Backin the Pack

[Backin the Pack @backin_pack]

lol, very true

[lauren @njdlauren]

I’m so unbelievably happy that this World Cup will breed new USMNT fandom but also so unfathomably jealous that there exists people out there that will never have to know the horrors of the Berhalter era

[Carolina Hurricanes @Canes]

Stronger than the rest

[Carolina Hurricanes @Canes]

STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS ONCE AGAIN

[Carolina Hurricanes @Canes]

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS, THE CAROLINA HURRICANES ARE STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS

[11 Yanks @11Yanks]

The list of legends who are about to play their last World Cup is crazy!

Lionel Messi 🇦🇷
Christiano Ronaldo 🇵🇹
Neymar 🇧🇷
Dzeko 🇧🇦
Modric 🇭🇷
Mane 🇸🇳
Salah 🇪🇬
Roldan 🇺🇸

[Backin the Pack @backin_pack]

@PolymarketSport I think they get the win today

[Polymarket Sports @PolymarketSport]

🚨FACT: Mexico holds the record for playing in the most opening matches in World Cup history, with 8 appearances

They have won ZERO of these games, with 2 draws and 5 losses

Mexico currently have a 69% chance to win today on Polymarket

[RedditCFB @RedditCFB]

It is the official position of the Catholic Church that the sport is called Soccer. Total cultural victory achieved. 🇺🇸

[The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln]

Only Trump could unite soccer fans to take the side of a ref.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

The World Cup begins tomorrow, and many will watch the matches. Soccer reminds us of something we must not forget: life is not a race to show off on our own, but a path we learn to walk together. Anyone who does not know how to pass the ball, even if they have talent, has not yet understood the game. Anyone who does not know how to live with and for others has not yet understood life. #ApostolicJourney

[Tactical Manager @ManagerTactical]

Nah man, this insane.
Clint Dempsey was incredible but Howard and Landon had him above Hazard and Mane 🤣😭🤣

We, as a country 🇺🇸, will never recover from these takes.

[Backin the Pack @backin_pack]

@evanscbb I thought we weren’t getting in and still think we shouldn’t have.

[11 Yanks @11Yanks]

Yet another bad giveaway from Roldan under no pressure in MLS.

World Cup midfielders are about to eat him alive.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together. In Jesus Christ, this humanity in its grandeur becomes the Way, the Truth and the Life, opening the path for each of us to grow toward fullness. #MagnificaHumanitas
https://t.co/6i9MWs6LJl

[Cory Smith @RCorySmith]

"Because you never know when the last one is." — Kyle Busch

This was literally less than one week ago. Can’t believe this is real.

[Backin the Pack @backin_pack]

@maggiebotch @PackInsider Those were made in cooperation with a privately owned dairy farm. They “damaged” the brand because it tasted different so they pulled it out.

[Backin the Pack @backin_pack]

Grass isn’t always greener dummy

[The Field of 68 @TheFieldOf68]

Will Wade has some work to do this offseason... 👀

LSU currently has ZERO players on their roster 🤯

[Backin the Pack @backin_pack]

We’re playing moneyball, it’s not going to be flashy names.

[Pack Insider | Matthew and Lou @PackInsider]

I’m seeing a lot of concern about the fact that NC State is hitting the mid-major market hard.

Last year they got a bunch of guys from big programs that went deep into the NCAA tournament.

How did that work out?

If you are going to hunt for unrealized talent, then you hunt in the mid-major market.

When you’re hunting for increased ceiling in high major programs, you are betting that guys like Tom Izzo or Kelvin Sampson mismanaged their roster and didn’t play certain guys enough minutes or in the right role.

To me, more times than not, that is going to be a bad bet.

Look around college basketball. Most of the guys who went from unknown to star were from smaller schools and just needed the opportunity at the P4 level.

The other option is to just grab a proven stud from a major program, but most either aren’t entering the portal or they’re demanding near $5M. That’d be around 40-50% of the entire budget (and you need 9 other guys at least).

So those who are taking shots…Explain what your strategy would be here, because to me, I’d rather see NC State going all in on 15-20ppg mid-majors than a bunch of high major guys who couldn’t carve out a role for themselves when given the opportunity.

🤷‍♂️

[Backin the Pack @backin_pack]

Sue sue sue @NCState

[David McKenzie @mckenzielaw]

I've read Will Wade's NC State contract. All 22 pages. And I've read The Athletic's reporting on his departure to LSU.

Wade is in breach of his contract. It's not a close call. Here's why.

THE CONTRACT

Wade signed an employment agreement effective March 23, 2025, running through March 31, 2031. NC State paid him $2.5 million in salary, gave him $11 million to build a roster, and invested significant institutional resources in his program.

In return, Wade made specific contractual promises. He broke them.

THE NOTICE AND DISCLOSURE OBLIGATIONS (Section XIII.A)

This is the critical provision. Wade "specifically promises, not to seek or apply for other men's basketball related employment prior to the natural expiration of the Term of this Agreement, under any circumstances, without first providing written notice to the Director of Athletics."

But it goes further. Wade was also contractually required to "advise in writing the Director of Athletics of any inquiries or contacts exploring COACH's possible interest in or availability for other full-time or part-time employment."

Those are two separate obligations: (1) a duty not to seek other employment without notice, and (2) a duty to disclose any contacts or inquiries. Wade violated both. Continuously. For months.

THE TIMELINE

@TheAthletic reports that discussions about Wade returning to LSU go back to last summer. Sources say "this has all been in the works." The Rousse-Schroyer-Wade trinity — all formerly at McNeese together — was coordinated across months, with Rousse becoming LSU president in November and Schroyer being named senior deputy AD on the same day Wade's deal was announced.

During the ACC Tournament, the N&O's Shelby Swanson (@shelbymswanson) asked Wade directly about LSU interest. He denied it. Corrigan says he asked Wade the same question. Wade said no.

And then there's this: it is rumored — though unconfirmed — that Wade purchased a house in Baton Rouge in February. If true, that would mean Wade was making a seven-figure real estate commitment to relocate to LSU's city while still under contract to NC State, still spending NC State's NIL dollars, and still looking Boo Corrigan in the eye and telling him there was nothing to discuss. If that's confirmed, it's not just a breach. It's a fraud.

That's not just a failure to provide written notice. That's affirmative concealment of exactly the information the contract required him to disclose.

THE DUTY OF LOYALTY (Section II.D)

Wade's contract required him to "faithfully and diligently perform the Duties" and to "devote such time, attention, and skills to the performance of the Duties as necessary to meet the responsibilities of the position."

If Wade was conducting back-channel negotiations with LSU while spending NC State's $11 million in roster-building money and meeting with Corrigan about next season's plans — all while planning to leave — he was not devoting his full time and attention to NC State's program.

After the season, Wade went to Corrigan seeking a raise, more money for assistants, and increased NIL funds. If he was already planning to leave — and the timeline strongly suggests he was — that meeting was theater. He was either using NC State's counteroffer as leverage with LSU, or creating a pretextual record that Corrigan "refused to renegotiate" to justify his departure. Either way, that's not faithful and diligent performance.

THE MISCONDUCT CLAUSE (Section XI.A(5))

The contract provides for termination for cause based on "misconduct of the COACH... of such a nature, as reasonably determined in the discretion of NC STATE, that would significantly offend the traditions and ethics of NC STATE or which brings significant discredit to NC STATE."

Lying to your AD. Secretly negotiating with another school for months. Resigning by email through your agent. Using a public university's resources as a one-year audition for your next job. That's significant discredit by any reasonable measure.

THE BUYOUT — AND WHY NC STATE LEFT MONEY ON THE TABLE

Section XIII.B sets the buyout at $5 million before April 1, 2026, dropping to $3 million after. NC State reportedly settled at $4 million.

Here's the problem with that settlement: the liquidated damages framework in XIII.B presumes an orderly departure — coach decides to leave, provides notice, pays the schedule. It doesn't contemplate a coach who spent months secretly negotiating his exit while deceiving university officials.

Section XIII.A's written notice requirement functions as a condition precedent to the buyout framework. Wade didn't comply with it. NC State therefore had a colorable argument that its remedies weren't capped by the buyout schedule but extended to actual damages — the cost of a coaching search, roster attrition, lost recruiting momentum, the institutional resources invested in a roster Wade knew he was abandoning.

NC State likely has a general release as part of the $4 million settlement. If so, that claim is gone. But it didn't have to go this way.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Wade's contract with NC State was well-drafted. It anticipated exactly this scenario. It imposed specific, enforceable obligations to disclose and provide written notice before pursuing other employment. Wade ignored those obligations while actively concealing his plans.

He took NC State's money, spent NC State's NIL budget, made recruiting promises on NC State's behalf, apparently lied to NC State's AD, and then resigned by email through his agent on his way out the door to a job that had been, according @MattBaker @BrendanRMarks and @ralphDrussoATH , "in the works" for months.

Whether NC State has the appetite to fight this is a separate question from whether it has the right to. The contract says it does.