Big Ten Football

Jim Harbaugh is happy with his decision-making this past offseason, which saw him interview with the Minnesota Vikings before returning to Michigan.

"I don’t apologize for taking a look," Harbaugh told ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). "And the one that doesn’t get printed is I don’t apologize for wanting to be at Michigan. Seem to cut off that last part of it. And that’s where [I’m] at, happy as can be."

Harbaugh reportedly had confidence he could get the job with the Vikings if he wanted, but he eventually decided to return to his alma mater in February.

"My love for Michigan is strong," he told Alejandro Zúñiga of the Michigan Insider at the time.

On Saturday, he explained his NFL interest:

One of the things that was really kind of driving me is, you know, we were in San Francisco, we got that close to winning the Super Bowl. That’s always been a thing. There's unfinished business there. But, hey, winning the national championship, [I] could be really happy with that, too. So that's the goal. That’s the one we're chasing.

Michigan won the Big Ten title last season and earned a spot in the College Football Playoffs before losing to Georgia in the semifinal. The team enters this season No. 8 in the Associated Press preseason poll.

Former Ohio State defensive back Marcus Williamson was arrested Saturday in Tennessee.

He was charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping and tampering with or fabricating evidence and is being held on an $80,000 bond, per 10TV in Columbus, Ohio.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 7.

An affidavit said a woman told the Memphis Police Department that Williamson kidnapped her on Aug. 18 and forced her to drive to an ATM and withdraw $500 for him before he drove off with her car.

Police located the car the following day at a car wash, where police said they saw Williamson throw away items in the trash that the woman later confirmed were her belongings.

Williamson joined the Buckeyes as a 4-star prospect in the 2017 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. He played five seasons for the program and was part of two teams that reached the College Football Playoff.

He sat out the Rose Bowl in January, which would have been the final game of his collegiate career, and criticized Ohio State fans and coaches on Twitter during the game.

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud said players should receive a portion of the Big Ten's new media rights agreements.

"I definitely think it should be shared, but if not, at the end of the day, we have the NIL space," Stroud said, per Joey Kaufman of the Columbus Dispatch. "We can do it that way. The new college world is turning around, and I'm here for it."

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg reported the new broadcast contracts with CBS, Fox and NBC, which begin in July, will be worth over $7 billion over seven years and include an annual payout between $80 million and $100 million to each member school.

Stroud finished fourth in last season's Heisman Trophy voting and has become a popular choice for companies making deals for name, image and likeness as he attempts to lead the Buckeyes toward a national title.

In June, WCMH's Justin Holbrock reported the quarterback formed a partnership with the Sarchione Auto Gallery to drive a Mercedes AMG G 63 after he'd signed NIL agreements with Morris Home Furniture and apparel retailer Express earlier in the offseason.

"This game is amazing, especially the college atmosphere, because it does have amateurism to it," Stroud said. "That's definitely a plus. But at the same time, I'm not 100 percent sure what our tuition is, but I'm sure it's not the worth of what we're actually worth. My mom has always told me to know my worth."

While the biggest NIL deals are usually going to the country's most well-known players, a revenue-sharing system could benefit all student-athletes.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh argued in July the TV deal should be split with the players.

"They use their name, image and likeness on the TV broadcasts," Harbaugh said. "They're the ones signing the mega-TV deals. And a new one's coming in 2024. Why can't that be an NIL deal right from the Big Ten? Because that's who's negotiating the TV deals, and that's where the big money is."

Meanwhile, the Action Network's Brett McMurphy reported Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren says in an upcoming interview with HBO's Real Sports that paying student-athletes is on the table.

"Those are things we have to resolve. We have to," Warren said. "So I want to be part of this conversation and will be part of this conversation of what we can do to make this better."

Last year's Supreme Court ruling in favor of athletes being able to earn money from their NIL rights while still in college basically brought an end to the amateurism era in the NCAA.

What's followed are NIL contracts for players and a whirlwind of high-profile programs changing conferences to best align themselves to bring in future revenue.

As the money around college sports continues to rise, in large part because of TV deals, it appears the players are trending toward receiving a piece of the pie.

In the wake of the Big Ten signing a historic media rights agreement, conference commissioner Kevin Warren is ready to make more big moves.

Appearing on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (h/t Brett McMurphy of The Action Network), Warren said the Big Ten envisions the league eventually having 20 members and paying players.

"Those (paying players) are things we have to resolve," Warren said. "We have to. So I want to be part of this conversation and will be part of this conversation of what we can do to make this better."

The Big Ten announced a seven-year distribution agreement with CBS, Fox, NBC and NBCUniversal's Peacock, as well as returning partners Big Ten Network and FS1, beginning on July 1, 2023, and running through the 2029-30 season.

McMurphy reported the deal is worth $7-8 billion, but that figure could go up to nearly $10 billion with escalators if the conference's membership increases.

The Big Ten will have 16 teams starting in 2024, when USC and UCLA officially join the conference.

It's been an open secret that the Big Ten is looking to add more teams after landing USC and UCLA. Since its new media rights contract significantly incentivizes expansion, it seems like a safe bet that Warren could be aggressive in bringing in new programs.

Given the uncertain future of the Pac-12, schools currently in the conference could be looking to make a move. CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd reported in July the Big Ten was "evaluating the worthiness" of possibly adding Cal, Oregon, Stanford and Washington.

There has been some discussion that UCLA's move to the Big Ten could be in danger, however.

Pac-12 reporter Jon Wilner noted the school's recent meeting with the University of California Board of Regents over travel and academic concerns did decrease the certainty the Bruins will leave their current conference.

Wilner did put the likelihood of the move not happening as "very low," but it's "not 0 percent" at this point. He did add the Big Ten could just pivot and take Stanford, which is a private school like USC, if UCLA decides not to leave the Pac-12.

After word of the Big Ten's future financial windfall came out, Rodger Sherman of The Ringer noted the conference could pay 110 football players, 15 men's and women's basketball players $200,000 per year at all 16 schools and still make $600 million before factoring in revenue from ticket sales, NCAA payouts, merchandise sales, etc.

Under current NCAA rules, athletes can earn money through name, image and likeness deals. FBS schools are allowed to provide academic bonus payments to student-athletes to reward them for performance in the classroom, but ESPN's Dan Murphy noted in April only 22 of 130 programs have established plans to do so.

Nebraska's coaching staff has unwittingly become the source of controversy in the wake of head coach Scott Frost's comments about how hard the entire offensive line is being pushed in practices leading up to the start of the regular season.

During an appearance on his monthly radio show (h/t Evan Bland of the Omaha World-Herald), Frost said members of the offensive line vomit a combined total of 15-20 times every practice.

"It’s not because they’re not in shape—he’s just working them hard," Frost said of offensive line coach Donovan Raiola. "I think they love it. He’s kind of freed them up to go be aggressive and I love the way they’re coming off the ball."

After Frost's comments came out, there was swift backlash to the coaching staff for allowing this to happen.

ESPN's Kevin Seifert called the comments "an absurd and embarrassing thing to brag about" and noted he covered the death of an NFL player (Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Korey Stringer, who died in 2001) from heatstroke caused in part by vomiting during practice.

In July 2021, ahead of the 20th anniversary of Stringer's death, Seifert wrote an article for ESPN.com highlighting some of the ways the NFL and individual states have changed safety protocols to protect football players from heat exhaustion.

"A total of 38 states have changed laws or adopted new guidelines to mandate safety protocols, and an estimated 75 percent of high schools in the country have cold water immersion tubs available to reverse the onset of heat illness, according to Douglas Casa, chief executive officer of KSI and a professor of kinesiology at UConn," Seifert wrote.

Morgan Campbell of CBS Sports said he would be asking questions if he saw that many players getting sick on the field during practice.

Frost presumably thought he was making a comment about how hard the players are working to ensure the Cornhuskers have a good season, but this will only raise questions about the staff's coaching style and philosophy.

Nebraska is set to open the 2022 season on Aug. 27 against Northwestern at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The Cornhuskers have a 15-29 record in four seasons with Frost as head coach.

The Big Ten will be raking in cash under its new media rights contracts with six different media outlets.

The conference announced Thursday it has agreed to distribution agreements with CBS, Fox, NBC and NBCUniversal's Peacock, as well as returning partners Big Ten Network and FS1, that will begin July 1, 2023, and run through the 2029-30 season.

Per Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, the deals will earn the Big Ten between $7 billion and $8 billion with escalators that could bring the total value up to $10 billion.

As negotiations between the Big Ten and networks were ongoing, John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reported last week that ESPN pulled out of talks after the conference proposed a seven-year deal worth $380 million per year.

Per Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger, the offer to ESPN would have given the network around 13 football games per season (down from 27 on the current deal) and the second- or third-best Big Ten game of the weekend in prime time.

ESPN has broadcast Big Ten games without interruption since 1982. This season will mark the final year of its deal with the conference.

In 2020, ESPN and the SEC announced a 10-year media rights deal beginning in 2024 that is worth around $300 million per year. ESPN will gain the rights to every SEC football game and men's basketball game, and ABC will air at least one football game each week.

CBS has broadcast rights to SEC games through the 2023 season.

The broadcast agreements come as the Big Ten is on the verge of expansion. USC and UCLA will join the conference as full-time members in 2024.

There has been speculation that Notre Dame football could join the Big Ten, but Ourand noted Monday that the school will probably remain an independent as it continues to negotiate a new rights deal with NBC.

According to Ourand, the Fighting Irish would "likely" add more Big Ten games to their schedule in the future given the conference's new rights deal with NBC and Peacock.

McMurphy added the Big Ten is still targeting Pac-12 programs Oregon, Washington, Stanford and Cal in its ongoing expansion efforts.

Terms of the new deals will have Big Ten football games on television virtually all day every Saturday during the season. Fox has rights to games at noon ET, followed by CBS at 3:30 p.m. and NBC in prime time.

ESPN has reportedly ended contract discussions with the Big Ten after rejecting the conference's latest proposal, which was for a seven-year, $380 million extension.

John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal reported the update Tuesday, one day after Andrew Marchand of the New York Post noted the Big Ten was closing in on agreements with CBS, Fox and NBC worth over $1 billion in total.

ESPN's current deal with the Big Ten checked in at $190 million, and the extension talks didn't include guarantees for the conference's top games, per Stewart Mandel of The Athletic.

If talks aren't reopened, it'll mark the first time in 40 years that ESPN won't carry coverage of Big Ten football or basketball, per Marchand.

It'll also raise questions about the future of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, an annual men's basketball series showcased on the network during the nonconference schedule.

In the bigger picture, it's the latest adjustment in the rapidly changing landscape of college sports.

The first domino to fall came in July 2021, when Oklahoma and Texas announced they'd accepted an offer to move from the Big 12 to the SEC no later than June 2025.

That jump-started a whirlwind series of moves as conferences jockeyed to ensure they wouldn't be left out in the cold when the new alignments went into place, and it's continued in recent months with UCLA and USC confirming a move to the Big Ten in 2024.

Having those two high-profile West Coast programs joining a traditionally Midwest conference showed realignment has become less about regional rivalries and more about putting together as many notable schools as possible.

As a result, the Big Ten was able to carry more leverage into contract talks for its television rights and appears likely to secure three exclusive windows for football (all times ET): Fox at noon, CBS at 3:30 and NBC in prime time, per Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic.

Big Ten play kicks off August 27 with Northwestern vs. Nebraska in Dublin, Ireland, and Illinois' home game against the Mountain West's Wyoming Cowboys.

The Big Ten is working toward an agreement on a media rights deal with Fox Sports, CBS and NBC, according to Sports Business Journal's John Ourand and Action Network's Brett McMurphy.

The reports noted this would end a 40-year partnership between the Big Ten and ESPN.

"If ESPN moves on from the Big Ten, look for the company to be especially aggressive in trying to secure Big 12 and Pac-12 rights, as well as renewing its deals with the NCAA Championships and College Football Playoffs," per Ourand.

Although the full terms of the deals aren't finalized, Ourand added the Big Ten is poised to earn more than $1 billion annually. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported CBS on its own is expected to shell out $350 million each year.

Front Office Sports' Michael McCarthy and Amanda Christovich reported in July the conference might be able to command $1.1 billion to $1.25 billion after bringing in USC and UCLA.

Fox already had an ownership stake in Big Ten Network, and the company typically showcases the conference in its "Big Noon Saturday" slot. It's no surprise that partnership will continue.

The bigger question was whether the Big Ten would branch out and pursue new opportunities away from ESPN.

McCarthy and Christovich reported Aug. 3 that NBC was pitching how it could make the Big Ten "the NFL of college football conferences."

"As negotiations near the finish line, NBC is proposing a strategy that calls for back-to-back Big Ten and NFL games in prime time TV on Saturday and Sunday nights, said sources," per the report.

Aligning with CBS, which is losing its coverage of SEC games, effectively fills the void created by leaving ESPN/ABC. According to The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach, the conference wanted to have a consistent slate of national broadcasts every week.

Not only is the super-conference era here, but it looks increasingly likely the best programs across college football will be split between the Big Ten and SEC. The Big Ten's media deals certainly sets the stage for a head-to-head battle against the SEC each and every game day.

There's clearly some risk in breaking away altogether from ESPN and the family of networks fans most associate with sports. The impact of the Big Ten's absence on ESPN is likely to be felt much more during college basketball season.

Collecting 10 figures annually from Fox, NBC and CBS should help to soften the blow.

The Big Ten was reportedly "evaluating the worthiness" of adding a quartet of Pac-12 teams (Oregon, Cal, Stanford and Washington) into the conference, but Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports reported that interest has since cooled down:

"After the anxiety caused last week regarding further Big Ten expansion, industry sources have indicated the Big Ten is no longer as interested in adding California, Oregon, Stanford and Washington. Rightsholders were balking at paying the same amount for those schools as the 16 Big Ten schools going forward ($80 million-$100 million).

"While those four programs may eventually have options, the Big Ten is concentrating on its new deal in 2023 while trying to lure Notre Dame, which has an open invitation. More and more stakeholders now believe the Fighting Irish will ultimately stay independent."

The Big Ten currently has 14 institutions, but the conference is adding USC and UCLA into the fold in 2024.

The Big Ten finds itself in a position of great power by adding two powerhouse college sports programs in California, expanding the conference's footprint to the West Coast. The league doesn't necessarily have to expand any further after picking up USC and UCLA, although the Notre Dame rumors still persist.

The Big Ten and SEC, which will also have 16 teams after Oklahoma and Texas join the mix in 2025, ultimately will stand as a pair of superconferences in a few years time.

The biggest question is what will become of the Pac 12 without two of its most recognizable programs. The conference has already revealed that it's looking into expansion, although that news comes as other conference schools are connected to other leagues.

Dodd notably reported that Oregon alum and Nike founder Phil Knight was calling other leagues on his alma mater's behalf.

There was talk of the Big 12 and Pac 12 joining forces, but the former reportedly walked away from the table on that front, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.

As it stands now, the Pac 12 will have 10 teams in a couple years' time unless the conference realignment carousel continues to move. The Big 12 already successfully added four schools (Houston, UCF, Cincinnati and BYU), and it remains to be seen if the Pac 12 can engineer a similar expansion as well.

Ohio State football coach Ryan Day and his wife Christina donated $1 million to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine to fund mental health research, per Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch.

Raising awareness about mental health has been a hallmark of Day's time as the Buckeyes' head coach, and the money will go toward The Nina and Ryan Day Resilience Fund. He previously helped establish The Christina and Ryan Day Fund for Pediatric and Adolescent Mental Wellness through Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Day told reporters that a major difference between the Resilience Fund and some of his previous work is this will primarily focus on helping college-aged people.

"And certainly that college age, when Nina and I started talking about that, that's tough, it's a tough year for a lot of people, a tough stretch for a lot of people," he said. "They need the resources, they need the help, but then also identifying what those risk factors are, we'd really love to be a part of to get out in front of it."

Mental health in regards to the Buckeyes football team also took center stage in March when offensive lineman Harry Miller announced his medical retirement from the game.

"Prior to the season last year, I told Coach Day of my intention to kill myself," Miller wrote. "He immediately had me in touch with Dr. Candice [Williams] and Dr. [Joshua] Norman, and I received the support I needed."

Miller also highlighted the support he received from his head coach and the football program that has multiple full-time mental health professionals on staff when he appeared as part of a feature on ESPN's SportsCenter in June:

"Sometimes, it is the matter of life and death," Miller said. "The structure of having a coach like Coach Day, who's receptive, and having a staff like the mental health staff and the things that were in place at Ohio State definitely saved my life."

Day's father died by suicide when the Ohio State coach was just eight years old.

"I do think, as a leader, when you show vulnerability, then you connect with everyone and you show that is OK," he previously said. "If I'm sharing my story and willing to share some personal thoughts, then maybe they’ll be more willing to do so."

He is doing more than just sharing his story, though, and continued to provide financial support on Wednesday.