ACC formally backs Big Ten’s push for College Football Playoff to expand to 24 teams
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — The Atlantic Coast Conference is backing the Big Ten’s push for a 24-team playoff, commissioner Jim Phillips said Wednesday. Speaking at the end of three days of spring meetings in a posh resort in northeast Florida, Phillips said ACC coaches and athletic directors reached consensus on...
After a court win and 1st spring practice as Ole Miss’ No. 1 QB, Chambliss is ready to recharge
OXFORD, Miss. — Mississippi quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is ready to “disappear” for a while. Having spent the previous eight months under college football’s media microscope, the sixth-year senior smiled when reporters asked about his summer plans once spring practice wrapped up. “I’m looking forward to it,” he said. For Chambliss,...
College Baseball Notebook: NCAA urges coaches to not cancel games to protect position for tournament
The NCAA has issued what’s becoming an annual appeal to Division I baseball coaches to not cancel nonconference midweek games to protect their teams’ positioning for the national tournament. Scheduling hijinks allow teams to avoid no-win situations this time of year, so games against mid- or low-major opponents sometimes are...
Basketball gets more beer money, while tennis, other small college sports worry over future
Basketball got the beer money. Many smaller sports around the NCAA are still looking for a lifeline. The expansion of March Madness and the $300 million in extra revenue that comes with it through opening sponsorships to beer, wine and liquor companies offered a brief reprieve from the steady drip...
Big Ten reports $1.47B in revenue for 2024-25, average $79.9M full-share payouts to member schools
ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten joined the Southeastern Conference in crossing the $1 billion mark in total revenue for the 2024-25 fiscal year, marking a significant uptick in payouts to its member schools. The league reported roughly $1.47 billion in total revenue in its federal tax filing for the...
Ex-Ohio State players, including NFL veterans, to join sexual abuse lawsuit against the school
Thirty former Ohio State football players, including some former NFL players, have agreed to join a federal lawsuit against the university over the sexual abuse of student athletes decades ago by a team doctor, a lawyer in the case said Thursday. The lawyer, Rocky Ratliff, said in an interview that...
March Madness tournaments will expand to 76 teams each starting next season
The NCAA announced Thursday that it will expand its two March Madness tournaments by eight teams each next season, a long-expected move that will drop more games into the first week of the highly popular and lucrative showcase without substantially changing its overall form. The new, 76-team brackets will jam...
NCAA bans 2 former Fordham basketball players for their roles in point-shaving scheme
Two former Fordham basketball players were permanently banned by the NCAA on Tuesday for their roles in a point-shaving scheme that was the subject of a sprawling federal indictment unsealed in January. According to the NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions, Elijah Gray and Will Richardson each agreed with a...
More March Madness: NCAA basketball tournaments reportedly set to expand to 76 teams
Ever-growing power conferences are the driving force behind an impending expansion of the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, which ESPN reported could be formalized within weeks and begin next season. The field would grow from 68 teams to 76 that would include eight additional at-large teams in each tournament....
Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby enters treatment program for a gambling addiction following transfer
LUBBOCK, Texas — Texas Tech said Monday that transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby was taking an indefinite leave of absence to enter a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction, a move that comes just months after he reportedly landed a multimillion-dollar deal to return to his home state for his...
Nebraska regents approve $600 million renovation of 103-year-old Memorial Stadium
LINCOLN, Neb. — University of Nebraska regents on Friday approved a $600 million overhaul of Memorial Stadium that will make the 103-year-old venue more fan-friendly and increase revenue potential for the athletic department. The project will be funded by a mix of $250 million in philanthropic support and $350 million...
Possible No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa of BYU officially declares for NBA Draft
AJ Dybantsa has made it official: He’s entering the NBA Draft. The BYU forward — widely expected to be a top candidate to be the No. 1 pick — made the announcement Thursday. Dybantsa led the nation by averaging 25.5 points in his lone college season, along with 6.8 rebounds...
ACC’s new coaches at Virginia Tech, California, Stanford get 1st looks at teams in spring drills
James Franklin is eager to replicate success from a long run at Penn State now that he is preparing for his first season at Virginia Tech as one of the ACC’s three incoming coaches. That included hiring the man he ultimately replaced — Brent Pry, fired last year in his...
Spring quarterback battles fading away in Big Ten
Quarterback competitions traditionally have been the focal point of spring football when a team has lost its starter from the previous season. Look no further than the Big Ten to see how those battles are becoming a thing of the past. There will be eight new starters in the conference...
Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman will retire in August, ending a transformative era
NEW YORK — Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman will retire at the end of August, the conference announced Monday. Ackerman, 66, has served in that role since 2013, presiding over the rebirth of the conference following the decision a year earlier for the Big East to split. Ackerman led the...
NCAA urges further study of change that would start eligibility at graduation or age 19
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA confirmed Wednesday it is exploring a move to an age-based eligibility model that would give athletes a window of five years to compete in Division I starting immediately after their high school graduation or 19th birthday, whichever comes first. The Division I Cabinet discussed the possibility...
Ex-Michigan coach Sherrone Moore gets probation for confrontation with woman who disclosed affair
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore was placed on probation Tuesday for 18 months for a confrontation with his executive assistant soon after he was fired for having an inappropriate relationship with her. Moore was facing a possible sentence of up to six months in jail...
Wisconsin beats North Dakota to reach its first Frozen Four final since 2010
LAS VEGAS — Simon Tassy and Ryan Botterill scored 27 seconds apart in the first period and Wisconsin defeated North Dakota 2-1 on Thursday to put the Badgers in the Frozen Four title game for the first time since 2010. The Badgers (24-12-2), seeded third in their region, will play...
Big Ten earns nearly $70M in March Madness incentives after sweeping titles
The Big Ten Conference amassed nearly $70 million from NCAA distributions that will be paid for team appearances and performances in the 2026 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. That is by far the most among conferences, largely because the Big Ten swept the national championships — Michigan won the men’s...
NCAA committee to discuss streamlined, age-based eligibility rules
An NCAA panel is scheduled to discuss potential changes to eligibility rules that would incorporate age into the process, two people with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the NCAA hasn’t publicly discussed the proposal. They said the...
A possible Frozen Four first: All 4 starting goalies are freshmen
LAS VEGAS — Four freshman goalies will take the ice before a packed T-Mobile Arena on Thursday for the semifinals of the Frozen Four, something so unusual that the NCAA can’t find another such instance. The atmosphere could be daunting even for upperclassmen, but those goalies have been preparing a...
Michael Malone takes over at North Carolina as Tar Heels turn to an outsider
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Michael Malone acknowledged that he’s an outsider as North Carolina’s basketball coach. “I did not play here. I’m not from Carolina,” he said Tuesday evening during his introductory news conference at the Dean Smith Center. “But I think they’re ready to embrace somebody new. A new...
Kansas’ Flory Bidunga, Wake Forest’s Juke Harris among players entering men’s portal
Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, Wake Forest’s Juke Harris and Saint Mary’s Paulius Murauskas were among the parade of players entering the transfer portal Tuesday, the first of 15 days when Division I men’s players can go looking for a new school. Bidunga finished his second season with the Jayhawks...
Michigan ranked No. 1 in final AP Top 25 poll of season ahead of UConn, Arizona
Michigan is No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the 2025-26 season after winning the program’s first national championship in 37 years. The Wolverines (37-3) claimed all 57 votes in Tuesday’s poll in the third year the AP has released its final rankings...
Michigan built a roster full of transfers who carried the Wolverines to a national title
INDIANAPOLIS — Michigan’s Roddy Gayle Jr. snagged a final rebound, then flung the ball to the other end of the court, effectively ending UConn’s frantic bid for a miracle. The horn sounded, and Morez Johnson Jr. came over to share a celebratory scream and hearty hug — from one transfer...
