Big 12 set to add four more teams
UCF, Houston, BYU and Cincinnati are expected to apply for Big 12 membership next week and then could be approved for admission, according to multiple reports.
Less than six weeks after Texas and Oklahoma announced their impending departure to the SEC, the Big 12 is poised to add four new members in a process that could culminate in one week's time.
UCF, Houston, BYU and Cincinnati are expected to apply for Big 12 membership next week and then could be approved for admission in a meeting of Big 12 presidents Sept. 10, multiple sources told Sports Illustrated.
The league has the eight votes needed for expansion.
In this scenario, the four teams will join the league by 2023 or, at the very latest, 2024, and may even compete alongside Oklahoma and Texas before those two powerhouses depart for the SEC, making for a couple of awkward seasons in a 14-team Big 12.
The timeline is fluid and has been described as optimistic, but not unrealistic. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby has even gone on site visits, most recently taking a trip to meet with Houston officials on Thursday.
UCF, Houston and Cincinnati, the three American Athletic Conference members, are required to give 27-month notice to their league and pay a $10 million exit penalty. In the current timeline, the teams would give a 23-month notice and likely pay an increased exit fee.
BYU is not a member of a conference in football, but must give the West Coast Conference notice for its other sports leaving the league.
Tulsa drops season opener to UC Davis
Isaiah Gomez kicked two of his four field goals in the fourth quarter and UC Davis, an FCS school, stunned Tulsa 1917 in a nonconference season opener on Thursday night.
Gomez gave the Aggies a 13-10 lead with a 22-yard field goal with 8:13 left in the third quarter. Tulsa regained the lead on Deneric Prince's 59-yard TD run to take a 17-13 lead into the final quarter.
But the UC Davis defense stiffened and Gomez did the rest, kicking a 26yard field goal with 11:09 remaining and adding the game-winner from 22 yards out with 7:35 left to play.
Hunter Rodrigues completed 28 of 35 passes for 311 yards for UC Davis, while Jared Harrell had eight receptions for 136 yards.
Davis Brin completed 15 of 28 passes for 201 yards with two interceptions for the Golden Hurricane — runners-up in the American Athletic Conference last season. Prince finished with 151 yards on 14 carries, while Shamari Brooks rushed 10 times for 80 yards.
NO. 4 OHIO STATE 45, MINNESOTA
31: C.J. Stroud passed for 294 yards and four touchdowns, and the Buckeyes kept coach Ryan Day unbeaten in Big Ten play with a victory over Minnesota on a rainy Thursday night. Ohio State trailed at halftime (14-10) for the first time in a regular season game under Day, but time in the locker room was all Stroud needed to settle in. He passed for 246 yards in the second half.
NO. 22 COASTAL CAROLINA 52, THE CITADEL 14: Grayson McCall threw for 262 yards and a touchdown and Coastal Carolina scored on its first seven possessions in a season-opening victory over The Citadel on Thursday night. .
NO. 24 UTAH 40, WEBER STATE 17:
Charlie Brewer threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns in his Utah debut to help the Utes beat Weber State on Thursday night.
NO. 25 ARIZONA STATE 41, SOUTHERN UTAH 14: Darien Butler had two interceptions and No. 25 Arizona State used its punishing run game to overcome some sloppy moments in a season-opening win over Southern Utah.
UCF 36, BOISE STATE 31: Isaiah Bowser rushed 172 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown with a little over four minutes remaining, and UCF rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat Boise State on Thursday night in a game that began almost three hours late because of lightning-caused delays.
TENNESSEE 38, BOWLING GREEN 6: The Vols struggled with just 67 yards rushing and led 14-6 at halftime, but assaulted Bowling Green in the run game in the second half, amassing 259 yards. Jabari Small finished with 124 yards rushing with two touchdowns to give Josh Heupel a victory in his debut as the Vols' head coach.
NEW MEXICO 27, HOUSTON BAPTIST 17: Terry Wilson Jr. completed 20 of 26 passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns and New Mexico, playing its first home game in 642 days, made a winner of second-year coach Danny Gonzales in his home debut Thursday night.
Thunder sign draft pick to multi-year contract
Vit Krejci, the Thunder's 37th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has signed a multi-year contract with the team.
The Thunder announced the signing Friday morning. Terms of the deal were not released, per team policy.
Krejci (pronounced Veet Kray-chee) spent all of last season in Oklahoma City rehabbing from a knee injury he sustained in the 2019-20 season playing for Casademont Zaragoza in Spain.
The 21-year-old wing from Strakonice, Czech Republic moved to Spain when he was 14.
NETS: LaMarcus Aldridge rejoined the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, five months after having to retire because of an irregular heartbeat.
Rahm gains ground on Cantlay at Tour Championship
For the second day in a row, no one had a better score than Jon Rahm at the Tour Championship. That's just what he needed to make up ground on Patrick Cantlay going into a weekend chase for $15 million.
Rahm birdied his last three holes Friday for a 5-under 65. Cantlay birdied his last two holes for a bogey-free 66 to keep one shot ahead.
It's not quite a two-man race for the FedEx Cup with 36 holes still to play at East Lake, though it was shaping up as a possibility. Bryson DeChambeau was the next closest player, and his 67 lost ground Friday. He was six shots behind.
Extra points
BASEBALL: Albuquerque held on for a 7-6 win over the Oklahoma City Dodgers Thursday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Matt Davidson his a tworun homer for the Dodgers and had a sacrifice fly. Greg Bird hit a three-run homer for the Isotopes.
FOOTBALL: The University of Central Oklahoma won its season opener, 24-20, over Missouri Western Thursday night at Wantland Stadium. Bronchos' quarterback Stephon Brown was 17of-27 passing for 189 yards and one touchdown. He also had a team-high 14 carries for 126 yards and one score.
SOCCER: Energy FC seeks its third consecutive win Saturday at Sporting KC II. Match time is 4 p.m. at Children's Mercy Park in Overland Park, Kansas. Energy FC will be without striker Frank Lopez for the remainder of the season after it was announced Friday that he would join Rio Grande Valley FC on loan.
GOLF: Oklahoma State's men's golf team got its fall slate underway on Friday at Pebble Beach Golf Links, posting a 357 total in the first round of The Carmel Cup to finish tied for third place. The Cowboys' 3-under total knotted them with Texas Tech. OSU was a shot behind Mississippi State for second place and two back of Georgia.