NCAA Update: Big Ten Friday Football, Schools Dropping Sports, Big 12 Favors March Madness Expansion

The top stories happening across the top division in collegiate athletics, every Wednesday afternoon.

Big Ten to look for more balance with Friday night football scheduling

There are no secrets that the Big Ten Conference has different rules for different schools. One example is who has to play football on Friday nights in the fall.

Nebraska has played on a (non-Black Friday) Friday each of the past three seasons. Joining the Big Red in Friday conference games this past fall were Illinois, Washington (2), Rutgers (2), Michigan State (2), Oregon (2), Northwestern, Maryland, Purdue (2), USC, Iowa, and UCLA (2).

The Illinois Fighting Illini and the Nebraska Cornhuskers play during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. — Illinois and Nebraska play in Lincoln on Sept. 20, 2024 -- a Friday night. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Big Ten COO Kerry Kenny, per Jon Wilner with The Mercury News, says, "There’s no evidence to indicate Big Ten and Fox will eliminate the Friday night package in future seasons. If anything, it’s the ideal promotional vehicle for Fox’s showcase ‘Big Noon’ broadcast 15 hours later."

Still, West Coast teams took up 39% of the Friday night slots while being just 22% of the teams. All of that while Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan seem to have a free pass to not play on that night.

"But there is a certain level of curiosity about the distribution of Friday night assignments in future seasons and whether the Wolverines, Buckeyes and Nittany Lions will ever share in the responsibility," Kenny said.

Big 12 commissioner favors March Madness expansion

Selection Sunday is coming up this weekend where 68 teams will have their names called for both the men's and women's brackets. But Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark would like to see that number go up.

"I’m in favor of expansion to 76. I think that’s the right number," Yormark said Tuesday. "I think the economics, candidly, have to work. CBS and TNT have a marquee asset with the tournament. I know they know that, but in order for us to expand, they have to come to the table and provide the right economics."

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

CBS Sports President/CEO David Berson remains cautious about expansion.

"No one wants to do anything that’s going to negatively impact the tournament, and that’s where the focus is," Berson said.

The field had been 64 teams from 1985-2011. Although I agree adding eight more wouldn't be a massive disruption, we all know those spots wouldn't be filled with mid-major darlings.

School's dropping to 16 sponsored sports?

The House Judiciary Committee hearing on NIL & a possible NCAA antitrust exemption brought out a not-so-secret thought that is likely to be seen at a number of schools when more dollars are used for revenue sharing: dropping sports.

"House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan says that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has told him that, under an employment model, he anticipates that schools will drop to the NCAA minimum of 16 sports," Yahoo's Ross Dellenger posted on X.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio | Jack Gruber / USA TODAY NETWORK

Wisconsin's athletic director Chris McIntosh called the likely dropping of sports "an accurate portrayal."

Here is how many championship sports are sponsored in each of the Power 4 leagues:

ACC: 28 (13M, 15W)
Big 12: 25 (10M, 15W)
Big Ten: 28 (14M, 14W)
SEC: 22 (9M, 13W)

Nebraska sponsors 22 sports, nine for the men and 13 for the women. Sports like rifle and bowling compete in conferences outside of the Big Ten.

NCAA and power conferences announce new model and enforcement arm

The final hearing for the House settlement is scheduled for April 7. That's the date everyone is looking at to see if the court will give final approval and revenue sharing will move forward.

If so, the NCAA and named power conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC) will be responsible for the implementation and enforcement.

On Wednesday, the NCAA and power conference defendants announced the creation of a new model and enforcement arm for college athletics. According to a release, they have formed a Settlement Implementation Committee. The SIC is made up of 10 athletic directors, with two coming from each power conference.

Texas A&M Aggies athletic director Trev Alberts looks on in the first half against the Houston Cougars. — Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts. | John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Former Nebraska AD Trev Alberts is there representing Texas A&M and the SEC. The Big Ten is represented by Ohio State's Ross Bjork and Washington's Pat Chun. The closest representative to Lincoln, Nebraska, is Mitch Barnhart for Kentucky.

NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday

As some conference tournaments are completed and others just beginning, all eyes look to Selection Sunday. The men's NCAA Tournament field will be unveiled this Sunday at 5 p.m. CDT on CBS. The women's field will be unveiled at 7 p.m. CDT on ESPN.

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