+) between Louisville City FC and San Diego Loyal SC.

• There's plenty of soccer on tap this week at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium, too. The No. 7 U of L men's team hosts Virginia Tech at 8 p.m. Friday (ACC Network) in its first home ACC contest of the season. The women's team kicks off conference play at 7 p.m. Saturday against Virginia.

• Fifth-ranked U of L field hockey travels to No. 2 North Carolina for a game at 3 p.m. Friday.

• Louisville men's golf is in San Antonio, Texas, competing in the Valero Texas Collegiate, which wraps up Monday.

• The Louisville Bats hit the road for the final time this season to face the Durham Bulls in a six-game series beginning at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday.

• Bellarmine's sprint football team kicks off its 2023 season at 2 p.m. Saturday with a road game against Oakland City in Oakland City, Indiana.

• Bellarmine volleyball is headed to Lawrence, Kansas, to compete in the Jayhawk Classic. The Knights play two matches Friday, at 1 p.m. against Kansas and at 6 p.m. against Texas State, before wrapping up their trip against New Hampshire at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

• On the pitch, the Bellarmine women's soccer team travels to Austin Peay for a 7 p.m. kickoff Thursday and then hosts Lipscomb at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium at 1 p.m. Sept. 17. The men's team plays at Central Arkansas at 8 p.m. Saturday.

• Bellarmine field hockey plays Appalachian State at 3 p.m. Friday at Trager Stadium.

• The Knights' men's golf team is competing Monday and Tuesday in the Joe Feaganes Invitational, which is hosted by Marshall.

• And on Saturday, Bellarmine men's and women's cross-country will be in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the John McNichols Invitational.

Play of the week: Shawnee football's Khamoni Ball seals victory vs. Jackson County

There aren't enough words to describe the athleticism Shawnee junior defensive back Khamoni Ball displayed when he took flight and used only one hand to pull down an interception to cap off the Golden Eagles' 28-14 win against Jackson County with less than three minutes to play in the fourth quarter Friday night.

Just watch the play for yourself and enjoy — don't forget to pick your jaw up off the floor when you're done.

Shawnee improved to 2-2 with the victory — its second in a row.

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: University of Louisville NIL deal; Racing Louisville FC honors: Sports