A federal judge signed off on arguably the biggest change in the history of college sports on Friday, clearing the way for schools to begin paying their athletes millions of dollars as soon as next month as the multibillion-dollar industry shreds the last vestiges of the amateur model that defined it for more than a century.

Nearly five years after Arizona State swimmer Grant House sued the NCAA and its five biggest conferences to lift restrictions on revenue sharing, U.S. Judge Claudia Wilken approved the final proposal that had been hung up on roster limits, just one of many changes ahead amid concerns that thousands of walk-on athletes will lose their chance to play college sports.

The sweeping terms of the so-called House settlement include approval for each school to share up to $20.5 million with athletes over the next year and $2.7 billion that will be paid over the next decade to thousands of former players who were barred from that revenue for years.

The agreement brings a seismic shift to hundreds of schools that were forced to reckon with the reality that their players are the ones producing the billions in TV and other revenue, mostly through football and basketball, that keep this machine humming.

College softball

Texas beats Texas Tech in WCWS >> Mia Scott hit a grand slam, Teagan Kavan claimed another win and Texas defeated Texas Tech 10-4 in Game 3 of the Women’s College World Series championship series to win its first national title.

Kavan, a sophomore, allowed no earned runs in all 31 2/3 innings she pitched at the World Series. She went 4-0 with a save in the World Series for the Longhorns and was named Most Outstanding Player.

Leighann Goode hit a 3-run homer, Kayden Henry had three hits and Scott, Reese Atwood and Katie Stewart each had two hits for Texas (56-12).

Texas Tech star pitcher NiJaree Canady, who had thrown every pitch for the Red Raiders through their first five World Series games, was pulled after one inning in Game 3. The two-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association Pitcher of the Year gave up five runs on five hits and only threw 25 pitches. The loss came after she signed an NIL deal worth more than $1 million for the second straight year.

Baseball

Burnes set for TJ surgery >> All-Star right-hander Corbin Burnes of the Arizona Diamondbacks is set to undergo Tommy John elbow surgery, ending his season early in the first year of a $210 million, six-year contract.

Manager Torey Lovullo said the decision was made with “a lot of people weighing in.” Lovullo said the surgery probably would be scheduled for next week.

The announcement came three days after the Diamondbacks put Burnes on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation.

The 30-year-old left his most recent start with Arizona leading 3-0 in the top of the fifth inning Sunday. After Burnes allowed a single by CJ Abrams with two outs, he gestured toward the dugout with his glove and yelled in frustration.

Athletics’ Langeliers placed on IL >> The Athletics placed catcher Shea Langeliers on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique.

He got hurt during Thursday’s 14-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins, grabbing his left side during an at-bat in the sixth inning.

Bieber will not throw for 7 days after setback >> Guardians ace Shane Bieber will not throw for seven days and will have his right elbow rechecked next week after experiencing soreness during a bullpen session on Tuesday.

Bieber met with team doctors and consulted with specialist Dr. Keith Meister. The right-hander was scheduled to make his second rehab start with Double-A Akron before the setback.

The seven-day shutdown started on Wednesday. He will be rechecked on June 13 before deciding the next steps. Experiencing soreness during rehab is not uncommon.

Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in April 2024.

Soccer

Tottenham fires Postecoglou >> Leading Tottenham to its first trophy in 17 years didn’t prevent Ange Postecoglou from getting fired.

The Australian coach was denied the chance to take Tottenham into the Champions League in the wake of winning the Europa League after the London club’s leadership decided a change was necessary.

Ultimately, it wasn’t the 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao — a win that ended Spurs’ trophy drought dating to 2008 — that decided Postecoglou’s fate.

Instead, it was a 17th-place finish in the Premier League — Tottenham’s lowest since the competition was founded in 1992 — that was regarded as the most important in the final analysis. Tottenham lost 22 of its 38 games and ended the campaign just one position above the relegation places.

Golf

McIlroy tumbles out of Canadian Open with a 78 >> Masters champion Rory McIlroy tumbled out of the RBC Canadian Open with his worst round in nearly a year, with Cameron Champ taking a two-stroke lead into the weekend in the final event before the U.S. Open.

McIlroy shot an 8-over 78, making a mess of the fifth hole with a quadruple-bogey 8 in his highest score since also shooting 78 last year in the first round of the British Open. He had a double bogey on No. 11, four bogeys and two birdies.

Champ had four birdies in a 68 in the morning a day after opening with a 62. He was at 12 under, playing the first 36 holes without a bogey.

Pro football

Tom Rafferty, who won Super Bowl with Cowboys, dies at 70 >> Tom Rafferty, an offensive lineman who won a Super Bowl and played with two Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman over 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, has died. He was 70.

Rafferty died Thursday in Windsor, Colorado, where he had been hospitalized since early May following a stroke, his daughter, Rachel Powers, told The Dallas Morning News.

A year after getting drafted out of Penn State, Rafferty’s first season as a starter was at right guard in 1977, which ended with the Cowboys’ 27-10 victory over Denver in Super Bowl 12. He played the same position a year later when the Cowboys lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-31 in the title game.

Rafferty’s final season was Aikman’s rookie year in 1989, when he started eight games at center for a 1-15 team.

Track and field

Chebet runs second fastest 5,000 ever >> Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet ran the second fastest women’s 5,000 meters of all time at Rome’s Diamond League meet.

The Kenyan clocked 14 minutes, 3.69 seconds to come within range of the world record of 14:00.21 set by Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia two years ago.

Chebet’s previous best was 14:05.92 in the race that Tsefay set the world record.

Chebet holds the world record in the 10,000.

Also at the Golden Gala, American sprinter Trayvon Bromell won the 100 in 9.84 seconds for the best time this year; and two-time Olympic champion Valarie Allman set a meet record in the discus with a throw of 69.21 meters.