SEC, B10: No private funds; football not ‘broken’
-
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.”
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jeremiyah Love tied the Notre Dame record with a 98-yard touchdown run, Riley Leonard added two more scores and the Fighting Irish shut down the highest-scoring team in the College Football Playoff, overwhelming Indiana 27-17 on Friday night.
The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (12-1) won their 11th straight — and their first playoff victory. They’ll face second-seeded Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman got the biggest win of his three-year career by extending his Irish record to 12 victories over ranked teams in three seasons.
“There’s no place like Notre Dame,” Leonard said. “This is why you come here, this is why I came here — to play for a championship.”
Tenth-seeded Indiana (11-2) completed a magical season by finishing with its second fewest points this season on a cold, brisk night in the first CFP game ever played on a campus site. Both of the Hoosiers’ losses came to top-five opponents. Indiana set a single-season school record for wins but still hasn’t won at Notre Dame since 1898.
Notre Dame took control on its third offensive play when Love scooted around the right side of Indiana’s defense, eluded one tackle and sprinted down the sideline to make it 7-0. He matched Josh Adams’ longest run in school history, set in 2015 against Wake Forest. It was also the longest run in CFP history.
“It’s all about finding a way to get another week,” Freeman said. “It wasn’t easy. But we’re going to enjoy this one and we’ll get another one.”
Love finished with eight carries for 108 yards despite appearing to reinjure his left knee later in the first half.
Indiana never recovered after Notre Dame made it 14-0 early in the second quarter.
Leonard’s 1-yard TD run late in the fourth gave him 15 this season to break Notre Dame’s season record by a quarterback.
Indiana scored both of its touchdowns in the final 1:27.
Notre Dame made it 14-0 on Leonard’s 5-yard TD pass to Jayden Thomas early in the second quarter. The Irish settled for three more field goals, and the defense took care of the rest — allowing just one field goal.
Leonard was 23 of 32 with 201 yards and one interception. Notre Dame receiver Jordan Faison caught seven passes for 89 yards.
Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke turned in another poor game against a top defense, finishing 20 of 33 with 215 yards, with two TDs and one interception, and the Hoosiers rushed for just 63 yards.
“They took it to us,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. “They won, they deserve to win. We didn’t play our best game, but they had a lot to do with that tonight.”
Notre Dame: The Irish have relied on the running game and defense all season — and it was that combination that gave Notre Dame the first playoff win in school history. It may need more out of its passing game to win its first national championship since 1988.
Notre Dame: Plays Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.
-
Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
The Houston Astros and free-agent first baseman Christian Walker have agreed to a three-year, $60 million contract, sources confirmed to ESPN amid multiple reports Friday.
The deal is pending a physical exam, a source told ESPN.
The addition of Walker in all likelihood marks the end of Alex Bregman‘s tenure in Houston, not to mention the Astros’ ill-fated attempts to pry Nolan Arenado from the St. Louis Cardinals. Walker manning first base for the next three years means Isaac Paredes, the 25-year-old corner infielder who was recently acquired from the Chicago Cubs in the Kyle Tucker trade, will probably be Bregman’s replacement at third base.
Walker, 33, is widely regarded as one of the sport’s best defensive first basemen and will also provide some power to the middle of the Astros’ lineup. He slashed .250/.332/.481 with 95 home runs and 281 RBIs with the Arizona Diamondbacks over the last three seasons while accumulating 10.8 FanGraphs wins above replacement, sixth-most among first basemen.
First base had been a conundrum in Houston over these last three seasons, one the high-priced Jose Abreu could not solve. Astros first basemen combined for a .651 OPS last season, fifth-lowest in the majors. Walker, a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, will provide a major boost at that position — particularly as a right-handed hitter in Daikin Park, which features a short left-field fence.
The Astros still need help in their outfield after parting with Tucker one year before he’s scheduled to become a free agent. And Bregman, the heart and soul of an Astros franchise that won two championships and made seven straight appearances in the American League Championship Series dating back to his first full season in the big leagues, must choose a new destination.
The New York Yankees, who expressed interest in Walker this offseason, could be a landing spot for Bregman. So might the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays or Detroit Tigers, the latter of which is led by Bregman’s former manager, A.J. Hinch.
Astros general manager Dana Brown expressed optimism in bringing Bregman back throughout the offseason, but owner Jim Crane would not meet the $200 million-plus asking price of Bregman’s agent, Scott Boras, prompting an initial pivot to Arenado — before he utilized his no-trade clause to stay in St. Louis — and an agreement with Walker.
Walker declined the D-backs’ qualifying offer earlier this month. By signing him, the Astros, a team that exceeded the luxury-tax threshold last season, will give up their second- and fifth-round picks in the upcoming draft, as well as $1 million from their international-spending pool. The Astros will get back a fourth-round pick once Bregman signs with another team, a development that now feels inevitable.
In the aftermath of their loss to the Tigers in the wild-card round earlier this fall, longtime Astros second baseman Jose Altuve spoke passionately about the importance of bringing Bregman back, saying: “We’re not going to be the same organization without him.”
In many ways, the Walker signing signals a new chapter.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway