The federal government’s "potential involvement in the compensation of college athletes got started" today with a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on the name, image and likeness issue. The hearing included statements from NCAA President Mark Emmert and Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, among others. Emmert said that the NCAA "may need help from the federal government when it comes to laws governing athletes’ image rights." Emmert: "There is a legitimate concern about the fundamental fairness of our system. ... On the other hand, we want to preserve the character and quality of the uniquely American phenomenon of college sports." The hearing marks the "first step of what will likely be many in the government’s possible role influencing NCAA rules" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/11).

During the hearing, U.S. Sen. Shelley Capito (R-W.Va.) asked Bowlsby about some West Virginia basketball games being available only on ESPN+ and not linear TV. Bowlsby: "We took a leap of faith with a new technology. ... The [ESPN+] platform is best-in-class. So it's a voyage of exploration. ... We live in states -- the five of them -- that have 35 million people, and as such, we really don't have the option of a linear network, as some of the other conferences have done. So the digital process is the best we have available to us" (K.C. STAR, 2/11).

Shares of Under Armour dipped today after the company announced "mixed" results for Q4 '19 and "disappointing forward guidance." UA's quarterly revenue grew 3.7% year-over-year to $1.44B, below estimates for $1.47B. The company now expects FY '20 revenue to "decline by a percentage in the low single digits," while North American sales are "expected to fall in the high-single-digit range" (FOOL.com, 2/11).

UA also announced "another restructuring program" for '20 that will result in up to $425M in charges, including "potentially abandoning plans to open a flagship store" in N.Y. The moves could save up to $50M in '20. UA President & CEO Patrik Frisk said, "I’m not satisfied with where we are today" (WALL STREETJOURNAL, 2/11). At presstime, shares of UA were trading at $16.56, down 19% (THE DAILY).

Spotify is paying close to $200M "upfront" to acquire The Ringer, to be "followed by more than" $50M later, according to a source. Spotify has spent more than $600M to "acquire four companies that can accelerate its podcasting business -- The Ringer, Gimlet Media, Anchor and Parcast." The source added that the deal requires Bill Simmons to "keep working at Spotify for some time, and also includes protections to ensure Spotify doesn’t cut much of his staff" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/11).

In celebration of NBA All-Star events in Chicago, StockX kicked off a week-long raffle campaign to benefit Chicago nonprofit the Common Ground Foundation. In partnership with designer and StockX investor Don C, the brand tapped a group of six designers, artists and entrepreneurs to create limited-edition Chicago-themed items that will be available to win through a charitable donation via the StockX platform.

StockX also will host "To The Game, Love Chicago," a three-day exhibition that showcases the city’s global impact on culture and sport. From Friday-Sunday, Chicago’s RSVP Gallery will become home to a curated exhibition featuring the works of the six creators, along with items from their personal collections. The space will offer programming over the course of the weekend, such as panels and workshops featuring notable figures from the Chicago community.

JR Motorsports has struck a deal that will see Black Rifle Coffee join the team as a co-sponsor alongside Bass Pro Shops and True Timber this season. The three companies will be tri-fold co-sponsors on JRM’s No. 9 Chevrolet driven by Noah Gragson for three races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Daytona and Las Vegas this month, plus Charlotte in May. The deal involves a B2B element in Bass Pro Shops starting to sell start Black Rifle’s coffee products at its retail stores across the U.S. True Timber, a camo apparel company, was already an existing partner of JRM, while Bass Pro Founder Johnny Morris has longtime ties to the Earnhardt family, which owns JRM. Financial terms were not released.

Morris told THE DAILY yesterday that he was motivated to put the deal together because of the story behind Black Rifle Coffee, which was founded by former Green Beret Evan Hafer, who has pledged to hire 10,000 veterans over the next six years to run his company. Morris: “Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) had this opportunity with this car, and it was just a way to celebrate these veterans and great story behind Black Rifle Coffee -- how they started just a few years ago from scratch.”

Five new episodes of "The Boardroom," produced by Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures and ESPN+, will be available tomorrow. Season Two addresses topics such as athlete/entertainer stereotypes, women in sports and building an athlete’s brand. In addition, two live episodes are planned for next month’s MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Cambridge, Mass., and the South by Southwest festival in Austin. Season Two guests include 2 Chainz, Carli Lloyd, Lindsey Vonn, Cris Carter and Isiah Thomas. "The Boardroom" streams exclusively on ESPN+ (THE DAILY).

CAA World Congress of Sports: March 25-26

Hear from adidas North America President ZION ARMSTRONG; Mavericks CEO CYNTHIA MARSHALL; MLB Commissioner ROB MANFRED; MLS Commissioner DON GARBER; NBC Olympics' MOLLY SOLOMON; and SoFi CEO ANTHONY NOTO, among many others. Network with more than 700 of your peers on the Grand Lawn of the Monarch Beach Resort following Day 1. Be sure to join fellow attendees at the welcome reception on the evening of March 24. To register, go to www.WorldCongressofSports.com.

CenturyLink Field announced a transition to cashless operations for sales transactions (CenturyLink Field).

The Connecticut Hammerheads were announced as a new MLL franchise for the '20 season (MLL).

foco

FloSports has launched FloBaseball, a platform dedicated to collegiate and youth baseball. More than 700 games are planned for the platform's schedule (FloSports).

The Big3 designated Six Pack Media as its representative for media and sponsorship negotiations (Big3).

FOCO has released the first officially licensed bobblehead to feature Mookie Betts in a Dodgers uniform (FOCO).

"I’m remorseful for everything that happened in 2017, everything that we did as a group. And the players that were affected directly by us" -- Twins LF Marwin Gonzalez, the first position player from the '17 Astros to apologize for the sign-stealing scheme (USA TODAY, 2/11).

"Have I been personally approached? Yes, and my team's been aware of it. ... This is a natural evolution, whether or not things like this are going to happen, but ideas like this are going to happen going forward" -- Tiger Woods, on the proposed Premier Golf League (TWITTER.com, 2/11).

“Any major media firm that doesn’t get into this is missing the boat” -- CNBC’s Joe Kernen, on CBS Sports signing a deal with William Hill (“Squawk Box,” CNBC, 2/11).

Lengthy appearance today on @FirstTake from the Knicks' new rebranding consultant Steve Stoute. He called himself a "branding guru" and a "marketing guru" and is a well-known entertainment figure in NBA circles ... but the Knicks first and foremost need a TEAM-BUILDING guru

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 11, 2020

#Titans QB Ryan Tannehill has hired new representation prior to hitting free agency or being franchise tagged. He’ll now work with Brian Ayrault and Todd France of @CAA_Football. The same agency also represents FA RB Derrick Henry.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 11, 2020

The whole ripping @MLB playoff ideas by players, ones who say #mlb needs to change, same ones who will want & deserve more $$. Question: where does more $$ come from & do u want change or not? Dont discourage ideas, discuss em @MLB_PLAYERS #sportsbiz

— Joe Favorito (@joefav) February 11, 2020

This take applies to every sport, btw.

1. Make playoffs a dramatic mega-event that millions watch
2. Make reg season matter via incremental incentives

Possible to do both. NFL is perfect. European soccer leans a bit too far toward reg season. NBA/CBB way too far toward playoffs

— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) February 11, 2020

FYI. I’ll be doing my pro am obligation tonight with Genesis and some pro am participants instead of playing tomorrow. I doubt anyone cares but didn’t want the media to run with misinformation (again).
Hope to see everyone at Riv this week. Preferably late Sunday 😉

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) February 11, 2020

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

Pitchers and catchers. New pitching, hitting and base running mechanics in #RBIGAME. BASEBALL IS BACK BABY! Let's Go!! Pre-order now: https://t.co/m2b6IcUiGW pic.twitter.com/vNCX2AiiB0

— R.B.I. Baseball 20 (@RBIGAME) February 10, 2020

MSG Networks launches a new betting show, "The Sweat," which airs from 4:00-4:30pm ET. The show, with presenting sponsorship from DraftKings, airs Tuesday-Friday in that time slot from now through the end of the NHL and NBA seasons. In August, the show will begin airing Monday-Friday. 

Former NBAer Dwyane Wade is appearing on the syndicated "Ellen DeGeneres Show."

$8.5M -- Cost estimate for UAB's new practice facility for its men's and women's basketball teams, which will "involve a renovation" of Wallace Gymnasium. Univ. of Alabama System trustees have approved the first phase of the project (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/10).