Pac-12 football gets rid of its divisions with idea of best teams vying for title
The Pac-12 announced Wednesday it was scrapping its divisional format for the upcoming football season moments after the NCAA Division I Council tossed out requirements that dictate how conferences can determine a champion.
The Pac-12 will now pair the teams with the highest conference winning percentages in its title game after 11 seasons of matching winners of the North and South divisions.
Other conferences are expected to follow, most notably the 14-team Atlantic Coast Conference. The ACC is looking to implement a new scheduling model as soon as 2023.
To have a conference title game, NCAA rules previously required leagues to split into divisions if they could not play a full round-robin schedule. The 10-member Big 12 wound up deciding to resume its title game even without divisions in part to raise the profile of the winner for playoff consideration.
That was clearly on the minds of Pac-12 executives, too.
“Our goal is to place our two best teams in our Pac12 football championship game, which we believe will provide our conference with the best opportunity to optimize CFP invitations and ultimately win national championships,” Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff said. “Today's decision is an important step towards that goal and immediately increases both fan interest in, and the media value of, our football championship game.”
The D-I Council also approved a Football Oversight Committee recommendation meant to aid with roster management, lifting the yearly scholarship cap of 25.
While the maximum of 25 so-called initial counters will be waived for the next two years, the overall scholarship limit of 85 per team in the Bowl Subdivision and 63 in the Championship Subdivision will remain in place. The change, backed by the American Football Coaches' Association, is aimed at helping teams replenish rosters that have been thinned by transfers.
The Pac-12 said its the nine-game conference schedule based on divisions in place for this season will be unchanged, but models for future seasons will be reviewed.
The ACC is considering a 3-5-5 model for football scheduling that would have teams playing three opponents as permanent scheduling partners annually then rotating the other 10 teams over two seasons in the eight-game schedule (five one year, five the next).
The change addresses two issues with the current seven-team divisions and one permanent crossover rival set-up: Conference members going years without playing each other and imbalanced divisions that have at times created lopsided matchups in the league title game.
Without divisions, a conference would be more likely to have its two most accomplished teams in its championship game and improve its chances of having a team or two selected to the College Football Playoff.
The Pac-12 noted that five of its 11 championship game matchups would have been different if the conference had matched its two best teams instead of division winners.
• Ohio State is hiking Ryan Day's annual salary to $9.5 million as part of a two-year contract extension that will put him among the nation's highest-paid college football coaches.
Day's raise makes him the latest coach to crack $9 million per year, making him one of the highest-paid coaches along with Alabama's Nick Saban and Clemson's Dabo Swinney and putting his contract in line with recent deals given to Michigan State's Mel Tucker and LSU's Brian Kelly.
Eagles add cornerback
The Philadelphia Eagles strengthened their secondary, agreeing on a one-year contract with veteran cornerback James Bradberry.
Bradberry, who made the Pro Bowl in 2020, was released by the New York Giants on May 9 for salary reasons. He would have been a $21.9 million cap hit.
Bradberry's deal with Philadelphia reportedly is worth $7.5 million, including $7.25 guaranteed.
Ruud wins in Geneva
Defending champion Casper Ruud eased into the quarterfinals of the Geneva Open, while three seeded players went out in the second round.
The second-seeded Ruud won 6-3, 6-1 against Benoit Paire to confirm his status as the favorite to retain his title after second-ranked Daniil Medvedev was beaten Tuesday by Richard Gasquet.
Third-seeded Denis Shapovalov also lost his opening match, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-3 against Ilya Ivashka.
Ivashka will next face unseeded Joao Sousa who won 6-4, 6-3 against fifthseeded Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Seventh-seeded Federico Delbonis fell to a 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 loss against Thanasi Kokkinakis, who will face Ruud in the quarterfinals today.
Fourth-seeded American Reilly Opelka ended a streak of early tournament exits in Munich, Madrid and Rome by beating Australian qualifier Christopher O'Connell 6-3, 7-5.
Sweden wins shootout
Sweden prevailed in a penalty shootout to edge host Finland 3-2 for its fourth straight victory at the ice hockey world championship.
Emil Bemstrom was the only player to score in the shootout to lift Sweden to the top of Group B in Tampere with 11 points. Finland is a point behind in second.
In Group A in Helsinki, Denis Malgin scored a shorthanded goal and added an assist to lead Switzerland to a 5-3 win over Slovakia. The Swiss top the group with 12 points after four wins from four games.
Canada has nine points in second with a game in hand.
Earlier, Hugo Gallet scored 1:04 into overtime to give France a 2-1 comeback victory over Italy, the team's second win in the tournament.
In another Group B game, Norway beat Austria 5-3 for its second victory.
Italian wins Giro stage
Alberto Dainese became the first Italian rider to win a stage in this year's Giro d'Italia by sprinting to Reggio Emilia to victory in the 11th leg, and Juan Pedro López kept the pink jersey.
On a bizarre note, an accident with a prosecco cork while celebrating his historic stage victory at Tuesday's stage forced Biniam Girmay to pull out of the race.
The Eritrean rider became the first Black African to win a stage at a grand tour when he beat Mathieu van der Poel in the sprint to the line in Jesi in the 10th stage. But he had to be taken to a local hospital after getting injured when he popped a prosecco cork into his left eye during the podium celebration.
Medical tests revealed a haemorrhage in his eye and the team doctor said it was “strongly recommended” he avoid physical activity.
“The news about the incident felt like a cold shower,” said Girmay's team director, Valerio Piva. “It is of course a pity to lose an element like Biniam, but the advice of the medical team is clear and the health of Biniam is our priority.”
Girmay, 22, still celebrated with his Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux teammates when he returned from the hospital.
• Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak was given a one-year ban for displaying a symbol on his uniform supporting the invasion of Ukraine.
Kuliak had taped the “Z” symbol — seen on Russian tanks and military vehicles in Ukraine and embraced by supporters of the war — to his vest for a medal ceremony at a World Cup event in March.