College category, Page 10
SEC, Big Ten prepared to push for changes to CFP seeding in 2025
NEW ORLEANS — The Big Ten and SEC will push for changes in the way College Football Playoff teams are seeded next season to coincide more with how teams are ranked by the CFP selection committee, commissioners for both leagues said Wednesday. “I’m prepared to vote for seeding change,” SEC...
Notre Dame moves up to No. 1 in AP poll for 1st time since 2019 after UCLA suffers 1st loss
Notre Dame is the new No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll, ascending to the top spot Monday for the first time since 2019. The Fighting Irish replaced UCLA, which lost its first game of the season last week, falling to rival USC, 71-60. Notre Dame...
Auburn stays at No. 1 in AP Top 25 for 6th straight week, Florida up to No. 2; Louisville returns
Auburn’s win at Alabama assured the Tigers would keep the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for a sixth consecutive week. The Tigers (23-2) received 59 of 60 first-place votes in Monday’s poll, reclaiming nearly all the support lost when they fell at...
Johni Broome scores 19 points as No. 1 Auburn defeats No. 2 Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Johni Broome had 19 points and 14 rebounds and five teammates scored in double figures as No. 1 Auburn beat in-state rival and second-ranked Alabama, 94-85, on Saturday in a matchup of top-ranked teams. Mark Sears scored 18 points, and Grant Nelson added 12 points and 12...
Penn State hires former Temple coach Stan Drayton as running backs coach
STATE COLLEGE — Former Temple coach Stan Drayton has found a new job coaching Penn State’s running backs. Penn State coach James Franklin announced the hire Friday. Drayton went 9-25 in three years at Temple before getting fired last November with two games left in the season. Drayton spent 2017-21...
NCAA committee recommends flag football as emerging sport for women amid growing popularity
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics has recommended that Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to add flag football to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. The committee’s recommendation Wednesday gives all three divisions an opportunity to sponsor legislation that would move the fast-growing sport through...
Ohio State is hiring former Lions coach Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator, AP source says
Ohio State is hiring former Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia as defensive coordinator, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the agreement had not been announced. Ohio State coach Ryan Day, who led the Buckeyes to...
UNLV senior offensive lineman Ben Christman dies
LAS VEGAS — UNLV senior offensive lineman Ben Christman, who transferred after last season from Kentucky, has died, the university announced. Christman, who was 21, was found dead in an off-campus apartment on Tuesday morning. The university said it didn’t have other details and a cause of death would later...
Education Department rescinds Biden memo that threatened to upend college NIL payments
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Education Department is scrapping last-minute guidance issued by the Biden administration that threatened to upend colleges’ plans to pay athletes for their name, image and likeness by making those payments subject to federal Title IX rules. In a move that was largely expected, President Donald Trump’s...
Auburn edges Alabama atop AP Top 25 despite loss; Duke and Florida tied at No. 3; UConn drops out
Auburn’s run at No. 1 is still intact despite a loss to No. 3 Florida. UConn’s latest loss has dropped the two-time defending national champions out of the poll for the first time in two years. The Tigers held the top spot in the poll for the fifth straight week...
Former North Allegheny water polo star counts blessings after California wildfires
Becca Melanson looked out the window of her apartment near the UCLA campus, gasped and grabbed her cellphone. “It was insane,” said Melanson, the top girls water polo player in North Allegheny history. “I have a few photos from my apartment, and I see flames. … I was scared. We...
Shady Side Academy grad Izee Powell embracing challenges of Division I hockey
When looking at the statistics of the Dartmouth women’s hockey team from 2023-24, it’s hard not to notice that Shady Side Academy grad Izee Powell was fourth in scoring. The junior defenseman had her best season last year, scoring six goals, four on the power play, and had nine assists....
Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson won’t return next season
Indiana coach Mike Woodson is leaving his alma mater on his own terms. The 66-year-old Woodson, who has been under fire most of the past two seasons because of underperforming teams, decided to step down at the end of this season, the school announced Friday. The Hoosiers missed last year’s...
UMass will pay student who made half-court $10K after insurance company said foot was on line
A UMass student who made a half-court shot during a women’s basketball game halftime promotion will get his $10,000 prize from the school itself after the insurance company refused to pay because, it said, his foot was on the line. Noah Lee was selected for the contest Wednesday that required...
Ohio State’s Ryan Day agrees to contract extension through 2031 paying him $12.5 million annually
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State coach Ryan Day, who led the Buckeyes to the national championship just over two weeks ago, has agreed in principle to a seven-year contract valued at $12.5 million a year, the school announced Thursday. The contract, pending approval by the university’s Board of Trustees, runs...
Longtime Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton to step down at end of season
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Longtime Florida State basketball coach Leonard Hamilton is stepping down at the end of the season. Hamilton, who is being sued by six former players over allegations he failed to deliver on name, image and likeness promises, announced his decision Monday following a team meeting. “I’m very...
Auburn, Duke remain 1-2 atop latest AP Top 25; Maryland jumps in for 1st time since 2023
Auburn and Duke remain 1-2 atop The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the third straight week, while Maryland is back in the rankings for the first time in nearly two years. Bruce Pearl’s Tigers (20-1) held the No. 1 ranking for the fourth consecutive week in...
Southern Cal drops to No. 7 after loss; UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame remain atop women’s Top 25
Southern Cal’s second loss of the season dropped the Trojans to seventh in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll Monday. The previously No. 4 Trojans were shocked in Iowa when the Hawkeyes beat them 76-69 Sunday on a day Caitlin Clark’s jersey was retired. USC’s only other loss...
Jack Bech shines in Senior Bowl a month after brother’s death in New Orleans truck attack
MOBILE, Ala. — Former TCU receiver Jack Bech caught the winning touchdown pass and was named MVP of the Senior Bowl on Saturday, a month after his older brother was among 14 killed in the deadly pickup truck attack in New Orleans. Bech caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Memphis...
Shady Side Academy grad Maeve Kelley looking to add to impressive swimming résumé at Amherst
When athletes step foot on to a college campus for their freshman season, there aren’t a lot of expectations for them to meet. They don’t feel burdened by pressures that stats or prior performances can sometimes provide. Whether they do well or not in that first year, there’s a hunger...
Objections filed to $2.8B NCAA antitrust settlement; lawyers confident of approval
More than a dozen objections have been filed against the $2.8 billion settlement of antitrust allegations against the NCAA and the nation’s biggest conferences — concerns ranging from roster limits and Title IX to what some call an unfair salary cap — but attorneys say they don’t see any threats...
Ohio State quality control coach on administrative leave amid university investigation
COLUMBUS — Ohio State defensive quality control coach Joe Lyberger has been on paid administrative leave for the last month while the university investigates him. Ohio State’s human resources department sent Lyberger a letter on Dec. 27 that noted he would be placed on leave immediately. The investigation is being...
Vanderbilt ranked in women’s AP Top 25 for 1st time in 11 years; UCLA, South Carolina still 1-2
Vanderbilt entered the Associated Press women’s basketball Top 25 on Monday at No. 23, its first ranking in more than a decade, while Texas returned to the top five and Ohio State and Duke both jumped back into the top 10. Shea Ralph’s Vanderbilt team is in the poll for...
Auburn, Duke top men’s AP Top 25, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt make poll debuts; UConn tumbles to No. 25
Auburn keeps winning games that come down to the wire. It’s kept them on top of the AP Top 25, too. The Tigers were the unanimous choice atop the men’s college basketball poll for the second consecutive week Monday, getting all 62 votes from the national media panel. Their place...
South Carolina’s arena DJ suspended 1 game for playing song by Flau’Jae Johnson’s late father
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina athletic department announced Sunday that the women’s basketball team’s arena DJ has been suspended for one game for the choice of music played at the end of the Gamecocks’ win over LSU on Friday. The DJ, who goes by the stage name DJ T.O.,...
