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Leadership from Florida State, Miami (FL), Clemson, and North Carolina sent a joint letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Majority Whip Tom Emmer requesting key changes to the Protect College Sports Act, according to Tomahawk Nation's Jon Loesche. Obtained via a FOIA request, the document reveals that while the coalition supports the overarching bill, it is seeking two specific adjustments: raising the power conference membership cap from 20 to 22 institutions and removing the three-year independence requirement for schools transferring between covered leagues. The four institutions argue that forced independence imposes an unnecessary penalty on departing programs that have already negotiated exit fees with their former conferences, coming after Florida Senators Ashley Moody and Rick Scott previously opposed procedural votes over realignment restrictions. The coalition outlines its stance on modifying institutional transfer rules: "The three-year independence requirement would impose a significant additional consequence on an institution seeking to change conferences, particularly when conferences and their members have already negotiated the financial terms surrounding an exit." (link)

Expanded postseason formats across American sports are manufacturing television inventory by prioritizing late-season relevance over competitive excellence, according to The Athletic's Jason Lloyd. The trend spans every major league, with the NFL expanding its playoff field to 14 teams, the NBA involving 20 franchises via the play-in tournament, MLB admitting 12 teams—including the 81-81 Houston Astros securing a division title—and the College Football Playoff jumping to 12. While the inaugural 12-team CFP produced lopsided first-round results, Lloyd notes the underlying business strategy relies on keeping up to 25 programs in contention deep into November to drive viewership and ticket sales. Here’s more…

Fox has removed Barstool Sports personality Dave Portnoy and his colleagues from its Big Noon Kickoff college football pregame show, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. Portnoy claimed Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day pressed Fox executives to drop him after OSU threatened to pull talent access, though university officials referred all comments to Fox, which declined to comment. While Fox had brought on Portnoy and Dan "Big Cat" Katz a year ago to rival ESPN’s Pat McAfee, sources cited the ongoing friction of pairing Barstool’s aggressive persona with Fox's traditional broadcast desk—led by Urban Meyer, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn, Mark Ingram II, and Rob Stone—as unsustainable. Portnoy: "Ohio State has relentlessly complained to Fox... The juice wasn’t worth the squeeze." (link)

Miami (OH) was prepared to spend roughly $30M to move to the American, according to Extra Points publisher Matt Brown, who notes: “Miami is different from most other MAC schools. While some of its conference peers struggle with declining enrollment, lackluster fan support and declining local economies, Miami has always reached a different audience. When I was growing up in Ohio, the school had a reputation as ‘J Crew U,’ the public university home for the affluent who wanted a more academically elite experience. The school’s donor profile (more national, more corporate) really does have more in common with many ACC or other power league schools than it does with half of the MAC.” Brown goes on to report the newly rebranded Metro Conference is targeting NEC members Stonehill and Le Moyne to fortify its membership inventory against potential DI reclassification withdrawals. Brown adds: “Beyond the Northeast, I’m told conversations between leagues and new members are happening from the Midwest to the Great Plains, West Coast and beyond.” (link)

Front Office Sports’ Colin Salao shares his experience at Northwestern’s inaugural game at Ryan Field. Tons of photos and videos ranging from the concessions menu to standing under the student section, dubbed “The Wildcat Wall.” Check it out. (link)

While Miami (FL) Football student-athlete Darian Mensah’s multimillion-dollar settlement with Duke served as one of the first real tests of whether a college football player contract could hold up, On3’s Pete Nakos opines it certainly won’t be the last as Power 4 GMs, administrators and agents report buyout clauses and exit penalties are becoming standard practice to deter early departures. Here’s what you need to know…

North Dakota State’s unbeaten start to the 2026 football campaign in its initial year playing at the FBS level has resulted in the national exposure the school desired. However, that visibility can cut both ways, per ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, who notes “NDSU's dynasty was built around finding players bigger programs missed and developing them. … That model is harder to sustain now. NDSU's best players will have more exposure against FBS competition, they can transfer without sitting out and staying in Fargo could mean turning down significant money elsewhere once they prove themselves.” And the better North Dakota State performs overall, the more complicated that issue could become. Bison Football HC Tim Polasek: “Unfortunately now the college game is about who can win the race to maturity year by year and who can win the race to maturity the fastest. Where we used to just be -- we still are -- we used to just be an engine of development ... and that's being challenged daily in college athletics." Bonagura adds: “NDSU outgrew the FCS. Now it is time to find out if the model that got it there can evolve fast enough to keep pace with an ever-changing FBS.” (link)

North Carolina Football HC Bill Belichick prematurely signed a liability waiver alongside his five-year, $50M contract that could limit his legal recourse if fired, according to Sportico’s Daniel Libit. While the first three years of the deal are fully guaranteed—requiring UNC to pay roughly $20M if terminated without cause before December 31, 2027—the executed release form waives claims against the university upon termination. Heels Senior Director of Communications Kevin Best noted that coaches are not intended to sign the form at hiring, stating: "Though coaches are generally instructed that Exhibit A is not supposed to be signed at the time of their hiring, it sometimes is inadvertently signed at that time." Most of Belichick’s staff also signed the waiver. (link)

Arizona State has retained former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Scott Bales to lead an independent investigation into the Men’s Hockey team workout that left 21-year-old sophomore student-athlete Matthew Mayich hospitalized on life support with nonresponsive exertional heat stroke, according to The Athletic’s Katie Strang, Nathan Fenno, and Adam Kilgore. Also of note: “According to the school’s release, Bales also is expected to make recommendations on planning, staffing and response relating to outdoor athletic activities, as well as the “use of outside consultants in the planning and delivery of strength and conditioning and practice activities.” The independent review is expected to conclude by December. (link)

The 2026 MAC Women’s Soccer Championship will be conducted at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, home of the MLS’s Columbus Crew, following its relocation from Historic Crew Stadium due to scheduled turf maintenance. This will mark the second consecutive year the event has been held at a neutral site. (link)

The Summit League is teaming up with Athletics Admin to “better understand the league’s current use of AI, identify opportunities to enhance existing workflows and develop thoughtful strategies for using emerging technology to support its staff and member institutions.” (link)

Georgia Tech has received a $500K gift commitment from the Shoob family to support the Full Steam Ahead initiative. (link)

Fairfield expanded its partnership with Yale New Haven Health, naming the healthcare provider its official jersey patch sponsor in a deal brokered by Van Wagner. The logo will feature on home and away uniforms across seven Stags programs—basketball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball and field hockey. (link)

UC Irvine is enhancing its broadcast set-up and launching international streaming access for select home events, beginning this year. The expansion builds upon UCI's existing ESPN+ broadcast operation and extends the department's live-event coverage to audiences across the globe. International distribution will vary by location, with fans throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, Canada and other eligible territories able to watch participating events live and on demand through BigWest.org/Watch. Latin America and the Caribbean will continue to receive coverage through Disney+ International, while domestic U.S. broadcasts remain exclusively available through ESPN+. Fans can access broadcasts through annual $$129.99), monthly ($12.99) or 24-hour ($6.99) subscription plans. (link)

NCAA President Charlie Baker believes the Protect College Sports Act still has a strong chance of House action after the midterms despite concerns about the legislation’s passage. Speaking at Puck’s In the Arena conference, Baker stopped short of predicting it would pass in the upcoming lame-duck session, per SBJ’s Ben Fischer, arguing the bill was ripe for serious consideration as part of political horse trading between Senate and House leadership. “There’s a whole bunch of stuff the House has passed that’s sitting in the Senate. There’s a whole bunch of stuff the Senate’s passed that’s sitting in the House ... I don’t know if we end up being part of those conversations or not, but I think it’s just as likely as not that we will, because we are something that got a profoundly significant overwhelmingly positive vote in the Senate.” Asked by Puck’s John Ourand about which parts of the bill he doesn’t support, Baker responded: “When I was governor, I signed hundreds of bills. I never signed a bill that was perfect. There’s always stuff in there you don’t like, OK? That’s called democracy. I think this thing is much better for college sports than not.” (link)

Florida State is evaluating a modern restructuring of its athletic department following the termination of AD Michael Alford, with leadership under President Richard McCullough and Board of Trustees Chair Peter Collins seeking to address structural business challenges, per the Tallahassee Democrat’s Jim Henry. Here are the details…

The Ohio First District Court of Appeals has reversed the judgment of the trial court's preliminary injunction in the Borovicanin v. NCAA five-for-five eligibility case and the Kentucky Court of Appeals has dissolved the injunction allowing class of 2022 student-athletes to compete. Boise State Assoc. Professor Sam Ehrlich: “Notably, the appellate court is not disturbing the [Ohio] trial court's finding that athletes are intended third-party beneficiaries of the NCAA bylaws (though it's not affirmatively saying they are). That's a critical threshold issue, and a key ‘Can this be revisited?’ question for me. … While the opinion is mostly on procedural issues, the [Kentucky] court does joins Ohio from this morning in rejecting the idea that the plain text of the new eligibility rule bylaw allows Class of 2022 athletes eligibility, albeit for somewhat different (though more forceful) reasons.” (link, link, link)

Charlotte AD Kevin White joined the Highway 49 Podcast to discuss the evolving financial landscape and more. Here are some takeaways…

Ole Miss has agreed to a deal to have Adidas serve as its new official apparel partner, starting in June 2027 after the expiration of its current Nike contract, per On3’s Pete Nakos and Brett McMurphy. JohnCanzano.com’s namesake adds that “Adidas’ NIL commitment is 10x the school’s previous deal.” (link, link) 

Ohio inks a five-year deal with Nike and BSN Sports to serve as the Bobcats official apparel, uniform, equipment and accessories provider, beginning in July 2027. (link)

Cal Poly extends its apparel partnership with Adidas, while naming Game One as its official collegiate team dealer. The agreement provides uniforms, apparel and equipment across all 22 of the Mustangs’ Division I programs. (link)

UConn expands its partnership with UConn Health to place the medical care provider’s logo on the Huskies’ men’s and women’s basketball home and away uniforms, starting in 2026-27, alongside a number of other activations. (link)

Central Michigan launches Maroon & Gold BOLD Phase II, the next chapter of its Forge the Future athletics fundraising initiative. Following the success of phase one, which surpassed its original $25M philanthropic target by the end of June, athletics is now expanding the venture’s vision by establishing a new goal of $50M. Phase II will focus on garnering donor support for strategic investments, with priorities including a proposed facility envisioned to provide all student-athletes with comprehensive next-level training, nutrition, care and support and the completion of fundraising for the CMU Men's and Women's Golf Practice Facility, a project currently under construction. In addition to facility enhancements, Phase II will rally donor investment for student-athlete excellence initiatives; strengthen operational resources across all programs; expand opportunities for coaches to recruit and retain top talent; and create meaningful experiences that directly support student-athlete success. (link)

On3’s Andy Staples writes on the 11% drop in college football viewership thus far and reports: “According to a source with knowledge of Disney’s viewership data, SEC minutes watched are up 41 percent year-over-year for the season’s first month. In more publicly available stats, nine of the 10 most watched games so far this season included an SEC team. Only three of the 10 most watched games included a Big Ten team.” On the B1G: “The league’s insistence on waiting until week three to schedule conference games hurts its ability to put compelling games in every major TV window and leaves it as a disadvantage as other leagues build audience sooner. … The disparity isn’t because all the SEC teams scheduled more grueling non-conference games, either. It’s because the SEC — and the ACC and Big 12, for that matter — also schedule more intelligently than the Big Ten. … This is why commissioner Tony Petitti came on my show last month and said the league would happily comply with a proposed College Football Playoff rule that requires 10 ‘qualifying events’ — conference games plus non-conference games against Power 4 opponents and Notre Dame — should the CFP expand to 24 teams.” (link)

Kansas State is reportedly finalizing a settlement with former Wildcats Men’s Basketball HC Jerome Tang, which will pay him $12M between now and the end of 2027, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, who adds: “[KSU] attempted to fire Tang for cause last year. He was owed $18.7M.” (link)

The Sun Belt is expanding its partnership with Trackman to debut the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System during baseball conference play and introduce in-game data and analytics delivery to softball coaches and staff via in-dugout tablets in 2027. (link)

Fresno State introduces Bulldog Processing, a new program powered by The Credit Card Guys that provides Central Valley businesses with an opportunity to reduce credit card processing costs, while up to 50% of generated net profits from participating companies will get contributed back to athletics. (link) 

San Diego State’s football team continues to deal with a mumps outbreak and projects to be down to just 10 opening-day starters against Texas State, combining both the viral infection and conventional injuries. This marks the third straight week the joint issues have cost them nearly half the team’s starters. ESPN’s Pete Thamel notes the team is still being tested and monitored, so that number could change prior to Saturday’s kickoff. (link)

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has unveiled the new moniker for the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery entity – Skydance. (link)

Greta Van Fleet has announced their 2027 North American and European “Into the Beginning” tour, running from February 3-July 31. During its 59-city jaunt, the band will visit a number of college-affiliated venues, including: Creighton’s CHI Health Center (Feb. 13); Green Bay’s Resch Center (Feb. 17); Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center (Feb. 19); Siena’s MVP Arena (March 6); Tennessee’s Food City Center (March 13); Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena (March 24); Boise State’s ExtraMile Arena (March 27); Saint Louis’ Chaifetz Arena (July 14); Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center (July 16); and NC State’s Lenovo Center (July 20). (link)

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