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.
BIG TEN SWEEPS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
It has been quite the year for the Big Ten. And naysayers from the SEC don’t have much ground to stand on when arguing which conference is at the pinnacle of college athletics, currently.
After Indiana claimed the conference’s third consecutive championship in football — following Ohio State and Michigan in 2024 and 2023, respectively — the Big Ten added a pair of championships in basketball in the past week.
On the women’s side, UCLA took down a pair of SEC titans in the Final Four to claim the Big Ten’s first title in women’s basketball since 1999. The Bruins defeated Texas 51-44 in a semifinal slugfest before blowing out South Carolina 79-51 in the national championship.
With the win, the Bruins became the second Big Ten team to claim the national championship, with Purdue’s 1999 title being the only other championship for the conference in women’s basketball.
! #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/sN4kODldam
— UCLA Women's Basketball (@UCLAWBB) April 5, 2026
One day later, Michigan ended another drought for the Big Ten in basketball.
The Wolverines became the first Big Ten team to win the men’s basketball national championship since 2000 after holding off UConn 69-63 to win the title. The Wolverines joined in-state foe Michigan State as the only Big Ten teams to win men’s basketball titles in the 21st Century.
The Kings of College Basketball pic.twitter.com/qacnltTMEV
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) April 7, 2026
With Michigan and UCLA bringing home respective titles, the Big Ten became the first conference to sweep titles in basketball since the American Athletic Conference in 2014, when UConn won both the men’s and women’s championships.
The Big Ten has also picked up national championships in field hockey (Northwestern), men’s soccer (Washington), men’s wrestling (Penn State), women’s hockey (Wisconsin) and men’s water polo (UCLA) this year.
MICHAEL MALONE HIRED AT UNC
North Carolina has found its man.
Former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone will be the next head coach of the Tar Heels, after the university parted ways with Hubert Davis on March 24.
It's official. pic.twitter.com/RJ0QCAbH7j
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) April 7, 2026
Malone served as head coach of the Nuggets from 2015 to 2025, leading the organization to its first NBA title in 2023. In Denver, Malone amassed a record 471-327, including six consecutive playoff appearances. Malone also spent two seasons as the head coach of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2015.
Malone has never been a head coach at the college level; he served as an assistant at Oakland, Providence and Manhattan.
Just to list a few. pic.twitter.com/66mvDjJg6n
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) April 11, 2026
The Tar Heels are coming off a 24-9 season in 2025-26, which ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after North Carolina blew a 19-point second-half lead to VCU. That loss paved the way for Davis’ dismissal from the program, after he captured a 125-54 record as head coach of his alma mater.
DUSTY MAY RECEIVES A NEW CONTRACT FROM MICHIGAN
After leading Michigan men’s basketball to the program’s first national championship since 1989, head coach Dusty May received a new contract that will tie him to the program “for many years to come.”
Announced by Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel during the team’s NCAA Tournament Championship Celebration, details of May’s new contract are yet to be revealed.
May has led a near-immediate turnaround in Ann Arbor, leading the Wolverines to a 37-3 record en route to the national championship in just his second season at the helm of the program, after he inherited an 8-24 team in 2024. May is 64-13 across two seasons at Michigan.
Overall, May is 190-82 in his career, which also includes a trip to the Final Four as head coach of FAU in 2023.
ICYMI
OHIO STATE SAFETY JAYLEN MCCLAIN STEPPING UP AS VOCAL LEADER IN SECOND SEASON AS STARTER
Entering his second season as a starter and with Caleb Downs off to the NFL, safety Jaylen McClain seeks to become a vocal leader in Ohio State’s secondary.
JA’KOBI JACKSON LOOKING TO FINISH SEVEN-YEAR COLLEGE FOOTBALL CAREER STRONG AT OHIO STATE
As Ja’Kobi Jackson enters his seventh year of college football, he looks to leave a mark on the Ohio State football program.
Ohio State star receiver Jeremiah Smith received plenty of attention this offseason from suitors across the country, but he never wavered away from the Buckeyes.
WHAT’S NEXT
- 146 Days: Ohio State football opens the season vs. Ball State
- 188 Days: The Buckeyes face Indiana in Bloomington
- 230 Days: The Game
