USC is at the epicenter of college football’s paradigm shifts, and Lincoln Riley said that fans ought to embrace the significant changes hitting the sport in the conference realignment, NIL and transfer portal eras. It was the Trojans’ move to the Big Ten that preceded the Pac-12’s downfall and further separation between their new conference, the SEC and the rest of the FBS. And now, their annual series with Notre Dame is in peril as one of the nation’s most storied rivalries stands on the brink of dormancy.

This season’s USC-Notre Dame battle is the last one on the schools’ current contract, and the Trojans are reportedly reluctant to commit to a long-term extension. Sports Illustrated reported that USC is uncertain about the series’ impact on its College Football Playoff hopes, considering the demands that come with playing a Big Ten schedule.

“There are some changes that we’ve all just gotta accept, because it’s just part of it right now,” Riley said on “Always College Football.” “Obviously that continues to move, and we’ll see how it evolves. But I think any door that closes, there’s also a new, really exciting door that’s getting opened. I think we can still love what was in the past, but let’s don’t miss that there’s some pretty cool things happening right in front of our faces right now that we’re kind of all in the forefront of.”

USC helped usher in a new college football era last season with its Big Ten-opening duel against Michigan. A contest previously reserved for Rose Bowls and marquee non-conference battles became just another week in the Big Ten.

“If you love college football, then are you going to scroll on your TV past USC-Ohio State? No, you’re not,” said Riley. “All of these things have to start somewhere. Is there some changes that I understand people are having a hard time coming to grips with? Sure. I get it. But the alternative is pretty darn good. It’s creating some incredible matchups.”

The USC-Notre Dame rivalry would not be the first to go on the shelf as a byproduct of conference realignment and playoff expansion. The Bedlam series, for one, went dormant last season when Oklahoma moved to the SEC.

Scheduling concerns are far from the only grips fans, coaches and administrators spoke out against during the latest waves of broad-sweeping change. Unmitigated transfer portal and NIL chaos wreaks havoc on the sport each and every offseason. Riley pushed back against some of the negativity that spawns from those challenges, too.

“Our sport’s in a great place,” Riley said. “We still have one of the greatest products in the greatest sport in the world. Let’s don’t forget that.”

If you ask almost any Kentucky fan, they’d say that year one of the Mark Pope era was a success. Kentucky tied an NCAA record for most wins against AP Top 15 foes, beat several rivals, and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019; however, Mark Pope was not satisfied. During his interview with Matt Jones on today’s Kentucky Sports Radio, he made it a point to say that his first Kentucky team failed to meet the mark.

“It’s Kentucky. Like, you know what, guys? I’m not going to be the guy who comes to Kentucky as the head coach and somehow lowers the expectations of this place. Man, we’re trying to win this whole thing. Like, we failed at our job last year.”

When Matt asked if he really believed that, Pope doubled down, drawing on his own experiences as a Kentucky fan after leaving the school as the captain of the 1996 national championship team and returning as its coach.

“One hundred percent. Listen, I know myself; for the last 30 years, I’ve been a die-hard Kentucky fan. If we didn’t win, I’m like, ‘What is wrong with that coach? Man, he can’t win at Kentucky!’ That’s what all my guys are saying to me every single day. And so, like, I’m not unrealistic. I understand the reality.”

You might think that after transitioning from fan to coach and learning the weight of the fanbase’s expectations, Pope would give himself some grace for not winning it all in year one. Quite the opposite. Pope said his first year on the job added more fuel to the fire. Since the season ended, Pope has revamped Kentucky’s roster with one of the top NIL budgets in the country, bringing in one of the best transfer portal classes that will join a talented group of incoming freshman and core returners like Brandon Garrison and Otega Oweh (assuming Oweh withdraws his name from the NBA Draft).

“We are blessed,” Pope said. “I’ll tell you the one thing that nobody in the world will deny, okay, that you can’t actually argue: we have the greatest fanbase in all of college basketball. There’s no one, any other fanbase, that would argue that. Nobody can argue that. And so that fanbase deserves the best of everything. And so you go down the list, and we’re trying to be the best at everything. And that’s what Kentucky is supposed to be; that’s what Kentucky has traditionally been.”

Pope feels obligated to the fans but also to his fellow former Kentucky players. He made a quick trip to New York on Tuesday, during which he spent some time with Karl-Anthony Towns, who has the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. The two talked about legacy, specifically theirs as Kentucky Wildcats.

“I was just with Karl-Anthony Towns yesterday in New York, and that’s what he expects out of this joint. That’s what all our former players and former coaches [expect].”

Including John Calipari, the coach whom he replaced.

“You know what?” Pope said. “That’s what Cal expects. I mean, Cal is like, ‘Don’t you ruin my program. Man, that’s the best program in all of basketball.’”

Pope said at his introductory press conference that he understands the assignment of being Kentucky’s coach; after year one, he’s more motivated than ever to deliver.

Mark Pope’s interview on KSR

We’ll be rolling out highlights from Pope’s interview all day (week?) long, but you can listen to or watch it in its entirety below.

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Out: Otis Hughley | In: Donte’ Jackson
Hughley spent the past three seasons with the Bulldogs, who in hiring Jackson away from Grambling State, have made their sixth coach since moving to Division I in 1998. Out: Landon Bussie | In: Jake Morton
After five seasons in the SWAC, Bussie was offered the Chicago State job and left to head north. The Braves last won the SWAC in 2002. Morton was most recently an assistant at Florida State, East Carolina and Jacksonville State. Out: Bryan Hodgson | In: Ryan Pannone
After going 45-28 in two seasons, Hodgson became a buzzy name and was expected to take a bigger job. He’s off to South Florida and the AAC. Pannone is the second straight former Alabama assistant to get this job. And for Arkansas State, it’s a nice development in this sense: Pannone is a grinder’s grinder of a coach. He will completely embrace moving to Jonesboro, Arkansas. Out: Scott Davenport | In: Doug Davenport
Scott Davenport was an institution at Bellarmine, guiding the program from D-II to D-I in recent years. He won a national title in 2011 and went to four D-II Final Fours in total, in addition to 426 games across 20 seasons. In total, he spent more than four decades coaching basketball in Louisville and was a fixture in that city. With his retirement, Bellarmine has allowed Scott to hand the job to his son, Doug, who has been on staff for nine years. Out: Phil Martelli Jr. | In: Jamion Christian
Bryant is on its third coach in three years’ time, as Martelli is off to VCU. The program just made the NCAAs and is solidly positioned in the America East. Christian previously coached six seasons at Mount St. Mary’s, one season at Siena and three seasons at George Washington. He’s made the NCAA Tournament twice. Out: Kevin McGeehan | In: John Andrzejek
McGeehan lasted 12 seasons with the Fighting Camels but was fired following a 15-17 campaign. He went 184-199 and couldn’t bring Campbell to the NCAAs during his dozen years. The school moved from the Big South to the CAA two years ago and will seek a reboot under Andrzejek, who arrives under rare and exceptional circumstances. Andrzejek just helped Florida win a national title. This is a huge PR boost for the Fighting Camels. Out: Tony Barbee | In: Andy Bronkema
Chippewas AD Amy Folan fired Barbee on April 3. He was there for four seasons and went 49-75. The program last made the NCAAs in 2003 and it’s looking up at a lot of teams in the single-bid MAC right now. Bronkema is an intriguing hire. The 41-year-old spent the past 12 seasons at Ferris State, including a D-II national title in 2018. Ferris State is located in Michigan; CMU didn’t have to search far. His record: 224-85. Take a swing, why not? Out: Scott Spinelli | In: Landon Bussie
A one-year experiment gone awry under Spinelli. Chicago State went 4-28 and finished 362 at KenPom in its first season in the NEC. Truly one of the five toughest jobs in all of Division I. Bussie was previously the coach at Alcorn State for five seasons. Out: Daniyal Robinson | In: Rob Summers
The Vikings got three years and 65 wins under Robinson, who is off to North Texas. Cleveland State has appeal at the mid-major level, thanks to Dennis Gates stabilizing the program prior to Robinson doing a really nice job with it. Summers was part of that: he was an assistant under Gates from 2019-22, and was hired back after spending the past couple of seasons at Missouri. Out: Niko Medved | In: Ali Farokhmanesh
Medved had a great situation in Fort Collins, but home is home and Minnesota was one he couldn’t turn down. CSU went through a brief search to replace him, but made the smart choice to promote from within. Farokhmanesh is a name forever attached to the NCAA Tournament for the shot he hit against Kansas in 2009, but he’s paid his dues as a GA and assistant coach for more than a decade at this point. He was critical in helping Medved build tournament teams at CSU. Good work here. Out: Jim Engles | In: Kevin Hovde
Engles was with the Lions for nine years but never wound up with a season above .500. This is a tough gig, but it is in a great part of New York City. Florida assistant Kevin Hovde was the favorite from the start and officially accepted the job during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Then … he helped Florida win the whole damn thing. What a coup for Columbia. Hovde was previously an assistant there under Kyle Smith during the 2010s. Out: Jeff Wulbrun | In: Tim Bergstraser
Four years and out for Wulburn, who was put on leave mid-season for actions not disclosed publicly. Denver is in the Summit League and has never made the NCAAs dating back to its Division I start in the late 1990s. Bergstraser carried a 75-22 in three seasons with Minnesota State Moorehead (D-II). Out: Ben McCollum | In: Eric Henderson
Drake’s done well for itself. Consider: McCollum, Darian DeVries and Niko Medved are its three former coaches. They were all hired to Big Ten jobs in this year’s cycle. If Drake had to lose McCollum to anyone, Iowa is the softest blow. The perception of this job has altered drastically in the past decade. Henderson is a worthy next man up in Des Moines after the job he did at South Dakota State. Out: Patrick Crarey | In: Charlie Ward
FAMU is on its third coach in as many seasons after failing to come to a contract negotiation with Crarey, who is off to Grambling State. The Rattlers went 14-17 last season. Ward is one of the best college athletes ever, having been a Heisman winner at FSU before going on to play 11 years in the NBA. What a massive W for FAMU, and the latest example of an HBCU getting a real pop by bringing on a well-known public figure to run one of its programs. Out: Keith Urgo | In: Mike Magpayo
This opening had been rumored about going back to January. Fordham made it official on the first weekend of the NCAAs. Urgo went from 25-8 in Year 1 to 13-20 and then 12-21 this year, including a last-place finish in the A-10. Magpayo is coming from UC Riverside, but he spent time in the NYC area as an assistant under Kyle Smith more than a decade ago. Could wind up being a really good hire. He’s an extremely smart coach. Out: Donte Jackson | In: Patrick Crarey
Jackson was here since 2017 but left for Alabama A&M. The Tigers made the 2024 NCAA Tournament under his watch and stabilized in the SWAC after some really dark times earlier this century. Crarey comes over from Florida A&M, where he left after one season. Out: Alan Huss | In: Flynn Clayman
Huss is leaving after two seasons and a stellar 56-15 record to be the coach-in-waiting at his alma mater, Creighton. This is the top job in that conference. Athletic director Dan Hauser didn’t take long to promote Clayman up a spot, opting to keep things in-house at a point where the Panthers are well-positioned in the Big South. Out: Tobin Anderson | In: Dan Geriot
Iona administration is getting dragged for how poorly it treated Anderson, who was fired after just two seasons, including a run to the MAAC title game. This is the coach who led FDU to the No. 16-over-No. 1 NCAA Tournament upset of Purdue in 2023. Anderson went 33-34 with the Gaels. Expectations in the post-Rick Pitino phase in New Rochelle got really high, really fast, but still: pretty harsh stuff. New Orleans Pelicans assistant Dan Geriot, who played at Richmond, is yet another NBA-to-college hire, which has become the trend in this year’s cycle. Out: Paul Corsaro | In: TBD
IU Indy fired Corsaro for cause on May 13 after an investigation determined “Corsaro’s behavior did not meet the university’s values and standards regarding the treatment of student athletes.” Corsaro denied the university’s claims and announced he intends to pursue legal channels to push back on a smear against his reputation. Corsaro was at IU Indy for one season. Out: Fran Dunphy | In: Darris Nichols
The 76-year-old Philly legend retired after nearly 50 years in college basketball coaching. Dunphy won more than 600 games and is among the most well-liked and accomplished coaches in the storied history of Philadelphia basketball. La Salle’s program is among the more cash-strapped at the multi-bid-league level. Nichols got the nod after a few low-major coaches from the northeast were heavily looked into. La Salle has made one NCAA tourney in the past 33 years. Out: Lennie Acuff | In: Kevin Carroll
The Bisons had to scurry after Acuff was hired by Samford, which opened because Bucky McMillan got a chance at Texas A&M. Lipscomb won the ASUN this season and was a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Carroll is one of a few D-II hires this cycle, though he has Lipscomb ties. He coached Trevecca Nazarene University the past two seasons, but was with the Bisons from 2019-23 as an assistant. Out: Griff Aldrich | In: Ronnie Thomas
The Lancers promoted Thomas after Aldrich left after seven seasons (and two NCAA tourney appearances) to be the top assistant under Ryan Odom at Virginia. Out: Bob Marlin | In: Quannas White
After a 15-year run that included two Sun Belt auto bids (2014, 2023), Marlin was fired in December. After some wait-and-see and a few tussles with contract negotiations, Louisiana got White to the finish line. He’s 44 and been ready to run a program for a few years now after spending the past eight with Kelvin Sampson. A huge get for the Ragin’ Cajuns. Out: Keith Richard | In: Phil Cunningham
Richard began his time as coach of the Warhawks in the Sun Belt in 2010, but he was never been able to break through and make the NCAAs. Program last made the Big Dance in 1996. Cunningham was hired from within; he previously was a head coach at Troy from 2013-19. Out: Will Wade | In: Bill Armstrong
With Wade off to NC State, Baylor assistant Bill Armstrong was next in line to coach these Cowboys. The program will look to keep the momentum it built over the past two years and stay atop the Southland. Out: Steve Prohm | In: Ryan Miller
Prohm’s second go-round with the Racers wasn’t fruitful. He resigned following Murray State’s loss to Bradley, leaving with a 45-52 record in three years. Word in the Missouri Valley is Murray State is ready to invest more money into its program than any other school in that league for the 2025-26 season. Miller, a Creighton who has been in the running in recent years at a number of jobs, beat out a litany of power-conference assistants. Out: Ed DeChellis | In: Jon Perry
DeChellis announced his retirement on March 19, stepping away from Navy after 14 seasons and 196 wins. DeChellis was also a head coach previously at East Tennessee State and Penn State, totaling for 29 seasons and 415 wins, making him one of just seven coaches active this past season with at least 100 wins at three schools. Perry was promoted from within. He’s spent the past 12 years with the school. Out: Richard Pitino | In: Eric Olen
Pitino leaving was inevitable. He had too much interest from too many jobs, and importantly, New Mexico will soon be in a Mountain West that includes the likes of Hawaii, UC Davis and UTEP. The program has good tradition, a great home environment and supportive community. But its league affiliation is set for a downgrade. This is still a quality job, but it will be interesting to see if it can remain on the same tier. Olen is a really nice get after what he did at UC San Diego in the program’s switch to D-I. Out: Matthew Driscoll | In: Bobby Kennen
Driscoll left to be the associate head coach at Kansas State. He and Jerome Tang have been extremely close dating back to their time as assistants under Scott Drew at Baylor. Driscoll spent 16 years at UNF and is the program’s winningest coach (248-264). He took UNF to the 2015 NCAA Tournament and won four ASUN championships. Driscoll’s decision has become a small trend in the past two seasons, as mid-major coaches face an increasing uphill battle in the portal. Kennen, who has been at UNF just as long as Driscoll, will serve as interim for 2025-26. Out: Ross Hodge | In: Daniyal Robinson
The Mean Green lost Hodge to West Virginia, and prior to that, Grant McCasland to Texas Tech. Now Robinson will leave Cleveland State to keep UNT as a top-four program in the American Athletic Conference. The logo will change for him, but his primary wardrobe color scheme won’t. Out: Russell Springmann | In: Kory Barnett
A semi-surprise, as Springmann only made it two seasons before getting sacked. The Golden Eagles went 7-23 this year and sunk to the bottom of the Summit League. Barnett most recently was on Darian DeVries’ staff at West Virginia, but served under Steve Alford at Nevada and UCLA prior to that. Out: Steve Donahue | In: Fran McCaffery
It was a decade for Donahue in Philly, with the Quakers making the NCAAs in 2018. This season was the worst yet, with Penn going 8-19 and finishing No. 292 at KenPom. Fran McCaffery is an alum, and at 65, is the guy in Philly. That’s an interesting late-career stop for the former Iowa coach. Out: Darris Nichols | In: Zach Chu
The Highlanders had four years with Nichols (off to La Salle), which totaled a 68-63 record at the Big South program. The school has made three NCAA Tournaments since 1998. Chu is a head-turning hire; he wasn’t even considered to be in the initial list of finalists for the job. The 34-year-old SMU assistant previously spent time in the analytics departments of the Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks. Out: Michael Czepil | In: Mike Bibby
David Patrick resigned last May (and eventually joined Matt McMahon’s staff at LSU), which led to Czepil being the interim. The Hornets finished the regular season 7-24. Bibby, the longtime Sacramento Kings guard, has accepted the job. Completely out of left field. Out: Rob Krimmel | In: Luke McConnell
This is a downer: Saint Francis just made the NCAAs for the first time since 1991. Less than a week removed from its exit, the school announced it would be transitioning to D-III, a reflection of the reality of where D-I athletics is heading in the revenue-sharing era. Krimmel announced his retirement in near-conjunction with the school’s announcement. I was on hand for Saint Francis’ win in the NEC title game and wrote about Krimmel’s awesome story . Take the time to read that if you haven’t yet; it was one of my favorite stories to do in the final two months of the season. Out: Bucky McMillan | In: Lennie Acuff
Pretty good work here by AD Martin Newton, who lost a good young coach but replaced him with a guy who just took Lipscomb to the NCAA Tournament. Samford is getting Acuff after three straight seasons of 20-plus wins, too. Out: Eric Henderson | In: Bryan Petersen
Henderson spent the past six seasons with the Jackrabbits and took SDSU to the NCAAs in 2024 and 2022. With him going to Drake, the program promoted his long-time assistant, Petersen, to run the show in Brookings. Out: Kyle Keller | In: Matt Braeuer
Keller coached SFA for nearly nine seasons and won 18 or more games in six of those years. He was fired in January. He also was responsible for one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history, when his Lumberjacks team upset No. 1 Duke in November of 2019 . Braueuer comes via Texas Tech, but his ties within Texas date back to being on Grant McCasland’s staff at North Texas as well. Out: Mike Magpayo | In: Gus Argenal
After five seasons and 89 wins in the Big West, Magpayo is moving cross-country to take a job in the A-10 at Fordham. UC Riverside is one of the least-funded schools in the West. Tough gig at a place that’s been D-I since 2000 but never made the NCAAs. Argenal spent the past two seasons at D-II Cal State San Bernardino and was an assistant under Eric Musselman at Arkansas prior to that. Out: Eric Olen | In: Clint Allard
With Olen going to New Mexico following a 30-5 season and Big West title, Allard was the pick to promote from within. He’s an alum to boot. UCSD was something of a revelation this season and it’ll be interesting to see if the Tritons can continue to be a mid-major force, post-Olen. Out: Kevin Kruger | In: Josh Pastner
The Runnin’ Rebels went 18-15 this season, falling in the Mountain West quarterfinals to Utah State. Vegas never made an NCAA Tournament under Kruger’s watch, and beyond that, never had a season where it finished better than 73rd at KenPom. The school is not in a good financial situation, and sources said a few candidates involved walked away not that enthused, given the challenges ahead. Pastner was pushing for this job for a few weeks, and his experience running Memphis and Georgia Tech gave him an edge. Former coach: Amir Abdur-Rahim | In: Bryan Hodgson
A sad inclusion to the tracker, as Abdur-Rahim tragically died in the preseason at 43 , leading to Ben Fletcher serving as the interim head coach over the past four-plus months. Abdur-Rahim was a rising star. The American Athletic Conference named Abdur-Rahim its Honorary Coach of the Year for 2024-25. Hodgson comes over on a six-year deal after two years with Arkansas State. If he continues on his trajectory, USF will be in the top three of the American in no more than two years. Out: Ryan Odom | In: Phil Martelli Jr.
VCU is one of the best mid-major jobs in the country, and because it’s that, it’s prone to coaching turnover at a rate that’s more volatile that most other schools. But this is a really good job with one of the strongest home-court environment and fan bases you’ll find in college hoops. With Odom gone, VCU AD Ed McLaughlin picked his 1b option after his 1a (Richard Pitino) went to Xavier. Martelli Jr. went 43-25 the past two seasons with Bryant in the America East.

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Kiley Shelton, a sophomore on Florida Atlantic’s softball team, stepped up to the plate and rose to the occasion at the Gainesville Regional. 
 
The sophomore from Lexington, South Carolina delivered multiple clutch hits, including the walk-off RBI single in extra innings against Georgia Tech, to give the No. 2-seeded Owls (45-12) their first victory in an NCAA Regional game since 2016. 
 
Her heroic performance came on the very same campus that her brother, Colby, currently resides in as the starting shortstop for the nationally ranked Florida Gators baseball team. Rounding out the Shelton siblings is their sister Karley, who leads the No. 12 South Carolina softball team in hits as they enter the weekend hosting a Super Regional.
 
Their ability to be successful athletically was instilled by their parents Bonnie and Eric, star athletes back in their day on the softball and baseball teams at Charlotte. 
 
On the latest “Inside The Owls Burrow,” host Frank Forte chats with the Florida Atlantic Shelton sibling as well as her proud parents about their athletic journeys on the diamond. 

 

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Texas is navigating college football’s most volatile era with a clear strategy for long-term dominance. From looming SEC scheduling changes to the tangled mess of NIL, here’s how Texas plans to lead through the chaos.

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Joe and Eric talk about the upcoming House settlement and how it’s likely to be met with approval by Judge Claudia Wilken. The settlement will force athletic departments to totally rethink how they operate, and make them determine which sports deserve much of the “publicity rights” money. A brief discussion about how the reported $22 million is divvied up follows, and the subject ends with Texas being in a good position and in favor of players getting paid.

However, paying those players will look different and it also won’t cost $35-40 million to field a football team. Eric and Joe go over why a recent report with that figure missed a significant amount of details.

SEC spring meetings are next week, and the two go over likely topics to be deliberated on in Destin. Finally, the two poke a little fun at Ohio State before explaining the dates the team has on its calendar. The report date for summer conditioning is in a few weeks, and that’ll lead to 7-on-7 that informs how players will perform in the upcoming season.

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