College Sports

Is Texas spending $40 million on its 2025 football roster? What we know and don’t know

College football roster budgets have ballooned this offseason as teams prepare for a new era in which schools can compensate athletes directly. But could a championship team cost as much as $40 million? That’s one high-end estimate of what Texas could be spending on its 2025 roster, according to a Houston Chronicle report from columnist […]

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3 weeks ago

May 2, 2025

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That’s one high-end estimate of what Texas could be spending on its 2025 roster, according to a Houston Chronicle report from columnist Kirk Bohls. Bohls, who has covered the Longhorns for more than 50 years, reported Wednesday that the team’s roster budget currently sits somewhere “between $35 million and $40 million,” including the revenue the school will be able to share as a result of the House v. NCAA settlement.

If that budget range is accurate, it represents a significant leap from the previous highest known roster budget in the sport: Ohio State’s 2024 roster, which went on to win the national championship, cost around $20 million, athletic director Ross Bjork told the Columbus Dispatch and Yahoo! Sports last summer.

Is an estimate of as much as twice the Buckeyes’ figure realistic or far-fetched? The Athletic reached out to multiple Texas officials to confirm the veracity of the Chronicle’s report, but all declined comment. But after conversations with a dozen people elsewhere in college football with knowledge of roster budgets, including general managers, personnel directors and name, image and likeness collective heads, here’s what we know — and don’t — about Texas’ spending power and the state of roster budgets headed into the 2025 season. Each person was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about team finances.

What we know

Team roster budgets are rarely officially confirmed.

Because schools won’t directly share revenue with players until the settlement is approved, compensation still runs through NIL collectives, which help shield contracts and records from scrutiny. But Texas Tech basketball star JT Toppin and quarterback Carson Beck, who transferred from Georgia to Miami, are just two examples from this year of player pay levels becoming public knowledge.

Some schools or collectives are more forthcoming than others. Walker Jones, executive director of The Grove Collective, which works with Ole Miss athletes, said last fall that the collective spent more than $10 million on NIL deals for the football roster. Texas Tech spent more than $10 million on just its transfer portal class this offseason, and Bjork opened eyes when he revealed Ohio State’s budget last year.

Most programs, however, prefer to keep those numbers close to the vest. An athletic director at a Power 4 program, when asked this week by The Athletic how much his school expected to allocate to the football program in revenue sharing, declined to specify, citing a “competitive advantage” of keeping it quiet.

Texas athletics has plenty of money.

The Longhorns consistently rank near the top of college athletics in annual revenue. In 2024, Texas pulled in $331.9 million in athletics revenue, No. 1 in the country according to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database. In 2023, Texas was second in athletics revenue ($239.2 million) to only Ohio State ($251.6 million).

In addition, the Longhorns have operated at the forefront of the market since the NCAA started allowing athletes to be compensated for use of their NIL rights in 2021. In December of that year, the football program made waves with the “Pancake Factory,” an initiative that promised $50,000 annually to Texas offensive linemen in exchange for promoting Austin charities. That price seems quaint now; Power 4 teams may need 10 times that much to obtain a starting offensive lineman for a season.

Eventually, the five collectives that had sprung up to compensate Texas athletes across various sports merged into the Texas One Fund, which is now the school’s exclusive collective. The Texas One Fund spent more than $11 million compensating Longhorn athletes in 2023, according to a tax return obtained by Sportico.

At an alumni speaking engagement in 2022, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte lauded the power of leveraging some of the school’s 500,000-plus living alumni, telling the crowd, “NIL is our game. When that basket passes around, I don’t need stuff that jingles, I need stuff that folds.”

Blake Lawrence, the CEO of Opendorse, a company that facilitates and manages NIL deals, told The Athletic in January that “Texas was one of the first to start to really lean into bringing consistent NIL opportunities to athletes across all sports.” He said of the roughly 50 collectives that Opendorse works with nationwide, Texas One Fund is near the top in just about every category.

“Texas is in the top three (nationally) of every measurable unit in NIL data: total NIL compensation, total NIL deals, total NIL deals to women, total commercial deals,” Lawrence said. “No matter what metric you pick … Texas is in the top three, if not No. 1 across the board.”

Texas football has excelled in retaining key players and acquiring new ones in the transfer portal, which are the two types of transactions that command the most dollars. When the Longhorns are in the mix for a player in the portal, their chances are usually strong because of their spending power.

Industry insiders don’t think a $35-40 million roster budget is out of the question for top programs.

A February survey of 13 coaches and personnel staffers on the transfer portal and player compensation contained a variety of answers on what it would take to build a championship roster in their conferences. But one Power 4 general manager offered this: “$40-50 million. That’s where I think it’s going to go.”

Asked about the Texas estimate today, several GMs, personnel directors and people in the NIL world believed the number.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” said the founder of a Power 4 collective. “Texas is a massive program and is obviously looking to win titles. (Athletic directors) and universities who don’t believe teams will go way above the (revenue sharing) cap, especially ones that want to compete for titles, are lying to themselves and their fan bases.”

Nearly everyone surveyed on Wednesday found a $35 million to $40 million roster to be realistic for Texas, with several suggesting only a small handful of schools can spend in that ballpark. A second Power 4 GM described Texas as paying some of its backup players like starters.

Pending revenue sharing is boosting everyone’s spending power.

Considering Texas spent eight figures to compensate athletes through its collective in 2023, it’s reasonable to assume that number went up in 2024, as team budgets at top programs increased. Add in at least $20 million to the athletics compensation pool via direct payments coming in the wake of the House settlement — the majority of which is ticketed for football at most P4 schools — and getting above $30 million isn’t unreasonable for a program like Ohio State or Texas.

In the February survey, starter-caliber players at multiple positions were said to have a market in the mid- to high six figures. Power 4 starting quarterbacks typically cost a minimum of $1 million. Defensive linemen, edge rushers, tight ends and receivers can all clear above $500,000, and some hovered close to $1 million in the winter portal window.

In this spring’s transfer portal window, the Longhorns landed a starting receiver (Stanford’s Emmett Mosley V) and a starting tight end (Cal’s Jack Endries) and two starting defensive linemen (Syracuse’s Maraad Watson and Maryland’s Lavon Johnson) from Power 4 schools. In the winter portal window, they landed three more defensive linemen.

“They got five defensive tackles in the portal,” a third Power 4 GM said. “That’s at least $500,000 per player for an average one. For an elite defensive tackle in the portal, it’s $700,000 to $800,000.”

But the bulk of the money, the third GM said, likely went toward roster retention. Texas is bringing back starters or elite talents at multiple positions, including edge rusher (Colin Simmons and Trey Moore), linebacker (Anthony Hill Jr.), safety (Michael Taaffe), receiver (DeAndre Moore and Ryan Wingo), running back (Quintrevion Wisner) and offensive line (DJ Campbell). That’s not to mention whatever quarterback Arch Manning is making, though the Chronicle reported that Manning doesn’t take money from the school and that he and his family “acquired all his deals on their own ‘with no help from the school.’”

“The market doubled this year because you have the rev share and the (collective) money,” the third Power 4 GM said. “You have people calling players on your roster saying, ‘We’ll give you this or that.’ They take it to Texas and say, ‘This is what I need for you to keep me.’

“Texas donors, boosters are not losing guys over money, so whatever it takes, make sure we keep ’em so we can keep this rolling. They’ve been to the final four two years in a row, so they’re not going to bow out over some dollars. … I bet they have at least 12 guys making right at a million dollars.”

What we don’t know

The exact math to get to a $35-40 million budget estimate.

Does that jaw-dropping number include just 2025 player salaries, or does it account for the total value of multi-year contracts? Most players sign one-year deals with collectives, but some — like former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava — sign multi-year deals. Does that number include only what will be paid directly by Texas and its collective, or does it include outside NIL deals that were secured elsewhere, like Manning’s?

“That number does seem really high,” a fourth Power 4 GM said. “But at the end of the day, if the money works through collectives and other third-party deals, it’s hard to really say the exact amount that could’ve been produced by those teams.”

Though some schools are mum on what they will allocate to various sports via revenue sharing, some have offered a road map. Georgia, one of Texas’ SEC counterparts, plans to allocate 75 percent of its cap to football, and athletic director Josh Brooks said in February he expected many SEC peers to split their cap similarly. If Texas followed a similar path, that could account for at least $15 million of the high-end budget estimate. The other $20 million to $25 million would have to come from the Texas One Fund.

What the finalized revenue sharing caps will be.

The oft-cited $20.5 million revenue sharing “cap” coming for the 2025 season is simply an estimate. Multiple people briefed on their teams’ roster budgets emphasized that they don’t know the final number schools will be able to spend on their athletes, only that the House settlement calls for it to be set at 22 percent of the annual revenue for an average Power 4 team.

Revenue sharing, if the settlement is approved, is expected to begin July 1 and it’s possible that the final number is slightly higher than $20.5 million.

Whether Texas would be alone in pushing toward $40 million.

Multiple GMs believed that if Texas is spending at this reported level, the Longhorns aren’t the only one. Many blue bloods don’t seem to be blinking as college football’s roster investment battles enter new territory.

“I bet you there’s somebody out there that’s higher,” the third Power 4 GM said. “(Texas) is top five, for sure. But I bet it’s not the highest.”

(Photo: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)

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College Sports

Ryan St. Louis, son of Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, invited to Capitals development camp as undrafted free agent

The Washington Capitals have begun preparations for their 2025 development camp, inviting a couple of undrafted college free agents to the typically week-long summer event at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. According to New England Hockey Journal reporter Mark Divver, one of those college players has a very familiar last name and a familial connection to a […]

Published

36 minutes ago

May 22, 2025

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According to New England Hockey Journal reporter Mark Divver, one of those college players has a very familiar last name and a familial connection to a Hockey Hall of Famer. Ryan St. Louis, a forward from Brown University, is the son of legendary NHL winger and current Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis and will be among the attendees.

Ryan, 21, was previously part of the US National Development Team Program before heading to Northeastern University for the 2021-22 season. He then spent the 2022-23 campaign with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints before playing at Brown the last two years.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound forward has led the Brown University Bears in scoring in both seasons at the school. He recorded 29 points (11g, 18a) this past year in 23 games, was an honorable mention on the All-Ivy League Team, and was a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award, handed out to New England’s best American-born college hockey player.

Divver also reports that Michigan State forward Daniel Russell will join St. Louis at the Capitals’ camp. Russell has played on the Spartans’ top line for the past two seasons, recording 50 points (26g, 24a) in 75 games.

The Michigan native finished the 2024-25 season third in the nation in game-winning goals (7) and assisted on Isaac Howard’s double-OT game winner in the Big Ten Championship game against Ohio State.

The Capitals usually hold their development camp after the draft each year. The 2025 NHL Draft is scheduled for June 27-28 in Los Angeles, California.

Members of the Capitals’ newest draft class will join college free agents and other previously drafted prospects at the camp.

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College Sports

David Pollack on Lane Kiffin: ‘Lane don’t give a crap what you think’

Lane Kiffin is an unparalleled figure in college football. The sixth-year Ole Miss head coach is known as much for his wit and occasional social media trolling as his wins on the field. Still, it’s Kiffin’s uncompromising authenticity and affable personality that has made him arguably college football’s most entertaining head coach. It’s also what […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Lane Kiffin is an unparalleled figure in college football. The sixth-year Ole Miss head coach is known as much for his wit and occasional social media trolling as his wins on the field.

Still, it’s Kiffin’s uncompromising authenticity and affable personality that has made him arguably college football’s most entertaining head coach. It’s also what makes him someone Georgia Bulldogs alum David Pollack would follow into the heat of battle, on or off the field.

“Lane don’t give a crap what you think. And my favorite thing about Lane is Lane is a little bit socially awkward. Like he’s a different person,” Pollack said recently on his podcast, See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack, when discussing football’s best motivators. “Lane doesn’t like crowds. But when he goes back to Knoxville as an Ole Miss coach, and it’s the first time he’s been back to Knoxville and people are throwing things at him, he was like, ‘I guess they don’t like me very much.’ But just so real.”

As Pollack recalled, Kiffin — who infamously left Tennessee in the dead of night after just one season as head coach to take the USC job in January 2010 — has occasionally embraced the villain role at times, especially with regards to Volunteers fans. That particular conflict reached its climax in 2021 when Kiffin returned to Neyland Stadium for the first time as an opposing coach. The game, which ended in a 31-26 victory for Kiffin and Ole Miss, was even briefly halted when Tennessee fans threw everything from golf balls to mustard bottles onto the field, many in his direction.

Since that game, Kiffin rarely misses an opportunity to poke fun at the Vols and their fans on social media, including once suggesting Tennessee ink a corporate sponsorship with French’s mustard and put their logo on the Neyland Stadium field. For Pollack, Kiffin’s social media trolling is just another reason for his Ole Miss players to love playing for him.

“His social media comes into play, because he’ll take shots. … He’ll say exactly what he thinks. … And I think you appreciate that as a player, as a person, you always appreciate the realness,” Pollack added. “I’m not following any of these guys, or anybody, unless I believe that you believe what you’re saying. It might look different, Kirby (Smart) doesn’t have the same personality as Lane by any stretch, but I know it’s authentic to him and he’s going to say what he believes.

“I think the same thing with Lane, which makes it really fun and unique and different. That’s why you’re just thankful that personalities are so different in this world.”

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College Sports

College Coach of the Century #13

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Number 13 on our countdown of the best college coaches from eastern Iowa is former Loras soccer coach Dan Rothert. Coach Rothert was with Loras for 22 years, 18 of which were spent as both the men’s and women’s coach. He was a 14-time ARC conference coach of the year, and was […]

Published

5 hours ago

May 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Number 13 on our countdown of the best college coaches from eastern Iowa is former Loras soccer coach Dan Rothert.

Coach Rothert was with Loras for 22 years, 18 of which were spent as both the men’s and women’s coach. He was a 14-time ARC conference coach of the year, and was the 2012 national coach of the year.

He brought the Loras men’s team to five Final 4s, and was a DIII national runner-up in 2015.

This year we’re celebrating the best of the best from the sports world in Eastern Iowa over the last 25 years. The over-arcing theme of this series will be “The Stories of the Century”. During this year, we’ll count down the top 25 athletes, coaches, and teams from the past 25 years.

The year will be divided up into fourths, with the first portion of the year being dedicated to the best athletes (both high school and college) from the last 25 years.

Every Monday we’ll be releasing two more prep athletes, and every Wednesday we’ll announce two college athletes who will be added to the list.

College Sports

Glenwood soccer stalwart Rangel Gonzalez takes 'next step' with commitment to Iowa Central

(Glenwood) — One of the most prolific boys soccer players in the area, Virginio Rangel Gonzalez of Glenwood, has made his college decision in signing with Iowa Central recently. “It’s a next step in my soccer career,” Rangel Gonzalez said. “It’s a dream come true.” While wrapping up a distinguished career with the Rams, Rangel […]

Published

6 hours ago

May 22, 2025

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Glenwood soccer stalwart Rangel Gonzalez takes 'next step' with commitment to Iowa Central

(Glenwood) — One of the most prolific boys soccer players in the area, Virginio Rangel Gonzalez of Glenwood, has made his college decision in signing with Iowa Central recently.

“It’s a next step in my soccer career,” Rangel Gonzalez said. “It’s a dream come true.”

While wrapping up a distinguished career with the Rams, Rangel Gonzalez has posted 15 goals and two assists in his senior season. He also totaled 13 goals and 14 assists in his previous three years while helping Glenwood win 46 times.

“(Iowa Central) is not far from home,” Rangel Gonzalez added. “At first, I went all the way to Reno to check out a junior college, but I came back and was realizing why go far for a community college when there’s a lot here in Iowa. Financially, it’s a cheaper option, too, so I was looking at Iowa Western and Iowa Central and a couple other ones.”

Rangel Gonzalez started a dialogue with the Tritons over email and eventually decided to check out the Fort Dodge campus.

“I just liked it,” he said. “It’s a beautiful campus. It’s close to Des Moines, so I just went with my gut and committed to Iowa Central.

“It’s been a goal since middle school and since I started playing club. I realized that after high school, college soccer is a thing I wanted to do. A lot of players go to JUCO to build up their skills and then try to make it on to bigger colleges. I feel like that’s the best route for me as of right now.”

Listen to much more with Rangel Gonzalez on his college decision in the audio file below.

College Sports

Kayla Treanor – Penn State

Kayla Treanor was named the 10th head coach in Penn State’s women’s lacrosse history in May 2025. Treanor, a highly decorated player at Syracuse, comes to Happy Valley after serving as the head coach at Syracuse for the last four years. “We are thrilled to welcome Kayla Treanor to our Penn State family as our […]

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7 hours ago

May 22, 2025

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“We are thrilled to welcome Kayla Treanor to our Penn State family as our women’s lacrosse head coach,” said Kraft. “Her unparalleled experience as both a player and coach make her the perfect leader for our program. I know Kayla will elevate our program to new heights after seeing firsthand her passion for developing student-athletes, championship mindset and commitment to excellence.”

As the head coach at Syracuse, Treanor compiled a 59-24 record and guided the Orange to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including back-to-back National Semifinal bids in 2023 and 2024. Treanor and the Orange played the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country in 2024 and 2025. Among the many accolades received by Syracuse student-athletes under Treanor, Meghan Tyrell was a two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist in 2022 and 2023.

This year, Syracuse advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and had a trio of US Lacrosse Magazine All-Americans. Under Treanor’s guidance, Emma Ward became SU’s all-time assists leader. In September 2024, Treanor was selected to be an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s Senior National Team for the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship in Japan.

In 2024, the Orange won their second-straight ACC regular-season title and advanced to the National Semifinals before falling to eventual National Champion Boston College. Syracuse finished with a 16-6 record after holding opponents to less than 10 goals in 11 games. She mentored four IWLCA All-Americans, including first-teamers Katie Goodale and Emma Tyrrell. Tyrrell became just the ninth Division I player to record 400 career points and finished her career ranked sixth on the NCAA all-time point list. In addition, Kate Mashewske set the NCAA single-season record for draw controls with 234.

Treanor’s 2023 squad won its first 15 games of the season for the best start and longest winning streak in program history. Syracuse finished the season with 18 wins, the fourth-most wins in program history. The Orange occupied the No. 1 spot in the Inside Lacrosse/IWLCA poll for five consecutive weeks and earned a share of the ACC regular-season title with an 8-1 record. In her first year at the helm, Treanor helped the Orange defeat eight ranked teams. Syracuse advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals and finished with a 15-6 record.

Prior to returning to lead her alma mater, Treanor spent four years at perennial contender Boston College, serving as associate head coach in 2020 and 2021 and assistant coach in 2018 and 2019. In her four years at BC, the Eagles advanced to the championship game three times (2020 season was cancelled due to COVID) and won a national championship in 2021. Under her tutelage, Sam Apuzzo and Charlotte North won the Tewaaraton Award for the most outstanding American college lacrosse player. Treanor also spent one year as an assistant coach at Harvard in 2017.

As a player, Treanor led Syracuse to four consecutive Championship Weekend appearances from 2013-16, including a spot in the 2014 National Championship game. She is the only player in program history to earn IWLCA first-team All-America honors each of her four seasons. She was also a three-time finalist for the Tewaaraton Award and earned IWLCA Attacker of the Year three consecutive years. Treanor was the ACC Offensive Player of the Year in 2014, 2015 and 2016. She left Syracuse as the Orange’s all-time scoring leader.

Treanor also found success as a player with Team USA. She helped the U.S. win gold at the 2017 and 2022 World Championships and was selected to the All-World Team both years. Treanor retired after the 2022 championships as U.S. Lacrosse’s all-time leader in points (77) and goals (44). Treanor also played professionally from 2017-21.

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College Sports

5 things to know about the 2025-26 Bulldogs women’s hockey schedule – Duluth News Tribune

DULUTH — The picture for 2025-26 at Amsoil Arena is now complete as the Minnesota Duluth’s women’s hockey program revealed next season’s schedule Wednesday in conjunction with the WCHA releasing its league schedule. The Bulldogs are coming off a fifth-straight NCAA tournament appearance in 2024-25 and will be entering their second season under head coach […]

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7 hours ago

May 22, 2025

Your Sports Nation

DULUTH — The picture for 2025-26 at Amsoil Arena is now complete as the Minnesota Duluth’s women’s hockey program revealed

next season’s schedule

Wednesday in conjunction with the

WCHA releasing its league schedule.

The Bulldogs are coming off a fifth-straight NCAA tournament appearance in 2024-25 and will be entering their second season under

head coach Laura Schuler

in 2025-26. The Sept. 20 start date is the earliest for a regular season game in program history.

Below is a combined men’s and women’s schedule for 2025-26, plus five things to know about the Bulldogs 2025-26 women’s hockey schedule.

You can read five things to know about the men’s schedule here.

UMD only has 14 home games

The Bulldogs will play 20 of their 34 regular season games in 2025-26 on the road, including the first six games. Four of the six nonconference games are road games while two are at a neutral site.

UMD plays four games in seven days to start the season, opening with a Saturday-Sunday series at Mercyhurst on Sept. 20-21 in Erie, Pennsylvania. Then they travel four hours east through New York to Syracuse to play the Orange in a Thursday-Friday series Sept. 25-26.

UMD opens WCHA play Oct. 10-11 at defending league and national champion Wisconsin at LaBahn Arena in Madison.

The Bulldogs are heading to Ireland

Two of the Bulldogs’ six nonconference games will take place across the pond, and that doesn’t mean Lake Superior.

UMD will take part in the 2026 Friendship Series

on Jan. 2-3 in Belfast, Northern Ireland — part of the United Kingdom — along with Boston University, Harvard and Quinnipiac. UMD is the first WCHA member to take part in the event.

This will be the first overseas trip for the Bulldogs women’s hockey program. UMD said

in its schedule announcement

more details about the Friendship Series will be available in the coming weeks. The official travel partner of the Friendship Series, Cara Travel Group,

has packages available now on its website for fans.

There’s only three doubleheader weekends

college women play ice hockey — Minnesota Duluth forward Mary Kate O’Brien (3) celebrates after Minnesota Duluth forward Caitlin Kraemer (11) scored the game-winning goal against Syracuse on Jan. 3 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.

It’s actually more like two-and-a-half doubleheader weekends for UMD men’s and women’s hockey during the regular season at Amsoil Arena in 2025-26.

The only doubleheader of the first half is on Saturday, Oct. 18, when the women host Minnesota State and the men have Bemidji State.

The Bulldogs men are at the Beavers on Friday night

, while the Mavericks are in Duluth all weekend for a WCHA series.

The other two doubleheader weekends at Amsoil Arena are Jan. 9-10 when the women return from Ireland to host Wisconsin, while the men have a nonconference series against Lindenwood (St. Louis, Missouri). The women host Bemidji State and the men have North Dakota on Feb. 6-7.

Another doubleheader is possible if the women secure home ice for the WCHA quarterfinals. That best-of-three series would be played when the men are hosting Colorado College on Feb. 27-28.

Bulldogs will miss time for the Olympics

UMD could be without four players for the final 6-8 games of the 2025-26 regular season because of the 2026 Winter Olympics on Feb. 6-22 in Italy.

Senior forward

Thea Johansson

and junior defenseman Ida Karlasson of Sweden, senior defenseman

Krista Parkkonen

of Finland and junior goaltender

Eve Gascon

of Canada are all candidates for their respective country’s Olympic women’s hockey teams. They could also miss additional time during the season for pre-Olympic camps.

UMD is scheduled to play series against Bemidji State, St. Thomas and Minnesota during the Olympics — which coincide with the final three weeks of the regular season. UMD also travels to Ohio State on Jan. 30-31. That’s the weekend before the Olympics begin.

No countries — not even the United States and Canada — will be centralizing their national/Olympic teams in 2025-26 because of the PWHL, so UMD won’t lose a player like Gascon for the entire season. That also means Gascon cannot take an Olympic redshirt season like Ashton Bell did in 2021-22 or Maddie Rooney in 2017-18.

UMD, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio State and St. Cloud State will all likely be missing players to the 2026 Winter Olympics over the final month of the regular season.

Is the WCHA Final Faceoff getting a new look?

One notable date missing from the league’s schedule release Wednesday was the 2026 WCHA Final Faceoff. The league has yet to make an official announcement about the 2026 league semifinals and final

after Amsoil Arena hosted in 2025.

The event is expected to begin rotating again after spending nine consecutive seasons at Minnesota’s Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. St. Thomas announced this week its new rink in St. Paul, Anderson Arena, will open on Oct. 24, making it a prime candidate to be the next host.

To broaden the pool of Final Faceoff sites and accommodate rinks that host men’s and women’s hockey — such as Anderson Arena and Amsoil Arena — the WCHA’s championship weekend will likely take place over three days instead of two in the future with semifinals on Thursday and championship on Saturday.

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