National Sports

National sports stories from The Associated Press.

Courts hand NCAA major loss on five-year eligibility rule

DENVER (AP) — A federal court dealt a perhaps chaos-inducing blow to the NCAA's new eligibility rule Friday when it ruled that all high school class of 2022 athletes who exhausted their fourth season of college eligibility this spring are eligible for a fifth season this school year. The ...

Big Ten claims conference supremacy, calls top-heavy reputation unfair

In the debate over which college football conference is strongest, the Southeastern Conference argues its superior depth makes up for the Big Ten winning the last three national titles. The Big Ten calls its reputation as a top-heavy conference unfair. Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti ...

Female athletes surge in NIL deals as Learfield reports a 123% jump in participation

College sports marketing company Learfield saw a 123% increase in female athlete participation in name, image and likeness compensation activities over the 2025-26 fiscal year, the company revealed in a report released Tuesday. Solly Fulp, Learfield's head of NIL, doesn't think the rapid ...

Duke-Michigan rematch scrapped over broadcast rights

One of the most anticipated nonconference matchups of the upcoming NCAA basketball season between Duke and reigning national champion Michigan has been called off because of broadcast rights issues. Duke will instead face Texas Tech on Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden, multiple media outlets, ...

NCAA Division II panel pushes shift to age-based eligibility this year

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NCAA Division II athletes would move immediately to the age-based eligibility model adopted in Division I under proposed emergency legislation announced Tuesday. The Division II Management Council recommended the division's executive board adopt the model that would ...