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UTSA Baseball’s NCAA Tournament Run Is Moneyball in Action

As money increasingly shapes the narrative in college athletics, UTSA’s upset win over Texas in Saturday’s NCAA baseball regional stood as a rare and resounding counterpoint that financial might doesn’t always guarantee victory. In a classic budgetary David-vs-Goliath matchup, the Roadrunners toppled the Longhorns—a program that spends more than three-and-a-half times as much on its […]

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As money increasingly shapes the narrative in college athletics, UTSA’s upset win over Texas in Saturday’s NCAA baseball regional stood as a rare and resounding counterpoint that financial might doesn’t always guarantee victory.

In a classic budgetary David-vs-Goliath matchup, the Roadrunners toppled the Longhorns—a program that spends more than three-and-a-half times as much on its baseball operations. UTSA’s 9-7 victory in Austin vaulted the team into tonight’s NCAA Tournament regional final.

According to the schools’ latest NCAA financial disclosures, UTSA reported $1.73 million in total operating expenses for the 2024 fiscal year. Texas, by contrast, spent $6.35 million—excluding an additional $5.2 million in coaching severance.

By comparison, the SEC power reported $6.35 million in total baseball expenditures for the same period—excluding an additional $5.2 million paid out in coaching severance payments.

The disparity was stark across nearly every category.

UTSA paid head coach Pat Hallmark $272,296, while assistants Ryan Aguayo and Zach Butler earned a combined $240,741. (The program added a third assistant, Michael Cavazos, last August.) Texas spent $1.8 million on its former head coach David Pierce and another $1.22 million on three full-time assistants. After firing Pierce last June, the Longhorns hired former Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle, who reportedly earns $1 million this season with a contract that rises to $2.68 million by 2026–27.

Recruiting budgets also underscored the resource gap: UTSA spent $28,001, while Texas allocated $147,739. UTSA reported $96,202 in equipment and uniform expenses—less than a third of Texas’s $317,227. Unlike Texas, UTSA had no support staff expenditures, because it had no support staff. That changed in October with the hiring of Luke Malone as director of player development and analytics.

Saturday’s victory was UTSA’s second over Texas this year, following a 12-inning, 8–7 regular season win on March 18. At 46–13, the Roadrunners entered Sunday’s regional final with momentum, having already defeated a more financially comparable Kansas State team—though even the Wildcats still drastically outspent UTSA with a $3.78 million budget in FY24.

On Sunday night, UTSA is set to face the winner of the earlier Texas–Kansas State elimination game in the Austin regional final.

Regardless of the outcome, the Roadrunners have already made a compelling case for at least one thing next season: a bigger budget. Then again, that would kind of defeat their point.



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Mikel Brown Jr. brings Louisville exactly what they’ve craved since Donovan Mitchell

March 19, 2017. 3,032 days. Louisville basketball is starving for a March Madness victory. This program changed after Donovan Mitchell declared for the NBA Draft, and while the program would have most likely won in 2019-2020, the fact is that Louisville has gone that long without an NCAA Tournament win. Now, with Mikel Brown Jr. […]

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March 19, 2017. 3,032 days. Louisville basketball is starving for a March Madness victory. This program changed after Donovan Mitchell declared for the NBA Draft, and while the program would have most likely won in 2019-2020, the fact is that Louisville has gone that long without an NCAA Tournament win.

Now, with Mikel Brown Jr. joining the team, the 5-star phenom will bring hope and excitement back to the Cardinals fans, which is long overdue. From the moment Mitchell was drafted by the Utah Jazz, this program has taken a massive step backward. However, with Brown leading the program, the fan base has been rejuvenated, and he has reenergized the fans heading into next season.

The incoming freshman will face a massive challenge and a lot of pressure, but he is already the fans’ favorite player and hasn’t even played a minute for Kelsey yet. Brown has made it clear this offseason that he just wants to win, and the fans are all in on this historic commitment.

Related: Louisville basketball’s Mikel Brown Jr. proves he’s the best PG in college basketball

Mikel Brown Jr. was the exact spark Louisville basketball fans needed

Brown announced his commitment to Louisville in January 2025, completely transforming this program. The Cardinals had a successful season last year, as they made their first-ever ACC Championship game and earned more wins than in the previous three seasons combined. However, the excitement surrounding Brown has this program not just looking for a successful 2025-26 season, but it is making Louisville a massive landing spot for 2026 5-stars.

Brown recently earned his second gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA U19 World Cup. The 6-foot-5 point guard secured a spot on the FIBA U19 All-Star Five after leading Team USA in points, assists, 3-pointers, and efficiency.

He will make his debut for the Cardinals in early fall, in October, and the fans cannot wait for that day. Everyone has the date circled, and Louisville fans and Brown just have one thing in common: a National Championship.

Louisville has one of the most historic programs in college basketball, and it’s crazy that this program has gone 3,032 days without a win in March Madness and 4,472 days since winning the National Championship game. The program hopes Brown can be the next Donovan Mitchell and spark this program back to life, securing a couple of NCAA Tournament wins.

Mitchell guided Louisville to their last win back in 2017 when the Cardinals defeated Jacksonville State 78-63. Brown is projected to be a one-and-done superstar, as many media outlets have the 5-star being a top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, meaning this upcoming season is Louisville’s best chance in a long time at a deep postseason run.

This program has been craving for a superstar, and after watching the FIBA World Cup, they definitely got one. Brown has the skills and mindset to be Kelsey’s No. 1 guy next season, and the fans finally have a 5-star they are excited for.

Related: Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. is putting the world on notice and the ACC is shivering
Related: Louisville basketball’s Mikel Brown Jr. has Kentucky fans admitting the hype is real

For all the latest on Louisville basketball’s offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.



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Why Ohio State has 9 roster fillers

Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams on cover of EA Sports College Football ’26 EA Sports chose Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Alabama’s Ryan Williams to be on the cover of College Football ’26. We talk to the athletes about what this moment means to them. EA Sports College Football 2026 features some fictional players due to […]

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  • EA Sports College Football 2026 features some fictional players due to NIL contract opt-outs and late roster additions, including nine for Ohio State.
  • Topping Ohio State’s fictitious players is sophomore running back Jayson Ball, an elusive bruiser with an 87 rating.
  • Many other college teams are missing actual players, including a whopping 43 for the West Virginia Mountaineers.
  • The game can be edited to replace fictional players with names and likenesses of real ones.
  • Official roster updates could be issued after the game’s standard release on July 10.

Who are the nine mysterious players on Ohio State’s roster for EA Sports College Football 2026, and what did the game do with 11 incoming Buckeyes freshmen?

Fans of OSU have a wealth of talent in the game, including sophomore receiver Jeremiah Smith (98 overall rating) and safety Caleb Downs (96 overall rating) adorning the cover, but those who have secured the game’s early deluxe edition are a little baffled by a running back named Jayson Ball, a sophomore from Cleveland with an 87 overall rating as an elusive bruiser.

Well, he’s fictitious along with eight other video Buckeyes whose ratings aren’t close to Ball’s. Meanwhile, 11 members of OSU’s incoming class are missing, including five-star cornerback Devin Sanchez and running backs Anthony Rogers and Isaiah West.

How did this happen?

The answer is multi-pronged, including a likelihood that a sizable number of players didn’t opt into EA Sports’ name, image and likeness contract despite the company increasing its NIL payout from $600 plus a deluxe edition of the game in 2025 to $1,500 plus a deluxe edition in 2026.

Other actual players who have been excluded might have committed to a school late in the recruiting process or transferred too late via the portal for inclusion in the 2026 game’s opening rosters. 

Not having those players creates voids within an 85-man roster, and that’s when Jayson Ball walks or rolls into Ryan Day’s virtual office via programming magic.

Speaking of Day, he’s one of more than 300 actual coaches whose likenesses are now included in the game as a series first. As for missing and made-up players, there are likely more than you may think with 136 Football Bowl Division programs in the game. 

That is a lot of roster holes to fill, and Ohio State’s nine pretend players might not be a lot comparatively. It’s a pittance compared to West Virginia, which has 43 actual players who aren’t included. That’s half of the Mountaineers’ roster comprised by fillers.

The good news for purists is the game’s editing function.

Those with time to edit can transform fictitious players into actual players by adjusting names, heights, weights, positions, ratings, and other traits. Once the game’s standard version is released July 10, EA Sports programmers are expected to issue update patches at some point to correct rosters.

In the meantime, Buckeyes fans can form a strong 1-2 punch in their backfield with their new elusive bruiser, Jayson Ball, and Bo Jackson, an actual OSU player not related to the former Auburn/NFL/MLB superstar of the same name. 

Got all that?

Good, now go hit the video gridiron.

Dispatch reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social

Get more Ohio State football news by listening to our podcasts



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Dick Vitale ranks Top 5 winners of Transfer Portal ahead of 2025 College Basketball Season

The wild, wild west that is known as the NCAA Transfer Portal has finally settled. Teams and rosters for the 2025-26 college basketball season are finally set, with some standing taller than others. ESPN college basketball analyst and Basketball Hall of Famer Dick Vitale took a stab at ranking the top five winners of the […]

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The wild, wild west that is known as the NCAA Transfer Portal has finally settled.

Teams and rosters for the 2025-26 college basketball season are finally set, with some standing taller than others. ESPN college basketball analyst and Basketball Hall of Famer Dick Vitale took a stab at ranking the top five winners of the portal ahead of the season.

His full rankings are below baby! Including some PTPers!

Transfer Class: SG Ian Jackson (North Carolina), PF Bryce Hopkins (Providence), SF Dillon Mitchell (Cincinnati), SG Joson Sanon (Arizona State), PG Dylan Darling (Idaho State), SG Oziyah Sellers (Stanford), C Handje Tamba (Milligan University)

Rick Pitino and the Red Storm swung big in the Transfer Portal, hauling in two legit All-league players in North Carolina guard Ian Jackson (No. 10 in On3’s Transfer Rankings) and Providence guard Bryce Hopkins (No. 20 in On3’s Transfer Rankings). A year removed from being outed in the Round of 32 by Arkansas, Pitino has certainly loaded up to make his first run to the Final Four since 2013. St. Johns‘ Transfer Portal class is ranked No. 11 by On3.

© Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Transfer Class: PF Jayden Quaintance (Arizona State), SF Mo Dioubate (Alabama), PG Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh), G Denzel Aberdeen (Florida), SF Kam Williams (Tulane), C Reece Potter (Miami OH)

Mark Pope‘s first year at Kentucky was defined by the Transfer Portal, and so will his second year. Arizona State star power forward Jayden Quaintance (No. 4 in On3’s Transfer Rankings) will finally make his way to Lexington after originally committing in high school, along with former Alabama glue guy Mouhamed Dioubate (No. 61 in On3’s Transfer Rankings), reigning National Champion Denzel Aberdeen (No. 91 in On3’s Transfer Rankings) and shifty point guard Jaland Lowe (No. 52 in On3’s Transfer Rankings) from Pitt. Kentucky’s Transfer Portal class is ranked No. 2 by On3.

Transfer Class: PF Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB), C Aday Mara (UCLA), PF Morez Johnson (Illinois), PG Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina)

Michigan was truly one of the biggest winners of the Portal cycle when UAB star forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who was No. 1 in On3’s Transfer Rankings, decided to withdraw from the NBA Draft and attend college. Along with two other legit collegiate stars with NCAA Tournament experience in IllinoisMorez Johnson (No. 40 in On3’s Transfer Rankings) and North Carolina‘s Elliot Cadeau (No. 63 in On3’s Transfer Rankings), the Wolverines are seeking their first Final Four run since 2018. Michigan’s Transfer Portal class is ranked No. 4 by On3.

Transfer Class: PG Boogie Fland (Arkansas), PG Xaivian Lee (Princeton), SG AJ Brown (Ohio)

Fresh off a National Championship last season, Todd Golden and Florida rebuilt in a major way. The Gators brought in star Arkansas point guard Boogie Fland (No. 7 in On3’s Transfer Rankings), along with two other complimentary pieces in Princeton‘s Xaivian Lee (No. 39 in On3’s Transfer Rankings) and Ohio‘s AJ Brown (No. 84 in On3’s Transfer Rankings). They’re seeking yet another SEC crown along with their first two-peat since 2006-07. Florida’s Transfer Portal class is ranked No. 38 by On3.

© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Transfer Class: PG Desmond Claude (USC), SG Wesley Yates (USC), PF Jacob Ognacevic (Lipscomb), SF Bryson Tucker (Indiana), PG Quimari Peterson (ETSU), C Lathan Sommerville (Rutgers), PF Christian Nitu (Florida State)

When you talk about completely rebuilding a team, Washington‘s haul is a great example. Head coach Danny Sprinkle brought in seven new players, led by former USC stars Desmond Claude (No. 29 in On3’s Transfer Rankings) and Wesley Yates (No. 27 in On3’s Transfer Rankings). Along with some other solid pieces in former ETSU forward Quimari Peterson (No. 101 in On3’s Transfer Rankings) and former Indiana forward Bryson Tucker (No. 144 in On3’s Transfer Rankings), the Huskies are seeking their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2019. Washingtons Transfer Portal class is ranked No. 3 by On3.



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NCAA Adds Extra Game to College Basketball Regular Season Starting 2026

Starting in 2026-27, college basketball teams can play 32 regular-season games instead of 31. The NCAA Division I Council approved this change. Teams won’t face restrictions tied to multi-team events anymore. “Multiple high-major coaches told CBS Sports in recent months that they are actively pursuing and hoping to play a nonconference game in the midst […]

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Starting in 2026-27, college basketball teams can play 32 regular-season games instead of 31. The NCAA Division I Council approved this change.

Teams won’t face restrictions tied to multi-team events anymore. “Multiple high-major coaches told CBS Sports in recent months that they are actively pursuing and hoping to play a nonconference game in the midst of the conference season moving forward, finding benefits in advance of postseason play in March,” said Matt Norlander per USA Today.

Current rules let teams pick between two options: 28 games plus three MTE games, or 29 games with two MTE games. The updated system gives teams freedom to schedule 32 games any way they want.

Big changes are coming to the ACC. They’re cutting conference games to 18 from 20 next season. Non-conference games will jump from 11 to 13, pushing for more big matchups outside the conference.

What’s driving these changes? The NCAA wants simpler rules. Conference shifts pushed for updates, too. Schools can still choose to play fewer games if they want.

NIL deals might turn MTEs into bigger events with four games each. Look at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas: they’re already doing three games per team.

More home games mean more money for schools. Mid-season games against non-conference teams could sharpen skills before March.



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Kentucky basketball overall rating in EA Sports College Basketball

The NIL era of college sports has changed a lot of things, some of which are positive, and others are more negative. One of the positive changes that has come with the NIL era has been the return of the EA Sports video games, as the college football game made its return last year. Now, […]

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The NIL era of college sports has changed a lot of things, some of which are positive, and others are more negative. One of the positive changes that has come with the NIL era has been the return of the EA Sports video games, as the college football game made its return last year.

Now, it was announced that the college basketball video game is set to make its return. One report makes it sound like it could be a few years before this game is back on the shelves, but EA Sports announced that it is coming.

After the announcement that this game was coming back, it felt like a good time to predict what each Kentucky player’s overall rating would be if this game was making its return this season.

Otega Oweh: 94 Overall
Jayden Quaintance: 90 Overall
Jaland Lowe: 85 Overall
Brandon Garrison: 84 Overall
Mo Dioubate: 84 Overall
Dnezel Aberdeen 83 Overall
Jasper Johnson: 82 Overall
Kam Williams: 82 Overall
Collin Chandler: 80 Overall
Malachi Moreno: 80 Overall
Andrija Jelavic: 79 Overall
Trent Noah: 79 Overall
Braydon Hawthorne: 77 Overall
Reece Pooter: 73 Overall



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Initial reacts to College Football 26, plus CFB's hardest rivalry to rank

Until Saturday Newsletter 🏈 | This is The Athletic’s college football newsletter. Sign up here to receive Until Saturday directly in your inbox. Today in college football news, this week’s audio fixation is “To Someone Else” by Kacy Hill. The Video Game: CFB 26 is so real, it hurts Last night at 1 a.m., my daughter […]

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Initial reacts to College Football 26, plus CFB's hardest rivalry to rank


Until Saturday Newsletter 🏈 | This is The Athletic’s college football newsletter. Sign up here to receive Until Saturday directly in your inbox.

Today in college football news, this week’s audio fixation is “To Someone Else” by Kacy Hill.


The Video Game: CFB 26 is so real, it hurts

Last night at 1 a.m., my daughter was semi-sarcastically cheering her heart out for a two-star center from Hawaii to finally agree to take his talents to the University of Delaware for the next 10 months or so.

Why was she so invested? Because his name is “Junior Mama.” We simply couldn’t miss on a guy with that name.

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And why just 10 months or so? Because on default settings, College Football 26’s transfer portal is absolutely merciless toward small schools — making Dynasty mode feel like a Dark Souls-ass challenge for the first time in series history, pleasing those of us who want roster management to deliver fighting-for-my-life panic sweats. (You can tone down the max number of players who can leave each school per season.)

My other favorite stuff so far in the game that releases on Thursday:

  • Menu music is vastly improved. Band covers of songs by stars like the late Rich Homie Quan have replaced last year’s eternal drumline gauntlet. Generally, all the new presentation stuff is fantastic.
  • Road to Glory (the mode where you’re one athlete, not a whole team) is actually fun now, at least once. Central Pennsylvania two-star QB Caleb Jenkins flunked out of Arizona State, then became a model citizen at Marcus Freeman’s (!) Wisconsin. Never was a big fan of this mode, but its new high school recruitment phase provides enough depth.
  • Having real coaches adds both Ha Ha Jim Mora Finally Made It To Washington comedy and so much more immersion than I’d expected. Hiring current Arizona head coach Brent Brennan as OC wouldn’t dazzle Texas or Ohio State fans, but giving him a landing spot after his 2027 firing felt like a massive windfall for my poor Blue Hens.
  • My single biggest complaint from last year’s game was its lack of historical record-keeping. It now has an 1869-2024 record book that updates after each of your seasons. (It includes such minutiae as the New Mexico schools splitting 1938’s Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association title. And yes, it was that Woodrow Wilson who coached Princeton’s 1878 title season.)

And the stuff I hope can be fixed, in this life or the next:

  • In light of how hyper-realistically brutal the portal is, schools should be allowed to add more than 35 players per season, just like real-life 2023 Arizona State, 2024 Louisville, etc. It took me years to get Delaware up to 85 guys on scholarship.
  • Despite EA saying defensive backs will no longer magically whirl their way to no-look pass breakups, I’ve seen a few.
  • I’m already over both announcer crews (again), muting them both due to the yelling-at-cloud nagging of David Pollack.
  • Recruits having dynamically shifting preferences is a good change, but if one writes me off because of my 0-2 start and then comes back around once I’m 4-2, I shouldn’t have to re-offer him a scholarship. Also, yes, by year five of Dynasty, half your roster will once again be old-looking guys with perplexing facial hair and name/ethnicity combos.

Overall, this game made a thousand little improvements, and for now, I’d end this mini-review by giving it a A-. Oh right, that includes the gameplay itself. The actual football parts are noticeably better in just about every way, from having much fuller control over substitutions to RECEIVERS ACTUALLY COMING BACK TO THE BALL 🍾🙌📈. Almost forgot about those parts.


Ranking Rivalries: A simple top five, and then tough calls begin

This week, Scott Dochterman took on the difficult challenge — both in terms of the studying required beforehand and the inevitable internet hollering afterward — of ranking college football’s 100 best rivalries.

I think Scott’s top five is as close to indisputable as can be, with the only potential disputes in this opening cluster being the order of its middle three:

  1. Michigan-Ohio State, the hands-down greatest rivalry in all of American sports
  2. Alabama-Auburn
  3. Oklahoma-Texas
  4. Army-Navy
  5. Notre Dame-USC

It might seem odd to include that No. 5 game among the other no-doubters, considering it’s been mostly skippable for a while now. But the OG interregional rivalry has altered so much CFB lore. On that note: One of the coolest things about Scott’s list is how it mixes history (former Game of the Year machine Nebraska-Oklahoma at No. 6 even though they’ve barely met since 2010) with recency (Alabama-LSU at No. 13 despite that series being nothing special until Nick Saban coached each side).

It’s after that obvious top five when the fun really begins. That’s when all the quibbles happen! Everybody’s gonna have a few!

  • I’d nominate the Magic City Classic between Alabama A&M and Alabama State for a spot, and I’d move a few — like No. 21 Oregon-Washington and No. 24 Clemson-South Carolina — ahead of the diminished UCLA-USC.
  • Additionally, I’d move your team’s biggest rivalry up to No. 2, because the rest of the country just doesn’t understand the unique levels of passion that can only be found within the immediate vicinity of you, my favorite reader.

In a followup explainer, Scott addressed both his detailed research process — and the hardest snubs, led by the frequently lopsided Michigan State-Ohio State.

As for the feuds that made the cut, I had one question for him: What was the hardest rivalry to rank?

“No. 25 Bedlam, by far. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were ranked in 19 of their matchups and three times battled in the top 10. They played for 114 consecutive years. Those numbers are almost identical to Michigan-Michigan State. But Bedlam’s win-loss disparity was shocking. Oklahoma owns a 71-win advantage (91-20-7) and has gone 55-10 when at least one side has been ranked.”

It’s true. For a long time, all Bedlam had to offer as a supposed top-shelf rivalry was a cool name (more on that name below). But then in 2023, the Cowboys won what might be the final edition, so now it’s retroactively a great rivalry. Regardless, here’s Scott’s full list again.

Now it’s your turn. Proclaim your No. 1 rivalry, and list your top 10. Here’s my top 10 as of today — and I think I’m mostly good with this order, too:


Quick Snaps

😡 More rivalry! Chris Vannini explains his 25 picks for the best rivalry names in all of college football.

  • Chris and I ended up with the same No. 1 and aforementioned No. 2. A few years ago, I semi-ranked 178 of them.

💰 Texas Tech‘s lengthy NIL splurge has gone from fodder for “yeehaw oil money” jokes to “OK, hang on, everybody pay attention to this.”

  • As Justin Williams notes in that link: “The timing of (five-star OT recruit Felix Ojo)’s decision makes him the highest-profile recruiting commitment of the rev-share era, when the dollar figure attached to him will be coming fully and directly from the university.”

🐏 “Travis Burgess, the 17-year-old son of a retired U.S. Army captain.” As soon as I saw those words in Bruce Feldman’s profile of Bill Belichick‘s QB prospect, I felt pretty good about the young man’s chances.

🍀 Speaking of sons, prepare to feel old: Notre Dame‘s list of a million sons of former players now includes a commitment from three-star WR Devin Fitzgerald, son of Larry. Oh, and there’s more:

  • “The Irish pulled off a recruiting trick that’s been virtually impossible, taking a Longhorns legacy out of the Lone Star State. Four-star receiver Kaydon Finley’s father, tight end Jermichael Finley, starred in Austin before a six-year career with the Packers.”

🅾️Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione will retire this upcoming school year, he announced Monday, ending the longest active tenure for an AD in major college sports. It will also end the run for one of the most successful and respected administrative voices in college sports.”


That’s it. Email me at untilsaturday@theathletic.com to tell me which new rivalry has the most potential to become great in this (currently) post-realignment era. Last week, your emails informed me Billy Napier will be this season’s first head coach to be fired, and reader Lance argued the Big Ten is actually a somewhat accurate conference name, since it is indeed “Big.”

Last week’s most-clicked: Seth Emerson on why Georgia Tech is good again.

📫 Love Until Saturday? Check out The Athletic’s other newsletters, too.

(Top photo: EA Sports)

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