The hottest College sports Substack posts right now

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Paying College Athletes Has Created a Mess. It Was Still the Right Thing to Do.

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 537 implied HN points • 17 Mar 26
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. Allowing athletes to earn from their name, image, and likeness fixed a long-standing unfairness where schools and others profited while the players did not.
  2. The change has created a messy new landscape — big pay deals for some players, rising costs for programs, and worries about competitive balance and college priorities.
  3. Despite the chaos and political outcry, reversing the change would be the wrong move because the worst predictions haven’t come true and compensating athletes was the right thing to do.

COOPER women's NCAA basketball ratings

Silver Bulletin • 86 implied HN points • 15 Mar 26
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. Final regular-season COOPER power ratings have been published for all 363 Division I women's basketball teams, tracking each team’s highs and lows over the year.
  2. COOPER is a new Elo/Bayesian-style rating system that blends wins, margin of victory, tempo, preseason polls, and conference strength, and it weights recent, close, conference, and tournament games more heavily with some customization for the women’s game.
  3. Paid subscribers get the full dataset and extras — offensive/defensive ratings, strength of schedule and home-court factors, an objective-only version, historical season-end ratings back to 2002–03, a spreadsheet to convert ratings into win probabilities, and NCAA tournament forecasts coming after the brackets.

Freshmen Fireworks: Top Prospects Dominate in Exhibition Action

Chad Ford's NBA Big Board • 79 implied HN points • 20 Oct 24
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. Top freshmen are making a strong impression in exhibition games. Players like Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey are showcasing their talent and preparing for the upcoming season.
  2. Cooper Flagg is projected as a potential No. 1 pick for the 2025 NBA Draft. He had an impressive outing with 22 points and several assists and blocks in his debut.
  3. There are emerging talents from overseas like Mouhamad Faye who could surprise everyone in the 2025 draft. Keep an eye on these rising stars as the season progresses.

What's Wrong With College Sports?

Points And Figures • 532 implied HN points • 11 Dec 25
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. The messy controversies in college sports are largely the free market playing out, not a failure caused by NIL, and a lightly regulated market will likely produce better outcomes over time.
  2. Treating players like professionals with enforceable contracts, agents, and insurance gives them real choice and financial safety nets, and it fixes many problems of the old scholarship system where coaches could lock or cut players.
  3. Dismantling centralized NCAA control in favor of conference- and sport-specific market solutions will let schools and TV demand shape schedules and playoff systems, preserving rivalries and creating formats fans actually want.
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Private Equity Comes To College Sports: Inside Utah’s Groundbreaking Deal

Huddle Up • 34 implied HN points • 12 Dec 25
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. Utah is creating a for-profit company called Utah Brands & Entertainment and will move revenue-generating athletic assets like ticketing, sponsorships, licensing, merchandise, hospitality, and trademarks into it.
  2. The university is partnering with private equity firm Otro Capital and major donors to fund the venture, which is expected to generate around $500 million or more in capital.
  3. The deal is controversial because critics fear private equity raises prices and cuts jobs, but supporters argue it could help solve athletic department deficits and become a model other schools emulate.

Illinois Penny Package vs. Michigan ('22)

MatchQuarters • 157 implied HN points • 03 Apr 23
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. Illinois football team improved from a tough season in 2020 to being 3rd in defensive FEI in 2022
  2. They utilized a unique defensive system featuring a five-man front and excessive use of Cover 1
  3. Their defense finished 4th overall in EPA/play, excelling against both the pass and the run

From Sellouts to Shortfalls: Colorado Projects $27 Million Deficit After Deion Sanders 3-9 Season

Huddle Up • 17 implied HN points • 05 Dec 25
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. The University of Colorado’s athletic department is facing a record deficit — $27 million projected this fiscal year, or about $41.1 million when institutional support and student fees are included.
  2. Big spending on Deion Sanders (a $54 million extension and roughly $10 million a year) hasn’t translated into success or revenue: the team went 3–9, recruiting fell to 75th, star players left for the NFL, and fan interest and attendance dropped sharply.
  3. While the coach’s salary is being highlighted, the shortfall reflects multiple problems — falling attendance, lost media coverage, and weaker recruiting — not just a single contract.

College Athletes Can Now Get Paid by Their Schools...But There’s a Catch

Huddle Up • 46 implied HN points • 17 Jun 25
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. College athletes can now be paid by their schools, which is a big change in sports. This means they can finally earn money for their hard work.
  2. The new rules come with restrictions like salary caps and other regulations that are causing confusion. These rules are important for how schools and athletes will interact financially.
  3. The recent legal case leading to this change highlights many issues, including fair pay and athlete rights. It shows that there’s still a lot to work out in college sports.

ESPN Flexes Its Muscles With An Exclusive $7.8 Billion Deal For The College Football Playoff

Huddle Up • 122 implied HN points • 14 Feb 24
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. ESPN secured a lucrative $7.8 billion exclusive deal for the College Football Playoff, emphasizing the importance of premium sports rights in the current media landscape.
  2. The agreement, pending commissioner and president approval, solidifies ESPN as the go-to network for the new CFP 12-team tournament, showcasing their persistent dedication to college sports.
  3. Previous reports speculating on broadcasting rights for the expanded College Football Playoff proved inaccurate, indicating a potentially unrealistic expectation of the market dynamics.

Did Ohio State Buy A National Championship?

Huddle Up • 25 implied HN points • 22 Jan 25
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. Some people think Ohio State's national championship win isn't genuine because they spent a lot on player payments through NIL deals. Money plays a huge role in college sports today.
  2. Investment in facilities and player support affects performance and team success. Teams are spending big to attract talent and improve their chances of winning.
  3. Discussion about 'buying' championships raises questions about fairness in college football. Many fans debate whether money truly influences the outcome of games.

How Teamworks Became The Operating System For College Sports

Huddle Up • 25 implied HN points • 10 Dec 24
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. College sports are changing, looking more like professional sports. This means teams need better ways to manage everything efficiently.
  2. Coaches are now expected to handle a lot of different tasks, like scheduling and budgeting. This shows how much pressure they are under to do more.
  3. There is a big business opportunity in improving how college sports are organized and run. Companies can step in to help make things easier.

How The New 12-Team College Football Playoff Will Actually Work

Huddle Up • 17 implied HN points • 20 Dec 24
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. The new 12-team College Football Playoff will have its first-round games on college campuses. This means more teams and more excitement for fans.
  2. The College Football Playoff committee will control important aspects like ticket sales and sponsorships. This could change how it feels to have a home game.
  3. The structure of college football's postseason has evolved over time, simplifying what used to be a complex system with many disagreements.

Amateur Athletics

Musings on Markets • 0 implied HN points • 15 Nov 10
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. College sports in America make a ton of money, but the athletes don't get paid much for their efforts. They get scholarships, but that isn't the same as real earnings.
  2. The NCAA pretends college athletes are amateurs, but that's not true for big sports like football and basketball. It's more like a modern version of indentured servitude, where players risk injuries without fair compensation.
  3. A new system is needed for college athletes, where some can be true 'student athletes' focusing on education, while others could be 'semi-pros' allowed to earn money and get sponsorships. This way, they can make a decent living while playing.

Huck Farvard

Matt’s Five Points • 0 implied HN points • 09 Mar 11
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. The Ivy League basketball system is unique because only the regular-season champion goes to the NCAA tournament, making every game really important.
  2. Rivalries in the Ivy League may seem intense but often come off as more of a celebration rather than true competition between schools.
  3. Harvard basketball hasn't won an Ivy League title or been to the NCAA tournament in decades, so if they win this upcoming game, it could grab a lot of attention.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Matt’s Five Points • 0 implied HN points • 11 Nov 11
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics College sports
  1. The scandal involving Penn State revealed serious issues in college sports, creating a feeling of disillusionment about the integrity of athletics. Many feel that college sports, once seen as wholesome, have become tainted by corruption and greed.
  2. Veteran's Day brings mixed feelings; while some see the value in honoring military service, there is a recognition that war often brings unnecessary suffering. The decline in celebrations might be a positive sign that recent conflicts are less intense or frequent.
  3. There are many insightful blog posts being recommended, covering important topics like presidential election forecasting and the implications of mandatory voting. These are great reads for anyone interested in politics and social issues.

Three ideas for improving college basketball

Matt’s Five Points • 0 implied HN points • 12 Mar 12
🎾 Sports College sports
  1. Make scholarships last four years, so schools feel the impact when players leave early. This could reduce the focus on one-and-done players and help teams build more continuity.
  2. Turn all stationary fouls in the final two minutes into automatic intentional fouls. This would discourage teams from foul play, making endings of games more exciting and fast-paced.
  3. Give conference champions a bye in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This would make the regular season more important and keep the excitement of conference tournaments alive.