115: Conference Realignment Takes Effect (Again), and A Look at a Power 4 School's Self-Reported Violations

116: A Monster Deal for the Big 12?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2508218/fan_mail/new] On today's show, we go straight in on how the Big 12 kicked off their football media days [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJPZbrvtvz4].  We wonder if this is the start of a big push by the Big 12 to be the most relevant conference in terms of coporate deals or if this is jsut a carnaval show that will fall flat as time goes on.  We also examine how the bending of the rules in the World Cup may have affected the US team's dismal performance in the round of 16, and the perception of the rules of the tournament in other games as well. Finally, a discussion of fandom with an orthopedist triggered me to discuss the perception of who spends the most and who has the money in college sports. Does it make sense that a namebrand SEC team thinks an ACC team has more money to spend?

115: Conference Realignment Takes Effect (Again), and A Look at a Power 4 School's Self-Reported Violations

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2508218/fan_mail/new] July 1 occurred last week and with it, a new wave of conference realignment. The Pac-12 is back, albeit in an altered form. We have schools moving back to previous conferences, moving because their conference fell apart, and even some schools dropping out of Division I. We will do our best to cover all the new landing spots. We again check in with the World Cup because again, the parallels to college sports just keep coming. Also significant is while drawing comparisons to targeting for the US red card problem, the news hit that it was overturned, FiFA strikes again. We conclude with a look at Alabama's self-reported Level III violations for the 25-26 Academic Year. The violations are minor in of themselves but reporting them and athletic staff learning from them have definite impact.

Show-Cause Conversations: Mark Majewski Joins Us Again

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2508218/fan_mail/new] Fresh off his round at Whistling Straits Mark Majewski, Director, Creative for the Boston Bruins and TD Garden joins us once again to discuss a varied number of topics in college sports. We firstly get his boots on the ground, beer in the glass take on Boston hosting the World Cup and how it has been a mostly positive experience that draws parallels to college sports in some ways. Aside from lending us his expertise in his field, which includes years in creative ventures and sports communications at various D1 institutions, he is also a proud Michigan grad. We get his thoughts on Dusty May's exit and on Michigan finishing 9th in the Director's Cup just ahead of their rival school. We also hit on some other trends that can be gleaned from the final standings. Also as is necessary we have to talk some Brendan Sorsby. After mulling over the NFL's decision to not hold the Supplemental Draft, Mark gives us some thoughts on what Sorsby and Texas Tech could possibly do to keep his brand visible during his long wait for next year's draft. It's always great to catch up and hope you all enjoy it as well. Remember to please like and subscribe to the show. Thanks for listening!

114: The Best Performing Athletic Programs, CSC Scores a Rare Win, and A Laughable Op-Ed From a P4 President

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2508218/fan_mail/new] What is it that makes a successful year for an athletic department?  We look at the final Director's Cup Standings to see what schools and conferences scored the best. Congrats again are in order to billable hours, as we look at how much money the NCAA has thrown away....I mean spent on legal bills and settlements over recent years. And along with that we get a glimpse of a rare win [https://x.com/RossDellenger/status/2070194036506292266] for the CSC in court. Will it do anything to prevent athletes from taking action to get paid their worth? Doubtful. Finally, we get a dose of comedy from SMU president Jay Hartzell whose Op-Ed in the Dallas Morning News [https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/article/smu-president-college-athletics-needs-rules-22311550.php] is full of contradiction and brazen ignoring of some key facts in which he endorses the Protect College Sports Act.

113: The Academic Year Concludes, Congressional Bill is DOA, and Which Program will Adopt the Norwegian World Cup Row?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2508218/fan_mail/new] On today's show, we officially turn the page on the 2025-26 Academic Year.  Baseball has finished, with Oklahoma completing their underdog journey. Baseball, perhaps more than any other collegiate sport is facing the NIL era with roster building questions [https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7387199/2026/06/24/college-baseball-nil-roster-national-championship/], but also opportunity as exhibited by the CWS field.  The Protect College Sports Act may have made it out of committee but the discord it is sowing among collegiate contingents, most notably the SEC and Big Ten gives it little chance of getting through Congress. The one notable element that may come from this is the waters being test on the dreaded Super League discussion. It looks like the NCAA 5 for 5 eligibility rule is all but a done deal. It's an overall positive move, even with lawsuits sure to be incoming. Brendan Sorsby got a surprise from the NFL [https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ8M_EcITL3/?hl=en] in that they informed him they were not holding an NFL supplemental Draft and even went further to explain why they roadblocked him. Dusty May leaves Michigan for the NBA mere months after winning the title, but we explain that this isn't the first such instance, and how this may come down to May's professional preferences and not a total indictment of the College Basketball caoching profession. On the other hand, if you are going to be a coach in this landscape, you have to want to navigate it. Lastly, we really want to celebrate college sports and sports as a whole. Even though we are a college sports podcast, the scenes from the fans of the World Cup thus far, coming from all over in the good spirit of competition, exemplifies the best of what we see in college sports. We give that a nod and also postulate who may be adopting one of the coolest fan cheers.