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Athletes Flock to Inauguration
Sport & Story Daily Jan. 21, 2025: The list of celebrities who attended the inauguration was heavy on athletes and rappers, according to reports.

Athletes and Rappers Among Those Who Attended Pres. Trump’s Inauguration
January 21, 2025

Jasper Colt - USA Today
All the Sports Figures Attending Trump’s Second Inauguration
FOS’ Dennis Young writes, “Despite the inauguration itself moving inside because of cold temperatures, MAGA-friendly celebrities are flooding Washington, D.C. on Monday for the second inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States.
“The list of celebrities attending the inauguration is heavy on athletes and rappers, according to reports from Axios and NBC News, plus social media posts from Washington.”
Sports Business Journal


Notre Dame’s $20 Million CFP Payout Makes It a Winner Already
Sportico’s Lev Akabas writes, “The Irish have earned $20 million for their three bracket wins, far more than any other team in the field. The program received $4 million for qualifying for the CFP, $4 million for advancing to the quarterfinals, $6 million for making the semifinals and $6 million for reaching the national championship game (no additional payout will be given to Monday’s winner). Additionally, the team has received $3 million in each round to cover expenses.
“Typically, these payouts for CFP success go to the conferences rather than the individual universities, but because Notre Dame’s football team does not belong to a conference, it gets to keep 100% of that revenue.”
Sportico
New Colorado Financial Report Shows 'Prime Effect' and Challenges if Deion Sanders Leaves
USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer reports: “The Colorado athletic department reported record revenue and football ticket sales in fiscal year 2024, leading to an $8.2 million ‘profit’ after posting deficits in five of the previous six years, according to a financial report filed by Colorado recently with the NCAA.
“Colorado released the report this week for fiscal year 2024, which covers July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, including the first football season under coach Deion Sanders and also the last full fiscal year for Colorado in the Pac-12 Conference. The Coach Prime Effect of Sanders’ hiring helped lead the department to a record $146.6 million in reported revenue and a record $31.2 million in football ticket sales, which is roughly double the previous school record.”
USA Today
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Getty Images
Chiefs-Texans Delivers ESPN/ABC the Company’s Best Non-Super Bowl NFL Audience Yet
The Chiefs’ win over the Texans on Saturday afternoon in the Divisional round drew 32.7 million viewers on ABC/ESPN, marking ESPN’s best non-Super Bowl NFL audience on record (regular season or playoffs), according to fast-national data. That number could climb north of 33 million when final data comes in later this week.
Sports Business Journal
Unrivaled's First Night Was a Thrilling Success. Can New League Keep the Momentum Rolling?
USA Today’s Safid Deen writes, “We’ll see if the ratings from the opening night translate on a busy sports weekend, where Unrivaled will surely be, well, rivaled by other major sports also in action. The league faces an uphill climb trying to keep fans glued to their screens during the nine-week season.
“During Unrivaled’s second slate Saturday, which will feature Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner in action, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will begin their pursuit of a third consecutive Super Bowl with their first playoff game of the NFL postseason (4:30 p.m. ET).”
USA Today


AP Photo/Rey Del Rio
Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson Agrees to Become Bears Head Coach, AP Source Says
AP News’ Andrew Seligman and Rob Maadi write, “Ben Johnson helped Jared Goff establish himself as one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks. Now, he’ll try to do something similar for Caleb Williams. The Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator has agreed to become the Chicago Bears head coach, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.
“This will be the first head coaching job for the 38-year-old Johnson, who was widely considered the top candidate on the market after spending the past three seasons as the Lions offensive coordinator under Dan Campbell.”
AP News
Brian Schottenheimer is the New Betting Favorite to be the Cowboys' Next Head Coach
Schottenheimer suddenly became the favorite in the market for the next Cowboys head coach at DraftKings. He's a pretty large favorite too, at -250 odds (bet $250 to win $100). Kellen Moore, who was the favorite, went back to +250 odds.
Schottenheimer has been on the Cowboys' staff the past three seasons, the last two as offensive coordinator.
Yahoo! Sports


AP Photo, Lynne Sladkey
Spurs, Pacers Make Their Way to Paris, For a Week Where All Eyes Will Be On Victor Wembanyama
The teams arrived in Paris on Monday, with practices and other events scheduled throughout the week and then the games toward the end. The Spurs were coming straight from the airport to a light workout in Nanterre — on the court that Wembanyama called home when started his pro career in the French league as a 15-year-old.
AP News

IU Athletics Eliminates 25 Positions in Layoffs as it Braces for NCAA Revenue Sharing
IU Athletics endured a round of layoffs this week aimed at reducing costs as it prepares to share revenues with athletes at the start of the 2025-26 academic year, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
The department eliminated 25 positions — 12 were open positions that are not being filled — as it looks to trim 10% of the budget from each of its auxiliaries (compliance, academic services, communications, etc.) and programs.
Indy Star
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