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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
In college playoff debate, the Arizona St coach with everything to lose says he'll take his chances
FILE - Ariona State head coach Kenny Dillingham stands on the sideline during the first half of the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game against Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) FILE - Ariona State head coach Kenny Dillingham stands on the sideline during the first half of the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game against Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) FILE - Ariona State head coach Kenny Dillingham stands on the sideline during the first half of the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game against Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) When it comes to the future of the College Football Playoff, there were as many opinions as there were coaches on hand at the Southeastern Conference and Big 12 meetings in Florida this week. Perhaps the most eye-opening came from some of those with the most to lose — Kenny Dillingham of Arizona State and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. Advertisement The consensus at their meetings, which wrapped up in Orlando on Friday, was a preference for a format, starting in 2026, that would include 16 teams — five of them automatic bids to the highest-rated conference champions and the other 11 awarded as at-large spots. That would be paired with a straight-seeding model that has already been adopted for next season's playoff. Had last season's playoff used straight seeding, the Big 12 champion Sun Devils would have been seeded 11th, not fourth. Instead of a bye, they would have been stuck with a first-round road game at eventual national champion Ohio State. But Dillingham said the change for the upcoming season is fine with him, and if the increasingly popular 5-11 model takes hold for 2026, that's fine, too. 'Last season, maybe we didn't earn the right to be the fourth seed. Maybe we earned the right to be the eighth seed,' said the coach, whose team was ranked 12th, but still received the fourth seed and a first-round bye before losing to Texas 39-31. 'I believe you earn your way to those seeds, so I'm also in support of the 5-plus-11, that same thought process.' Advertisement The SEC and Big Ten will decide the format for the playoff starting in 2026, which is when ESPN's new $7.8 billion contract kicks in. Yormark said the SEC and Big Ten 'have a great responsibility that goes with it to do what's right for college football and not to do anything that just benefits two conferences. And I have a lot of faith in the process.' The 5-11 system could be less advantageous for the Big 12, which would get two automatic bids under the other system being floated, the 4-4-2-2-1 model in which the SEC and Big Ten each would receive four and the Big 12 and ACC would get two. The best argument for that plan might have come from Florida AD Scott Stricklin at the SEC meetings: 'I think anything we can do to make the postseason more objective and less subjective is going to be better,' he said, pointing to the notion that the more at-large berths there are, the more the preferences of the selection committee come into play. Advertisement Yormark said the Big 12 would be willing to take its chances with more at-large bids. 'We want to earn it on the field,' Yormark said. 'The 5-11 might not be ideal for the conference, but it's good for college football, and it's what's fair.' Dillingham was on the same page. 'Every year is a new year, and you never know who's going to be good in college football, especially with the volume going through the (transfer) portal,' he said. 'So anything that creates an open platform for teams like our guys last year to prove that they do belong, I'm in support of.' Expanded March Madness NCAA President Charlie Baker made his most definitive statement yet about expanding the men's basketball tournament from its current 68 teams to 72 or 76, saying it's a decision that needs to come in the next few months. Advertisement SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has long been in favor of that expansion, so long as it's done a certain way. His model would bring more at-large teams – presumably from big conferences -- into the main draw of 64. It would push more automatic qualifiers from weaker leagues into what would be an increased number of so-called 'play-in' games, what's known now as the First Four. He used the example of North Carolina State in 2024 as a team that was seeded 11th (the Wolfpack didn't have to play a play-in game but often an 11th seed does) and made the Final Four. 'I don't think all the 10- and 11-type seeds should just be placed in the First Four,' Sankey said at the SEC meetings in the Florida Panhandle. 'That's my opinion. You could go ask my colleagues in the AQ conferences what should happen and I'm certain they'd want the split to continue.' Walk-on walk-outs Advertisement A few SEC coaches hedged when asked what they were telling walk-on football players who were in jeopardy of losing their roster spots under terms of the multibillion-dollar lawsuit settlement that is hung up on the issue of roster limits. 'Certainly it's challenging for us to manage our roster,' Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. 'But it's more challenging for a 19-year-old to not know what his place on a football team is as we head into the summer.' Under terms of a reworked agreement, football rosters would be limited to 105 players, all of whom would be eligible for scholarships, though walk-on players who had roster spots before would not count against the limit. Kansas coach Lance Leipold conceded that many decisions had already been made regardless of how the settlement works out. Indeed, some of his walk-ons had already left, as the Jayhawks made preparations for the upcoming season with the expectation the settlement would be approved. Advertisement 'When a walk-on maybe decides that now that their roster spot might be in jeopardy, he has a chance to go somewhere else where he may see more real playing time in games, you got to be happy for him," he said. "I guess we all wish we had a little bit more clarity sooner.' One window too many From locker rooms to the commissioner's office, the Big 12 is unified in its stance on transfer portal timing. Rather than two transfer windows, including a 20-day slot with the college football playoff in sight in December, the Big 12 is pushing for one window in January. 'As coaches, we unanimously support one portal window, and that is in January,' Leipold said. 'You're signing most of your guys in December. You know what your roster will be like to start the second semester, and you have the opportunity to work and develop and build those relationships and evaluate your team and get ready for the next season.' Advertisement Coaches can find solace in knowing their commissioner will fight for the cause. Adjusting the portal windows is one of many items on the list of topics Yormark will discuss with fellow Power Four commissioners in the coming weeks. 'We discussed the portal window with the coaches,' Yormark said. 'We know what their preference is. We'll discuss that amongst the Power Four commissioners here shortly, but I advocate for their position. They want a January portal, and we'll discuss that again with our peers and see where we can land this thing.' The Power Four wants more There are plenty of ongoing disputes between the NCAA's most dominant conferences, but a desire for more control isn't one of them. Rumors of the SEC separating from the NCAA may have gained momentum, but Sankey is willing to settle for more autonomy, at least for now. Advertisement Instead of the original 65%, Sankey argued that the Power Four conferences owning 68% of the vote in the proposed NCAA governance model is more optimal. Yormark was on the same page. 'There is an appetite and desire to have a little bit more autonomy, a little bit more control in decision-making,' Yormark said. 'In what's currently being discussed, I think we will land in a very desirable place. We understand the importance of being part of the institution and also being very collegial with our peers. But at the same time, we do feel that when it comes to control and autonomy, that there needs to be a little bit of a shift to the A4, at least more so than what currently exists.' By the sounds of it, the Power Four may have the NCAA president on their side. 'Charlie Baker has been terrific throughout the process. He has listened to all the key stakeholder groups, but he does recognize that not everyone looks the same, operates the same, and there needs to be a bit of an adjustment and a modernization of what's being done there in the NCAA as a whole is, like you said, but also as it relates to the power four," Yormark said. ___ Carey reported from Orlando, Fla., Pells from Miramar Beach, Fla. ___ AP college sports:
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Big 12 men's basketball decision to drop to 18 conference games goes beyond injury prevention
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Another college basketball season in the books means another offseason to reset, recruit and reassess the growing needs of the game. Following a yearlong experiment with a 20-game conference schedule, the Big 12 announced its intention to return to 18 games for the upcoming season. Vice President of Big 12 Men's Basketball Brian Thornton said Wednesday there were multiple reasons for the change. 'The schedule got very compressed and when you're planning in a league as challenging as ours, understandably our coaches wanted a little bit of an opportunity during the course of conference play to take a deep breath, and going to 18 games allows that,' Thornton told The Associated Press at the Big 12 spring meetings. 'It allows us to have a built-in bye, and it's something that we feel is important for the time being.' The transition to 18 games accommodates the requests of college coaches after complaints during the season. But the reason behind the shift goes beyond rest time and injury prevention. 'We want to maximize bids, we want to maximize seeds,' Thornton said. 'The nonconference schedule is a huge component of that. We're moving from 20 conference games to 18 conference games, and so we spent considerable time talking about the importance of replacing those games with quality games that allows our conference to continue to thrive.' The Atlantic Coast Conference made the same move in early May after earning just four NCAA Tournament bids, its lowest total since 2013. The Big 12 had seven bids in the tournament, the third-most behind the Big Ten (8) and SEC (14). Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose Cougars reached the national championship game, took notice. 'One of the great things but also great challenges of coaching in the Big 12 is that you've got to keep up,' Sampson said. 'It's competitive, you know. The SEC got 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament this year, we only had seven.' Both the ACC and Big 12 hope the increased strength of schedule and strategic nonconference games lead to higher seeding, increased bids and more national attention. 'What our conference does during the nonconference schedule is really what sets the stage for how strong our conference is going to be overall,' Thornton said. 'The ball games that we schedule, the success that we have during that time, will set the stage for if we're viewed as the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 conference in the country as we go down the stretch and head into March Madness.' ___ AP college basketball: and
UPI
4 days ago
- Sport
- UPI
Houston's Milos Uzan withdraws from 2025 NBA Draft
Houston guard Milos Uzan (R) averaged 11.4 points per game over 40 starts last season for the Cougars. File Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI | License Photo May 27 (UPI) -- Houston guard Milos Uzan withdrew his name from the 2025 NBA Draft and will return to the Cougars in 2025-26, he announced Tuesday. Uzan averaged 11.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game over 40 starts last season. The 6-foot-4 guard, who spent two seasons at Oklahoma, announced his move to Houston in April 2024. Uzan earned All-Big 12 honors as well as All-Big 12 Tournament and NCAA Tournament All-Region selections. He helped the Cougars post a 35-5 record and to advance to the tournament finale, which they lost to Florida. The Cougars allowed a national-low 58.6 points per game during their 2024-25 campaign. Uzan scored a career-high 25 points against Arizona on March 15 in the Big 12 Conference tournament finale. He poured in 22 points in the Cougars' Sweet 16 win over Purdue. The 2025 NBA Draft will be held June 25 and 26 in Brooklyn. Uzan was a projected second-round pick.
USA Today
7 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Big 12 baseball championship score: Live updates, highlights from Arizona-TCU matchup
Big 12 baseball championship score: Live updates, highlights from Arizona-TCU matchup Show Caption Hide Caption Kansas baseball coach Dan Fitzgerald previews Big 12 tournament Check out everything Kansas baseball coach Dan Fitzgerald had to say Monday as the Jayhawks continued to prepare for the Big 12 Conference tournament. TCU and Arizona are looking to lock up the automatic NCAA baseball tournament bid when they face off in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday. Both teams had no issues in the semifinals of the conference tournament, as the Horned Frogs defeated 2-seed Kansas 11-1 in eight innings after the Wildcats beat 1-seed West Virginia 12-1 in the first semifinal. REQUIRED READING: SEC, ACC schools dominate college baseball tournament bracket projection Arizona likely doesn't have a shot at hosting a regional in the upcoming NCAA baseball tournament, however, TCU could have a shot at hosting games, as the Horned Frogs rank No. 17 in RPI. Arizona, meanwhile, is 29th in the NCAA's ratings. Follow along here for live updates and highlights from TCU and Arizona's Big 12 championship bout on Saturday: This section will be updated. TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 F Arizona 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - TCU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - - The Wildcats are showing signs of life, as Aaron Walton draws a leadoff walk before Mason White ropes a single to put runners on first and second with no outs in the top of the seventh inning. Wildcats still trail 1-0, but have a chance to scratch a run across here. TCU reliever Braeden Sloan retires Arizona's 8-9-1 hitters in order, and the Wildcats are down to their last six outs after the top of the seventh inning. Arizona has two hits as a team, as TCU's bullpen game approach has worked wonders so far. Smith Bailey's night is over, after pitching 5 1/3 innings and allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts. The true freshman kept the Wildcats in it, and hands the ball over to right-hander Casey Hintz in the bottom of the sixth inning. Hintz forces a 6-4-3 double play after getting his first batter he faced to groundout. Braeden Sloan enters for Gianluca Shinn and gets out of the sixth inning unscathed despite allowing hitting a batter. TCU still leads 1-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth. Smith Bailey retires TCU's hitters in order again and puts up another zero in the bottom of the fifth inning. Bailey has allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts through five innings. Gianluca Shinn is quickly becoming the story of the Big 12 championship, as he picks up his seventh strikeout through 2 2/3 innings of work. TCU leads 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth. Gianluca Shinn strikes out the first two batters of the fifth inning, which mark his fifth and sixth strikeout in a row. He walks Brendan Summerhill, though, ending his strikeout streak at six. Shinn has been nails in relief for the Horned Frogs. Smith Bailey is turning it up, as he quickly gets out of the fourth inning after a flyout and a pair of strikeouts. Bailey has allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts so far. How about TCU reliever Gianluca Shinn? Shinn strikes out the side and has struck out four consecutive batters. The left-hander's breaking ball is giving Arizona fits here. TCU bats coming up in the bottom of the fourth inning. After allowing back-to-back baserunners, Arizona's Smith Bailey picks off Colton Griffin, who was attempting to steal third base. Bailey then got a flyout and a strikeout to end the third inning. Both Arizona and TCU were able to fend off scoring chances in the third inning. Colton Griffin hits a leadoff single before leadoff hitter Jack Bell bloops a single into left field, putting runners on first and second with no outs for TCU. The Horned Frogs are looking to extend their lead here in the bottom of the third inning. Left-hander Gianluca Shinn enters for Nate Stern, facing a bases-loaded jam with an out, and is able to get out of the inning after forcing a flyout by Mason White and striking out Arizona 4-hole hitter Adonys Guzman to end the frame. Shinn delivers in a huge spot for the Horned Frogs. Arizona loads the bases with one out in the top of the third inning after Nate Stern hits Aaron Walton with a pitch. TCU is going to make a pitching change as Wildcats 3-hole hitter Mason White, who has three home runs in the Big 12 tournament, is up to bat. Arizona has a pair of singles, along with a strikeout and a hit by pitch in the third inning. After surrendering a run in the first inning, Arizona's Smith Bailey puts down TCU in order after earning a strikeout looking to end the second inning. Bailey is up to two strikeouts on the night. TCU's Nate Stern is off to a solid start against Arizona, as he sits down the Wildcats in order to start the second inning. Stern forced a pair of flyouts and a groundout. TCU's Noah Franco does his job, as he hits a groundball to the second baseman that scores Strosnider from third. The Horned Frogs take an early 1-0 lead. TCU's Sawyer Strosnider draws a walk before Cole Cramer ropes a double down the left-field line to put Horned Frogs runners on second and third with one out. Arizona's Smith Bailey facing some early adversity in the bottom of the first inning. Nate Stern works around an error by third baseman Jack Bell, forcing a trio of flyouts to get out of the top of the first inning. Horned Frogs 1-2-3 in lineup coming up to bat. TCU's Nate Stern fires the first pitch of the game, and we're underway at the Big 12 championship game in Arlington, Texas. RF Brendan Summerhill CF Aaron Walton SS Mason White C Adonys Guzman 3B Maddox Mihalakis 2B Garen Caulfield LF Andrew Cain 1B Tommy Splaine DH Easton Breyfogle Arizona going with true freshman right-hander Smith Bailey (2-3, 4.52 ERA) on the mound. 3B Jack Bell DH Sawyer Strosnider 1B Cole Cramer RF Noah Franco CF Chase Brunson C Nolan Traeger SS Anthony Silva Isaac Cadena 2B Colton Griffin TCU is also starting a true freshman in right-hander Nate Stern (3-1, 1.53 ERA), who has only thrown 17 2/3 innings this season. The Big 12 baseball championship trophy is out on the field pregame: Here's a look at how the full Big 12 baseball tournament bracket has unfolded, setting up Arizona vs. TCU: Time: 7 p.m. ET 7 p.m. ET Date: Saturday, May 24 Saturday, May 24 Location: Globe Life Field (Arlington, Texas) The Big 12 baseball championship game between Arizona and TCU is set for a 7 p.m. ET first pitch on Saturday, May 24, at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. TV channel: ESPNU ESPNU Streaming: ESPN app, Fubo The Big 12 baseball championship between TCU and Arizona will air on ESPNU. Streaming options include the ESPN app (with a cable login), ESPN+, ESPN's subscription streaming service, and Fubo, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
Dominion Post
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Dominion Post
WVU eyes opportunity to host NCAA regional, but knows its case was hurt by late-season setbacks
ARLINGTON, Texas – First impressions are important, but last impressions matter, too, especially when it comes to promoting yourself before a committee. That doesn't bode well for No. 23 WVU's chances of hosting an NCAA baseball regional next weekend. The top-seeded Mountaineers (41-14) lost to fourth-seeded Arizona, 12-1, in the Big 12 Conference semifinals on Friday night at Globe Life Field. WVU has now lost six of their last eight games, and they are 1-6 against the teams seeded two through five in the Big 12 tournament (the Mountaineers did not play No. 3 TCU or No. 5 Arizona State this season). 'You can't make excuses for yourself – you've just got to get ready to smash some baseballs,' said WVU junior Sam White, who will likely be heading to his third consecutive NCAA tournament in as many years with the Mountaineers. A regular season conference championship and the most wins in program history are part of the Mountaineers' case to host an NCAA regional in Morgantown next weekend. 'We'd like to play at home,' WVU first-year head coach Steve Sabins said. 'We have the best fan base in the country. We'd love to celebrate with the people of Morgantown and West Virginia.' With the loss to Arizona, the Mountaineers no longer control that destiny. A Big 12 tournament championship, on the heels of the regular season title, would have made a strong case to become one of 16 teams to host a regional. The regional hosts will be announced Sunday night, while the entire bracket will be released at noon on Monday. WVU's RPI – one of the contributing factors utilized by the committee – is 27th, which means even a tournament championship may not have guaranteed a regional in Morgantown. While playing at the Kendrick Family Ballpark would be welcomed by the players, coaches and fans, the Mountaineers have proven that it's not the only way to reach a super regional. Last season, WVU reached the first super regional in program history by winning the Tucson Regional – something they managed to do without facing the host team, Arizona.
