Associated Press

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — There are no official Big 12 predictions going into this season, so there will be no last-to-first narrative like what Arizona State had in its league debut.

Going into its 30th football season, the Big 12 didn’t conduct a preseason media poll predicting the order of finish for the 16-team conference. The results were way off last year.

“I try to ignore it as best I can,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said Tuesday at Big 12 media days. “It’s one of the reasons we as coaches did not do a coaches poll because I think the narrative has really hurt our league. I know it hurt Arizona State and I know it hurt BYU last year.”

Arizona State won the Big 12 championship game last season after being picked to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 standings. The Sun Devils were in a four-way tie for first place in the regular-season standings, beat Iowa State in the title game and were the only league team to make the College Football Playoff.

Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham said he couldn’t care less about any of the predictions last year, or what anybody might have guessed for this season. They do have back quarterback Sam Leavitt, who was picked as the league’s preseason offensive player of the year since media still voted on a preseason All-Big 12 team.

“I don’t really care where people put us. Vote us first, vote us last, vote us in the middle. If we’re so focused on other people’s expectations of us, then you’re going to limit yourself,” Dillingham said Tuesday. “Who knows? Are we supposed to win six games? Are we supposed to win nine games? Are we supposed to go undefeated? Are we supposed to win zero? … All I know is when we show up to work, we should be the very best version of ourselves. And if we compete in something, you better compete to win.”

BYU was picked to finish 13th in the Big 12, and was part of that four-way tie at the end of the regular season with 7-2 conference records. The Cougars finished 11-2 overall, including a 9-0 start in which they had an early win over ACC newcomer SMU, which made the 12-team playoff field even after losing its conference championship game.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said there’s no value to such preseason football polls, especially with the ever-changing landscape in the game these days. He felt Arizona State was disadvantaged because of being picked 16th long before even playing its first game.

“With the transfer portal and with roster management and what goes on as you build that roster, no one knows what they really have. They know what they have on paper, but it hasn’t played out,” Yormark said. “And that was the case with Arizona State last year. So I don’t know if it’s a trend or not but certainly it’s the right thing for the Big 12 and I’m glad we did it.”

The Big Ten Conference has long forgone doing preseason polls.

Arizona State went into the Big 12 title game last December at 15th in the CFP rankings, behind three SEC teams with three losses and Mountain West Conference champion Boise State. The Sun Devils were then 12th in the final CFP rankings, but got a first-round bye as one of the top four-ranked conference champions before the format changed for this season to more-direct seeding.

A series of tiebreakers had put Arizona State and Iowa State in the Big 12 title game, and eliminated BYU and Colorado from title contention.

Utah, which like Arizona State made its Big 12 debut last year, was the preseason favorite to win the league. The Utes won all three of their non-conference games, but went 2-7 otherwise to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 standings.

Oklahoma State was last after going 0-9 in conference play. The Cowboys had been picked third.

Global stages

The Big 12 season will open Aug. 23 with Kansas State playing Iowa State in Ireland. TCU will play its 2026 season opener there against North Carolina.

“I’ve been on the record to say that I want this conference to be a global conference,” said Yormark, who is going into his fourth year as Big 12 commissioner. “I think we can win globally big time. Playing in Ireland obviously is that first step.”

Football isn’t the league’s only sport going international for a league in which Yormark said 11% of the student-athletes are from outside the United States.

“Just from a recruitment standpoint, it makes sense to carry that flag outside of the domestic marketplace,” he said.

Baylor’s women’s basketball team will open the upcoming season in Paris. Yormark said there is a good chance of a baseball game in Mexico City next spring, and that there are conversations about events in other international markets, like Germany.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Welcome back to “On the Air,” in which Sports Media Watch Podcast co-host Armand Broady will offer in-depth breakdowns of broadcasters’ on-air performance and career journeys, plus chronicle broader trends in the industry.

What do former SportsCenter anchor John Anderson and Hall-of-Fame pitcher CC Sabathia have to do with Brian Anderson becoming the voice of TNT Sports? As Brian tells it, quite a bit.

It was 2008 and Sabathia’s Milwaukee Brewers were on their way to clinching the franchise’s first playoff berth since 1982. Brian was the team’s TV play-by-play voice while John, a Wisconsin native, kept a watchful eye on the Brewers while doing SportsCenter highlights.

“All of a sudden, Brewers games are on SportsCenter every night and this SportsCenter anchor starts rolling in the sound of me calling these moments,” Brian recalled last year on “The Inside Wisconsin Show,” which John (no relation) co-hosts. “My phone blows up. I said was John Anderson anchoring? Yes. I was like there you go.”

The Brewers’ Wild Card run led to Brian getting a call from TNT Sports executives. In October of that year, he called the Brewers-Phillies National League Division Series for TBS. He has been with the company ever since, covering some of the most significant events in recent sports history.

Anderson was at the TBS microphone in 2010 when Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay threw a no-hitter in game 1 of the NLDS vs. the Reds. He was there in 2018 when then-Red Sox infielder Brock Holt became the first player in MLB history to hit for the cycle in a postseason game. Atlanta Braves fans still remember Anderson’s spirited calls of their 2021 NLCS triumph over the Dodgers.

Anderson was courtside when Warriors G Steph Curry broke the NBA record for career three-point field goals in 2021. He was also on the call in 2023 when LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

Just last month, Anderson was present for another consequential event, when Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner in a five-set classic to win his second straight Roland-Garros Men’s Final.

Brian Anderson has become to TNT Sports what Mike Tirico is to NBC. He is the network’s trusted lead voice, present at seemingly every major occurrence.

On the surface, Anderson’s rise to the top seems at least somewhat unlikely. He isn’t the son of a broadcast legend like Kenny Albert or Joe Buck. His voice doesn’t thunder like that of a Kevin Harlan or Sean McDonough. He is not a sentimental storyteller like Jim Nantz and he doesn’t exude charisma the way Ian Eagle does.

Anderson’s most winsome trait is his “everyman” temperament. Despite the occasional error — like his missed call of a buzzer-beating shot in the 2019 Purdue-Virginia Elite Eight game — Anderson is well-liked because of his authenticity. One gets the sense that he genuinely enjoys every event he covers and feels privileged to be there.

That unique quality has lifted Anderson to the heights of the industry. And at just 54 years old, his future is promising. Despite losing the NBA, he will continue calling the biggest MLB games for TNT Sports, as well as college basketball regular season and tournament action, plus championship tennis.

Some good fortune may have gotten him his big break, but Anderson’s versatility, passion and enthusiasm figure to keep him on the upper tier of sports broadcasting for many years to come.

Plus: ESPN should invest in Mike Monaco

At just 32 years old, Mike Monaco is already one of ESPN’s most valuable play-by-play announcers. There is no sport he can’t call. Since joining the network in 2019, he has worked MLB, NHL, volleyball, lacrosse, football, softball, the Little League World Series and College World Series.

His most memorable call came in 2022, when Ole Miss took down Oklahoma to win the CWS: “From last four in to last team standing, Ole Miss has won the College World Series!”

Now, he is currently a part of ESPN’s coverage of Wimbledon.

In recent years, ESPN has missed on opportunities to hold on to young play-by-play announcers. At one time, Adam Amin, Jason Benetti and Joe Davis, — three of the industry’s best — worked for ESPN. All three have since left for Fox, and their respective profiles have only grown. Amin, 38, is the network’s #2 MLB announcer; Benetti, 41, is their #2 college football announcer; the Emmy-winning Davis, 37, is the voice of the World Series.

Talent as versatile as Monaco does not come around often. ESPN should learn from prior mistakes and keep him around. He is good enough now to supplant Karl Ravech as the voice of the CWS.

Gavin McKenna, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, will play his draft eligible season at Penn State.

It’s pretty notable, and the biggest exclamation point yet on the changing state of junior hockey after the NCAA ruling back in November that made CHL players now eligible.

According to multiple reports, including my pal over at Elite Prospects, Cam Robinson, it came down to Penn State or Michigan State, and in the end an NIL package believed to be worth around $700,000 for the season was too much to pass up for McKenna.

It’s a tough break for the Medicine Hat Tigers and the WHL, losing a player that dominated the league as a 16 and 17-year-old, won a WHL title, and would have been a favorite to reach the Memorial Cup, again.

Now when McKenna is drafted first overall next June, instead of his official introduction being “from Medicine Hat….” it’ll be read as “from Penn State.”

Maybe it’s the author and writer in me, maybe I’m out to lunch on this, but I’ve spent a lot of time this past week thinking about the power of that statement, and how that’s really what Penn State is buying with $700,000 of NIL money.

Think about past No. 1 picks and the flashbacks to their draft year, think about how you probably think about Rimouski Océanic more than you ever thought you would because you know Sidney Crosby played and was drafted from there.

Sure, Penn State wants to win a national championship and they are a much better team now after landing McKenna, but national championships aren’t necessarily what drive recruiting and reputation or a program.

If that were the case, Michigan would be struggling to land top recruits after last winning one in 1998.

Western Michigan and Minnesota State can win national championships, but only college hockey’s true power brokers can house (and afford) a No. 1 pick, like Michigan or Boston University have in recent years.

That’s what Penn State is shelling out for McKenna, the perception and imagery that gets you to the front of the sports consciousness. Buying McKenna’s services is buying a spot in hockey history, “from Penn State…” in the draft introduction, the highlights in Penn State’s jersey, it’s an ad buy that in the end will be worth way more than $700,000.

And it pays off in various ways. It sends a message to other recruits, bypassing the typical time required to prove your school is a “path to the pros,” and it also redefines fandom with McKenna as a connector.

Penn State has one of the nation’s largest alumni bases, I’ve been told that by any Penn State alumnus who is happy to brag about their school, and now that base will care about hockey — having a No. 1 pick a “generational player” will do that.

For the hockey program, which only exists because rich alumni have bolstered it to this stage, there’s not at least an inkling of other investment opportunities coming in, a seed has been planted on how Penn State can replace the rest of the Big 10 as the hockey powerhouse.

That’s what Penn State is buying, that’s the upfront investment, and honestly with the right roll of the dice they might be getting it at a discount.

By Joshua Boyd / USPHL.com 

Cole Ranta, a two-year USPHL Premier veteran, is working towards what has all the makings of a fantastic college hockey career. Ranta, a 2004-born native of Marquette, Mich., committed just after the conclusion of the 2024-25 season to Post University. Post plays in the only NCAA Division II hockey conference, the Northeast-10 Conference. 

“I started talking to Post about a month before my commitment. I love their hockey, and they put together a very good team every year and I am very excited to become one of them,” said Ranta, who closed up his career as a top player for the Connecticut Jr. Rangers. “Their academics are outstanding and after touring I knew it would be the perfect place for me.”

Ranta completed a 40-game season for the Jr. Rangers, scoring 10 goals and 25 points. With his 2023-24 season playing for the Florida Eels and Hudson Havoc included, he finished with 53 points in 82 regular season games, and he added six points in six career playoff games. 

“CJR helped me become a college level player in many ways. Coach Mike Stanaway puts together a good schedule for the guys and pushes you to the next level to become the best you can possibly be,” said Ranta. “He also helps promote his players a ton, which helps a lot. The USPHL also helps a lot with commitment. The level of play pushes players and shows that they can play at the NCAA level.”

Ranta has a good handle on what it will take to succeed in the college game, and is applying that knowledge to a busy preparation schedule in the summer. 

“In the off-season I want to work on my skating. It is a big factor in anyone’s game and I believe when you have good feet and can get to open ice better, you get more opportunities,” Ranta said. “I also continue to work on faceoffs to try and be the most dominant center.”

The USPHL congratulates Cole Ranta, his family, the Connecticut Jr. Rangers and Post University.  

Tennessee State University’s historic men’s hockey program will delay its debut according to a published report. Originally set to make history as the first ice hockey team at a public Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the 2025–26 season, the program will now reportedly aim for a 2026–27 launch.

As reported by The Tennessean, the delay stems from a mix of financial and logistical challenges, including the lack of a home rink, limited fundraising, and broader uncertainty around the university’s financial health. A source familiar with the situation confirmed the postponement, though no official announcement has been made.

The men’s hockey team was first unveiled at Bridgestone Arena in 2023 ahead of the NHL Draft, marking a groundbreaking step for HBCUs and the sport’s diversification. However, the excitement has been tempered by concerns that have built over the past two years.

Tennessee State has faced significant internal turmoil, including leadership turnover, declining enrollment, and budget deficits. Interim President Dwayne Tucker, who took office in December, warned earlier this year that the school would run out of funding without immediate intervention. In response, Tucker developed a five-year financial plan and negotiated with state officials for $96 million in funding, which was approved in June. That money, redirected from infrastructure reserves, is expected to stabilize the university’s operations. It remains unclear if any of those funds will support athletics or the delayed hockey program.

Despite the setbacks, supporters hope the program can regroup and make its long-awaited debut in 2026–27, keeping alive the vision of expanding hockey into new and more diverse communities.

Reporting credit: The Tennessean

Related

NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Annemartine Christis and Emma Peeters of the Southern New Hampshire field hockey program have been selected to the Academic All-America Women’s At-Large teams, as announced by College Sports Communicators (CSC) on Tuesday afternoon. 

Christis was named to the First Team as a Business Administration major with a 3.89 GPA in her graduate program. Peeters was selected to the Second Team as a Sociology major with a 3.88 GPA. 

Christis was the Northeast 10 Conference and East Region Player of the Year, as she ranked first in all of Division II in goals (30), goals per game (1.50), points (74) and points per game (3.70). She also tied for second in assists with 14 (0.70 per game). Christis became the career leader in goals, assists and points at SNHU during the 2024 season. 

Peeters became the first SNHU player to ever win NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year. She ranked first in Division II in save percentage (.943), third in goals against average (.920) and 10th in saves (102). Peeters posted 10 shutouts for the Penmen in 2024. 

Both Christis and Peeters were named All-Americans by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). 

The Division II At-Large teams honored 45 student-athletes with eight members of the First Team holding perfect 4.0 GPAs. A total of 16 of the 45 members have 4.0 GPAs either as an undergraduate or a graduate student. The 15-member First Team has a 3.93 cumulative GPA. 

The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2024-25 Division II Academic All-America® program.

ABOUT THE NE10

The NE10 is an association of 10 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.

Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.

 

Fans can subscribe via this link to follow NE10 NOW on FloSports this season.  The partnership between the NE10 and FloSports works to provide funds back to the athletic departments of the Northeast-10 Conference in support of student-athletes while promoting the league on a national platform.