SEC, B10: No private funds; football not ‘broken’
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Heather Dinich, ESPN Senior Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Following an “unprecedented” meeting between the SEC and Big Ten on Thursday, the commissioners of both conferences addressed multiple weighty issues facing college athletics and strongly pushed back on recent pitches from private equity groups to help offset increased expenses that will result from the NCAA’s expected House settlement.
It was an important united front from two of the most powerful people in college sports, as any drastic changes that would include private equity are unlikely to garner national support without the backing of the SEC and Big Ten.
“I have yet to see a single thing in any plan that I’ve learned details about that contains things that we couldn’t do ourselves and our A4 colleagues as well,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said. “At the end of the day, there’s a strong commitment that you have the ability to do all of this ourselves.
“… The notion that college football is broken — what we do is broken — is just not right.”
In February, the SEC and Big Ten announced the formation of a joint advisory group, and this one-day meeting at the Grand Hyatt was a continuation of that — albeit with legal counsel present to make sure both conferences weren’t crossing any lines that could be construed as collusion.
“Our legal counsel is very skilled at this point in defining the boundaries of what we can talk about and what we cannot talk about,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said.
With the SEC now at 16 teams and the Big Ten at 18 following expansion, they are now the largest, wealthiest conferences in the country. And Sankey and Petitti have the bulk of control over the future format of the College Football Playoff in 2026 and beyond.
Yet even with the optics of Thursday’s meeting — and the written guarantee of separation in both power and wealth in the newest CFP contract — Sankey said the perception that the SEC and Big Ten are pulling away from everyone else in college athletics with this partnership is inaccurate. He said he realized there was “plenty of commentary about the two of us meeting,” but he reiterated both leagues “accept the responsibility of leadership.”
“We talk regularly with our other two colleagues in the autonomy groups,” he said, referencing Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips. “Do we bring everybody together? It was hard enough to schedule two conferences of athletics directors. I can’t imagine trying to schedule four.
“We’ll share from this with our colleagues. This is the start of a conversation for us. I don’t think that perception is consistent with our conversation today, where we recognize we’re part of a bigger ecosystem, but we’re also interested in what we might be able to achieve together.”
With all 34 athletic directors from the supersized conferences gathered in a meeting room, the conversation focused largely on the looming House settlement, which recently received preliminary approval, but there was also interest from both leagues in finding a way to schedule more football games against each other.
“Is there a way for us to be intentional about our scheduling?” said Sankey, who was in Ann Arbor last month to see Texas at Michigan. “Just an incredible experience, and you stand on the sideline prior to kickoff thinking, what if we can do this more with our nonconference games? We respect where we have in-state rivalries that take place in nonconference scheduling, but we had a real general conversation about the what-ifs in football and basketball.”
Petitti said part of the discussion is about those games being scheduled organically on campus through athletic directors having conversations.
“The question is there a structure where the two league offices work together to create more of those matchups?” Petitti said. “We had a pretty big discussion about the path to play each other more — see if you can figure out how you can actually do it; decide what games you want, how many — but that’s a broad discussion.”
Sankey said some athletic directors in the room pointed out some games being played this year were scheduled a decade ago, “almost a point of encouragement to say, ‘let’s not wait that long.'”
Leaders in both leagues also discussed the pending roster limits and future of NCAA governance, with Sankey saying “it has to change.” At a recent Division I Council meeting, Sankey said he told the room that “the Division I Council doesn’t work, given what’s changing around us.”
“The board of directors at the Division I level has to change, and it has to change rapidly,” Sankey said. “That’s the view of my conference membership, our presidents and chancellors. I shared that perspective, but I don’t think we’re alone. I don’t think it’s just two conferences that share that.”
Sankey and Petitti agreed they both want to see the 12-team CFP field unfold before they make any determinations about what could change when the next contract begins in 2026.
“This just has to go incredibly well,” Sankey said. “This has to be a successful launch. This isn’t the time to talk about governance in ’26 or the format in ’26, but immediate implementation is in front of us.”
Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said the meetings were productive, with “considerable time” focused on the implementation of the House settlement.
“It was an opportunity to learn from each other and have important conversations,” Castiglione said. “It was good to get in a room and compare notes with other athletics directors who face common challenges.”
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Ryan S. Clark
Perhaps the only detail more emphatic than the goals in the Colorado Avalanche‘s 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars Saturday night, was the impact provided by their captain, Gabriel Landeskog.
Landeskog, who returned in Game 3 of this Western Conference first-round series after missing nearly three seasons while recovering from a knee injury, scored his first goal since June 20, 2022, in a multi-point performance that saw the Avalanche tie the series at 2-2 in Game 4 at Ball Arena. Game 5 is Monday in Dallas.
“It means a lot,” Landeskog told reporters after the win. “Obviously, I’ve envisioned scoring again for a long time. There obviously days when I didn’t know if I was ever going to score again. It obviously feels good. It’s a tight playoff series in a big game here at home. To get to do it here at home in front of our fans obviously means a means a lot. Super exciting. Hopefully more to come.”
A short-handed goal from Logan O’Connor midway through the first period followed by a late power-play goal from Nathan MacKinnon staked the Avalanche to a 2-0 lead entering the second period.
That set the stage for Landeskog, who was in the slot when Brock Nelson fed a pass that the 32-year-old winger launched for a one-timer that beat Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger for a 3-0 lead.
Landeskog, who was playing on the second line, was instantly mobbed by his teammates on the nice such as Samuel Girard, Valeri Nichushkin, Devon Toews and Nelson, who joined the Avalanche at the NHL trade deadline.
As Landeskog returned to the bench, he was congratulated by the entire team which also included a hug from a smiling MacKinnon, who along with Landeskog, have been with the franchise for more than a decade.
“I was just proud of him again,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters after the game. “I was proud of him regardless of if he scores or not because I know what he’s gone through, and I know how difficult that was. I think that takes it to another level. You know he wants to come back and contribute like he did in the past and he’s off to a great start.”
Landeskog’s goal was the latest milestone in what’s been a lengthy recovery from a chronically injured right knee. He missed what amounted to 1,032 days since his last NHL game.
In that time, the Avalanche have remained in a championship window but have dramatically altered their roster. The Avs have nine players from that championship team who have remained with the franchise and have since reshuffled a roster that led to them re-acquiring defenseman Erik Johnson, one of Landeskog’s closest friends, in their bid for the fourth title in franchise history.
Even with all the changes, there were still questions about when they could see Landeskog return to the lineup. And if Landeskog did return, what he could look like?
His first professional game in three years came April 11 with the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate where he logged 15 minutes. Landeskog would then score a goal and get an assist in his second and final game.
And much like his AHL stint, all it took was two games for Landeskog to score and have another two-point performance.
While Landeskog’s goal became the most celebrated moment of the evening, what he did to help create the Avalanche’s fourth goal was an example of why he’s so crucial to their title aspirations.
Landeskog played a pass to Nelson who then found a Girard for a shot from the point that gave the Avs a 4-0 lead in the fourth. In the time Landeskog passed the puck, he anchored himself at the net front to gain position on 6-foot-7 Stars defensemen Lian Bichsel to screen goaltender Casey DeSmith, who replaced Oettinger for the third period.
Jockeying with Bichsel, who is six inches taller and 16 pounds heavier, allowed Landeskog to test both his strength and that right knee to gain leverage.
The result? Girard’s shot found space in traffic with Landeskog making it hard for DeSmith to see the puck.
“He’s a big boy,” Landeskog said with a smile. “He’s a big strong guy, a physical player and hard to play against. I was trying to get in front of their goal, and he was trying to get me out of there. It was a good battle.”
CLEVELAND — Jarren Duran barely had time to catch his breath after tripling in the third inning. It didn’t matter, he had already made up his mind to run again.
Duran pulled off Boston’s first straight steal of home plate in exactly 16 years, scoring on the next pitch from Doug Nikhazy as the Red Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday.
“(Third base coach Kyle Hudson) heard him tell the umpire that he was working from the stretch, so I decided I was going to go on the first pitch,” Duran said. “It was just to keep the offense going and cause a little chaos. I knew I had it.”
As Nikhazy went from the windup, Duran broke for home. He slid headfirst and slapped his right hand on the plate ahead of Bo Naylor‘s tag. Umpire Brock Ballou’s safe call was upheld in a video review.
“Under the new rules, he’s kind of the perfect player,” Boston manager Alex Cora said of Duran. “We saw a window there and he took advantage of the situation.”
It marked the first straight steal of home plate by the Red Sox since Jacoby Ellsbury against the Yankees on April 26, 2009. Duran’s two previous thefts of home were part of double steals last season at Tampa Bay on May 21 and at the White Sox on June 7.
“It was really a cool play and a cool sequence of events there,” Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler said. “He’s one of the most exciting players in baseball. After watching him from afar, it’s been fun to see him up close this season.”
Nikhazy, a 25-year-old left-hander, was making his major league debut and had already allowed five runs in 2 2/3 innings. With Rafael Devers in the batter’s box, he said he took “a peek” at Duran before delivering the ball.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt praised Duran for making “a head’s up baseball play” because third baseman José Ramírez was off the line, but his starting pitcher blamed himself.
“He had taken a big jump and he took off immediately,” Nikhazy said. “In the moment, I chose to make the pitch as opposed to stepping off. Ultimately, when I saw him, I should have stepped off.”
Duran went 3 for 5 with three runs and two RBI in the nightcap. He was hitless in four at-bats in the first game, which Cleveland won 5-4.
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