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​Now that a small group of college sports executives, spearheaded by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti and Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua, has negotiated an agreement with ESPN to expand the College Football Playoff to 24 teams through 2031, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger examines the most pressing issues brought about by the new format. Here’s what you need to know…

Expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams will have a “seismic impact on bowl games,” per The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman, who opines the move threatens to reduce the available Power 4 inventory for the 35 bowl games currently operating outside the playoff structure. D1.takeaways…

Reactions continue to pour in from across the media landscape regarding the proposed expansion of the College Football Playoff to 24 teams, as pundits weigh in on regular-season stakes, the consolidation of power within the SEC and Big Ten and what the decision portends. With so many different opinions – far too many to include in today’s Evening Standard – we’ve prepared this addendum to keep you fully informed on the national conversation. (link)

​Little Rock AD Frank Cuervo agrees to a four-year contract extension, securing his leadership of the Trojans through the 2029-30 academic campaign. Chancellor Christina Drale: “Frank has brought tremendous leadership, energy and vision to Trojan Athletics. His commitment to our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the greater Little Rock community has helped move our department forward in meaningful ways. Frank and his team have established a strong foundation for continued growth. We are excited about what lies ahead for the Trojans under his leadership." (link)

James Madison has found an “unusual” method of easing the financial burden of its impending American move, per the Daily News-Record’s Shane Mettlen and Catie Harper, who note that as part of its invitation to enter on or before July 1, 2028, JMU is delivering new corporate sponsorship agreements directly to the league to cover its record $23M entrance fee. Key takeaways…

Penn State’s recent “White Out” home attendance record of 114,419, set in the middle of a multi-year, $700M renovation of Beaver Stadium, exemplifies the anomaly that is PSU’s decision to buck industry trends by increasing rather than decreasing its stadium size, per SBJ’s Matt Fortuna. Driven by a base of 94K season-ticket holders, the university prioritized maintaining fan access over downsizing, resulting in a temporary capacity spike to 110,861 physical seats for 2026, up more than 6K seats YoY. The three-year project plans to incorporate 10,523 premium seats, including the Schuyler and Marzano clubs, accounting for roughly 10% of total capacity. PSU Deputy AD for Internal Operations Vinnie James: “We knew that we didn’t want to lose the fabric of what Beaver Stadium was and meant to this fan base for decades. … I think it ultimately came down to we knew what our fans were wanting in terms of different types of seating options, so we had to deliver some of that. Mostly, though, we had to maintain our capacity. That was the biggest driver in all of this. … It was really, really important to us that people had access to come to our games, and that we didn’t have too few seats here to accommodate what this fan base deserves.” (link)

​Jacksonville State has received Board of Trustees approval to begin a $2.5M construction project at Jim Case Stadium to expand the right field wooden-bleacher section, currently occupied by “Cocky Corner,” into a 4,500-square-foot tiered deck to provide more student seating. Per The Chanticleer’s Danika Morton, the plan also includes a new 4,500-square-foot weight room for the baseball student-athletes, at the end of the current hitting facility along the right field line, that will house a small nutrition area as well as offices for strength and conditioning coaches and extra storage. In collaboration with builder Bradshaw and Pitts and Bill Whittaker Architecture, the tiered-deck proposal is being fast-tracked for completion by the start of the season in early February, while the weight room will be a nine-month effort that’s expected to conclude by August 2027. The $2.5M was fully gifted to the program and the board ensured it would not be an institutional project. (link)    

Rhode Island plans to unveil its new outdoor track and field facility this Wednesday. The new complex features a nine-lane track; multiple jump runways, including two long/triple jump runways with four sand pits; two pole vault runways with four pole vault boxes; two high jump areas; a separate throws facility for combined hammer/discus, javelin and shot put; a 200-seat bleacher grandstand and press box; and a new digital-display scoreboard. (link)

The Big 12 extends its partnership with Edward Jones for one season to remain the title sponsor of the football championship game and serve as the league’s official wealth management partner, creating a series of financial education resources for student-athletes. (link)

Integrity Compliance 360 is expanding its footprint in the prediction market space by extending its partnership with Novig, per ESPN’s David Purdum, who notes the company will utilize IC360’s tech for market surveillance, prohibited trading, national self-exclusion and athlete harassment. (link)

Maryland has collaborated with digital platform Athios to launch the Maryland Creator Lab and Academy, providing its student-athletes and other UMD students with hands-on instruction, individualized guidance and access to potential partnerships as they build content creation skills, grow their audiences and pursue personal branding and NIL opportunities. (link)

Houston plans to honor its late Director of Strength and Performance for Football Kurt Hester with an “Unbreakable” jersey patch during this Saturday’s upcoming game against Utah. Per the Houston Chronicle’s Joseph Duarte, Sunday will mark the one-year anniversary of Hester’s death. “Unbreakable,” Hester’s personal slogan during his eight-month battle with melanoma, is prominently displayed throughout UH’s Memorial Hermann Football Operations Center. Cougars Football HC Willie Fritz: “He was very impactful in our program.” (link)

People & Places…
➤ The Atlantic 10 hires Richard Childress Racing CRO Jason Golden as Deputy Commissioner for Chief Revenue/Chief Marketing Officer. (link)
➤ Charlotte taps George Washington Assoc. AD for Business Administration Jihad Ali as Executive Senior Assoc. AD/CFO. (link)

​A member of the Air Force passed away from his injuries after he fell as part of a pregame ceremony for UTSA's annual Salute to Armed Forces & Veterans game, before the Roadrunners’ football game against Navy on Saturday. Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs issued a statement saying the service member, who was assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2, was injured at the stadium and died at a local hospital. From UTSA: “We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the start of tonight’s football game. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the soldier who was affected, his family and his military colleagues.” (link, link)

American Commissioner Tim Pernetti was onsite in San Antonio and met with both member institutions, and a working group to review the information available and discuss next steps. On3’s Brett McMurphy: “One important distinction in the Alamodome tragedy: The American Conference, who understands a little something about the military academies, followed casualty update protocols from [the] Air Force, in alignment with UTSA & Navy, about game continuation. Military notification protocols exist for a reason. Families come first.” (link)

The American addressed decision-making, timelines and protocols for continuation of play in a statement and added: "All of us at the American Conference are heartbroken by the death of the U.S. Air Force service member who took part in the pregame demonstration at the Alamodome on Oct. 17. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, teammates and members of the 57th Wing who had the privilege of serving with him. We honor his service and join the military community in mourning his loss.” (link)

ESPN's Heather Dinich added from a source who worked in lockstep with conference and Nellis AFB: "The league wanted to protect the Air Force’s next-of-kin notification process and the family’s privacy was central to how the league handled its communication.” (link)

Michigan State AD Dan Bartholomae expressed support for Football HC Pat Fitzgerald after Fitzgerald, in the parlance of Top Gun, was seen “keeping up foreign relations” with officials during the Spartans’ 38-37 loss to Illinois earlier in the month. According to The Detroit News' Tony Paul, the incident occurred after a disputed offsides ruling on an apparently successful late-game onside kick recovery, leading Fitzgerald to wave his arms to rally the crowd before briefly extending his middle finger toward the officiating crew. While Fitzgerald publicly apologized during his weekly press conference—acknowledging he got caught up in the moment—Bartholomae embraced the competitive fire: "We are not sitting here trying to be choir children. And so, did I have a problem with what Pat did? I did not. I did not. In fact, I appreciated that got the crowd riled up. ... That's the kind of energy that I want. I think you have to have a little bit of fire in your belly." (link)

San Francisco AD Brent Blaylock sat down with College.town’s Kristen Eargle to discuss his first 90 days leading the Dons' athletic department and the realities of modern collegiate administration. Key comments…

​The DI Women’s Volleyball Committee has announced its Top 16 rankings, lead by Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Kentucky & Wisconsin in the top four spots. That quartet is followed, in order, by Florida, SMU, Louisville, TCU, BYU, Oregon, Vanderbilt, Texas, UCLA, Penn State, Washington & Purdue. (link)

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Volleyball HC Dan Fisher shared his thoughts on the NCAA’s proposed December transfer portal, which would fall right before the Sweet 16: "I'm really, really disappointed in this recommendation. In almost every other sport, the NCAA has found a way to get the portal out of the season. For whoever's listening, I hope we can put some pressure on the powers that be so they can do the right thing for the 200 to 250 student-athletes still remaining. We have a chance to align ourselves with the football portal window. It's not perfect, but it's better than the current scenario." Kentucky HC Craig Skinner also voiced his support for Fisher’s position. (link)

Data from 95 Power 4 and Notre Dame games this season reveals a projected correlation between roster spending and on-field success, according to The Athletic's Emily Giambalvo and Yuriko Schumacher. Teams wielding a budget advantage of at least $5M win 68% of their matchups, while those with a gap of at least $10M secure victories 79% of the time. The analysis breaks down win rates across specific budget disparities, with teams winning 55% of games (23-19) with a $5M to $10M gap, 86% (12-2) with a $10M to $15M gap, 79% (15-4) with a $15M to $20M gap, and 75% (15-5) with a gap of at least $20M. Upsets remain possible, evidenced by Oklahoma State (roughly $20M) defeating Oregon and Kentucky beating Texas A&M and LSU, but most of the 12 programs who have at least a 35% chance of reaching the College Football Playoff, per Austin Mock's October 17 estimates, sit at the top of the spending hierarchy. (link)

ESPN College GameDay is staying in the Beehive State, making the trip from Provo to Salt Lake City for Saturday’s Utah-Houston matchup. (link)

The SEC fined Tennessee $500K for fans storming the Neyland Stadium field after the Vols’ victory over Alabama on Saturday. (link)

​The Michigan Board of Regents approved two major athletic and medical infrastructure projects totaling $184M, including a $29M, 28K-square-foot Men's Gymnastics Training Center and a $155M, 100K-square-foot Sports Medicine Institute. Designed by Integrated Architecture and funded through Intercollegiate Athletics resources, the new gymnastics venue adjacent to the Bahna Wrestling Center features dedicated practice areas, locker rooms, recovery spaces, and staff offices to replace the team's current practice space in the Coliseum building, which is slated for demolition ahead of its planned fall 2028 completion. Additionally, the Nathan and Catherine Forbes Sports Medicine Institute in south Ann Arbor will feature 34 exam rooms, an ambulatory surgery center, physical therapy, performance training, and procedural spaces for regenerative therapies, with SmithGroup serving as architect ahead of its fall 2028 opening. (link, link, link)

Ole Miss has received a $2M gift from Karen and Bruce Moore to support a new golf complex that will bear their name. The facility, expected to be completed by fall 2027, will include administrative and coaches' offices, and player lounges designed to enhance the experience and development of both men's and women's golf student-athletes. (link)

Missouri has received a “significant gift” from alumni Denny and Carla Boyd to support improvements for the competition pool and aquatic area in the MU Recreation Center. (link)

The Athletic’s Eno Sarris explains how the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers are implementing modern analytical frameworks and developmental technology to establish sustainable, high-efficiency competitive models. Both franchises rank among the top ten MLB organizations in R&D investment, leveraging tools like KinaTrax markerless biomechanics tracking, Edgertronic high-speed cameras, and pitching lab tech—highlighted by Milwaukee's $60M Spring Training facility renovation in 2019. The Rays revolutionized pitching usage by introducing the "opener" strategy in 2018, while the Brewers have maximized roster construction by prioritizing elite catcher defense, deeper contact points for clutch hitting, and fielding rosters with shorter, highly agile position players. Sarris notes both clubs continue to exploit market inefficiencies across pitch design, outfield jump metrics, and base-stealing math to consistently outperform higher-spending rivals: "These two organizations are relentless in their pursuit of the edge, any edge. ... These two organizations are always at the forefront of pitch design because they value the insights borne of data from cutting-edge technology and have the personnel in place to implement it." (link)

A Los Angeles hospitality group used a $60K trade on ​Kalshi to offset revenue lost ‌after the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to reach the World Series, ​per Reuters, which notes: “The group, ⁠which operates 25 bars, many of ​them near the Dodger Stadium, made a $60K ​trade on Kalshi if the team did not advance. The position returned nearly twice ​the original stake, Kalshi ​said, helping make up for business the ‌bars ⁠would have received from additional playoff games. The trade points to a small but growing use ​of prediction ​markets ⁠by businesses seeking protection against risks that conventional ​financial products may not cover.” (link)

A network of Super PACs financed by DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, and Bet365 has injected nearly $100M over the past year into state legislative elections to advance gambling industry interests. The sportsbook operators utilize the Win for America PAC to distribute capital to bipartisan affiliates, recently allocating $5.9M to the Republican-aligned American Conservative Fund PAC and $2.7M to the Democrat-aligned American Future PAC from a $9.65M contribution. The PAC also executed substantial investments in mailers and television through political consulting firms like Sway ($347K) and Targeted Platform Media LLC ($194K). The advertising campaigns intentionally omit any mention of sports betting, instead leveraging hot-button political issues to influence the state lawmakers responsible for regulating online casinos and establishing corporate tax rates. (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!) Executive Associate Athletic Director/Director of Athletic Development (Fairfield University / Fairfield, CT): Seeking a dynamic, accomplished, and highly motivated Executive Associate Athletic Director/Director of Athletic Development to lead its athletic fundraising program. More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Fairfield? Click HERE.

(NEW!) Senior Associate Commissioner for Institutional Services (Mid-American Conference / Cleveland, OH): The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is seeking an experienced, collaborative, and strategic leader to serve as Senior Associate Commissioner for Institutional Services. More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Cleveland? Click HERE.

(NEW!) Assistant Athletic Director for Business Operations (Albany State University / Albany, GA): Help shape the future of Golden Rams Athletics by leading financial operations, strengthening fiscal accountability, and supporting the continued growth of our 12 NCAA Division II programs. (DII) More details HERE.

(NEW!) Director of Development - Athletics (Southeast Missouri State University / Cape Girardeau, MO): Southeast Missouri State University is seeking a motivated, relationship-driven Director of Development to grow philanthropic support for SEMO Athletics and the SEMO Athletics Fund. More details HERE.

(NEW!) Associate Director, Performance Nutrition - Olympic Sports (University of Central Florida / Orlando, FL): Position is engaged in the administration, organization, and supervision of a progressive sports nutrition department More details HERE.

(NEW!) Academic Advisor (San Diego State University / San Diego, CA): Help SDSU athletes succeed in the classroom and beyond by providing personalized academic advising, supporting NCAA eligibility, and creating meaningful opportunities for academic and personal growth. More details HERE.

(NEW!) Athletic Trainer (Utah State University / Logan, UT): Utah State University Athletics is on the hunt for a passionate, skilled individual to join our team and work directly with our Men’s and Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country programs. More details HERE.

Athletics Academic Advisor / Education Support Specialist II (Longwood University / Farmville, VA): More details HERE.

Senior Athletics Academic Advisor (University of Oklahoma / Norman, OK): More details HERE.

Senior Associate Athletics Director, Business & Financial Strategy (Athletics CFO) (The George Washington University / Washington, DC): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Washington? Click HERE.

Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) (University of Minnesota / Minneapolis, MN): More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director, Business Operations (La Salle University / Philadelphia, PA): More details HERE.

Director of Athlete Compensation (Clemson University / Clemson, SC): More details HERE.

General Manager, Athletics (Florida Gulf Coast University / Fort Myers, FL): More details HERE.

Assistant Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach (Colgate University / Hamilton, NY): More details HERE.

Part-time Cross Country / Track & Field Assistant Coach (Colgate University / Hamilton, NY): More details HERE.

Men's Assistant Coach (Swarthmore College / Swarthmore, PA): More details HERE.

Assistant Director of Communications & Digital Media (University of Denver / Denver, CO): More details HERE.

Production Technician (University of Denver / Denver, CO): More details HERE.

Coordinator - Marketing and Fan Engagement (University of Maryland – Baltimore County / Baltimore, MD): More details HERE.

Assistant Director of Strategic Communications (University of North Carolina at Charlotte / Charlotte, NC): More details HERE.

Assoc. Director, Communications - Multiple Sports (Baseball Primary) (Texas Tech University / Lubbock, TX): More details HERE.

Strategic Communications Coordinator (Fresno State / Fresno, CA): More details HERE.

Director of Athletic Compliance (Ball State University / Muncie, IN): More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Director - Compliance and Governance (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill / Chapel Hill, NC): More details HERE.

Associate Director of Compliance - Athletics (University of Colorado – Boulder / Boulder, CO): More details HERE.

Director of Athlete Compensation (Clemson University / Clemson, SC): More details HERE.

Director of Roster Strategy & Analytics (Clemson University / Clemson, SC): More details HERE.

Director of Development, Student & Campus Life and Athletics (Cornell University / Ithaca, NY): More details HERE.

Assistant Director of Development & Revenue Generation (University of Maryland – Baltimore County / Baltimore, MD): More details HERE.

Associate Director / Director of Major Gifts-Utah State Athletics (Utah State University / Logan, UT): More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director for Advancement (Lafayette College / Easton, PA): More details HERE.

Director of Premium Seating (Texas A&M University 12th Man Foundation / College Station, TX): More details HERE.

Director OR Senior Director of Donor Experiences and Special Events (Virginia Athletics Foundation) (University of Virginia / Charlottesville, VA): More details HERE.

Major Gift Officer, Athletics Development (Villanova University / Villanova, PA): More details HERE.

Donor Stewardship and Engagement Specialist (Duke University / Durham, NC): More details HERE.

Senior Associate Athletics Director, Business & Financial Strategy (Athletics CFO) (The George Washington University / Washington, DC): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Washington? Click HERE.

Assistant AD for Grounds (United States Naval Academy / Annapolis, MD): More details HERE.

Director of Premium Seating (Texas A&M University 12th Man Foundation / College Station, TX): More details HERE.

Manager or Director, Custodial & Grounds Operations (Facilities Maintenance) (Colgate University / Hamilton, NY): More details HERE.

Events & Facilities Coordinator (Fresno State / Fresno, CA): More details HERE.

Executive Assistant to the Director of Athletics (San Diego State University / San Diego, CA): More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Trainer (Middle Tennessee State University / Murfreesboro, TN): More details HERE.

Mental Health Counselor (Temple University / Philadelphia, PA): More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Director of Integrated Behavioral Health (Penn State / University Park, PA): More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Trainer (University of Illinois Chicago / Chicago, IL): More details HERE.

There are no job openings in this area of expertise at this time.

Account Executive, Ticket Sales (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): More details HERE.