Evening Standard
November 9, 2026
The 2026 State of AI in Sports Report from Teamworks and Front Office Sports reveals a gap: 90% of sports organizations expect their AI usage to grow, yet only 15% can prove measurable ROI today. Based on responses from leading professional teams, leagues, and collegiate athletic departments, the report shows what separates top performers from the rest. Deploying AI department by department yields virtually no return. Organizations with dedicated AI budgets, accountable leadership, and connected athlete records see ROI rates of up to 67%. Read the full report to evaluate your AI readiness and build a strategy that delivers real results. Learn More.
The Bulletin Board...
“We appreciate our fans. We did take into account their sentiment. That was rolled into this decision. But we decided to move forward with it.”
Rich Clark
CFP Executive Director on how fan perspectives on playoff expansion were considered
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The College Football Playoff is officially expanding to 24 teams starting next season, as the CFP and ESPN have finalized a five-year, nearly $1.7B media deal, per ESPN’s Heather Dinich. From the CFP: “The decision to expand was driven by a desire to increase opportunities for FBS programs, student-athletes and fan bases to participate in the Playoff and have a chance to play for the CFP National Championship, while new scheduling standards incentivize institutions to schedule more compelling non-conference matchups during the regular season. The expanded format will feature 16 on-campus Playoff games, which will bring Playoff football to more students and local fans while providing a positive impact for campus communities.” (link); More key expansion details…
➤ All Power 4 programs will be required to play at least 10 P4 regular season opponents and all Group of 6 schools will need to play at least 10 FBS games.
➤ All first- and second-round games will be held on campuses, with the quarterfinal and semifinal games rotating through the six CFP bowl games.
➤ No games will conflict with the Army-Navy game and the Heisman Trophy will be presented one week earlier.
➤ On sublicensing, ESPN/ABC will broadcast at least three first and second-round games and at least one quarterfinal and semifinal game. “Agreement brings every game of the 23-game Playoff to ESPN and/or ABC, with ESPN retaining the right to sublicense select games. This new sublicensing right is in addition to its existing sublicense with TNT Sports. … Disney Advertising remains the exclusive seller of the CFP Official Sponsor Program.” (link)
➤ During media availability, CFP Executive Director Rich Clark stated there are no changes to the distribution percentages and that the weekly rankings show will continue. On the pushback from fans: “We're aware of the fan sentiment and that many fans aren't in favor of expansion. That was certainly weighed into the decision. It was considered. Ultimately we just need to make a spectacular Playoff. I mean, the CFP has a responsibility to our fans, they're the lifeblood of college football. We owe it to them to make this great. That really is our intent. We appreciate our fans. We did take into account their sentiment. That was rolled into this decision. But we decided to move forward with it.” (link)
➤ Dan Patrick Show’s namesake reports: “My source says, 'They're working to determine special transition distributions to compensate for the loss of conference championship games. The remaining proceeds, the Big Ten, SEC receive about 30% each of this total. The formula is already in place for distribution. … The ACC gets 17.2%, the Big 12 gets 14.7%. Non-Power 4, those schools get 9%” (link)
Florida State hires Learfield EVP/FSU alum Jeff Purinton as its next VP/AD. President Richard McCullough: “Jeff Purinton has the experience, judgment and championship pedigree to lead Florida State Athletics at this important moment. As a two-time FSU graduate and former Athletics department employee, Jeff has a deep understanding of Florida State, our culture and the expectations that come with representing this university. Jeff further developed his extensive leadership experience overseeing football operations as part of Nick Saban's championship program at Alabama. I am incredibly excited to welcome Jeff home to Florida State.” Parker Executive Search assisted with the process. (link)
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey joined SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum. Key comments…
➤ On officiating criticism: “I am highly disappointed in announcers and their criticism and they're wrong. Some of the worst officials in America are those in the announce booth. We have officiating experts who I turned on a game on Saturday who were just flat wrong. And what that creates is this narrative that we've done something wrong and that is unacceptable to me and we have to address that. We're going to be wrong. We've made announcements when we own it.”
➤ As for the debate around transparency: “We all want to attain perfection in the analysis, but our officiating program does really, really good work. Our officials do really, really good work. There's a debate now about why aren't we allowing access to audio in our replay room? We have never said no. We've just said, you have to make sure you do it right. … We'll work on how do we provide more transparency and access to our replay system. We'll do that collectively so that we have the best in class model.” (link)
➤ Asked about two Big Ten HCs complaining about the CFP favoring the SEC in rankings: “One of those head coaches canceled a non-conference game against one of our teams. … If you're concerned about us being overrated, there's a full regular season. We're pretty flexible in how we approach non-conference games. We have those at the beginning of the season, at the end of the season, let's go. Let's not run to the microphone in a press conference and complain. Let's find those opportunities because they're there.” Sankey continued: “I don't call, I don't lobby. I'm not out there saying a lot directly. Every so often I've had, I think, a little bit of fun or maybe I've restated what others have said about us. I think the excellence in our football plays out every week.” (link)
With Congressional members returning to Capitol Hill today, a jammed “lame-duck” calendar could crowd out House consideration of the Protect College Sports Act, per CNBC’s Justin Papp and Garrett Downs. After successfully passing the Senate back in September, the bipartisan measure faces widespread opposition among House Democrats who now have little incentive to compromise following the party’s success in the midterm elections. College athletics stakeholders monitoring the lower chamber’s progress on the bill must view its potential against immediate, must-pass legislative logjams, including a December 11 government shutdown deadline, the debt ceiling bumping up against its $41.1T cap, an energy construction permitting fight and a $1T National Defense Authorization Act that’s now potentially entangled with impeachment proceedings against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Congressional leadership, particularly on the Republican side, is also likely to have difficulty with lawmaker attendance after dozens of members lost their seats and will struggle to whip members into line, especially those who do not have another election to run. (link)
In the College Sports Commission’s latest NIL Data Report from September 1 through October 31, 10,092 total deals were cleared at a total value of $192.62M, while 581 deals weren’t cleared for a value of $20.21M. Of that sum, 6,599 were considered associated deals [$140.53M], while 3,493 were with non-associated entities [$52.09M]. Overall, 12% more Associated deals were submitted in September and October than in any other two-month span since launch. Over the reported span, the CSC actioned an average of more than 175 NIL deals per day, with 48% of those deals being resolved within seven days following the population of all required NIL Go fields. Since the platform’s launch back in June 2025, a total of 56,570 deals have been cleared at a value of $775.11M, compared to 2,877 uncleared deals worth $177.14M. Also of note, zero deals are in arbitration as of the end of October. Full report. (link)
Last Friday’s U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit reversal of a nationwide injunction providing Class of 2022 student-athletes eligibility to play another season “could become valuable precedent for the NCAA in repelling eligibility lawsuits,” per Sportico’s Michael McCann. Circuit Judge Carolyn B. McHugh ruled that defining the relevant labor market as all of DI athletics "is simply not plausible," concluding the market must instead reflect which athletic programs actually compete to “hire” the services of student-athletes before it can determine whether NCAA rules unlawfully restrict that competition. The ruling dealt a blow to antitrust challenges targeting eligibility caps across multiple sports and joined decisions from the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 9th Circuits that declined to find the NCAA’s eligibility rules in violation of antitrust law. McCann: “The NCAA’s legal strategy on eligibility has largely succeeded in federal courts so far, but that doesn’t insulate the association from losses in state courts, such as recent cases involving, among others, players who played for NFL teams over the summer. If Congress passes the Protect College Sports Act or other legislation containing an antitrust exemption and preemption language covering eligibility, these types of antitrust challenges would likely be foreclosed.” (link)
Missouri AD Laird Veatch issued a message referencing fans’ frustration following Saturday’s home football loss to Texas that reads in part: “After the game Saturday, we requested a formal review and response from the SEC regarding the officiating. Consistent with SEC expectations, we will not make those conversations or responses public, other than that we have not received anything inconsistent with what the conference has already shared publicly. This experience has reinforced my belief that our lack of transparency in the replay booth, particularly when other conferences have taken steps to provide it, allows for an environment of speculation and mistrust. Together with President [Mun Y.] Choi, we will be strong advocates for that change within the SEC this offseason. None of that changes Saturday's outcome. And as [HC Eli] Drinkwitz said, the game wasn't defined by one play or one call.” (link)
Merrimack is fueling its growth through a renewed emphasis on sports, per The Boston Globe's Michael Silverman, with the Warriors set to add acrobatics and tumbling, women’s flag football, men’s swimming and men’s rowing next fall to reach its goal of expanding from 680 student-athletes to roughly 1K by 2030. Capital plans outline $50M-$75M in campus improvements, including football stadium expansion, a seasonal indoor practice dome, a baseball facility, a gymnasium and a boathouse along the Merrimack River over the next five years. AD Joe Foley: "We recognize that the landscape in college athletics is ever-changing. The only thing I know I can be sure of is seed costs are going up all along the way. We have to think creatively and differently about how we’re going to monetize our athletics program to enhance the student-athlete experience so that we can fund the growing expenses. … I don’t want to say we’re ‘there,’ but I don’t want to say we’re ‘not there.’ We’ll always evaluate it, we’ll look at the landscape and see what makes sense. For now, we think we like where we are. But that’s not to say we couldn’t consider other things in the future." (link)
Deal Corner…
➤ Texas highlights the addition of Humann branding to the Moody Center basketball court, completing the Austin-based cardiovascular health company's 2025 playing-surface integration deal across every UT Athletics facility. (link)
➤ Lamar signs a multi-year partnership with IPS Group to place the industrial services and safety management company’s logo on all Cardinal softball uniforms, starting with the 2027 season. (link)
People & Places…
➤ Green Bay elevates Dylan Derousseau from Asst. AD to Assoc. AD for Communications. (link)
➤ SBJ has released its inaugural class of Impact CEOs, recognizing 50 executives that represent segments across all sports for their leadership, dealmaking, innovative strategy and overall ability to influence the industry during the past year. Select members of the group include: Learfield President/CEO Cole Gahagan; Elevate Chairman/CEO and San Francisco 49ers CEO Al Guido; Relevant CEO/Partner Boris Gartner; Teamworks CEO/Founder Zach Maurides; Advent CEO John Roberson; and Playfly Sports CEO Craig Sloan. Full list. (link)
Morning Edition
November 9, 2026
Texas State President/Pac-12 Board of Directors Chair Kelly Damphousse talks with the eponymous publisher of JohnCanzano.com about his transition to leading the conference's boardroom, the financial calculus behind the jump from the Sun Belt, and how athletic visibility directly drives university enrollment growth…
➤ Overall, Damphousse projected the move to the Pac-12 will cost an additional $1M annually in travel expenses but emphasized the brand exposure and national relevance heavily outweigh those costs. Notably, Damphousse revealed that Texas State, which enrolls 48K students as the state's third-largest university, saw out-of-state applications spike 300% and international applications jump 700% following recent athletic success.
➤ On the massive earned media value generated by competitive national broadcasts: "500K people watched that [Boise State] game. ... But then I just got a report this morning on the number of media mentions after the game. 10M social media mentions ... 500M reaches. ... That's a half a billion people heard about Texas State because of that game. And you just can't, I can't buy that kind of advertising reach." (link)
Washington AD Pat Chun spoke with Softy and Dick about the UW’s financial reality during the Big Ten transition and more…
➤ On competing with a half-share Big Ten media distribution: "I remind everybody, we agreed to go into this conference at a half a share annually, that's about [$32M to $33M] less than the rest of our conference peers and our friends just south of us have someone that can subsidize that for them. And then when we agreed to go into this league a year later, then this revenue share thing happened and we clearly haven't been able to set rules."
➤ The value of the Apple Cup despite pausing an extension: "I think we have about over 5M viewers for that game opening weekend. ... Obviously, I think the data will show there, even though the game has moved to [the] beginning of the year, it's been a great beginning of the year type of deal for both schools." (link)
America East Commissioner Brad Walker and Metro Commissioner Travis Tellitocci discussed the launch of the inaugural America East-Metro Challenge with Metro digital correspondent Travis Armstrong…
➤ Walker on the difficulty of non-conference scheduling: "With all the changes in college athletics, one thing that actually has been pretty consistent [is] how challenging it is to get good non-conference opponents. ... Putting good non-conference games under one umbrella of an alliance with a conference as strong as the Metro … just made sense."
➤ Tellitocci on redirecting departmental travel budgets: "In a time where expenses are on the rise and people are facing challenges with trying to invest in their programs, we want that money to go towards revenue share and making our teams better opposed to travel."
➤ Walker on exploring future monetization efforts for the event: "We're signed up for two years together on this and hopefully it grows ... like I said about ESPN+ and Van Wagner, we hopefully find a way to attach some sponsorship to this." (link)
The NCAA Field Hockey Championship bracket is set with Northwestern taking the top seed, followed by Maryland, Harvard, Connecticut, Princeton, Yale, Iowa and North Carolina as the top eight seeds. Rounding out the field are Duke, Miami (OH), Saint Joseph’s, Vermont, Fairfield, Wagner, Syracuse, Massachusetts, Lafayette and Old Dominion. (link)
College Swimming League Co-Founder Kyle Sockwell and CEO Rob Kent launched the inaugural season of the new 12-team collegiate circuit to provide a broadcast-friendly, fast-paced multi-team event structure during the traditionally low-stakes fall semester, and Extra Points publisher Matt Brown breaks down how it could impact college swimming. Operating on a $1M initial budget, the league fully funds travel and lodging for participating teams while introducing a non-traditional ticketed model with VIP poolside suites retailing for $100, and Brown notes the condensed format features 30 events in two hours—capped by four-leg "Super Skins" relays—to appeal to broadcast partners like ESPN+ and DAZN. The league will award $25K to each of the four teams reaching the championship event, aiming to prove swimming can generate sustainable commercial revenue as athletic departments prepare to slash non-revenue sports in the wake of the House settlement. (link)
Tracking 110 administrative moves in October, The Wire on Collegiate Sports Connect identified a noticeable shift toward internal promotions across college athletics. Nearly one in four moves were internal elevations, up from 14% in September, driven by batch promotions like Coastal Carolina elevating seven staff members on the same day and Illinois State promoting three. Functionally, development and fundraising hiring jumped to 16 moves, while sports medicine and strength hires dropped to just five. Senior leadership accounted for 20% of the month's activity, highlighted by Iowa State tapping Auburn's Jared Benko and Campbell hiring South Dakota's Corey Jenkins as athletic directors, alongside six departments adopting new "Chief" titles. Lots more, check out the full Monthly report of administrative movement on Collegiate. (link)
DraftKings executed its third round of job cuts this year, eliminating positions across its customer experience, engineering, and legal departments, according to Front Office Sports' Ben Horney. The reductions follow similar workforce trims across the sports betting industry by FanDuel, Underdog, and PrizePicks as companies combat prediction market competition and adopt artificial intelligence. The layoffs arrived just before DraftKings lowered its fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $6.35B to $6.55B, triggering a 29% stock drop that pushed year-to-date shares down 52%. Despite the financial adjustment and the promotional costs of adding over 1M users to its new prediction exchange, CEO Jason Robins dismissed concerns that the traditional sportsbook was losing resources: "I don’t think we’re giving up an inch anywhere. We are laser focused on the core." (link)
Coaches Corner…
➤ NC State is reportedly set to hire former star QB Philip Rivers as its next Football HC. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and David Ubben report Rivers “has reached out to potential staff members over the past week to gauge their interest, according to a person familiar with the conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the move isn’t finalized. One potential name to watch is former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chip Long.” (link)
➤ Michigan has parted ways with Football OC Jason Beck. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports Beck is “set to be owed up to $10.1M,” including $7M in salary and $3.1M in retention bonuses. “The contract is subject to off-set and mitigation. It's believed to be the biggest buyout for a college assistant.” (link)
➤ Purdue has parted ways with Football DC Kevin Kane, and the Lafayette Journal & Courier’s Sam King reports: “Kane’s 2026 salary is $850K, paid in monthly installments, meaning he’d be owed roughly $141,666.67 plus the $1M 2027 base salary.” (link)
ESPN’s College GameDay is heading to Boise State, where the Broncos will host Oregon State on Saturday. Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff is also headed west, setting up shop in Tucson, where Arizona will host Utah. (link, link)
It’s one of the best moments on the college football calendar. Army West Point tapped future NFL Hall of Famer/Fox NFL analyst Rob Gronkowski to debut this year’s uniforms for the Army-Navy game. Have a look. We’ll keep an eye out for the forthcoming uni breakdown. (link)
Check out Tennessee’s Dark Mode laser show from Saturday night’s matchup against Kentucky featuring sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads. (link, link, link)
Also check out this very cool one-shot drone video of Notre Dame’s entrance ahead of its victory over Miami (FL). (link)
San Francisco has partnered with Pac-12 Enterprises to produce all ESPN+ home broadcasts for the men's and women's basketball teams throughout the 2026-27 season. (link)
Alabama has installed a Maven Baseball Lab setup to improve player performance. Take a look. (link)
New York Giants Director of Performance Nutrition Matt Frakes is implementing a comprehensive, data-driven nutritional overhaul for the team, incorporating bone density DEXA scans, muscle-to-bone ratio frame assessments, and sweat-sodium patch testing to individualize player diets and maximize performance. The Athletic’s Charlotte Carroll explains that Frakes tracks players across the country during the offseason to coordinate regimens with personal chefs and family members before monitoring in-season lean mass retention and hydration levels. Frakes also manages a specialized nutrition bar near the locker room, stocks recovery fridges, and collaborates with Executive Chef Angelo Basilone to design cafeteria menus calibrated to daily practice intensity. Frakes on his integrated role within the organization: “We’re a huge piece of player development, their performance, and their recovery because what they’re putting in their bodies is going to dictate how they’re receptive to the stimulus that the performance staff and sports medicine staff and coaching staff are doing on the actual field itself.” (link)
Interested in advertising a job opening in D1.ticker on CollegeSports.jobs? Submit your position here. Jobs from the past 10 days are listed below.
(NEW!) Director of Cohort-Based Learning: Athletics (Johns Hopkins University / Baltimore, MD): With a dotted line to the Athletic Director, this position sits in the Life Design Lab to support career services for first-generation and/or limited-income (FLI) students and scholar-athletes. (DIII) More details HERE.
Academics/Student-Athlete Services
There are no openings in this field at this time.
Business/Finance/Human Resources
Manager, Data & Analytics (University of Florida / Gainesville, FL): More details HERE.
Athletics Business Analyst (Brown University / Providence, RI): More details HERE.
Coaching/Operations/Recruiting
Manager, Game Operations (University of Texas – Austin / Austin, TX): More details HERE.
Assistant Athletics Coach, Baseball (Babson College / Wellesley, MA): More details HERE.
Head Coach of Soccer (Charleston Southern University / North Charleston, SC): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to North Charleston? Click HERE.
Head Women's Volleyball Coach (Waynesburg University / Waynesburg, PA): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Waynesburg? Click HERE.
Assistant Coach Volleyball (Florida International University / Miami, FL): More details HERE.
Assistant Men's Tennis Coach (Temple University / Philadelphia, PA): More details HERE.
Women's Soccer Goalkeeper Graduate Assistant (University of Arkansas at Little Rock / Little Rock, AR): More details HERE.
Assistant Coach, Sailing (Tulane University / New Orleans, LA): More details HERE.
Assistant Women's Soccer Coach (Murray State University / Murray, KY): More details HERE.
Communications/Marketing/Digital/Social
Assistant Director, Marketing and Fan Engagement (University of Northern Colorado / Greeley, CO): More details HERE.
Director of Broadcast Services (Charleston Southern University / North Charleston, SC): More details HERE.
Director of Graphic Design (Rice University / Houston, TX): More details HERE.
Assistant Director, Marketing and Videoboard Operations (University of Miami / Coral Gables, FL): More details HERE.
Assistant Director for Athletic Communications (Charleston Southern University / North Charleston, SC): More details HERE.
Assistant Creative Director (University of Kentucky / Lexington, KY): More details HERE.
Creative Content Director Associate (University of Kentucky / Lexington, KY): More details HERE.
Lead Broadcast Engineer (University of Georgia / Athens, GA): More details HERE.
Producer of Broadcast Services (Rice University / Houston, TX): More details HERE.
Coordinator, Digital Media (Ohio State University / Columbus, OH): More details HERE.
Director, Revenue Marketing (University of Florida / Gainesville, FL): More details HERE.
Manager, Data & Analytics (University of Florida / Gainesville, FL): More details HERE.
Fan Engagement and Ticketing Coordinator (Colgate University / Hamilton, NY): More details HERE.
Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill / Chapel Hill, NC): More details HERE.
Assistant/Associate Director of Athletics for Communications (Hofstra University / Hempstead, NY): More details HERE.
Compliance/Legal/NIL
Associate Athletic Director, Compliance (La Salle University / Philadelphia, PA): More details HERE.
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Assistant Vice Chancellor for Strategic Development and Athletic Partnerships (University of South Carolina – Upstate / Spartanburg, SC): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Spartanburg? Click HERE.
Senior Director of Development, Athletics (Campbell University / Buies Creek, NC): More details HERE.
Director, Revenue Generation (Learfield / Morgantown, WV): More details HERE.
Director of Athletic Development (Creighton University / Omaha, NE): More details HERE.
Associate Manager-Athletics Annual Giving (University of Alabama at Birmingham / Birmingham, AL): More details HERE.
Senior Associate Athletic Director, Championship Resources (University of South Alabama / Mobile, AL): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Mobile? Click HERE.
Assistant Director of Development (United States Naval Academy / Annapolis, MD): More details HERE.
Executive & Senior Leadership
Director of Athletics (Sam Houston State University / Huntsville, TX): More details HERE. The D1.dossier for this position is available HERE. What would it cost to move to Huntsville? Click HERE.
Senior Associate Athletic Director, Championship Resources (University of South Alabama / Mobile, AL): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Mobile? Click HERE.
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Assistant AD, Equipment Operations (Long Beach State University / Long Beach, CA): More details HERE.
Manager of Athletics Facilities and Equipment (Loyola University Maryland / Baltimore, MD): More details HERE.
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Associate Athletic Director for Facilities and Event Management (Monmouth University / West Long Branch, NJ): More details HERE.
Associate Commissioner for Basketball (American Conference / Irving, TX): More details HERE.
General Administration
There are no openings in this field at this time.
Health/Wellness/Performance/Training
Sport Psychologist (University of North Carolina at Charlotte / Charlotte, NC): More details HERE.
Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning (Bowling Green State University / Bowling Green, OH): More details HERE.
Sponsorships/Corporate Relations
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Strategic Development and Athletic Partnerships (University of South Carolina – Upstate / Spartanburg, SC): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Spartanburg? Click HERE.
Senior Associate Athletic Director, Championship Resources (University of South Alabama / Mobile, AL): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Mobile? Click HERE.
Ticket Sales/Ticket Operations
Senior Director, Ticket Sales (University of Florida / Gainesville, FL): More details HERE.
Fan Engagement and Ticketing Coordinator (Colgate University / Hamilton, NY): More details HERE.
Director, Athletics Ticket Sales (Tulane University / New Orleans, LA): More details HERE.