Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.
Timme is back in Spokane
Gonzaga forward Drew Timme announced his return to school for his senior season on Wednesday, 45 minutes before the NCAA’s deadline for players to withdraw from the NBA draft and return to school.
Im back
— drew timme (@drewtimme2) June 2, 2022
Timme, a two-time AP Second Team All-American, joins teammates Rasir Bolton and Julian Strawther in announcing their returns to the college game. The Zags also received news this week that Chattanooga transfer Malachi Smith, the Southern Conference Player of the Year, will enroll in Spokane this fall as a transfer, making Gonzaga one of the teams to beat in college basketball once again in 2022-23.
Jimbo and Saban make peace
It was just over two weeks ago that Alabama coach Nick Saban rocked the college football world with blunt accusations against Texas A&M for "buying" their entire recruiting class. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher didn't waste time responding, emphatically saying "we're done" when asked if Saban had reached out to him after his comments became public.
Now, as the SEC spring meetings have come and gone, it seems cooler heads have prevailed. Fisher said this week said that the feud is “over with” and “we're done talking about it.” That echoed Saban's comments from Tuesday that he has “no problem with Jimbo at all” and that he never should have singled out a single opponent. Both coaches agreed that the current NIL structure in college sports is untenable.
If the feud is indeed over between the two coaches, we'll still see how the fans feel when the Aggies roll in to Tuscaloosa on Oct. 8 for a much-anticipated meeting with the Tide.
Changes coming to SEC scheduling
With the addition of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC beginning in 2025-26, the intrigue is high on what changes will be made to scheduling. This week, the SEC announced a new scheduling format for six sports: men's and women's basketball, soccer, men's and women's tennis, and softball.
For men's basketball, the conference will still operate on an 18-game league schedule. With the addition of the Longhorns and Sooners, each team will now have two opponents who they will play home and away yearly, a third rotating opponent played home and away yearly and 12 single-contest opponents split home and away.
On the women's side, teams will continue to play 16 games, with one permanent opponent played home and away each year and the remaining 14 teams played once yearly and split between home and away games.
A new football scheduling format for the conference has not yet been determined.
ICYMI
Buckeye Pipelines: Glenville
Matt Gutridge takes a look at the football factory that produced Ted Ginn Jr., Troy Smith, Christian Bryant, Cardale Jones and Marshon Lattimore, to name a few.
Wolverines Imitate Gold Pants
We laugh at the Wolverines taking a page out of the Ohio State playbook by giving their players charms to commemorate their defeat of the Buckeyes in November.
The Invisible Man
Ramzy Nasrallah shares his favorite three-second memory in Ohio Stadium history: Devin Smith practically coming out of nowhere to catch the game-winning touchdown vs. Wisconsin in 2011.
