Sports

The CW and Pac

Published

5 months ago

August 27, 2025

By: Pac-12 Conference

Extended partnership includes regular season men’s and women’s basketball action
as well as women’s basketball tournament’s semifinal and championship matches on The CW

The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference today jointly announced an extension of their partnership which began with the 2024 football season. The extended partnership will further the league’s transformation beginning with the new Pac-12’s launch for the 2026-27 season and continuing through the 2030-31 season. As part of the long-term relationship, football for the new Pac-12 will see a consistent regular season presence on The CW as well as regular season action for men’s and women’s basketball. In addition, the partnership will feature semifinal and championship matches for the new Pac-12’s women’s basketball tournament nationally on The CW.

With the announcement, The CW joins CBS Sports as partners of the new Pac-12 and its nine future members with Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State and Washington State. Octagon, the Pac-12’s exclusive media rights advisor, served as advisor for both the 2025 partnership extension with The CW and subsequent long-term extension.

Similar to the 2024 and 2025 partnerships, Pac-12 Enterprises, the broadcast production arm of the conference, will produce all football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball games as part of the extended partnership, totaling 66 events annually. Additional highlights include:

New Pac-12 & The CW Partnership Highlights

Annual women’s basketball tournament semifinal and championship games on The CW
13 regular season football games on The CW
35 regular season men’s basketball games on The CW
15 regular season women’s basketball games on The CW

“Our partnership with The CW has been one of mutual growth and transformation, from the development of our Pac-12 Enterprises’ broadcast production business to the significant added value and positive impact to our current and future members via true national reach across 100% of U.S. television households,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould. “I am excited for the continued growth of both The CW and the Pac-12 in the years ahead!”

President of The CW Network, Brad Schwartz, commented, “The Pac-12 has been a key partner in the success of CW Sports, and we are thrilled to solidify our relationship with the conference for an additional five years. We have experienced firsthand the passion of the Oregon State and Washington State football programs and their dedicated fans and we are eager to introduce an additional seven schools in the new Pac-12 to our nationwide CW Sports audience. We are also excited to bring Pac-12 men’s and women’s basketball to our viewers featuring some of the most dynamic and celebrated collegiate programs in the country.”

The long-term partnership with The CW, in addition to the previously announced long-term partnership with CBS Sports, also includes other notable highlights for the new Pac-12 with:

New Pac-12 Media Partnership Highlights

Maximum reach & national exposure – Now with CBS and The CW as long-term partners of the new Pac-12, both reaching 100% of U.S. households via over-the-air broadcast networks, the two will combine to feature a minimum of 16 regular season football games, 38 regular season men’s basketball games and 15 regular season women’s basketball games as well as the league’s annual football championship game and men’s basketball tournament championship games on CBS and its women’s basketball tournament semifinal matches and championship game on The CW.
All three jewel events on national broadcasts – The new Pac-12 will see its annual football championship game as well as its men’s and women’s basketball tournament championship games all broadcast via over-the-air networks with football and men’s basketball on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ and women’s basketball on The CW.
Continued growth with The CW – The five-year extended partnership will see the Pac-12 and The CW continue their growth together as the new Pac-12 launches in year three of a partnership with The CW and the network’s fourth year in sports. Per Nielsen and as of Aug. 8, 2025, The CW has had five consecutive quarters of primetime ratings growth with sports programming now accounting for over 40% of the network’s programming hours. In addition, Pac-12 Enterprises will continue to produce all of its game broadcasts on The CW, totaling 66 annual events across the three sports for the new Pac-12.

During the 2024 football season, the Pac-12 saw strong viewership for its 11 home football games across Oregon State and Washington State featured on The CW, with several notable viewership highlights including:

2024 Pac-12 Football Viewership Highlights on The CW

Most-watched football game on The CW was the lone matchup between Washington State and Oregon State in Corvallis (695k), which the two will meet again during the 2025 season on The CW on Nov. 29 to wrap up the regular season in Pullman for the second of two matchups next season.
Top three most-watched football games on The CW were Pac-12 games (also, Colorado State at Oregon State – 568k and San Jose State at Washington State – 542k).
Five of the top six most-watched football games on The CW were Pac-12 games (also, UNLV at Oregon State – 507k and Purdue at Oregon State – 452k).
11 games total on The CW averaged 431k viewers (460k in nine games vs. FBS opponents).

New Pac-12’s Transformational Process

With today’s announcement, the Pac-12 continues its transformational process by welcoming another key long-term partner. As one of the first partnerships for Oregon State and Washington State for the 2024 season and first year of a NCAA two-year grace period, The CW and the new Pac-12 have been and will continue to be integral in each other’s growth. In recent weeks the new Pac-12 has also welcomed a long-term anchor partnership with CBS Sports as well as the addition of Texas State University to its future membership.

Further media rights partnerships for the new Pac-12 will be announced following finalized agreements. All nine current and future members of the new Pac-12 participated in the decision to extend the partnership long term with The CW.

New Pac-12: Looking Ahead

Though the new Pac-12 will not officially begin until the 2026-27 season, recent seasons have offered a glimpse into the on-going and overall strength of the new league from a competitive and brand perspective, with highlights over the past few seasons including:

Top Five League in Football – Over the last four seasons, since the beginning of the NIL & transfer portal era, considering and comparing to future conference compositions (as of Aug. 2025) beginning with the 2026 season, the new Pac-12 has had:
- The fourth-best collective winning percentage (.547) behind only the SEC (.614), Big Ten (.592) and Big 12 (.550) in that time.
- Five of its eight football programs ranked among the College Football Playoff’s (CFP) Top 25, or 63% of its programs, the fifth-highest total percentage of programs ranked in the CFP Top 25 among all conferences in that time.
- Six of its eight football programs ranked among the Associated Press’ (AP) Top 25, or 75% of its programs, the fifth-highest total percentage of programs ranked in the AP Top 25 among all conferences in that time.
- A collective average SportSource Analytics (SSA) Team Success ranking of 72nd among 136 total FBS teams (as of the 2026 season), the fifth-highest average SSA Team Success ranking.
- A collective average Football Power Index (FPI) ranking of 77th among 136 total FBS teams (as of the 2026 season), the fifth-highest average FPI ranking.
- Boise State earn the No. 3 overall seed in the first edition of the expanded 12-team CFP in 2024.

Top Five League in Men’s Basketball – Over the last five seasons considering and comparing to future conference compositions (as of Aug. 2025) beginning with the 2026-27 season, the new Pac-12 has had:
- The fifth-best average NET ranking among the six major conferences.
- Seven of its nine men’s basketball programs make the Men’s NCAA Tournament since 2021.
- Two appearances in the National Championship game, one of three conferences with multiple men’s title game appearances since 2021 (also, Big 12 & Big East).
- Four of its nine men’s basketball programs make the Men’s NCAA Tournament last season, one of five leagues to see at least 40% of its members in the men’s tournament last season (also, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten & SEC).

Oregon State and Washington State are currently operating as members of the Pac-12 Conference as part of a NCAA two-year grace period and will continue to do so for the 2025-26 academic season prior to new members officially joining beginning with the 2026-27 season. All current and incoming members continue to collaboratively chart additional business matters and future conference considerations.

Sports

Szepieniec, VanZeeland Secure Individual Victories at Minnesota Open

Published

11 minutes ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Milwaukee women’s track & field team competed in its first 2026 competition at the Minnesota Open on Saturday.

“The first meet back from winter break always has a mixed bag of results,” said head coach Andrew Basler. “I think most college track coaches would agree that there are challenges losing your team for 2-3 weeks for winter break after spending all fall preparing.” From an effort standpoint, I was happy with what I saw across all events,”

Anna Szepieniec picked up right where she left off in 2025, securing a first-place victory in the 60-meter hurdles (8.67).

In the 200-meter dash, Szepieniec finished third, clocking a time of 25.39. Katie Burns was right behind her in fourth, crossing the threshold in 25.58. Victoria Evtimov was the third Panther in the top five, securing fifth with a time of 25.68.

The Black & Gold swept the podium in the 1-mile race, with Janiyah Taylor (5:22.51) taking the crown followed by Lauren Ripley (5:23.89) and Rohan Flanagan (5:40.25).

“Women’s vertical jumps were strong events for us today,” added Basler. “In high jump, after winning the event with a 1.73m clearance, Olivia took 3 good attempts at a school record height of 1.80m. Macy also had a breakthrough jump clearing 1.65m on her first attempt.”

Olivia VanZeeland has gone two for two in her high jump appearances this season, finishing first in both outings. VanZeeland cleared 1.73m at the meet held in the Minnesota Fieldhouse, which currently ranks 46th in the NCAA.

Success continued for the Black & Gold in the high jump, with Macy Woodward securing a new personal best, jumping 1.65m to finish in fourth for Milwaukee.

“In pole vault, our ladies showed the depth we have in that event. Hailey and Emma led the way with solid season opening performances,” Basler said.

The pole vault duo of Hailey Soriaga and Emma Johnson turned in successful season-opening outings. Soriaga tied for second with a 3.71m effort and Johnson was not far behind, jumping 3.56m to secure fourth.

“We look forward to a focused week of training as we prepare for the Tierney Classic on Sunday, January 18,” Basler concluded.

UP NEXT

The Panthers will host the annual Tierney Classic in the Klotsche Center on Saturday, January 18. Events will begin at 10:00 a.m.

Link

Sports

Panthers Turn In 3 Podium Sweeps at Minnesota Open

Published

27 minutes ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Milwaukee men’s track & field team competed in the Minnesota Open hosted by the University of Minnesota on Saturday in its first meet of 2026.

“The first meet back from winter break always has a mixed bag of results,” said head coach Andrew Basler. “I think most college track coaches would agree that there are challenges losing your team for 2-3 weeks for winter break after spending all fall preparing.”

The Panthers recorded three podium sweeps on the day, all coming in running events. Four different members of the Black & Gold notched first-place performances as well.

In the field, Kyril Griffin provided Milwaukee with an immediate spark to open the day. The sophomore cleared 14.24 meters in the triple jump, earning a second-place finish at the meet hosted inside the Minnesota Fieldhouse. Griffin continued his strong performance in the long jump, where he secured third place with a mark of 6.84 meters. The effort made him the top Panther finisher in the event and marked a new career-best.

Ty Bauschelt added to his impressive freshman campaign, taking home third place finishes in the high jump (1.95m) and the 400-meter dash (50.78).

The success of the freshmen continued for the Black & Gold with Brendan Vlasak turning in a second-place outing in the 60-meter hurdles. Vlasak clocked a time of 8.47.

In the 1-mile race, Harper Fahey (4:23.95), Will Whiteis (4:25.02), and Sam Blascyk (4:42.81) swept the podium going 1,2, and 3. Also claiming the top three podium positions were Zac Schmidt (22.63), Matt Scardina (22.91), and Mason Weaver (23.05) in the 200-meter dash, as well as Alex Anewenter (8:55.67), Aidan Sosnowski (9:02.69), Will Perez (9:41.67) in the 3000-meter run.

In the 800-meter dash, Lucas Picco crossed the finish line first in 1:55.64, securing his second first-place finish of the indoor season.

“From an effort standpoint, I was happy with what I saw across all events. We look forward to a focused week of training as we prepare for the Tierney Classic on Sunday, January 18,” Basler concluded.

UP NEXT

Milwaukee will take a week-long break from competition before returning to action at the annual Tierney Classic, hosted by the Panthers at the Klotsche Center. Events are scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.

Link

Sports

Lenes, Kermath take First at Wesleyan Indoor Invite I

Published

44 minutes ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

MIDDLETOWN, CT. – The Wesleyan men’s track and field team opened the 2026 portion of the season at home on Saturday, hosting the Wesleyan Indoor Invite I as the team was led by Alex Kermath ’26 and Bruce Lenes ’26 with first place finishes from inside the Bacon Field House.

RESULTS

HIGHLIGHTS:

Lenes was a first-place finish in the men’s 1,000m, crossing the finish line with a time of 2:35.73. Placing second was Calum Madigan ’29, running a final 2:47.42.

Kermath claimed his top finish in the 3,000m event, finishing with a clocked time of 8:43.90. Placing third was Will Wise ’26 with an 8:51.14.

In the mile, Zach Allen ’27 placed second, finishing at 4:27.98 while Noah Mahoney ’27 finished at 4:30.56 in third place.

Rami Hayes-Messinger ’26 was a top qualifier in the field events, placing sixth in the weight throw with a final distance of 14.81m.

The Cardinals return to action on Friday, Jan. 16, when they take on the NYC Gotham Cup.

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Sports

Sullivan Leads Cardinals at Wesleyan Indoor Invite I

Published

59 minutes ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

MIDDLETOWN, CT. – Playing host to the Wesleyan Indoor Invite as the first event of the new year, the Wesleyan women’s track and field team saw several top performances as the team was led by Juliette Sullivan ’27 from the Bacon Field House.

RESULTS

HIGHLIGHTS:

Sullivan nabbed second place in the first track event of the day, clocking in at 7.97 in the 60m dash. Sullivan followed up her performance in the 200m dash, taking first place as she crossed the finish line at 25/97.

Kaitlyn Connors ’29 won the women’s mile, finishing just over five minutes with a 5:15.02 final.

The Cardinals dominated the 3,000m, finishing with six in the Top 10. Alexandra Simon ’27 led the pack, placing second at 10:43.25. Clare Mahedy ’29 followed to round out the Top 3 with a time of 10:46.58. Margaret Stevens ’27 placed fourth (10:47.19), Nadia Lim ’26 was fifth (11:01.75), Audrey Leff ’29 placed sixth (11:06.49), and Grace Bell ’28 was ninth (11:44.61)

In the 1,000m, Genevieve Minard ’28 took third place, tracking in with a time of 3:04.97.

At pole vault, Kess Benner placed second with a height of 2.75m.

The triple jump saw Alex Neubert ’29 place second with a distance of 10.95m. Katherine Goss ’29 was third at 10.87m.

The Cardinals return to action on Friday, Jan. 10, when they travel to Staten Island for the NYC Gotham Cup.

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Sports

Mountain Hawks Produce Top Performances at Penn Select

Published

1 hour ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

PHILADELPHIA – Lehigh’s women’s track and field team traveled to the University of Pennsylvania for their first away meet of the season, the Penn Select meet.

The field events started the competition, where the Mountain Hawks had a few top performances. Senior Grace Aggen was Lehigh’s top performing thrower, where she led Lehigh in both events. Her best performance was in the shot put, where she threw 13.11 meters to place fifth. She also threw 13.38 meters in the weight throw, placing 15th. The Mountain Hawks had two other top five field finishes. The first was in the high jump, where sophomore Anna Troutman jumped 1.67 meters to earn fifth place. Senior Laura Reigle leaped 3.77 meters in the pole vault to secure a three-way tie for third. Senior Grace Nation may not have had the highest placing day for the jumpers as she finished seventh in the long jump, however she had the best individual jumping performance of the day. Her 5.56-meter jump was not just a personal best, but moved her up to seventh place on Lehigh’s all-time indoor performance list.

Senior Grace Kennedy and sophomore Jade Sanders had excellent days in the sprinting events earning top finishes. Their best performances were in the 400 meter where they both placed top ten and posted top Division I times. Kennedy led the way, placing second and running 56.53. That mark was not just the 42nd fastest time run in Division I this year, but also the 55th best time in the entire NCAA. Sanders ran 57.60, which landed her in ninth place and was the 89th fastest Division I time this year. In the 200 meter, Kennedy led the way once again with a 25.60-second run, earning her ninth place. Sanders clocked in at 25.85, which was good for 12th place and was an indoor personal best. Close behind them was first-year Harper Glennon, who ran a collegiate best time of 25.99 to place 14th. Glennon was also Lehigh’s top finisher in the 60 meters, where she placed 16th (7.87).

The 800 meters also featured personal best performances. Sophomore Lauren Bower ran an indoor personal best time of 2:14.02. This performance was the 48th best time in the NCAA, and placed her at seventh in the meet. Senior Amber Barrios was just behind in ninth place. She finished in 2:16.24, which earned her the 84th best time in the NCAA this year.

Lehigh had two other top ten placements in the competition. First was first-year Lyssi Penn in the 60 meter hurdles, who’s 9.27-second run earned her ninth. Senior Dakota Russell also placed ninth in her event, she ran 10:21.79 over 3000 meters.

The Mountain Hawks also placed well in the 4×400-meter relay. The team of Barrios, Bower, first year Kayleigh Jamieson, and senior Corinn Brewer placed sixth by running 3:59.55.

Lehigh next competes next week, when the Mountain Hawks will split their squad. Some of the team will head back to Philadelphia to compete at the Quaker Invitational, while the others stay on campus to compete at the Moravian Blue and Grey Invite at Rauch Fieldhouse.

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Sports

Bulldogs Set Three School Records in Season Opener at Tryon

Published

2 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

MILL SPRING, N.C. – The UNC Asheville Track and Field team kicked off the 2026 indoor season in impressive fashion on Saturday, breaking three school records at the season opener. The meet marked the first collegiate competition at Tryon International since the facility added the Mondo Super X 720 Indoor Track.

School Records Set

Nkosi Jeju opened his season by winning the men’s long jump with a mark of 7.40 meters, surpassing his own previous school record of 7.34 meters set at last year’s Gamecock Opener.

Kelechi Anyanwu made a memorable collegiate debut in the men’s 300m, finishing in 34.29 seconds to set a new school record. The previous mark of 34.74 seconds was held by Shemarr Session.

Bennett Moreno also set a school record in his collegiate debut in the men’s 600m, taking third overall in 1:22.08. The previous record of 1:22.74 had stood since 1995.

Other long jump competitors included Elijah Able (4th, 6.82m), Aaron Higgins (6th, 6.78m), and Max Smydra (7th, 6.63m), with Able entering the record book at No. 5. Ty’Vell Foskey (7th, 35.47) and Demorris Jordan (10th, 35.83) also represented Asheville in the top-10 of the 300m.