—
Big 12 Notes – Fall Camp
—
August 12th
… Foe Pause …
Another CU opponent gets a large ($35 million) donation
… Won’t hurt the Buffs this season, but Northwestern plays in Boulder next September …
From ESPN … Northwestern football’s push to be competitive financially in the Big Ten has received an adrenaline shot, as the school announced Tuesday that the program has received a commitment to a $35 million football-focused gift over the next three years.
The gift comes from the family of Liz and Dick Uihlein, and the donation is intended for holistic football success — including recruiting support and broader program needs — as the school enters a “new era.”
According to a news release from Northwestern, the gift will help “student-athlete development, operational priorities, recruiting, and strategic investments designed to position Northwestern Football for sustained success in the Big Ten and on the national stage.”
The move comes at a time when Northwestern has been attempting to catch up financially to its Big Ten peers with a flurry of significant moves. This fall, the school is set to debut the new Ryan Field, a state-of-the-art stadium that cost more than $850 million. (That was privately funded through the Ryan family, which has had an outsized philanthropic impact on the athletic department and university.)
“We are so grateful for Pat and Shirley Ryan’s contributions to Northwestern and Chicago and want to follow their lead,” Liz and Dick Uihlein said in a statement. The statement added: “As multigenerational Chicagoans, we love this city and want to see it thrive. To us, Northwestern University is Chicago. Chicago loves sports and we need Wildcat Football to be competitive. We are pleased to support the university as it enters an exciting new era.”
Northwestern has had one winning record in the Big Ten since reaching the Big Ten title game in 2020. That came in coach David Braun’s first season as head coach in 2023, as he took over after the controversial dismissal of university stalwart Pat Fitzgerald.
Northwestern is not close to the league’s biggest spenders in football, and this recent flurry of moves shows an energized commitment to be more competitive in an era when spending on talent tends to lead to success. That includes the hiring of longtime college and NFL coach Chip Kelly as the school’s offensive coordinator.
A gift this large that is specifically for football is rare in college sports. It comes at a time when academic-focused private schools such as Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and Northwestern have figured out ways to thrive in this era. Northwestern president Mung Chiang pointed out that Northwestern is the only school in one of the two top conferences — the SEC and Big 10 — that’s also a top-10-ranked university.
“We are deeply grateful to the Uihlein family for their extraordinary generosity and commitment to Northwestern University,” athletic director Mark Jackson said in the release. “Their support will help us continue building a program that delivers an exceptional student-athlete experience while competing at the highest level of college football.”
–
—–
August 11th
… Foe Pause …
Power Four “ambition” tiers: CU in the “We’re trying, but we aren’t flush with cash” category
From The Athletic … Welcome to the college football Power Four conference ambition tiers, where Ohio State has a private chef, Texas owns the building and a handful of programs are avoiding calls from collection agencies.
In modern college football, winning requires more than a good coach and a talented quarterback. It takes cash, alignment, facility upgrades and boosters who are willing to treat needs on the defensive line like a national emergency.
We divided every program into tiers based on who is rich, who is aggressive, who is merely optimistic and who might need to start checking underneath the stadium seats for loose change. These aren’t predictions for the 2026 season, either. It’s more of a snapshot of each school and a check-in on the vibes around the program.
From the Big 12 …
Always all in … with big results
None …
Big spenders … hoping for results
None …
New money
- BYU
- Texas Tech
Big brands with big questions
None …
Times are changing … we have money!
- Oklahoma State
“Other Two” conference members, but with big dreams
- Arizona State
- TCU
- Utah
Fighting chance … We’re trying, but we aren’t flush with cash
- Arizona
- ColoradoPresent: The Buffaloes signed 16 starters from other FBS rosters, including a receiver and a linebacker from Texas, a cornerback from Vanderbilt and offensive linemen from Houston, Rutgers and California. But they also lost seven starters to the portal, most notably the best available left tackle in Jordan Seaton (LSU).Future: Deion Sanders, thankfully now cancer-free, achieved his goal of getting Colorado back on the map with a 9-4 season and Heisman winner in 2024, but ticket sales were down in 2025, and the momentum in Boulder has been lost while athletic department bills keep piling up.
- Houston
- Kansas State
Treading water
- Cincinnati
- Baylor
- Iowa State
- UCF
- West Virginia
Behind the 8-ball
- Kansas
–
—–
August 10th
… Foe Pause …
CU not a hot ticket? Georgia Tech selling tickets for $24
… Kickoff set for September 3rd, 6:00 p.m., MT, ESPN … Buff fans in Atlanta: This is for you …
–
—–
August 8th
… Foe Pause …
Protect College Sports Act vote pushed to September
From ESPN … The Protect College Sports Act failed to reach a vote during an all-night, pre-recess session in the Senate that ended early Saturday, though the bill did gain a spot on next month’s calendar after the chamber comes back from its summer break.
The measure has been touted as one that would put guardrails around an escalating spending spree in college sports as the industry struggles to adapt to a new model in which teams can pay players.
“College sports is something that needs to be fixed. They have a good solution,” said Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “We got it teed up for next month.”
The bill has been on a roller coaster since it was introduced in late May but quickly failed to gain support of the two biggest conferences: the Big Ten and SEC.
Those conferences signed on and saved it from near death late last month after a flurry of negotiations. But as quickly as it was revived, it faced a reality check in the Senate, where lawmakers from SEC states, including Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., were among its biggest skeptics.
As the bill got closer to a vote, the Congressional Black Caucus and AFL-CIO also came out against it. Amendments dealing with issues that were never part of the bill also started coming up.
All that, combined with a packed list of votes including on a short-term funding bill and the narrow confirmation of Todd Blanche as attorney general, pushed the PCSA toward the back of the Senate’s agenda.
Bill co-sponsor Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said, “My colleagues and I have worked hard to end the chaos” that surrounds college sports and predicted the bill would receive the support of 60 or more Senators to keep it on path to becoming law.
Co-sponsor Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said she was grateful Thune put it on the calendar.
“This bipartisan bill is how we protect women’s and Olympic sports,” she said. “I look forward to its passage in September.”
… Continue reading story here …
–
—–
August 7th
… Foe Pause …
“Shocking” – Texas Tech has easiest Power Four schedule; Nebraska easiest non-conference schedule
From ESPN … College football has never been a more chaotic mess off the field. Thank goodness we still have the actual games, which remain as great as ever.
The start of the 2026 season is only a month away.
And so, it’s time to break down the schedules, analyzing which teams appear to have it tough and which, well, don’t.
Does anyone have a more difficult road than Ohio State, which must travel to potential preseason AP No. 1 Texas and defending national champ Indiana?
Can Texas Tech overcome the loss of quarterback Brendan Sorsby and advance to the playoff for a second consecutive season?
Will Ole Miss be able to exact revenge on former coach Lane Kiffin when LSU visits Oxford?
Can Oklahoma and USC survive their brutal conference stretches?
That and more on ESPN’s annual preseason schedule evaluation.
Easiest overall Power 4 schedule: Texas Tech Red Raiders
Texas Tech won’t have Sorsby after a tumultuous offseason surrounding his eligibility in the wake of a gambling scandal. Yet the Red Raiders still have a path back to the playoff with Will Hammond at quarterback, thanks in part to a soft schedule.
Texas Tech’s toughest nonconference game is at Oregon State, which is coming off a 2-10 season. The Red Raiders also don’t face Utah or BYU, the two other Big 12 teams ranked in the top 20 of ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25.
Strength of schedule might hurt Texas Tech’s case for an at-large bid. But the Red Raiders remain the favorites to win the Big 12 and punch their playoff ticket for a second straight year.
Toughest Power 4 nonconference schedule: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Under coach Brent Key, the Yellow Jackets have pulled off several marquee wins, and they’ll have opportunities for more this season.
Georgia Tech faces Colorado and Tennessee in Atlanta to start the year, then plays at Georgia again to end it. On Sept. 19, the Yellow Jackets also play Mercer.
Georgia Tech has come oh-so close to upsetting the Bulldogs during the past three years, including falling in an eighth overtime in 2024. Could this be the year the Yellow Jackets finally topple their in-state rival?
Easiest Power 4 nonconference schedule: Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Huskers narrowly edge out the Hoosiers for the nod here. Indiana plays North Texas (which lost its top players via transfer to Oklahoma State), Howard (5-7 last year) and poor Western Kentucky (which will be coming off its game at Georgia).
Yet Nebraska gets Ohio and Bowling Green from the MAC, plus North Dakota (a solid FCS program, though not to be confused with powerhouse North Dakota State).
The Huskers haven’t finished with eight victories in a decade. With this nonconference slate, they have a decent chance to start 5-0 before Indiana visits Lincoln on Oct. 10.
Toughest three-game stretch: Northwestern Wildcats
After enduring a rough few years at the end of the Pat Fitzgerald era, the Wildcats bounced back under coach David Braun, including a 7-6 finish last season.
This year, they’ll have to survive this rugged three-week gauntlet: at Oregon (Oct. 31), Iowa (Nov. 7) and at Ohio State (Nov. 14).
The Ducks and Buckeyes have national championship aspirations again, and Iowa went 9-4 last year (with its four losses totaling a combined 15 points).
Florida also deserved consideration here. The Gators travel to Texas, face Georgia in Atlanta and play Oklahoma in The Swamp. The Gators at least have a bye on Oct. 24 after playing the Longhorns.
–
—–
August 6th
… Foe Pause …
ESPN’s List of All-Time College Football Villains includes Coach Prime
From ESPN … Every great story requires a great villain. Darth Vader. The no-nosed wizard who fights Harry Potter. The “Get him a body bag!” guy from “Karate Kid.” The endless parade of bad guys whom Spider-Man is currently fighting in a theater near you.
As we near kickoff of college football’s 157th season, we all have our own personal lists of bad guys we would love to see melted into the floor like the Wicked Witch of the West. That scoundrel of a QB who torched your team in that bowl game your senior year. That dastardly DB who snagged the would-be TD pass that your alma mater needed in the closing seconds. That criminal of a coach who you know beyond any shadow of a sport talk call-in show doubt ratted out your favorite team to NCAA investigators.
But who among those devilish dudes ranks among the most abhorred heels in college football history? For those answers, warm up your “boo!” voice, stretch that middle finger, find some spare golf balls to fling from the student section and read ahead as we present our list of College Football’s All-Time Villains.
9. Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders is the only member of this list who has enjoyed two distinctly different villain eras, Prime Time at Florida State four decades ago and Coach Prime at Colorado in the here and now. I know of what I speak here, because I was at Clemson’s Death Valley in 1988 when No. 2 stood at the bottom of The Hill taunting the Tigers as they ran down from Howard’s Rock. He didn’t just relish the boos from the rain-soaked 80,000 fans in attendance; he bathed in them. Then he proceeded to talk smack to both the Clemson bench and head coach Danny Ford. And then he snagged a punt and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown.
Fast-forward to 2023, when Sanders moved from Jackson State to become Boss Buffalo. If anyone thought he was divisive as a pre-internet player, he damn near broke the internet every Saturday as Colorado won a lot early, which many celebrated, then lost a lot late, which even more celebrated. And just like that day at Clemson nearly four decades ago, he has relished that role, too.
–
—-
August 2nd
… Foe Pause …
College Football Jersey Patches (three Big 12 schools have signed deals to date)
–
—–
August 1st
… Foe Pause …
Federal Judge undercuts five-for-five rule, giving some players (K Alejandro Mata?) a potential additional season
From ESPN … A federal court dealt a perhaps chaos-inducing blow to the NCAA’s new eligibility rule Friday when it ruled that all high school class of 2022 athletes who exhausted their fourth season of college eligibility this spring are eligible for a fifth season in 2026-27.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney in Denver, expected to be appealed, undercuts the NCAA’s plan to have the so-called “five-for-five” rule go into play starting with athletes who enroll in college in fall 2027.
It also has the potential to wreak havoc on rosters across the country — for instance, opening the possibility that an undrafted player in an NFL training camp could try to head back to college for a fifth year.
In granting the preliminary injunction, Sweeney said the players “will suffer irreparable harm without” it. She did not sign on to the governing body’s argument that applying the new rule retroactively would create “roster chaos.”
But NCAA president Charlie Baker said it would in responding to the rulings while referencing a bill in Congress designed to provide the NCAA antitrust protection on the eligibility issues.
“Today’s rulings and the chaos they bring to college sports are exactly why it’s time to pass this bill,” Baker said.
… Continue reading story here …
–
—
Too little, too late? Big Ten and SEC agree to support Protect College Sports Act
From the Associated Press … The Big Ten and Southeastern Conferences agreed Friday night to support a Senate bill that seeks to regulate college sports, ending a breakneck week of negotiations and pulling the bipartisan measure out of what looked like a certain death spiral.
School presidents from both conferences voted to back the bill after receiving last-minute concessions over language regarding third-party name-image-likeness deals and the so-called “associated entities” that often broker those arrangements between players and schools.
More details need to be worked out, but the headline is that the bill still has a chance to earn the 60 votes it needs to halt debate and head to an up-or-down vote before the Senate heads for summer break next Friday.
The summer recess is increasingly looking like an intractable deadline for the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan effort headed by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
After the conferences, which had balked at large sections of the bill, put out a short release announcing they supported the act “as currently drafted,” Cruz put out a short statement on social media thanking the leagues and saying: “Let’s save college sports.” And Cantwell said: “Good. Now progress can be made in protecting women and Olympic athletes and moving the legislation closer to the President’s desk.”
… Continue reading story here …
–
2 Replies to “Big 12 Notes”
Maybe Georgia Tech isn’t a hot ticket?
It feels like the Big12 is trying to build schedules for its favorites to get to the Playoffs undeafeted. But I think this actually hurts as these teams often don’t have quality wins which means if they drop an unexpected one and don’t win the conference we end up with only the champ in instead of 2 teams….