Nick Saban’s trophy case was full already. However, the man who won six national championships as head coach for Alabama football will have to find room for one more piece of hardware.

Saban was awarded a Sports Emmy for outstanding personality/ emerging on-air talent on Tuesday, the Emmys announced. The former coach had been asked about his Emmy nomination early on Tuesday, at his Nick’s Kids charity golf tournament, and cracked a joke.

“Must have been not a good year for people in the Emmys,” Saban said, adding that it was an honor.

The other nominees for the award included Prime Video’s Ryan Fitzpatrick and Richard Sherman, ESPN’s Jason Kelce and CBS’ Jay Wright. Saban joined ESPN for the 2024 season, after retiring as the Crimson Tide’s head coach.

He contributed to, among other things, the network’s College Gameday pregame show. Saban earned positive reviews for his performance on the show, though three viewers filed official complaints with the FCC about his swearing (the FCC took no action as ESPN is a cable channel). 

“A lot of people helped contribute to learning how to do it,” Saban said. “I certainly appreciate them and thank them for that. We had a really good team of people who has lots of experience, I think, helped me fit in the program.”

Saban is set to return to the College Gameday desk this season. However, the show will be losing one of its most beloved personalities, as Lee Corso is set to retire following the first broadcast of the 2025 season.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Saban spoke to reporters at SEC media days in Dallas, explaining his approach to broadcasting.

“I’m still a coach at heart,” Saban said. “I want to ask the coaches questions so that they can actually talk about things they want to talk about and maybe things they want to be able to get out there. So I’m not trying to put anybody on the defensive. I’m trying to help them express what they’d like to express about their team or about a particular player or about a position on their team that may be an issue or may be a strength. Or the quarterback or whatever. I still view this from a coach’s perspective. I just happen not to have a team.”

Brayden Bates has been a rising star in gymnastics since he began competing at the age of 8. Skipping the traditional recreational class program altogether, Brayden joined a competitive team almost immediately—and he’s been making waves ever since.

At just 10 years old, he competed as a Level 5 gymnast and dominated the state championships, finishing first on the pommel horse, high bar, and parallel bars. His all-around victory at that meet earned him a spot at the 2017 USA Gymnastics Men’s Regional Championship, signaling the beginning of a promising athletic career.

By age 12, Brayden was competing in the 2019 USA Gymnastics Men’s Region 8 Championships in Alachua, where he claimed first place on both the parallel bars and rings. Although he fell just short of winning state and regional titles that year, his high placement qualified him for the 2019 Men’s Junior Olympic National Championships, representing Gymnastics USA of Winter Garden.

For nearly a decade, this talented gymnast has refined his skills and stayed committed to his sport. Fast forward to 2024: the junior at Lake Minneola High School, once again demonstrated his athletic excellence. His first-place finishes on the high bar and pommel horse earned him a spot on the 2024 USA Gymnastics Men’s Region 8 Team. At the National Championships held in Daytona Beach, he helped lead Region 8 to a team victory.

This year, Brayden Bates continued his remarkable rise in the world of gymnastics, finishing 3rd All-Around and capturing first place on parallel bars at Nationals.

His athleticism, endurance, competitive drive, teamwork, and perseverance seem to run in the family—his mother was an All-American gymnast at the University of Alabama.

Reflecting on his recent competition, Brayden shared, “This was the last time for me to compete for my club, Gymnastics USA, and Coach Nick, so it was a little emotional. God has truly blessed me, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

Brayden recently signed to continue his gymnastics career at the prestigious College of William & Mary. Looking ahead, he remarked, “As I continue this competitive journey at William & Mary, I want to adapt to NCAA gymnastics and help our team succeed. I’ll be pushing for more strength and difficulty. My athletic goals over the next few years are to help strengthen the team and push us to become more competitive with top-ranked programs. Personally, I’d love to achieve an NCAA championship or podium finish in the next two to three years.”

When asked about his future beyond athletics, Brayden said, “My academic goals include earning a bachelor’s degree in engineering or biosciences, then pursuing a master’s in that field. I’ve been passionate about science and how things work since I was young, and I want to continue that journey through higher education.”

William & Mary is an ideal match for Brayden’s ambitions. Known for its exceptional academics and athletic programs, the university—founded in 1693 and often called a “Public Ivy”—has a storied legacy. Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, it boasts a distinguished list of alumni, including three U.S. Presidents, the first President of the Continental Congress, the first U.S. Attorney General, and Chief Justice John Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Brayden Bates is a shining example of what passion, discipline, and hard work can achieve. As he begins this exciting new chapter at William & Mary, his family, friends, and community proudly stand behind him, eager to see what he’ll accomplish next.

Wishing Brayden continued success as his gymnastics journey unfolds!

General | 5/21/2025 10:58:32 AM

Empire 8 newcomer SUNY Geneseo used a strong spring semester to maintain its year-long lead and win the 2024-25 Empire 8 Commissioner’s Cup, announced by the league on Wednesday, May 21. The Knights finished with a 0.856 composite percentage to claim their first E8 Commissioner’s Cup title in their first full season as a league member.
 
SUNY Geneseo won 11 league championships during the 2024-25 season, while runner-up St. John Fisher University won five Empire 8 Championships. Overall, seven full-time Empire 8 member institutions won at least one league championship this season. For the complete E8 Commissioner’s Cup standings, please see below.
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The Knights earned 43.75 out of a possible 50 points from their spring sports teams, with E8 Championships in men’s and women’s outdoor track and field. In the fall, Geneseo won the Empire 8 men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey and women’s soccer championships and annexed men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and women’s basketball titles during the winter season. Geneseo finished in the top half of the standings in 18 of the 20 sports they competed in during the year.
 
St. John Fisher, who won the previous four E8 Commissioner’s Cup titles, made a strong rally during the spring season to leap from fourth after the winter season to finish second overall with a 0.762 composite percentage. The Cardinals recorded 65 out of a possible 75 points (0.867) during the spring, on the strength of Empire 8 titles in men’s and women’s lacrosse and men’s golf, in addition to runner-up finishes in softball and men’s volleyball. St. John Fisher also won Empire 8 men’s soccer and women’s volleyball championships during the fall.
 
Just 0.16 percentage points, separated the E8’s second through fourth place finishers. Nazareth finished third overall, recording a percentage total of 0.75, with men’s volleyball earning an E8 title, women’s golf taking the E8 Invitational, and men’s tennis finishing as the top scorer among full-time member institutions. In addition, the Golden Flyers earned runner-up honors in men’s lacrosse, men’s golf, women’s indoor track and field, women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball.
 
SUNY Brockport finished fourth overall with a percentage total of 0.746 on the strength of a dominant baseball championship program, runner-up finishes in women’s basketball, men’s cross country, men’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and women’s outdoor track and field in addition to regular season titles in men’s and women’s basketball and women’s soccer.
 
Utica University finished fifth in the E8 standings with a composite score of 0.529. The Pioneers won the Empire 8 men’s basketball championship for the second straight season and won the regular season crown in men’s ice hockey. Houghton University placed sixth in the E8 standings with a composite score of 0.481, while Alfred won the 2025 Empire 8 softball title and was the highest E8 finisher in football to place seventh overall with a percentage total of 0.467.
 
Hartwick College, Russell Sage College, Elmira College, SUNY Poly and Keuka College rounded out the final 2024-25 Empire 8 Commissioner’s Cup standings. Hartwick won the 2024 Empire 8 women’s tennis championship, while Russell Sage appeared in the baseball championship series, SUNY Poly advanced to the Empire 8 Championship game in men’s basketball and Elmira played in the men’s soccer title game.

Commissioner’s Cup points are awarded based on each team’s finish in the Empire 8 conference standings at the completion of the regular season and post-season. Points are awarded on a scale dependent upon the number of schools that sponsor the sport (affiliate members are not calculated into the point scale). A team’s regular season finish will be added to its post-season finish and divided by two for the final total for that sport.

Teams tied for a position in the regular season standings are ranked based on tiebreaker scenarios. The actual number of points earned is then divided by the number of possible points for each school based on conference-sponsored sports to determine their overall percentage.

 

2024-25 Empire 8 Final Commissioner’s Cup Standings

 

 
 
2024-25 Empire 8 Champions

Fall

Men’s Cross Country: SUNY Geneseo

Women’s Cross Country: SUNY Geneseo

Field Hockey: SUNY Geneseo

Football: SUNY Cortland (Alfred top full-member E8 finisher)

Women’s Golf (Invitational): Nazareth

Men’s Soccer: St. John Fisher

Women’s Soccer: SUNY Geneseo

Women’s Volleyball: St. John Fisher

Women’s Tennis: Hartwick

 

Winter

Men’s Basketball: Utica

Women’s Basketball: SUNY Geneseo

Men’s Ice Hockey: Utica

Men’s Swimming and Diving: SUNY Geneseo

Women’s Swimming and Diving: SUNY Geneseo

Men’s Indoor Track & Field: SUNY Geneseo

Women’s Indoor Track & Field: SUNY Geneseo

 

Spring

Baseball: SUNY Brockport

Men’s Golf: St. John Fisher

Men’s Lacrosse: St. John Fisher

Women’s Lacrosse: St. John Fisher

Softball: Alfred

Men’s Tennis: SUNY Oswego (Nazareth top full-member E8 finisher)

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field: SUNY Geneseo

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field: SUNY Geneseo

Men’s Volleyball: Nazareth

 

ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE

The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit www.empire8.com.

 

EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA

YouTube – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram

 

The collegiate Gothic high school building with a 150-foot-tall stone tower has stood on a hill in Northeast Baltimore for nearly a century.

Now the historic building that houses one of the city’s selective high schools is slated for a face-lift that would wrap a back corner of the building in an austere modern facade.

That design for Baltimore City College is undergoing its final review for the public on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the school and online.

One view of the renovation design is now available on the school’s website. Additional renderings by the Fairfax, Virginia-based architecture firm Samaha Associates show a pair of tennis courts will be replaced with a black-and-tan addition that connects the main building to the student parking lot. A staircase that runs alongside the addition leads to a grassy seating area and glass pavilion.

The renovations are expected to begin this summer and be completed in three years. City College students will move to the University of Baltimore campus during the renovations.

The City College renovations are among a series of updates to four Baltimore City public high schools over the next several years.

The renovations to Frederick Douglass High School have already begun, with secrets discovered inside a safe in the school during the construction process.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.