How Ohio State unlocked its NIL potential and won the college football offseason

COLUMBUS, Ohio — When Gene Smith and Ryan Day met after the season, the athletic director made it clear he was going “all in” on football. Ohio State heavily investing in football is hardly new, but after three consecutive losses to Michigan, Smith wanted to take it up a notch before retiring this summer. Smith … Read more

Fueled by donor spending spree, Ryan Day confident Ohio State can finally break through

COLUMBUS, Ohio — At his postgame news conference following Ohio State’s 30-24 loss to Michigan last November, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day looked defeated and despondent. He surely realized at that moment that despite winning 88 percent of his games as a head coach, he and his program would now be defined by their unthinkable three-year … Read more

Caitlin Clark will be ‘backbone of a franchise’: Anonymous WNBA GMs scout guard prospects

Caitlin Clark will headline the 2024 WNBA Draft, but she is far from the only impact guard who will make her way into the league. As the professional game modernizes, franchises are looking for more playmakers on the perimeter in an effort to improve the pace and spacing of their offenses. Clark is the most … Read more

What’s next for Louisville? Should LSU worry? Women’s NCAA Tournament first-round briefing

The first game of the 2024 women’s NCAA Tournament featured near-madness. No. 8 seed North Carolina led No. 9 seed Michigan State by 12 points with less than four minutes to play. Then, poof. UNC committed four turnovers, missed five free throws and allowed the Spartans to cut the lead to 1 with only eight … Read more

Women’s March Madness bracket prep: Strengths, weaknesses for all 68 teams, outlooks and more

After five months of regular-season and conference tournament action, we have finally reached the best stretch of the year. It’s March Madness, and it’s setting up to be yet another eventful NCAA Tournament. At 32-0, South Carolina seems like the easy pick to make it to the championship game, but we thought that last year, … Read more

How Celeste Taylor found the perfect fit at Ohio State

Celeste Taylor did everything she could at Duke. The 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Taylor was a big reason why Duke reached its first NCAA Tournament since 2018. From the moment she arrived in 2021, she was the player coach Kara Lawson leaned on to help establish the culture she wanted. Among finding … Read more

Why college football’s identity crisis resulted in Florida State being cheated

This sport’s identity crisis has existed since the inception of the College Football Playoff a decade ago, but never before have we had to come to terms with it the way we did on Sunday. That identity crisis? Whether the teams that play for the national championship should be the best or the most deserving. … Read more