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USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Is the SEC the nation's best college football conference? CBS Sports ranks them all
College football is filled with some of the greatest rivalries in all of sports and those grudges are not limited to just the competing teams. There is also a strong sense of camaraderie felt among the member schools of each respective conference, as the strength of their peers helps raise the tide for everyone in the league. Not to mention the money that the bigger conferences bring in to help enrich their programs. Ahead of the 2025 campaign, CBS Sports writer Cody Nagel took a moment to rank all of the Football Bowl Subdivision schools — both the Power Four and the Group of Six — from top to bottom. In it, the Southeastern Conference, which hosts the Florida Gators, came out on top. CBS Sports explains SEC's top ranking "The SEC hasn't won a national title in the past two years and took plenty of criticism for its disappointing postseason showing last season," Nagel begins. "Still, it opens the 2025 season as the deepest conference in the country, topping the preseason conference power rankings. "Like it or not, the strength of the league is undeniable, with preseason No. 1 Texas leading a group that could put the SEC back on college football's mountaintop. No. 5 Georgia, No. 8 Alabama and No. 9 LSU all enter the year as legitimate national championship contenders, giving the conference four of the country's biggest heavyweights at the top," he continues. "It doesn't stop there. No. 13 South Carolina, No. 15 Florida, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 21 Ole Miss and No. 24 Tennessee start inside the preseason AP Top 25 and our own CBS Sports 136, adding serious depth behind the league's top tier. Once again, the majority of the SEC looks capable of at least reaching a bowl game." CBS Sports' 2025 College Football Conference Power Rankings Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
The Citizen
08-08-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Ballito Dolphins juniors cap excellent year at season-ending prizegiving
The Ballito Dolphins Junior Rugby Club wrapped up a sensational 2025 season with a vibrant recent prizegiving ceremony at Simbithi. The event drew a large crowd of proud families and friends who came together to celebrate the emergence of the Dolphins as a real force in KZN rugby. 'I want to wish a huge congratulations to all our young Dolphins on an outstanding season,' said club chairman, Quinton Nagel. The Dolphins' U10 and U11 teams continued their dominant form, both finishing the season undefeated – a streak they've maintained for two and three consecutive years, respectively. Across 11 match-day weekends, the Junior Dolphins never lost more than three games in any age group, underscoring the depth and consistency of the club's talent. A standout moment of the season came when the U9 mini-Dolphins secured their first-ever win over long-time rivals Crusaders Rugby Club from Durban North. The historic victory took place at Umhlali Preparatory School on the final day of the season. 'The boys have been incredible and it's fantastic to see their hard work and dedication recognised,' said Nagel. During the prizegiving, every player received a participation certificate and a medal. Individual accolades for U5, U7 and U8 teams were for most improved and most valuable players of the year, while the U9s, U10s and U11s were awarded best forward and backline and most improved players of the year. 'We're already looking forward to the next one and can't wait to see what the future holds for these talented youngsters,' added Nagel. 'I want to thank the coaches, parents, and the players. Let's keep the Dolphins spirit alive and come back stronger next year.' Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news. Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here or if you're on desktop, scan the QR code below.
Reuters
08-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Breakingviews - Mediobanca's new M&A punt less crazy than it looks
LONDON, Aug 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. So said Albert Einstein, purportedly. In attempting to revive a merger with wealth group Banca Generali ( opens new tab, his near-namesake and Mediobanca ( opens new tab boss Alberto Nagel looks certifiable – in June he delayed a shareholder vote on the same deal, assuming he might lose. But one last go is justifiable. Nagel's April plan to buy Banca Generali from insurer Assicurazioni Generali ( opens new tab aimed to give Mediobanca shareholders an alternative to a deal with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) ( opens new tab. By creating a leader in wealth management, his bank would merit a higher multiple, making a 17 billion euro bid from retail lender MPS less appealing. Wealth managers are valued at 15 times forward earnings, as per LSEG data, whereas MPS's bid currently values Mediobanca at just over 11 times. The Banca Generali deal vote imploded in June due to opposition from two powerful investors, Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and Delfin, also shareholders in MPS, who collectively own at least 27% of Mediobanca. Moreover, various Italian investors also looked set to oppose the deal, snapping up 11% of Mediobanca's shares ahead of the vote. Potential opponents included Andrea Orcel's UniCredit ( opens new tab and several small Italian pension funds. With the Italian government owning an 11.7% stake in MPS, some shareholders may have balked at anything undermining the MPS bid, which Rome had endorsed. Nagel on Wednesday brought forward a new vote on the Banca Generali deal to August 21, which coincides with MPS's own offer for his bank. It's a time when Italian investors are more likely to be on the beach than at a shareholder meeting. But there are reasons why Mediobanca might stand a better chance than in June. Greater political scrutiny, opens new tab of the local pension funds might make them less likely to vote against the deal. UniCredit, which owned 2% in June, Reuters says, may have wanted government support for its acquisition of Banco BPM ( opens new tab, but that deal has now collapsed. Lastly, some Mediobanca shareholders have sold in recent weeks, so more stock may be held by investors like hedge funds, who are more likely to support the Banca Generali bid. Nagel's gambit is having some effect. Mediobanca is now worth almost 4% more than MPS's offer. While that's less than the 14% gap in May, it has doubled from a week ago. Even if Nagel gets shareholder support, he will need to negotiate and close the deal with Banca Generali. Yet a successful vote should nudge up Mediobanca's shares, which might help secure a higher price from MPS CEO Luigi Lovaglio. Nagel's original decision to delay the vote was seen by market observers as a sign of meddling by local players and the government in Italian deals. Victory would ease that fear. Follow @Unmack1, opens new tab on X
Mint
01-08-2025
- Business
- Mint
Mediobanca CEO Says Governments Are Hampering Bank Consolidation
(Bloomberg) -- Mediobanca SpA Chief Executive Officer Alberto Nagel said that national governments are an obstacle to creating bigger banks in the European Union. 'I don't think it's going to help the consolidation' of the financial industry in the bloc, Nagel said Friday on Bloomberg TV, referring to efforts to slow or even prevent banking takeovers in Germany, Italy and Spain. That level of obstruction is a 'new factor,' he said. Several banks including Italy's UniCredit SpA and Spain's BBVA SA have launched attempts to buy rivals, only to meet with sometimes bitter opposition from Berlin, Rome and Madrid. Mediobanca itself is facing an unsolicited offer from domestic competitor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, which is supported by Monte Paschi's largest shareholder, the Italian government. Nagel has repeatedly rejected the bid. He reiterated in the interview on Friday that he sees it as 'totally inadequate.' Monte Paschi is offering 25.33 new shares for every 10 in Mediobanca, valuing the target at around €15.2 billion ($17.3 billion) at current prices. That's below Mediobanca's market capitalization of around €15.5 billion. As part of its defense, Mediobanca has launched an acquisition effort for Banca Generali SpA, the wealth management unit of the country's biggest insurer, Assicurazioni Generali SpA. Nagel said in the interview he's still waiting for a response to the offer from Generali. Mediobanca said yesterday authorization processes for the Banca Generali acquisition are expected to be completed by Aug. 18 and that it could call a meeting three days later for shareholders to express their views. The bank said it reserves the right to take all relevant decisions by Aug. 6 'in view of how discussions' with Generali are going. More stories like this are available on
Reuters
31-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Mediobanca may speed up Banca Generali bid vote to fend off MPS
MILAN, July 31 (Reuters) - Italy's Mediobanca ( opens new tab said on Thursday it could bring forward a shareholder vote on its bid for Banca Generali ( opens new tab, which it proposed in April to gain size and ward off a hostile takeover offer from Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) ( opens new tab. Mediobanca, which last month unveiled a plan to return 4.9 billion euros ($5.6 billion) to shareholders over the next three years, said it was ready to launch a new 400 million euro tranche of its share buyback programme. It also reported on Thursday a 4% rise in full-year profit and record high revenue, in line with expectations. In January, MPS announced a surprise all-share offer for larger rival Mediobanca, adding to sweeping consolidation in Italy's banking sector. Mediobanca sought to protect itself from a takeover in April by proposing to acquire private bank Banca Generali from top Italian insurer Generali ( opens new tab, with the aim of becoming too large a target. Mediobanca said on Thursday it expected the regulatory process for its acquisition of Banca Generali to be completed by August 18 and aimed to hold a shareholders vote on the offer on August 21, ahead of the September 8 deadline for MPS' offer. "It is important to submit the deal to our shareholders before [the end of the MPS' offer] because that allows them to assess all the available options," CEO Alberto Nagel told a media call. Last month, Mediobanca was forced to delay the shareholder vote on its Banca Generali bid to September 25 to avoid a possible defeat after some investors opposing the deal increased their holdings and others asked for more details on a distribution agreement with Generali integral to the deal. Mediobanca said it had sent Generali a proposal to begin talks on the distribution agreement and said it would decide by August 6 on whether to bring the Banca Generali bid vote forward depending on how discussions progress. Generali's board meets on August 6. "We do not expect to sign any agreement next week, but rather to find out whether our proposal has been given the green light" by Generali, Nagel said. Mediobanca reported a net profit of 1.3 billion euros, up 4%, for its 2025 fiscal year, which runs from July to June, and revenue at a new record high of 3.7 billion euros, up 3%. Both figures were broadly in line with an analysts' consensus provided by the bank. ($1 = 0.8733 euros)
