LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Halftime breaks grow every season. More jugglers. More T-shirt throws. More baby races. More commercials. More sideline interviews.
This halftime will stretch over three parts. On Monday, I rolled through the 5 Biggest stories over the first half of 2024. Those were easy: the changing of the guard at Louisville and Kentucky men's basketball, the PGA Championship and the Scottie Scheffler fallout at Valhalla and Kentucky baseball going to Omaha.
Today, I'll flip to 5 Stories That Deserved Bigger Headlines. They were not as dynamic as the stories that made the Monday list but they deserved more oxygen.
On Wednesday, I'll finish Halftime Report with what I believe will be the 5 Biggest Stories for the Rest of 2024.
1. ACC realignment drama
It's a touch bizarre to see SMU picked to finish tied for fourth with Louisville in the predicted Atlantic Coast Conference standings in the Phil Steele college football yearbook.
The changing face of the ACC becomes more dramatic when you note the Mustangs will visit L&N Cardinal Stadium on Oct. 5 and that Louisville will travel to Palo Alto, California, to play Stanford on Nov. 16.
Don't forget California also officially joined the league Monday and that Florida State and Clemson are itching to sprint to the Big Ten or Southeastern conferences — before you finish the next paragraph.
The Atlantic Coast Conference welcomed California, SMU and Stanford to the league this week. Photo courtesy ACC.
The over/under on how many months the ACC will remain together in its current form is nine, because that's always the wise over/under when we're discussing the future roster of any league.
While neither Stanford nor California is expected to be a force in football or men's basketball, the Cardinal and the Bears will make considerable noise in other sports.
According to the June 10 standings of the Learfield Cup, which measures overall strength of programs, Stanford was No. 2 (behind Texas) while California was No. 18. At No. 52, SMU sat four spots behind Louisville.
Your first opportunities to welcome the new ACC members will come Sept. 27 and 29, when U of L welcomes Cal and Stanford in volleyball and Oct. 17 and 20 when the Cards host Stanford and Cal in women's soccer. U of L's men's soccer team visits Cal on Oct. 4.
Meanwhile, FSU and Clemson project as preseason top-15 football teams as they wiggle every doorknob, looking for the fastest, least expensive path out the door.
2. Jeff Brohm retains his entire Louisville football coaching staff
I know the transfer portal rules in discussions about predicting performance for the next football season.
Brohm did well in the portal. According to data at 247Sports, Louisville landed 31 players, giving the Cards the third-best class in the ACC and 13th best in the nation. All good.
Here's what is better: In an era when top coordinators and assistant coaches are always on the move, Brohm retained his entire coaching staff from last season.
Consider it a sign of the stability he has created as well as confirmation that his guys believe the program is on track to build on the momentum created by the 10-win season in 2023.
3. Kentucky hires Kenny Brooks to coach women's basketball
Jeff Walz has taken the U of L women's program to four Final Fours and made 13 consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
Teri Moren put Indiana in the last five NCAA Tournaments with an Elite Eight and two Sweet Sixteen finishes.
The UK women's program has missed the fun. The Wildcats have won a single NCAA Tournament game since 2019 and missed the last two tournaments.
Exit Kyra Elzy. Enter Kenny Brooks.
UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart recruited Brooks from Virginia Tech, and it ranks as the biggest score on the coaching carousel. Brooks averaged better than 26 wins over his last three seasons with the Hokies and made the last four NCAA Tournaments, directing Tech to the 2023 Final Four.
Brooks started strong in recruiting high school and portal players. He figures to make UK a force in women's hoops, maybe this season.
4. Bellarmine loses players to NCAA transfer portal
Scott Davenport navigated the Bellarmine men's basketball program through the annoying four-year transition from Division II to full Division I eligibility.
In 2022, the Knights proved they could compete at the highest level of the ASUN Conference, winning the postseason tournament. They backed it up with a 9-9 regular-season league record in 2023 and one more win in the conference tournament.
Last season injuries knocked the Knights off course. They won eight of 31 games, slipping to 4-12 in the league. But 2024-25 would be an opportunity to flip the narrative. There are no more NCAA post-season restrictions.
If the Knights can win the ASUN Tournament next March, they can schedule a Selection Sunday watch party and get a shoutout from Charles Barkley and Clark Kellogg.
But Davenport won't have the team that he expected to have. Center Langdon Hatton and forward Pete Suder, the team's third- and fourth-leading scorers last season, showed the flip side of the portal.
They left the program — Suder for Miami (Ohio) and Hatton for Indiana. Suder figures to get major minutes for the Redhawks, who have endured three straight losing seasons. Hatton figures to be no better than the 10th man at Indiana, which recruited Oumar Ballo from Arizona to play major minutes at center.
The transfer portal is the rage. It also leaves scars.
5. Louisville baseball misses the NCAA Tournament.
In a spring when the Kentucky baseball program made its first trip to the College World Series, the Louisville program missed the party for the third time in four seasons.
It was a reminder of the remarkable run that many took for granted when Dan McDonnell coached the Cards to the tournament a dozen times in his first 13 seasons, including five trips to the College World Series.
But back-to-back seasons of 31-24 and 32-24 inspired questions about what happened to Louisville's mojo and when the Cards will get it back.
The news that at least 11 Cardinals, including shortstop Gavin Kilen (who hit .330 with 35 extra-base hits, put their names in the transfer portal, adds to the intrigue at Patterson Stadium.
Louisville Sports Stories:
- BOZICH | Halftime Report: 5 Biggest Local Sports Stories in 2024
- Former Louisville star Donovan Mitchell reportedly agrees to max contract extension with Cavaliers
- CRAWFORD | No "fight?" Louisville's Kelsey talks offense and defense, without the f-word
- CRAWFORD | Years later, Damion Lee still has Louisville's back, and it still has his
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