Morning Edition
October 6, 2026
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The Bulletin Board...
“It’s really about smart growth and managing risk. We’re in no rush here. We’re going to find the right projects that have the right setup, the right partnerships and the right economics. So part of it is just to temper extreme ambition where the risk goes up.”
Doug Vosik
Houston Texans CMO, to SBJ, on the launch of Hustle Town Studio, a content production house designed to co-fund and produce non-football media
Read this and more in today's CRO.ticker, including Fanatics weaponizing $2B to wage a sports betting ad war, Amazon and Kohl's actively blocking autonomous AI shopping bots, and the Chicago Cubs winning a permanent injunction against rogue rooftop ticket sellers. (link)
D1.dossiers... are ready for Air Force, Campbell, Duquesne, Incarnate Word, Iowa State, Louisiana, Michigan, Radford, Rice, Rider, South Carolina State, UAB and Western Illinois. Coming soon: Detroit Mercy, Florida State, Jackson State and Sam Houston State. Just $349 for an entire year of access to all dossiers. (link)
Featured Opportunity…
CollegeAD shares the latest on the Campbell AD search, noting it is “already in the final interview stage,” adding: “It's our understanding that in-person interviews got underway last week, with those conversations expected to wrap up this week.” (link)
Kansas State AD Gene Taylor confirmed to The Mercury on Monday that the department will take out a traditional bank loan to pay former Men’s Basketball HC Jerome Tang the $12M termination settlement the two parties agreed to. Per his contract, Tang was owed $18.7M. Taylor noted that “if we had to come up with that out of cash, it would’ve hurt us,” and added that asking donors to cover the buyout was not ideal “because of everything else we’re asking from them.” (link, link)
Barstool Sports Founder Dave Portnoy confirms his removal from Fox Sports' Big Noon Kickoff was the result of sustained pressure from Ohio State and HC Ryan Day. Portnoy tells Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel the Buckeyes objected to his involvement from day one due to his history of criticizing the program and Day, and says OSU eventually threatened to withhold cooperation with Fox if Portnoy remained on air. Here’s more…
➤ "If you recall, they actually prevented our [Barstool] show from going to Columbus. I went year one, but our show was denied, and then I wasn’t allowed into the stadium. That became a big story—Ohio State denied that they did it, but really from day one they were very unhappy with me being on the air. Anytime anyone—not only me—would criticize Ohio State or Ryan Day, they would complain. I believe the chain of action would be to complain to the Big Ten [commissioner], Tony Petitti, and then phone calls would be made to Fox complaining, and then calls would be made to me. … It got worse and worse, to the point where I was supposed to be in Columbus two weeks ago. I was getting ready to go out there, and they told me to stay home because Ohio State had basically said, ‘If Dave’s there, we won’t cooperate in any aspect of the show.’ … I think when one of your biggest partners, Ohio State, is saying, ‘We’ll make your life hell if you keep working with Dave Portnoy,’ it makes things difficult.”
➤ On the financial considerations driving Fox's decision: "In the scheme of billions of dollars that’s at stake with them and the Big Ten, to constantly be having to answer your phone every couple days, listening to complaints about why I’m the devil, it’s just like, 'What’s the point? For what? What is the upside?'"
➤ On the status of Wake Up Barstool on FS1: "Nothing has changed to my knowledge with Wake Up Barstool. We obviously continue doing it every day. I wasn’t shocked, but I was surprised I was kicked off Big Noon Kickoff, so if they called me tomorrow and said, 'Hey, we gotta shut the whole thing down,' I guess it wouldn’t shock me." (link)
The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman described the in-stadium experience at Northwestern’s new Ryan Field as akin to an NBA arena with European football flair, highlighting pregame tailgating zones, a pregame DJ, and a "Taste of Chicago" concession lineup featuring local establishments like Frontera Tacos y Tortas by Rick Bayless and Goatdown by Stephanie Izard. The stadium also includes the 2,000-placeholder "Wildcat Wall" standing student section behind the southeast end zone that generated noise levels between 100 and 110 decibels. Dochterman also notes: “For average fans, ticket price, seat location and amenities top the list of in-stadium priorities. Northwestern was self-aware enough to know a new stadium wouldn’t turn it into a Chicagoland attraction on the level of the Bears or Bulls. The cheapest tickets start at $25 and go up to $100, not including premium selections. Every seat has a chairback, and only the seats near the top are a slightly steep climb. But they still offer a good view of the field.” (link)
Extra Points publisher Matt Brown addressed reader questions regarding the adoption of women's flag football: "I know there are multiple institutions in the Big Ten and Big 12, along with several other mid-major leagues across the country, that are very interested in launching programs in the near future. ... Based on what I’ve heard around the industry, I think it’s quite possible, if not probable, for there to be 70-ish DI women’s flag football programs by 2027." (link)
On3’s Brett McMurphy reports the "Bedlam on Ice" game between the club hockey teams at Oklahoma State and Oklahoma is set for January 30 inside Boone Pickens Stadium. McMurphy: “Event will cost $1.5M, including $1M to build the rink, but OSU will not incur any expenses. The project was completed under the leadership of OSU hockey CEO Colleen Harvey. Supporters are hoping to transition OSU’s program to Division I by 2029, sources said.” (link)
Sportico’s Daniel Libit corrects his earlier reporting to point out that North Carolina Football HC Bill Belichick “did not sign the early-termination release in his employment agreement, unlike most of his assistants. UNC posted two identical signature pages w/ his contract online. Belichick’s agent, Neil Cornrich, flagged this for Sportico today. Mea Culpa.” (link)
Following a year of managing athletic department staff transitions, D1.relocation has released its 2026 relocation budget scorecard, revealing that 80% of participating programs finished under budget to generate a collective 26.1% in net savings. The data indicates that offloading administrative burdens and utilizing managed direct-billing networks rather than open reimbursements are key to containing costs, with one program alone reclaiming over 62 hours of internal admin time. To avoid surprise out-of-pocket friction for new hires, the firm advises departments to benchmark fixed allowances against current carrier market rates before issuing offer letters, utilize tiered caps for executive moves, and proactively budget for the often-overlooked cost of temporary storage. (link)
Monroe County (IN) Circuit Court Judge Kara Krothe yesterday denied the NCAA’s request for an emergency stay of the preliminary injunction allowing Indiana football student-athletes Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt, along with several others, to remain eligible. The Daily Hoosier’s Mike Schumann notes Krothe “destroyed the NCAA's irreparable harm argument,” citing this section of the ruling: “The NCAA's argument also ignores the roster crunch it created for the 2027-28 academic year by granting all athletes currently in school (other than those who redshirted) another season of competition. As a result, few athletes currently rostered (other than members of the Class of 2022 competing under court orders) will be forced to leave collegiate sports after this year. Meanwhile, an entire freshman class has already been recruited and expects roster spots. As a result, schools are likely to have less roster spots available next year due to the NCAA's rule change. This Court did not order any school to roster a player and no coach testified he or she would have a roster spot available for any Plaintiff next season.” (link)
UT Arlington reports overall fundraising has increased by 800% since the 2022-23 academic year and nearly $9M raised over the last 18 months. For FY26, the Mavericks raised almost $5M. (link)
Collegiate Sports Connect inks a new partnership with Texas Tech to provide the Red Raiders with access to Connect’s full suite of tools: Talent Finder, Talent Benchmarking, and the newly launched Coach Intel platform. (link)
Iowa State has renewed its partnership with fintech firm Scout and its full platform of payment processing, financial literacy education, one-on-one support, tax preparation and more. (link)
As athletic departments continue looking for best practices on cross-country trips, The Wall Street Journal’s Stu Woo notes that Formula One's traveling entourage of 3K drivers, mechanics, and team personnel maintains peak performance during the Singapore Grand Prix by remaining on European time. To align with European broadcast windows for the 8 p.m. local race and comply with FIA work-hour restrictions, paddock personnel sleep from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time while avoiding daylight. Stanford University Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences Co-Director Jamie Zeitzer notes body clock adjustments require one day per time zone crossed, making blackout curtains necessary for Audi Racing Director Allan McNish during 3:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. shifts. Zeitzer: “Light is by far the biggest issue. Light is the way the internal clock knows what time it is.” Audi driver Nico Hülkenberg adds: “It’s quite pleasant. You don’t have that much jet lag” when returning to Europe. (link)
Evening Standard
October 5, 2026
The most daunting challenge the Protect College Sports Act faces in passing the House might be the short window left to reach a finish line, per ESPN’s Dan Murphy, who notes the legislative body is scheduled for just 20 more working days spread across five weeks between now and the end of the year. “While that could be extended if lawmakers are debating high-priority issues such as a government funding deal, it's unlikely they would add time solely for the PCSA.” If the House can’t reach a vote before the end of 2026, the process would begin anew in January, and if Republicans lose control of the House in the midterms, “the likelihood of the current bill being revived is low.” More…
➤ Portions of the bill prescribing how often schools should schedule games with their rivals, how long the season should last and other items in a "grab bag of random things" in the legislation stretch beyond the role the federal government should play in a private industry, according to a House aide. Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) recently shared a similar sentiment in a statement to the Washington Sun: “It's really important that we allow the schools to govern themselves."
➤ A spokesperson for the Congressional Black Caucus, which remains staunchly opposed to the PCSA as written, says authors haven't been willing to engage in serious conversations with members or with other groups that represent the interests of Black student-athletes while crafting the legislation. “The CBC carries more sway in the House than the Senate -- 58 of its 62 members are in the House. The group played a major role in defeating a different college sports bill called the SCORE Act in the House last year. A spokesperson for the group said the CBC would also like to see university leaders, especially from Southern states, take a stronger stance against racial gerrymandering before throwing its support behind any bill that helps the college sports industry.” (link)
Indiana AD Scott Dolson joined the Leaders and Legends podcast to discuss financial and structural shifts taking place across athletics, infrastructure plans and more. Here are some takeaways…
➤ On the multi-phase $40M infrastructure and fan-experience plans for Memorial Stadium: “There's a line of credit that we'd be able to get that we have to pay back that President [Pam] Whitten was able to secure via the Board of Trustees that will enable us to do a lot of the projects that help us handle sellout crowds, that help us handle really cold weather games in December. … It's a lot of work that is behind the scenes. It's pipes, it's infrastructure, it's bathrooms. … The other side of the track, we're working with a master planner that we're in the silent fundraising phase, will be more of a fan experience and a revenue-generating project with scoreboards, permanent suites in the south end, where there's temporary suites, totally redoing the press box inside and out, putting in a new club area on the west side, and really just [reimagining] concourses.. … It'll feel like you're in a new place, even though it's the same Memorial Stadium. Just much better fan amenities across the board.”
➤ As for IU's commitment to women's athletics through the Women's Excellence Initiative: “The Women's Excellence Initiative … was a way for us to really draw attention across the board to all of our women's sports, not necessarily each particular team, but we felt like certainly it was a fundraising effort because we needed some unbudgeted resources across the board for women's sports. It was really well beyond that. It was really to draw attention to the women's student-athlete experience and to really enhance that and really pay homage to what our women do and really create a momentum behind our women's programs. That sort of rising tide lifts all boats. It's been really successful. We've got a lot of support behind it.” (link)
Northwestern’s $875M Ryan Field marks the first Power 4 football stadium to open its doors since 2014, highlighting an aging venue landscape where 79% of facilities were built over 50 years ago and 59% opened prior to 1950. Yahoo Sports Biz’s Dylan Dittrich contrasts that to the NFL, where the average stadium age is 26, and five stadiums have opened in the last decade, with six more on the way. Facing high construction costs, alongside constraints surrounding land availability, revenue sharing, NIL and donor fatigue, college programs are increasingly turning to multi-hundred-million-dollar renovations and stadium upgrades to boost incremental revenue through expanded hospitality options and mixed-use development. Programs such as Penn State, Kansas, Florida State and Tennessee have all recently pursued or completed major venue overhauls to modernize their facilities without rebuilding from scratch. (link)
YouTube is actively pursuing live sports broadcasting rights to secure “as many games as it can get its hands on” with clean, easily consumable experiences, such as full local-market packages or entire tournament slates, according to CNBC’s Alex Sherman. Unlike Netflix’s strategy of targeting individual games or tournaments that it can turn into mini-events, YouTube is more likely to buy games in bulk if there’s a clear consumer proposition underlying the rights, meaning it’s not interested in a swath of games if there’s no obvious connection to them. The platform is currently in advanced talks to serve as the NBA’s new regional sports network solution for 20 to 25 teams in a deal that could exceed $1B, while also exploring rights for the FIFA Men's World Cup. Strategically, YouTube aims to buy a chunk of live sports and put it behind a paywall to drive $15.99 subscriptions for YouTube Premium, using its core ad-supported platform and creator ecosystem as a front-of-paywall acquisition tool. (link)
The NFL faces a potential reduction in media rights leverage as tech platforms explore sublicensing workarounds instead of acquiring direct broadcast packages, according to LightShed Partners’ Rich Greenfield, Brandon Ross and Mark Kelley. The analysts warn that if Amazon or Netflix replicate YouTube's recent move to bundle Peacock into YouTube Premium—which provided subscribers access to a full season of football without a direct league license—the number of active bidders for future rights will shrink. More you need to know…
➤ LightShed advises watching for the following potential developments: whether any other NFL rights holder follows NBCU into a YouTube Premium-like platform bundle; whether the NFL decides to add anti-bundling language to the next round of agreements because “no sublicensing” clearly did not cover bundling/ingestion; and whether the NFL signals a media rights package structure for 2030 that is materially different from what exists today.
➤ “The NFL is likely to add language that prevents the bundling/ingestion that YouTube Premium/Peacock are exploiting if and when the league triggers its 2029/2030 option(s). There is also nothing that requires the NFL to have five major linear TV packages in 2030. Fewer, scarcer, more eventized packages (for Netflix) or more global packages (for YouTube) are a real answer to the aforementioned risk of a shrinking bidder pool. Not to mention that regular season scheduling/game quality, playoff assignments, flex scheduling and the sequencing of who negotiates new media rights deals first are all at the NFL’s sole discretion. While extending existing media rights deals feels less likely during calendar 2026, we still believe the league will try to make something happen in 2027.” (link)
The SoCon unveils a redesigned tournament format for the 2027 Ingles SoCon Basketball Championships, featuring all nine women’s and all 11 men’s programs over March 3-7, 2027. Key adjustments include an expanded opening round and revised path to the title game. The women’s tournament will tip off on March 3 with a first-round matchup between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds at 6 p.m ET. On the men’s side, opening day expands from two to three games, featuring matchups between the No. 10 and No. 11 seeds, No. 8 and No. 9 seeds, and No. 6 and No. 7 seeds at 3:30 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. ET, and 8:30 p.m. ET, respectively. (link)
Washington State signs a multi-year partnership with FanWord to implement FanWord Assist, the company’s proprietary AI-powered communications platform, to help streamline storytelling efforts across the athletic department. (link)
The NCAA taps longtime collegiate softball umpire Marty Abezetian as the NCAA Softball Umpire Program’s Director of Training and Video Review. He previously served six years with the program as the softball video services coordinator before spending two years as the first director of training and video review. (link)
TNT Sports Chairman/CEO Luis Silberwasser is departing the soon-to-be merged Skydance company. Per CNBC’s Alex Sherman, CBS Sports President/CEO David Berson will lead a newly formed global sports group, consisting of the CBS Sports, TNT Sports and WBD Sports brands, that will oversee all networks, platforms and territories. Skydance will own a large swath of sports rights, including NFL Sunday afternoon games, all of March Madness, college football, NHL, NASCAR, the French Open, The Masters and more. The Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery merger is expected to close tomorrow. (link)
Despite announcing a commercial inventory sellout back in July, Disney is trying to secure additional ad revenue for its 2027 Super Bowl LXI broadcast on ABC/ESPN by lining up standby advertisers willing to pay $10M-to-$12M per 30-second spot if current sponsors back out, per Variety’s Brian Steinberg. The company is seeking higher prices, alongside a matching spend requirement across other Disney ad inventory, to re-sell any spots returned by marketers "seeking relief" from early commitments. Such haggling is common each year, particularly if an advertiser feels the creative concept they’ve selected isn’t Super Bowl-worthy or if a business is battling economic pressures. The sales approach follows friction during initial negotiations, where Disney sought $10M per spot before settling on $8M or more with major spenders such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and PepsiCo. The high-ask strategy reflects a more intense financial focus under new Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro, though one of the media buyers reported no immediate availability or current sponsor dropouts. "I’ve heard there isn’t really anyone asking. If I said to them today, 'I'll give you $12M,' they don't have a spot for me. Clearly, they're not getting that demand." (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.
Academics/Student-Athlete Services
Learning Specialist II (University of Texas – Austin / Austin, TX): More details HERE.
Assistant Professor - Sport Administration (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill / Chapel Hill, NC): More details HERE.
Academic Counselor (University of Georgia / Athens, GA): More details HERE.
Senior Academic Coordinator for Student-Athlete Support Services (University of Idaho / Moscow, ID): More details HERE.
Learning Specialist (Florida Gulf Coast University / Fort Myers, FL): More details HERE.
Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Academic Services (Creighton University / Omaha, NE): More details HERE.
Athletic Academic Advisor (Austin Peay State University / Clarksville, TN): More details HERE.
Transfer Coordinator & Academic Counselor, Department of Athletics (R0009180) (Wake Forest University / Winston-Salem, NC): More details HERE.
Learning Specialist (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill / Chapel Hill, NC): More details HERE.
Business/Finance/Human Resources
Data Analyst – Athletic Financial Reporting (Texas A&M University / College Station, TX): More details HERE.
Financial Analyst I (2 Positions) (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): More details HERE.
Coaching/Operations/Recruiting
Assistant Baseball Coach (Murray State University / Murray, KY): More details HERE.
Assistant Men's Tennis Coach (University of Texas – San Antonio / San Antonio, TX): More details HERE.
Communications/Marketing/Digital/Social
Senior Associate Athletic Director for Revenue Generation (La Salle University / Philadelphia, PA): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Philadelphia? Click HERE.
Assistant AD Marketing and Fan Engagement (Oklahoma State University / Stillwater, OK): More details HERE.
Assistant Director, Strategic Communications (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): More details HERE.
Director of Broadcast Operations (University of Washington / Seattle, WA): More details HERE.
Director - Content Strategy (Atlantic Coast Conference / Charlotte, NC): More details HERE.
Associate Director, Promotion & Fan Engagement - W Soccer & Softball (Texas Tech University / Lubbock, TX): More details HERE.
Assistant Athletic Director of Communications (University of Southern Mississippi / Hattiesburg, MS): More details HERE.
Associate Communications Director (University of Kansas / Lawrence, KS): More details HERE.
Director, Communications (West Coast Conference / San Bruno, CA): More details HERE.
Compliance/Legal/NIL
Assistant Director, Compliance (Ohio State University / Columbus, OH): More details HERE.
Assistant Athletic Director, RevShare (Montana State University / Bozeman, MT): More details HERE.
Associate General Counsel (University of Kentucky / Lexington, KY): More details HERE.
Assistant Athletic Director, NCAA Compliance (United States Air Force Academy / Colorado Springs, CO): More details HERE.
Development/Fundraising/Alumni Relations
Senior Associate Athletic Director for Revenue Generation (La Salle University / Philadelphia, PA): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Philadelphia? Click HERE.
Assistant/Associate Director of Development, Intercollegiate Athletics (Penn State / University Park, PA): More details HERE.
Senior Director of Development, Athletics (UConn Foundation / Storrs, CT): More details HERE.
Director of Development Strategy and Analytics (Virginia Tech / Blacksburg, VA): More details HERE.
Director of Athletics Development/Associate Director of Athletics (Fordham University / New York, NY): More details HERE.
Major Gifts Officer (Tiger Athletic Foundation (LSU) / Baton Rouge, LA): More details HERE.
Assistant Athletic Director, Annual Fund (University of North Texas / Denton, TX): More details HERE.
Director of Development, Major Giving/Associate Athletics Director (Ohio University / Athens, OH): More details HERE.
Executive & Senior Leadership
Senior Associate Athletic Director for Revenue Generation (La Salle University / Philadelphia, PA): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Philadelphia? 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.
Vice President and Director of Athletics (Rice University / Houston, TX): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Houston? Click HERE. The D1.dossier for this position can be found HERE.
Senior Vice President - Men's Basketball (Atlantic Coast Conference / Charlotte, NC): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Charlotte? Click HERE.
Facilities/Event Operations/Equipment
Systems Administrator II (University of Texas – Austin / Austin, TX): More details HERE.
Scoreboard Technician (University of Tennessee / Knoxville, TN): More details HERE.
Grounds Maintenance Technician (University of Kansas / Lawrence, KS): More details HERE.
Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations (Fresno State / Fresno, CA): More details HERE.
Grounds Supervisor (University of Kansas / Lawrence, KS): More details HERE.
General Administration
Director of Athletic Administration Operations (University of Connecticut / Storrs Mansfield, CT): More details HERE.
Health/Wellness/Performance/Training
Athletic Trainer (Towson University / Towson, MD): More details HERE.
Associate Athletic Trainer, Softball (Athletic Trainer II) (San Diego State University / San Diego, CA): More details HERE.
Sponsorships/Corporate Relations
Senior Associate Athletic Director for Revenue Generation (La Salle University / Philadelphia, PA): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Philadelphia? Click HERE.
Assistant Vice President, Licensing & Trademarks (University of Houston / Houston, TX): 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.
Ticket Sales/Ticket Operations
Senior Associate Athletic Director for Revenue Generation (La Salle University / Philadelphia, PA): More details HERE. What would it cost to move to Philadelphia? Click HERE.
Director of Ticket Sales and Outreach (University of Texas – Arlington / Arlington, TX): More details HERE.
Associate Director, Athletics Ticket Operations (Texas Tech University / Lubbock, TX): More details HERE.
Assistant Director, Ticket Operations (University of Arizona / Tucson, AZ): More details HERE.