An Ohio court has ruled against the NCAA in the first legal challenge to its newly introduced age-based eligibility model, granting 24 athletes who graduated high school in 2022 and completed four collegiate seasons a fifth year of eligibility. Although the injunction currently applies only to the plaintiffs, the decision could pave the way for…
Nike has extended its long-standing apparel and equipment sponsorship deal with UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) through 2029, continuing one of the most established brand partnerships in U.S. college sports. Quiet extension of existing agreement The sportswear giant quietly exercised an option in December to extend the current contract by two additional years. As…
The era of a 68-team March Madness is officially over. NCAA announced on Thursday that both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments will expand to 76 teams beginning in 2026, marking the biggest format change in decades for college basketball’s most iconic event. Under the new structure, 24 teams — made up of the 12…
Prime Video has reached a multi-year agreement with Duke men’s basketball to stream three high-profile neutral-site non-conference games per season, marking a notable shift in how major college basketball matchups are being distributed. The deal includes marquee matchups against recent NCAA champions and finalists, with games scheduled against Michigan, UConn and Gonzaga across major US…
Private capital is making a decisive entry into U.S. college sports. Big 12 Conference has finalized a landmark investment agreement that will inject at least $12.5 million into the league, with the potential for significantly more funding. The deal is structured through Collegiate Athletic Solutions, a 50-50 joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and Weatherford…
The NCAA has agreed to a sweeping change in its amateurism framework, settling a class action lawsuit brought by tennis players Reese Brantmeier and Maya Joint while committing more than $2 million in damages. At the center of the case was a long-standing restriction that prevented prospective student-athletes from accepting prize money earned before enrolling…
NCAA is moving toward one of the most significant eligibility changes in decades — and it could quietly reshape the structure of college sports. The Division I Board of Directors has advanced a proposal that would allow athletes to compete for five seasons, effectively eliminating the long-standing redshirt system. The next step now sits with…
TNT Sports has gained the ability to sell advertising inventory for College Football Playoff games it sublicenses from ESPN, marking a key shift in the network’s media rights deal. Under the original five-year agreement (2024–2028), ESPN retained control of ad sales and revenue for the games aired on TNT platforms. That changes starting this cycle,…
A growing divide in broadcast coverage is reshaping how athlete value is measured in the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) era, according to a new analysis following the record-breaking 2026 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship. The event, aired on ESPN, averaged 1.1 million viewers and peaked at 1.7 million—making it the most-watched gymnastics championship in network…
Private equity firm TPG has agreed to acquire Learfield in a deal valued at around $2 billion, marking one of the most significant recent investments in the U.S. college sports ecosystem. According to sources cited by Sportico, the transaction underscores growing investor interest in collegiate athletics, particularly as media rights and commercial revenues continue to…
