Big 12 Notes

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Big 12 Notes – Postseason

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January 2nd

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Transfer Portal Opens: Frequently Asked Questions

From The Athletic …

What is the transfer portal?

The NCAA transfer portal is a database where college athletes can enter their names so that they can be contacted and recruited by other schools. It was created on Oct. 15, 2018, in part to remedy situations in which coaches tried to restrict which schools athletes could transfer to by refusing to release them from their scholarship.

To enter the portal, athletes simply notify the school (typically an athletic department compliance officer) of their intent to transfer, and the school must then enter the athlete’s name in the database within two business days of written notification of intent to transfer.

Athletes can transfer without using the portal and have done so in the past by withdrawing from their school and enrolling in another. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff (BYU to Tulane) and defensive back Xavier Lucas (Wisconsin to Miami) are recent examples. But other schools are not allowed to have recruiting contact with a player unless his name is in the portal, and the vast majority of football transfers take place via the portal.

How long is the portal open?

For college football players, this year’s portal is open for 15 days. It opened on Friday, Jan. 2, and will close on Friday, Jan. 16, for all FBS and FCS players, regardless of their classification or graduation status.

There are exceptions. For teams that play in the national championship game on Jan. 19, their players will get an additional five-day window that begins on Jan. 20. If any schools change head coaches after the portal closes, players at those schools will get a 15-day window that begins five days after a new coach is hired.

These rules are tweaked from recent years. From 2022 through 2025, there were two portal windows, one in the winter and one in the spring. This year, the NCAA eliminated the spring window, a move pushed for by many coaches. And the head coaching change exception was altered: It used to be a 30-day window beginning the day after a coaching change.

Do players have to pick their new school within the 15-day window?

No. The portal window is only for entry. Players are free to take as long as they need to pick a destination. However, players who want to enroll in their new school in time for the spring semester — and, thus, spring practice — will have to move quickly to meet enrollment deadlines.

Can a player return to his original school if he enters the portal?

Yes. Some players withdraw their names from the portal and return to their original schools. However, once a player enters the portal, the school doesn’t have to guarantee him a roster spot and is no longer obligated to honor his scholarship. Some coaches take a stance that a player who enters the portal is no longer welcome back. Others may allow for a return if the player is in good standing. Once a player is in the portal, there are no guarantees.

Can a player transfer multiple times?

Yes. Players are free to transfer as often as they wish, and it’s not unusual for a player to transfer two or three times. Players must leave their previous school academically eligible and cannot be subject to disciplinary suspension or dismissal. In addition, they must meet all progress-toward-degree requirements at their new school prior to competing.

… Read full story here ….

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December 31st 

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Will resources (read: $$$) lead to Texas Tech/BYU domination of the Big 12? 

From the San Jose Mercury News … BYU’s all-in commitment to head coach Kalani Sitake adds to the mountainous evidence that BYU relishes its success in football and men’s basketball — the Cougars reached the Sweet 16 last spring — and plans to do whatever is required to continue thriving.

“(Sitake’s) legacy of building a championship program the BYU way will continue on,” athletic director Brian Santiago said while announcing the contract extension. “He is one of the best people in the business. We are excited to continue to ride the wave of positive momentum with him.”

That should make the rest of the Big 12 nervous.

Okay, maybe not every school in the Big 12. The folks in Lubbock probably aren’t worried so long as oil billionaire Cody Campbell is willing to support the Red Raiders’ roster.

But for the other 14, the competitive dynamics are shifting in an ominous direction.

To this point, it does not appear they have the cash to keep up — at least, not on a consistent basis. Anyone can beat anyone on a given Saturday, but success over three months on the field, or four months on the court, is increasingly tied to the cash available to attract and retain talent.

Houston, ASU, Cincinnati, Arizona, Utah — they are well-run football programs with talented players. But best we can tell, they don’t have pockets as deep as the folks in Provo and Lubbock.

Unless that dynamic changes, a hierarchy could form with the Cougars and Red Raiders as the dominant programs on an annual basis. Their showdown in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday might be the first of many such meetings.

Which brings us to the second part of this discussion: Would that be bad for the Big 12?

Would the conference’s strategic position deteriorate if BYU and Texas Tech emerge as the dominant duo — as the Big 12’s version of Michigan and Ohio State, or Georgia and Alabama?

Or might the formation of a distinct top tier benefit the Big 12?

In the two football seasons since Texas and Oklahoma bolted for the SEC, the conference has branded itself as the deepest, most entertaining league in the land — the house of mayhem, where no fourth-quarter lead is safe and the championship is there for the taking.

But parity isn’t ideal in every respect, particularly with the TV ratings that drive media value and the College Football Playoff participation that builds brands.

Everyone loves a villain. USC played the role for decades in the old Pac-12, selling out every opposing stadium and carrying the conference banner on TV sets from coast to coast.

The presence of two villains in the Big 12 would offer each other a foil and, in a 16-team conference, spread the animosity across more schedules every fall.

And Brett Yormark knows it. The Big 12 commissioner has leaned into the parity theme for 18 months but also recognizes the value of powerhouse programs.

After all, the conference will be headed to the negotiating table in 2030 for a new media rights contract.

… Continue reading story here …

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December 30th 

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Buffs to face Chip Kelly once again: Kelly hired as Northwestern’s new offensive coordinator

From CBS Sports … Northwestern is hiring Chip Kelly as its new offensive coordinator, ESPN reports. Kelly, whom the Las Vegas Raiders fired as offensive coordinator in November, joins David Braun’s staff.

Kelly was Ohio State’s OC during last season’s run through the expanded College Football Playoff en route to a national championship. He also went 46-7 as Oregon’s head coach from 2009-12, which included a title game appearance.

Kelly has been in the mix for several major OC openings in college football and replaces Northwestern play-caller Zach Lujan, whose contract expires next month. The Wildcats ranked No. 96 in the country in both total offense and scoring offense this season, sparking change.

The 2025 season was Kelly’s first foray into the NFL since the San Francisco 49ers fired him as head coach after the 2016 season. His brief stint with the Raiders was Kelly’s first coordinator job in the NFL after previously only holding league positions as a head coach — three years with the Philadelphia Eagles and one with the 49ers.

Kelly also went 35-34 over a six-year stretch as head coach at UCLA before joining Ryan Day’s 2024 staff with the Buckeyes and then the Raiders.

Kelly’s offenses set the tone for several successful years at Oregon, including three consecutive conference championships and three top-five finishes. He left the Ducks following a 12-win 2012 for the Eagles’ vacancy. He took Philadelphia to the playoffs in his first season after taking over a team that previously went 4-12.

The Eagles fired Kelly in 2015, when he quickly landed with the 49ers. His one year in San Francisco was one to forget — a 2-14 finish leading to his exit and eventual return to the college ranks with the Bruins.

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December 27th

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How rich schools are getting around the football spending cap

From The Athletic … Last summer, following the approval of the House settlement, college administrators celebrated the arrival of a more regulated name, image and likeness (NIL) system that would curtail (in their words) the “false market” for athletes’ services and lead to a “market correction.”

Athletic departments can pay student-athletes up to $20.5 million this school year, and the creation of the College Sports Commission by the Power 4 conferences (not the NCAA) to enforce provisions of the House settlement requires that each deal meet a “valid business purpose” and fall within an approved range of compensation.

The first test of this “market correction” theory is currently underway. While the transfer portal does not officially open until Jan. 2, agents have been quietly shopping their clients all season, and now, college football general managers are negotiating deals for players known to be entering the portal.

The Athletic spoke with agents, GMs and school collectives to get a sense of whether the dawn of revenue sharing, coupled with more oversight of third-party NIL deals through the College Sports Commission, has reined in the so-called “wild, wild West.”

The consensus answer: Absolutely not.

If anything, the numbers are even higher than last year.

“It’s the same people who predicted coaches’ salaries would be suppressed,” said a Power 4 GM.

“When you hear these numbers over the cap — no one can put that in writing,” Iowa State AD Jamie Pollard said recently. “So I don’t know what you’re going to (say to) the players. You’re going to tell them, ‘I’m going give you $2 million, and then you might get another $2 million?’”

Pretty much.

The first hint that programs aren’t heeding the so-called “hard cap” of rev-share came during the recent coaching carousel. Most Power 4 schools are allocating $13-$15 million for football. For a program like Iowa State, that’s a welcome step up from what they were spending before.

And yet, when LSU hired Lane Kiffin, “The Advocate” reported the school is “prepared to commit $25-$30 million annually for Kiffin’s roster.”

“That’s very clearly an institution saying, we don’t give a f—,” said the head of a Power 4 collective with a smaller budget.

And it’s not just LSU. Auburn, which hired USF’s Alex Golesh, “is positioned to be closer to $30 million next year,” sources told 247Sports. And Penn State “is committing $30 million in NIL money” to Matt Campbell, according to reporter Matt Fortuna.

And those are just the ones we know about.

To get to $30 million, these schools would need to generate at least $15 million in “over-the-cap” third-party NIL deals despite, in theory, having to submit every deal of more than $600 to the CSC’s NIL Go clearinghouse for approval. So programs have already figured out a way around the restrictions, or they don’t believe the CSC is capable of enforcing them.

Before we get to some of the nefarious cap workarounds already circulating, know that most programs are first pursuing above-board methods to stretch their payrolls.

For starters, many athletic departments have beefed up their internal staffs and contracted with multimedia rights (MMR) firms like Learfield, Playfield and Opendorse to pursue legitimate brand deals for their most marketable athletes.

But there are only so many players on a roster with the name recognition and/or social media following to earn a lucrative endorsement deal with Gatorade (Ty Simpson) or Samsung (Jeremiyah Love). A national championship-aspiring program still needs to come up with enough dough to cover the rest of the two-deep.

Some schools are also leaning into their apparel providers, like Nike and Adidas, which have long poured millions into athletic department coffers but never directly to athletes. For example, Tennessee announced a new 10-year agreement with Adidas by which that company will not only provide cleats and jerseys, but “offer unprecedented NIL opportunities … across all 20 of the university’s varsity programs.”

But that does not mean every player on a roster is getting his or her own shoe deal. Nike recently announced a 10-year extension with LSU in which 10 current athletes — and only two football players — received their own deals.

All told, Lawrence believes a school with enough high-profile athletes can secure an additional $3-$5 million in legitimate third-party NIL deals it can stack on top of its rev-share budget.

That may be more than enough for the large majority of Power 4 schools to fund their best-case scenario rosters. But not the ones pledging $30-million plus to build a national championship roster.

Which might necessitate some creativity.

For one, collectives are not totally disappearing. “The best practice is to keep all available options open,” the person with the top-20 program-affiliated collective said.

With the caveat that much of what one hears behind the scenes can be of a gossipy nature, here are a few workarounds sources say they’ve already encountered.

• Say a school agrees to pay a player $200,000. If his agent is taking a 20 percent commission, then in reality, he’s making $160,000. So, the collective pays the agent his fee directly, and the program saves $40,000 in cap space.

• Say a school promises a player $200,000, and wants to split it between rev-share and the collective, but it fears that CSC won’t approve a $100,000 collective deal. The parties agree to the amount verbally, then the collective submits smaller deals throughout the year (for autograph signings, charity appearances, etc.) that eventually add up to the total.

• It’s believed that at least one school’s collective paid their entire incoming freshman class what they would have earned in rev share, so that the payments don’t get counted against the cap.

• And then there’s the simplest, but riskiest, workaround of all: Just don’t report the deals. Which was probably happening already.

… Continue reading story here …

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December 25th – Merry Christmas!

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Projecting Power Four Quarterbacks – Where will departing Big 12 Quarterbacks land? Who will replace them?

From The Athletic … The transfer portal doesn’t open until Jan. 2, but a number of talented quarterbacks have already announced their intention to search for a new school for the 2026 season.

Instead of waiting to see where these big dominoes fall, we’ve figured it out for you, calling our shot on next year’s starting quarterbacks for all 68 schools in the Power 4 (independent Notre Dame included). No, not everyone listed under new schools has declared plans to enter the portal. So, we’re doing some tampering ourselves.

Most of these projected landing spots are based on “high-level” investigative guesswork, so take this with a large grain of salt and then rip me in the comment section below.

Georgia Tech: Anthony Colandrea, Sr. (UNLV)

With Haynes King out of eligibility, heir apparent Aaron Philo in the transfer portal and offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner off to Florida, Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key has some work to do. Colandrea, the 2025 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, has said he’ll be back at UNLV, but don’t rule out a return to the ACC — he was the starter at Virginia in 2024 — if Georgia Tech hires UNLV offensive coordinator Corey Dennis to replace Faulkner.

Louisville: Dylan Raiola, Jr. (Nebraska)

Jeff Brohm loves traditional dropback passers, and Raiola, who broke his right leg in a loss to USC in November, would benefit from working with one of the best QB whisperers in the business.

Miami: Sam Leavitt, R-Jr. (Arizona State)

Miami spends big money on transfer QBs, and that will continue in 2026. Cam Ward and Carson Beck enjoyed success in Shannon Dawson’s offense, and Leavitt, a 20-game starter at Arizona State, makes sense as the Hurricanes look for someone a little more mobile than Beck.

Indiana: Josh Hoover, R-Sr. (TCU)

Curt Cignetti has some solid options in the portal to replace Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Hoover, who is 19-12 as a starter, has thrown for more yards (9,629) and touchdowns (71) than any other Division I QB with remaining eligibility.

Penn State: Rocco Becht, Sr. (Iowa State)

Becht spent the last three years starting for Matt Campbell at Iowa State, and with Campbell bringing his staff with him to State College, it feels inevitable Becht will follow.

Baylor: DJ Lagway, Jr. (Florida)

DJ’s father, Derek, was a running back at Baylor in the 1990s, and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital runs a system that would maximize Lagway’s dual-threat ability.

Colorado: Julian Lewis, R-Fr.

Deion Sanders has a lot of work to do in the portal coming off a 3-9 season, but it appears new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion and Lewis are on the same page.

Oklahoma State: Aidan Chiles, Sr. (Michigan State)

Everyone expects Mestemaker to follow Eric Morris, and it makes complete sense. But the thinking here is that Dan Lanning will covet Mestemaker — and have far more resources to sign him. Morris, meanwhile, tried his best at Washington State to recruit Chiles there before he selected Oregon State. He’s a good Plan B.

TCU: Beau Pribula, Gr. (Missouri)

Josh Hoover hit the portal, and Sonny Dykes hired Gordon Sammis away from UConn to replace Kendal Briles as offensive coordinator. Dykes would like an experienced starter. Pribula, Colton Joseph (Old Dominion) and Jaden Craig (Harvard) are early names linked to the Horned Frogs. A bridge quarterback for 2025 four-star recruit Adam Schobel makes the most sense.

Texas Tech: Brendan Sorsby, R-Sr. (Cincinnati)

If you connect the dots, Sorsby’s volleyball-playing girlfriend, Gretchen Sigman, transferred to Texas Tech around the same time the quarterback entered the portal. Also, we hear Texas Tech pays well.

West Virginia: Marcus Stokes, R-Jr. (West Florida)

Rich Rodriguez had four different players start at quarterback for him in his first year back in Morgantown. Stokes, originally a Florida signee, reportedly has trips lined up to Memphis and Syracuse. But it would be fun to see what Rodriguez could do with him after he threw for 3,297 yards and 30 touchdowns and ran for 367 yards and 10 touchdowns in the Division II ranks this season.

… Read full story here …

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December 24th

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The next legal battleground: Can schools recover damages when a player transfers? 

From ESPN … Former Georgia pass rusher Damon Wilson II says the school’s athletic department is attempting to illegally punish him for entering the transfer portal in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, part of an ongoing dispute that could have far-reaching implications on how player contracts work in college sports.

Wilson transferred last January to Missouri, where he was the team’s leader in sacks during the 2025 season, weeks after signing a term sheet for a 14-month name, image and likeness contract with Georgia’s booster collective. He collected $30,000 in an initial payment for what was a $500,000 deal before leaving the Bulldogs. Georgia filed a lawsuit last month claiming that Wilson owed the athletic department $390,000 in liquidated damages for leaving the team.

Wilson’s countersuit, filed in Missouri state court, claims that Georgia has “weaponized” a liquidated damages clause in an unenforceable way to “punish Wilson for entering the portal.”

Many schools have inserted liquidated damages clauses in their contracts with athletes since starting to pay players directly earlier this year. Several legal experts who reviewed player contracts for ESPN in the past say schools are inappropriately attempting to use liquidated damages as a de facto “buy out fee” for players who break a contract to transfer. Experts say liquidated damage fee must be tied to actual damages suffered by the party and can’t be used as punishment for breaking a contract. Wilson’s case is one of the first major tests of whether schools can effectively enforce these clauses to try to dissuade players from transferring.

“Georgia appears intent on making an example of someone, they just picked the wrong person,” said Jeff Jensen, one of Wilson’s attorneys. “Damon never had a contract with them. I don’t see how Georgia thinks intimidation and litigation will help their recruitment efforts — maybe players could bring lawyers with them to practice.”

Georgia spokesman Steve Drummond said the school had no comment because it involves pending litigation and referred to a previous statement he shared after Georgia filed its initial claims against Wilson.

“When the University of Georgia Athletic Association enters binding agreements with student-athletes, we honor our commitments and expect student-athletes to do the same,” Drummond said in early December.

The new lawsuit filed Tuesday claims that Drummond’s statement is defamatory and intended to harm Wilson’s reputation. The suit also claims that Georgia, the Classic City Collective and the collective’s operators committed tortious interference and civil conspiracy against Wilson.

The lawsuit states that Georgia officials told coaches at other football programs that Wilson had a “$1.2 million buyout” in an alleged attempt to dissuade other schools from recruiting him.

… Continue reading story here …

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December 23rd

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ESPN’s Top 25 viral moments of the 21st century

From ESPN … Upon his retreat from Moscow, Napoleon reportedly quipped of his army’s harrowing defeat that the margin between “the ridiculous and the sublime was but a step.”

He could just as easily have been talking about college football.

Fall Saturdays offer a wealth of the sublime: dramatic games, brilliant plays, awe-inspiring athleticism. But what truly sets college football apart is that after all the on-field heroics, the sport slips so easily into pure chaos.

For all the highlights, what often binds us most closely to college football are all those other moments, storylines, sound bites and memes so ludicrous, so stupefying, so perfectly … college football.

So, as the end of 2025 nears, it seemed a good time to consider the things that felt the most unique to college football, a celebration not of the sublime but of the ridiculous.

What exactly makes for a true “college football” moment? It has to be a little bit weird, colorful or unexpected. It can be something that theoretically could happen in another sport, but feels about a thousand times more likely to happen in this one. It can be something charmingly fun or something shockingly bad, but ideally, it perfectly straddles the line between comedy and tragedy. It should have a certain je ne sais quoi, which is French for “things Lane Kiffin would do.”

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My two favorites from the list … 

7. Surrender Cobra

The game remains infamous in Michigan lore. In 2015, the Wolverines led rival Michigan State 23-21 with nine seconds left. But the Michigan punter fumbled the snap, Michigan State recovered, and the Spartans went on to win the game 24-23. The reaction from Michigan fan Chris Baldwin was unforgettable.

play

College GameDay explores the connection between fans dealing with the agony of defeat and one of the world’s most feared and dangerous creatures.

The look — shocked and distraught, arms raised, elbows kinked, hands on head — earned icon status and was dubbed the Surrender Cobra for its similarities to the hood of the snake. But unlike a cobra, the folks in the crowd in that game and dozens since are not signaling an impending attack but, rather, an unexpected defeat.

The Surrender Cobra is perhaps the pinnacle of all fan shots, but the folks who produce and direct college football games are always on the lookout for fans whose body language can tell the story of a game far better than any play-by-play broadcaster could — and more often than not, they find them.

So many great looks that have followed the Surrender Cobra, from the FSU book guy to the annoyed LSU girl to the sad Kansas fan. More fans become memes each year.

But none have spawned such an important sports tradition as Baldwin, whose Surrender Cobra became college football’s ultimate mark of defeat.

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4. I’m a man. I’m 40.

Mike Gundy’s tenure at Oklahoma State will be remembered for many things: a gorgeous mullet, a high-flying offense, a host of tremendous players and the school’s best run of success outside Barry Sanders and, of course, his choice in news networks. But above all, Gundy’s crowning achievement will be this: On one special day in 2007, he was a man, and he was 40.

Certainly few remember the reason for the rant. Gundy was defending his QB, Bobby Reid, from a reporter who had questioned Reid’s performance. That Reid’s time in Stillwater didn’t exactly age as amazingly as Gundy’s viral moment is effectively lost to history. It’s a reminder that, behind many of the most ridiculous moments in college football, there are real people living real lives and, at least for some, it’s not all that funny.

… Read full story here …

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December 22nd 

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In the Transfer Portal era, is a Cinderella G-6 story even possible?

From The Athletic … The College Football Playoff’s Cinderella stories ended early, again, when No. 11 Tulane and No. 12 James Madison were dominated by Ole Miss and Oregon in the first round. Saturday’s blowouts will only fuel more questions about future CFP formats and whether the Group of 5 deserves a guaranteed spot in the field.

With non-power conference teams now 0-4 all-time in the Playoff, the results raise a different question: Can college football produce a G5 Cinderella like the basketball mid-majors that captivate us every March?

“You never say never,” former Tulane star Shaun King said, “but I would give it a less than 2 to 3 percent chance.”

King isn’t a Group of 5 hater or an administrator stumping for the SEC/Big Ten. He quarterbacked undefeated Tulane in 1998 and was an assistant on South Florida’s two best teams, so he knows firsthand what a college football Cinderella could look like. But he’s also a realist who sees a championship clock that has effectively struck midnight on teams outside the Power 4.

The explanation requires a history lesson. Most of the previous Group of 5 greats that won major bowls and would have had a chance to advance in a Playoff had talent, experience and transcendent quarterback play that clicked at the same time:

• Current Saints head coach Kellen Moore quarterbacked a 2009 Boise State team with more future first-round picks (three) than the Texas team that lost to Alabama in the national title game (two).
• McKenzie Milton’s undefeated 2017 UCF squad featured seven future NFL Draft picks in its Peach Bowl win over Auburn; 17 of the 22 starters were redshirt sophomores or older.
• TCU’s undefeated 2010 team started 13 seniors (including Andy Dalton) and five juniors/redshirt sophomores in its Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin.

The 2016 USF team was a notch lower, going only 11-2. But it had an incumbent standout quarterback (Quinton Flowers), a pair of future NFL running backs (Marlon Mack and D’Ernest Johnson) and a receiver who’s still in the league (Marquez Valdes-Scantling). A G5 team that talented with that much familiarity, King said, will “never happen again because of the portal and NIL.”

“Someone would have offered Marlon more money than we could match,” King said. “Someone would have taken Quinton Flowers from us.”

That’s what happened at Tulane. Last year’s quarterback, Darian Mensah, transferred to Duke as one of the portal’s top free agents and led the Blue Devils to the ACC title.

Saturday’s first game featured a former Green Wave starter, tight end Alex Bauman, in the lineup for Miami. Saturday’s last game featured another former Green Wave starter, all-conference running back Makhi Hughes, on the roster for Oregon, where he hasn’t even made an impact despite rushing for 1,401 yards last year.

As outgoing Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall said recently: “If you’ve studied my rosters the last couple years, I haven’t had the resources to keep very many of my good players. They all end up getting poached.”

… Continue reading story here …

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December 21st 

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ASU head coach lobbying for $20 million donor: “There’s somebody out there who can write that check”

From YahooSports.com … An important piece of the college football coaching carousel fell into place on Saturday when Kenny Dillingham signed a new, five-year contract to stay with Arizona State Sun Devils, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

During his three seasons in Tempe, Dillingham has already earned a lot of credit. He led the Sun Devils to a Big 12 Championship and a College Football Playoff berth in 2024.

The Michigan Wolverines were reportedly interested in the 35-year-old head coach as a candidate to replace Sherrone Moore, but Dillingham insisted he was never leaving.

Whatever ASU’s main motivation was, they were able to lock up Dillingham for the future on Saturday with a new deal worth a reported $7.5 million annually.

It did not take long for Dillingham to start campaigning for more money. When asked what ASU needed to become an “elite” college football program, he had eight figures in mind.

“We need to find one of these really rich people in this city to step up and stroke a check,” Dillingham told FOX 10 Phoenix. “You’re telling me there’s not one person who could stroke a $20 million check right now? There is somebody out here who can.”

Dillingham offered to do everything he could to make a potential donor “the most famous person in the city.” He predicted such a cash infusion would take Arizona State from its current trajectory to “holy cow.”

… Continue reading story here …

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Big 12 Bowl Notes: Texas Tech second team ever to win all of its games by 20 points or more

From the Big 12 …

• The Big 12 Conference placed five programs in the final College Football Playoff’s Top 25 rankings. Three programs were ranked in the top 15 with Texas Tech (4th), BYU (12th) and Utah (15), who have all been featured in every CFP ranking this season. Arizona (17th) moved up eight spots in two weeks, and Houston (21st) finished with its highest ranking of the season.

• Texas Tech won the 2025 Edward Jones Big 12 Football Championship, 34-7 over BYU, to claim its first-ever Big 12 football title.

The match-up between the Cougars and the Red Raiders was the Conference’s first championship game between two one-loss teams since 2019.

• The sellout crowd of 85,519 at AT&T Stadium for the Edward Jones Big 12 Football Championship was the largest crowd ever at a Power Four football championship game.

• The Conference has had 12 different teams defeat an AP Top 25 opponent this season, which is the most among all FBS conferences and the most in Big 12 history.

• Texas Tech became the second team in the CFP era to win all 12 of its regular season games and its conference champion-
ship game by 20 or more points, joining the 2013 Florida State Seminoles.

• Since the beginning of the 2024 season, BYU has posted an overall record of 22-4. It marks the fourth-best record in FBS
over the last two seasons.

• Utah became bowl eligible for the 18th time in 21 seasons under head coach Kyle Whittingham, who will lead the Utes in the Las Vegas Bowl in his final game as head coach.

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December 17th

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Poll of head coaches: Georgia and Ohio State overwhelming favorites to win it all

From The Athletic … This has been one of the most entertaining college football seasons in recent memory. Neither of the top two teams in the preseason AP Top 25, Texas or Penn State, made the College Football Playoff. Nor did No. 4 Clemson or No. 6 Notre Dame. In fact, just five of the preseason top 17 made the field.

With such an interesting mix in this Playoff field, what do the real experts — the coaches themselves — think?

We polled more than two dozen coaches from the Power 4 and Group of 5 and asked them: Who will win it all?

Which team will win it all?

• Georgia: 50%

• Ohio State: 42%

• Indiana: 4%

• Oregon: 4%

“I don’t think there’s any team that is just great this year. Or as good as Alabama or Georgia were when they won it, or even as good as Ohio State last year. Georgia’s O-line has matured, so that team has taken a jump. The QB is a winner. Defensively, Georgia can play big and can match up. They’re really good and they’re battle-tested.” — Group of 5 head coach

“Ohio State. Georgia seems flawed. I know Indiana just beat them but I don’t think they can beat them twice. Ohio State was pretty banged up in that game.  The wideouts will be healthier. On defense, Ohio State is really sound with great players. Their red zone defense is unbelievable.” — Big Ten offensive assistant coach

“Indiana. They’ve played big in big games. I was really impressed with them winning at Oregon and beating Ohio State the way they did.” — Group of 5 head coach

“Georgia. They look the cleanest. They’ve been getting better as the season’s gone on. They’re gonna stop the run and find your weaknesses. And they’re good at using them against you.” — SEC defensive coordinator

Who do you think is the biggest fraud in the field?

• Ole Miss: 29%

• Texas Tech: 17%

• Alabama: 17%

• JMU: 8%

• Oregon: 4%

• Oklahoma: 4%

• No answer: 21%

“Ole Miss. They’ve had so many distractions with Lane Kiffin leaving, and Oklahoma is probably their only good win this year.” — Group of 5 head coach

“I think Alabama should have, like, five losses this year. They shouldn’t be there.” — SEC defensive coordinator 

“Alabama. Maybe I’m old-school, but I don’t believe a three-loss team should have a shot to win a national title. I’ve watched them. They’re not that good this year. I didn’t see enough from them to get this chance.” — Big Ten defensive line coach 

“Texas Tech. Their D-line is really phenomenal. They can hold their gaps and they let those linebackers play freely. But their offense has had so many opportunities and they really struggle in the red zone. (QB Behren) Morton is talented, but he’s played a ton and some of his decision-making is pretty poor.” — Big 12 offensive coordinator 

“JMU. They have no business in the Playoff. If you put them in the ACC, they wouldn’t even be .500. Defensively, they’re legitimate, but offensively, they are not good.” — Group of 5 head coach

“Oklahoma. The defense is awesome, but I don’t think their offense can piss a drop.” — Group of 5 tight ends coach

… Continue reading story here …

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December 16th

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David v. Goliath: Oregon’s Dan Lanning’s salary three times James Madison’s entire operating budget for the year

From The Athletic … This year’s College Football Playoff reflects the adage that you get what you pay for.

The 12-team field includes the four teams with the largest football budgets, the nation’s two highest-paid coaches and three of the four highest-paid general managers. It also sets up a potential quarterfinal matchup where one head coach makes more than his competitor’s entire recent football budget.

… After schools could start legally paying players directly on July 1, The Athletic submitted public records requests for revenue-sharing budgets and payrolls to more than 70 public schools. Oklahoma and Ohio State are among those that still have not responded. Records in some places, like Georgia and Oregon, are shielded by state laws. Texas A&M’s denial also cited an exemption against releasing information that “would harm its interests by providing an advantage to a competitor … or in a particular ongoing competitive situation.”

James Madison’s revenue-sharing budget is a little more than $1 million, according to its payroll data. That figure is split among 34 players (whose names were redacted). Two players are making $65,000, and four are making $7,500 each. Four men’s basketball players were set to make more than the highest-paid football player.

Texas Tech’s roster cost about $25 million, general manager James Blanchard told The Athletic in the preseason. About $12 million went to 21 transfers. An internal document obtained through a public records request provides more insight. From July 2024 through May 2025, the Red Raiders’ NIL budget in football was $13.5 million. That’s up from $3.4 million the year before.

The Sooners’ NIL entity, 1Oklahoma, paid players $32 million in the 2024-25 fiscal year, according to OU board of regents documents from September. That figure isn’t broken down by sport.

Our best look at Tulane is from 2023. That year, the Fear the Wave Collective Group reported almost $955,000 in revenue on its federal tax returns. Its expenses were $774,000 but not itemized much beyond that.

Because most numbers aren’t public, we asked a pair of NIL agents to rank the teams based on player compensation. Both put Texas Tech, Miami and Texas A&M in their top four. Georgia and Alabama were in the bottom half of the bracket, and the last three were the same (in order): Oklahoma, Tulane and JMU.

The $93 million revenue gap between first-round foes Oregon and JMU isn’t only the largest in this field. By our math, it’s the biggest disparity of any CFP matchup so far, including the four-team era.

Here’s a stunning way to contextualize it: What JMU paid its head coach and entire roster (just under $1.9 million) is less than Oregon paid its defensive coordinator, Tosh Lupoi ($2 million). Ducks head coach Dan Lanning’s $10.4 million salary is three times the Dukes’ annual football operating expenses ($3.2 million).

James Madison’s budget is competitive in the Sun Belt, but it’s not No. 1. That was Coastal Carolina ($17.3 million in football revenue).

… Read full story here …

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December 15th

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TCU launches fund-raising campaign to keep players in Ft. Worth

From Sports Illustrated … College football continues to change every day, and it can be tricky for certain programs to fork up as much money as others to retain its key pieces.

Last year, Hoover discussed an offer from the Tennessee Volunteers, but explained how his heart remained in Fort Worth. But with the transfer portal opening up on the other side of the new year, head coach Sonny Dykes has expressed his commitment to keeping Hoover a Horned Frog.

In regard to teams showing interest in Hoover, Dykes said, “They’re coming right now. That’s why I’m fundraising.”

As donors continue to play a more significant role in college football, Dykes says the job of a head coach has changed dramatically. “Back in the old days of college football, it was pretty simple. You had your players, and they were here, and you sat in the room and came up with a game plan. It’s a different world,” Dykes said.

The transfer portal officially opens on January 2 and closes on January 16, 2026. It provides a 15-day window for teams to chase players and convince them to make the switch. For others, it’s a time to hold onto their pieces.

“You’re trying to raise money, which has become a huge part of what I do, just to try and be competitive with what’s going on in college football,” he said. “And retaining players has become critically important to the program. It’s an ever-evolving world.”

Dykes even discussed how he wakes up to several text messages and calls from players’ agents, asking him to take a look at their respective clients ahead of next season. This is yet another reminder of the changing landscape of the game.

… Continue reading story here …

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December 14th

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Scott Frost sues Nebraska for $5 million for breach of contract

From msn.com … Former Nebraska football coach Scott Frost filed a lawsuit Friday alleging the university breached his contract and improperly handled buyout payments in a dispute that centers on millions of dollars in compensation and tax liability. Frost’s total buyout from Nebraska was roughly $15 million, covering the remainder of his contract through 2026.

The complaint, filed in Lancaster County (Neb.) District Court, accuses the University of Nebraska and its Board of Regents of withholding payments Frost says he is owed for 2025 and 2026 under his employment agreement. Frost is seeking a declaratory judgment clarifying the contract terms and at least $5 million in damages.

Nebraska fired Frost on Sept. 11, 2022, just three games into the season, ending a tenure in which he went 16-31 at his alma mater. His contract was scheduled to run through Dec. 31, 2026, and included liquidated damages following his dismissal.

According to the lawsuit, the dispute escalated in December 2022, when Nebraska informed Frost it intended to include the present value of the 2025 and 2026 liquidated damages on his 2022 W-2 form. Frost alleges that decision created roughly $1.7 million in income tax liability for money he had not received.

The filing states that in the same communication, the university said those future payments could be adjusted later “without any further explanation,” a position Frost describes as internally inconsistent and self-serving. He contends the payments were guaranteed and not subject to reduction, offset or forfeiture.

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December 13th

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Big 12 negotiating a business partnership funding $30 million per school

From The Athletic … The Big 12 is negotiating a business partnership that would inject capital funds into the conference office and allow member schools to opt in to additional funding of roughly $30 million per school, league sources confirmed to The Athletic.

In response to a request for comment from The Athletic, the Big 12 Conference confirmed it is actively “in negotiations to create a multifaceted strategic business partnership with RedBird and Weatherford Capital.” The deal is not yet finalized and would not include any stake or equity in the Big 12. A league source described the partnership as an “opt-in capital solution” and emphasized that it is not a private equity agreement.

Yahoo! Sports first reported details of the deal.

The partnership would focus on expanding commercial and business operations at the league-office level while offering the conference’s 16 universities roughly $30 million each in the form of a capital line of credit. This would allow “member institutions to take advantage of up to $500 million of capital,” according to the conference. Schools are not required to opt in.

The Big 12 previously explored league-wide private equity and private capital deals, but didn’t garner enough unified support among members. Commissioner Brett Yormark told Front Office Sports in May 2025: “We’re just not ready to jump in just yet.” This partnership would offer an alternative approach and could help Big 12 athletic departments, under growing budgetary and financial strain, including up to $20.5 million in direct revenue sharing in the first year of the House settlement.

The Big 12’s annual revenue distributions to league members lag behind those in the other power conferences, particularly the Big Ten and SEC, due to the disparity in television rights revenues. 2025-26 is the first year of a media rights extension through 2030-31 between the Big 12 and TV partners ESPN and Fox. That deal was struck in 2022, before the league increased to 16 schools. All 16 will receive full-member shares for the first time in the 2025-26 academic year.

… Read full story here …

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December 9th 

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University of Utah nearing landmark private equity deal expected to generate $500 million

From YahooSports.com … Private equity has officially arrived in college athletics.

The University of Utah is on the cusp of striking the industry’s first partnership with an equity firm in a marriage that features a nine-figure capital infusion and the creation and shared ownership of a for-profit entity to operate athletics business and financial elements outside of the traditional university framework.

The new venture is expected to generate as much or more than $500 million in capital — a groundbreaking and innovative move that may pave the way for more schools and conferences to pursue such a concept.

Finalization of the project is expected soon pending authorization on Tuesday from the University of Utah Board of Trustees. The board is granting the university permission to move forward with the agreement with Otro Capital, a New York-based sports private equity firm.

Multiple officials with knowledge of the project spoke to Yahoo Sports under condition of anonymity.

The endeavor with Otro Capital is more than just a nine-figure infusion of cash.

At the center of the project is the creation of a private, independent offshoot of the athletic department — Utah Brands & Entertainment LLC — in a first-of-its-kind partnership between a university athletic department and an equity partner. An executive team from Otro Capital, combined with athletics department personnel, will lead the creation and operation of the new company, which will live within the university’s foundation.

The university retains majority ownership and decision-making authority of Utah Brands & Entertainment. Otro marries the capital infusion with a team of experienced operators. A president from outside the university will preside over the company and report to a board, chaired by Utah athletic director Mark Harlan, with seats for trustees and Otro executives.

… Continue reading story here …

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