Insults Fly in College Sports

Sportico writes, “On college football message boards, ‘poverty program’ has become a popular term for insulting one’s rivals. Coaches are also bickering about money, a topic that would have felt out of place 10 years ago.”

September 8, 2025

Club Sportico: ‘Poverty Program’ Is the Hottest College Football Insult
Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams writes, “NCAA programs big and small existed for decades without a major profit motive. Now, however, money is front and center for everyone involved in the endeavor. Players are being paid directly by their schools, ADs are looking for alternative sources of revenue and recruits are launching bidding wars. Money and success are publicly tied, now more than ever.

“On college football message boards, ‘poverty program’ has become a popular term for insulting one’s rivals. Coaches are also bickering about money, a topic that would have felt out of place 10 years ago.”
^Sportico

NIL Go Corrects Its Data From $80M in Deals Cleared to $35M, Blames Deloitte
FOS’ Amanda Christovich writes, “In a Friday night news dump, the College Sports Commission—the new college sports enforcement entity set up as a result of the House v. NCAA settlement—said it published massively inaccurate data Thursday regarding how many NIL deals have been cleared by the new NIL Go clearinghouse. The CSC initially said Thursday it cleared 8,359 deals for a total value of $79.8 million in the period between June 11, when NIL Go was launched, to August 31.”
 ^{Front Office Sports}

Slow Burn: The NFL’s Private-Equity Era So Far
FOS’ Ben Horney writes, “The NFL became the last of the major U.S. pro leagues to accept private-equity investment when owners voted 31–1 last summer to approve a policy that allows firms to buy minority stakes. The Bengals were the only team to vote against the policy. One year later, though the league hasn’t exactly experienced a PE takeover, three teams—the Dolphins, Bills, and Chargers—have added investors. The league is touting its policy as a win.”
^{Front Office Sports}

YouTube Sees No Major Issues for Chiefs-Chargers
YouTube and parent company Google “have to be pleased” with how the stream of Chiefs-Chargers in Brazil on Friday went. The basics were “done well” and the picture “was clear.” Nobody on social media “reported outages or issues with the quality of the stream” (USA TODAY, 9/6). YouTube “didn’t appear to have any major setbacks in its overall streaming experience.” Pulling off the broadcast “without stepping on any of the many land mines is unquestionably a victory” as the NFL continues to “mull changes in how viewers can and should consume games.”
^{USA Today via Sports Business Journal}

Trump Attendance Delays US Open Final, ESPN Shows Mixed Crowd Reaction
President Donald Trump was greeted by a mix of cheers and boos as he was shown by ESPN/ABC during the national anthem before the US Open men’s final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The final was delayed by 30 minutes due to extra security measures attributed to Trump’s appearance at the event. It was then delayed again, and ultimately started around 48 minutes late. Clips of a slow-moving line to enter the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center prior to the match circulated on social media. 
^{Front Office Sports}

NFL Expected to Add Rio de Janeiro to its Docket of International Games in 2026
CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones writes, “Rio, roughly 270 miles east along Brazil's South Atlantic coast, has hosted major world events over the decades, including the 2016 Summer Olympics and two World Cup finals. Maracanã Stadium would be the host of an NFL game just as it hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2016 Games, and it has a capacity of more than 70,000.”
^{CBS Sports}

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Penn State, Adidas Ink 10-Year Apparel Deal
Penn State and Adidas have “entered into a 10-year agreement” for the company to become Penn State’s “official footwear, uniform, apparel and sideline partner.” The new deal ends what “will have been a 33-year partnership with Nike.” The partnership with Adidas, which “will begin on July 1, 2026,” is valued roughly $300M “over that 10-year period.” That total includes “cash, product, considerations for Name, Image and Likeness, and other benefits.”
^{Centre Daily Times via Sports Business Journal}

Oregon Jumps to No. 4 in AP Top 25 Behind Ohio St, Penn St, LSU; Illinois, Florida State Into Top 10
AP News’ Eric Olson writes, “There was some movement inside the top 10, but the biggest changes came from Nos. 11 to 25.

“Ohio State, whose 70-0 win over Grambling was among a bevy of weekend blowouts, received 57 of the 65 first-place votes from the media panel. Penn State got five first-place votes and LSU two.

“No. 4 Oregon, which thrashed Oklahoma State, received the other first place-vote and flip-flopped with Georgia. The Bulldogs’ uninspired win over FCS foe Austin Peay caused them to slip to No. 6 behind Miami.

“Texas, Notre Dame, Illinois and Florida State round out the top 10, with the latter two teams in the top 10 for the first time this season.”
^{AP News}

Pac-12’s Rebirth Gets Fresh Look With John Madden’s Studio
Sportico’s Jason Clinkscales writes, “The Pac-12 has undergone extraordinary change in the last two years, between losing 10 of its 12 members, gaining nine new member schools next year and inking at least two long-term media partnerships. Another media partner, this time a storied production hub, will give its football broadcast a whole new look and feel in 2025.

“This season, the conference’s pregame, halftime and postgame studio shows will broadcast live from Goal Line Studios, the sound stage built by the late John Madden in Pleasanton, Calif. The 7,000-square foot facility is the largest full-service sound stage in Northern California.
^Sportico

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