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.
Déjà vu in Lincoln
Even though the Cornhuskers have won only six total Big Ten games in three seasons under his leadership, Nebraska announced Thursday that it will retain Fred Hoiberg for a fourth season as its men’s basketball coach, albeit with a restructured contract that will reduce his salary from $3.5 million to $3.25 million.
Statement from @TrevAlberts & @CoachHoiberg. pic.twitter.com/x8UPudSPpp
— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) February 25, 2022
If those statements from Alberts and Hoiberg look familiar, that’s because they’re pretty close to identical to the statements that Alberts and Scott Frost released after Nebraska announced in November it would retain Frost as football coach with a restructured contract of his own.
Statement from @TrevAlberts & @coach_frost. pic.twitter.com/zrM52u7Equ
— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) November 8, 2021
It’s rarely a good sign when the decision to retain a coach requires a public vote of confidence, but the Cornhuskers have decided to give both Frost and Hoiberg at least one more year to try to turn things around even though both have fallen well short of expectations so far.
Warren, Alliance want playoff expansion (eventually)
Even though the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 were the only three conferences that voted against expanding the College Football Playoff before 2026, their commissioners don’t want to be seen as opponents of expansion.
In an interview with ESPN on Friday, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren and Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff both said they are in favor of eventual playoff expansion, but not until more of the issues surrounding playoff expansion have been resolved.
“There can't be, ‘Well, we'll answer that after we agree that we're going to expand currently, we will answer that down the road,’” Warren told ESPN. “And so I know from where I sit, where the Big Ten sits, I said it very clearly: We are 100 percent supportive of expansion. We think it's the right thing to do. But it has to be at the right time, in the right format, for the right reasons.”
The Alliance commissioners also pushed back on the notion that they are working together to stop playoff expansion. While ACC commissioner Jim Phillips has said “now is not the right time to expand the playoff,” he said the Alliance “isn’t a voting bloc,” so the Big Ten and Pac-12 could vote in favor of future playoff expansion even if the ACC continues to resist expansion.
Joint practices already off the table
Just four days after it was reported that joint practices could be coming to college football, that proposal has already been taken off the table.
The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach reported Saturday that the Mid-American Conference, which initially proposed the legislation that would have allowed teams to practice against each other during the preseason, had already withdrawn that proposal.
The MAC is withdrawing this joint-practice proposal, source tells @TheAthletic. pic.twitter.com/G51aK3ghfx
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) February 26, 2022
While joint practices could have effectively served as preseason scrimmages for college football teams, coaches likely would have been concerned about giving up intel about their teams that could have potentially been shared with opponents.
ICYMI
A Look at How Much Eligibility Every Ohio State Scholarship Player Has Entering the 2022 Season
Having trouble keeping track of how much eligibility every Ohio State player has left? We’ve got you covered for all 91 Buckeyes on scholarship.
E.J. Liddell Fights Through Flu, Recent Hospitalization to Come Up Big in Ohio State’s 86-83 Win Over Illinois
Ohio State’s star forward channeled Michael Jordan and had a Flu Game of his own to help lead the Buckeyes to one of their biggest wins of the year against his home-state school.
Devin Brown Embracing Competition in Ohio State’s Quarterback Room, Looking to Become A Leader Right Away
The Buckeyes’ newest quarterback is saying all the right things and already impressing his new teammates and head coach as he begins his Ohio State career.
What’s Next
- Wednesday-Sunday: Big Ten women’s basketball tournament (Ohio State begins play Friday, 11:30 a.m. on Big Ten Network)
- Thursday-Sunday: NFL Scouting Combine workouts (4 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, NFL Network)
- Thursday: Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Michigan State (7 p.m., ESPN)
- Friday-Sunday: Big Ten men’s hockey quarterfinals (No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Penn State, BTN+; 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. Sunday)
- Saturday-Sunday: Ohio State women’s hockey plays in WCHA Final Faceoff (Semifinal at 5 p.m. Saturday, championship game at 2 p.m. Sunday)
- Saturday-Sunday: Big Ten wrestling championships (10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Big Ten Network)
- Sunday: Ohio State men’s basketball vs. Michigan (12:30 p.m., FOX)
