The Weekender: 2023 NBA Draft Entrant Charles Bediako Plays for Alabama, Dabo Swinney Goes Scorched Earth on Ole Miss and 30.1 Million People Watched Indiana Beat Miami

By Dan Hope on January 25, 2026 at 1:35 pm
Charles Bediako
David Leong – Imagn Images
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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.

From the G League to Alabama

The biggest controversy of the week in college sports came in college basketball, where a player who entered the NBA draft three years ago returned to the college ranks after receiving a temporary restraining order against the NCAA that granted him immediate eligibility.

Even though Charles Bediako has played for three NBA G League teams since going undrafted in 2023, a judge in Tuscaloosa County granted him a TRO on Wednesday after he sued the NCAA seeking reinstatement for the rest of the 2025-26 season. Bediako, who previously played for Alabama from 2021-23, initially appealed directly to the NCAA for eligibility, but that request was denied.

The NCAA publicly rebuked Alabama’s efforts to bring Bediako back to college basketball, saying in a statement shortly after the temporary restraining order was granted that “these attempts to sidestep NCAA rules and recruit individuals who have finished their time in college or signed NBA contracts are taking away opportunities from high school students.”

Despite that, Alabama chose to allow Bediako to play anyway when it hosted Tennessee on Saturday. In 25 minutes off the bench, the 6-foot-11 center tallied 13 points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks. But Tennessee won the game, 79-73, leading to some G League-themed trash talk on social media.

A full hearing on Bediako’s request for a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, which will determine whether Bediako remains eligible to play for the rest of the season, is scheduled for Tuesday.

Bediako isn’t the first former NBA draft entrant or G League player to receive collegiate eligibility this season. James Nnaji, who was actually selected in the 2023 NBA draft but has not played in the NBA or G League, was granted eligibility by the NCAA in December. Three former players for G League Ignite, the former G League team that recruited players directly out of high school as an alternative to college basketball, were also granted eligibility by the NCAA this season.

Bediako received his temporary restraining order just four days after Puff Johnson received a temporary restraining order from a Franklin County judge allowing him to play for Ohio State after the NCAA denied his appeal for a sixth year of eligibility.

The key difference between Bediako and those other cases is that Bediako had signed a two-way contract with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. Though he has not actually played in an NBA game, the NCAA’s eligibility rules state that any player who has signed an NBA contract – which the NCAA views differently than a G League contract – is no longer eligible to play college basketball.

Nevertheless, the door has now swung wide open for players whose college careers should be over to regain eligibility through legal means, leaving the NCAA to call on Congress to “step in and empower college sports to enforce our eligibility rules.”

Dabo goes scorched earth on Ole Miss

The other big controversy in college sports this week involved Clemson, Ole Miss and the college football transfer portal. After former Cal linebacker Luke Ferrelli re-entered the transfer portal and signed with Ole Miss after enrolling and starting classes at Clemson, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney accused Ole Miss and head coach Pete Golding of “blatant tampering” during a press conference on Friday.

Swinney spent nearly 19 minutes talking about what happened with Ferrelli and the issue of tampering in college football, presenting time-stamped details of the events that led to Ferrelli leaving Clemson. We already covered those in more detail on Friday, but here are a few of the highlights, per Swinney’s account:

  • Golding texted Ferrelli saying, “I know you’re signed, what’s the buyout?” along with a picture of a $1 million contract
  • Ferrelli’s agent, Ryan Williams, told Clemson that it would give Clemson evidence of Ole Miss’s tampering if Clemson added $1 million to Ferrelli’s NIL deal
  • After Clemson declined, Ferrelli requested to re-enter the transfer portal

“There's tampering and then there's blatant tampering,” Swinney said. “Tampering 101 is when you're talking to kids who aren't in the portal. Tampering 201 is when you've already negotiated the deal when the kid’s not in the portal. Tampering 301 is when you got a kid who's gone in the portal, signed somewhere, moved there, gone to classes, and you still, you're texting them while they're in class. That's like a whole nother level of tampering.”

Ole Miss has not responded publicly to the allegations, but Swinney said he hopes the NCAA takes quick action against the Rebels. He also called on other coaches around the country to call out examples of tampering when they see it.

“I've had a bunch of coaches over the last week that have reached out to me and they're going, ‘Well, let me tell you what's happened to me. Let me tell you what I know. Let me tell you my story.’ I've had a lot of people reach out with their stories, and so I want to challenge all of those coaches that have reached out to me, I want to challenge all of them: You need to step up and call it out. Otherwise, don't complain,” Swinney said. “You either step up, and you be an example to young coaches in this profession and be people of integrity, or just shut your mouth and don't complain again. That's what I would say to all the coaches out there. Because I know this has happened. And we're never going to get this under control until we start having some consequences.”

National championship game draws highest ratings in 11 years

Despite all the drama currently taking place off the field in college sports, Monday night’s national championship game ratings showed that interest in the on-field product of college football is as strong as ever.

ESPN announced Monday that 30.1 million people watched Indiana’s national championship game victory over Miami, making it the most-watched college football game since Ohio State’s win over Oregon in the inaugural College Football Playoff national championship game in January 2015, which drew 33.9 million viewers.

Eight of the 10 highest-rated games in college football for the 2025-26 season involved at least one Big Ten team. Indiana’s national championship and Rose Bowl wins topped the rankings, but Ohio State played in four of the next seven highest-rated games, including the two highest-rated games of the regular season, its wins over Michigan and Texas.

ICYMI

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Ohio State went back to the NFL ranks to hire its new offensive coordinator, bringing in former Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans OC and Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to be its offensive play caller in 2026.

Ohio State Following Formula Presented by Indiana, Miami In Building Older Roster Through Transfer Portal

Indiana and Miami showed this season that experience is key to winning a national championship in the transfer portal era of college football. Ohio State followed that blueprint with its approach to the transfer portal this offseason, as 15 of the Buckeyes’ 17 transfer additions are in at least their fourth year of college football.

Ohio State Ranked Between No. 1 and No. 6 in First Preseason Polls for 2026

Several national media outlets rank Ohio State as the No. 1 team in college football in their initial rankings for the 2026 season. Most major media organizations rank Ohio State in the top two – except ESPN, which has Ohio State sixth in its first rankings for 2026.

What’s Next

  • Women’s Basketball: at No. 10 Iowa, 2 p.m. Sunday (Peacock)
  • Men’s Basketball: vs. Penn State, 7 p.m. Monday (FS1)
  • 223 Days: Ohio State football opens season vs. Ball State
  • 265 Days: Ohio State faces Indiana in Bloomington
  • 307 Days: Ohio State hosts Michigan for The Game
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