Jon Wilner

3 days ago | mercurynews.com | Jon Wilner

As the College Football Playoff world debates proposed formats for 2026 and beyond, the architect of what many consider the nuclear option has remained deafeningly silent. Why should the Big Ten and SEC receive four automatic bids to the postseason regardless of their performance during the regular season? Why should the Big 12 and ACC accept two bids (each) and not attempt to earn more on the field? Why is predetermined playoff participation good for the sport?

4 days ago | mercurynews.com | Jon Wilner

So welcome to version 2.0, which uses updated rosters as the foundation for this ongoing exercise in futility. (It’s not a matter of being right or wrong so much as being reasonably wrong or embarrassingly wrong.)The third and final edition will be published prior to the season. Each team’s position in our April rankings has been included. 1.

5 days ago | mercurynews.com | Jon Wilner

The offseason is definitely not the slow season as yet another week delivered news impacting both the Pac-12 legacy schools and other universities across the region. Here are five developments you might have missed. 1. Early-season kickoffs announcedNitty gritty: The major conferences released kickoff times for all games across the opening three weeks and the special-date games (i.e., Friday matchups) throughout the season.

1 week ago | spokesman.com | Jon Wilner

The transfer portal has complicated many aspects of college sports, including a seemingly unrelated event: the deadline for college players to withdraw from the NBA Draft. With the portal option available, several high-level players who pulled out of the draft won’t return to the school for which they played last season. In other cases, players who opted to remain in the draft will have their roster spots taken not by inexperienced reserves but by veterans from different schools.

1 week ago | seattletimes.com | Jon Wilner

With June looming, the busiest month on the recruiting calendar is set to begin. In fact, it should be busier than ever. Approximately 95% of all high school seniors sign letters-of-intent during the early window, meaning the traditional signing day in February is long past its expiration date. With the early period beginning the first Wednesday of December and the transfer portal window opening the following week, schools want to secure their recruiting classes sooner rather than later.