Back despite popular demand: Oski Disciple's Question of the Day: I heard someone say they were going to their Psych class. Is that a course that teaches you how to psych people out?
There is much peer-reviewed research on abnormal psychology and mental health disorders. Are you saying it is not a field worthy of study and research?
Around home for the Holidays. Lots of skiing with kids #2 and #3 as this is the first season we've had season passes. Local resort charging $200 for local students for full season pass with no restrictions. Absolute steal!
You know that flu that went around that started with a sore through and settles into an annoying cough? I'm now in my 12 week of it and it has been terrible, but I am getting better. My body has gone to mush as I haven't been able to work out for a third of a year.
On Saturday, the Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies — despite Steph Curry not playing — which gave them their first winning streak since November 22. On Sunday, the Dubs got Curry back and got to host a Sacramento Kings squad that was playing without De’Aaron Fox. It was a chance for their first three-game winning streak since November 15, and just their third of the season.
Really curious to see how well Kings do without Fox in rotation. Though he is 5th in scoring, he is a high volume shooter and I wonder if the Kings may be better off without him and with the addition of some bench depth.
Interesting how so many decry opting out as the demise of CFB, and especially the bowls, yet pro teams opt out of games and the NFL seems to be doing just fine.
The NFL has always done this, it's a new thing for college, hence the hue and cry.
NFL teams are smartly opting out of games for health reasons (if they're in the playoffs) or for younger player evaluations (i.e. really the first scrimmage of 2025). I'm sure NFL fans are fine with both.
College coaches love making it into minor bowl games (as opposed to staying home) primarily because it means X number of additional practices, also building towards next season. But for the college fans, these games are next to meaningless unless your nephew is a 3rd string linebacker for Whatever State University.
That's expectations for you. And it stems from a system where college athletes had very little, if any, economic power. College athletes have historically had zero power to choose when they played. Expectations of fans and media reflect that historical context.
Also a double standard. For one, pro athletes have zero power to control when they play, and for most little control over where they play. And in many cases, less than a lot of college players now.
But in both cases, expectations that reflect a historical context that has had no relevance for several years now.
However, a large portion of college fans have alarmingly little touch with reality and its effects on current and near term future prospects.
Maybe that double standard is set up by CFB players protecting their draft value/stock by avoiding injury in an otherwise meaningless bowl game. CFB players actually have power because they can graduate to the next level (NFL). Pro players don't have that cushion, as it were. There's nothing above the NFL as a player.
The only way in which CFB players can be undercut is if *all* NFL teams would hold the decline to play against a player in the draft and/or contract negotiations.
Nothing like tanking to improve draft position. I think it's dumb given that many teams if not most teams flub their first-round draft pick. Some of the most notorious failed first round selections have been QBs - Ryan Leaf (2nd overall), Jamarcus Russell (1st overall), Trey Lance (3rd overall).
Under the radar great picks have been Joe Montana (3rd Round, 82nd pick overall), Tom Brady (6th round, 199th pick overall), Brock Purdy (Mr. Irrelevant; 7th Round, 262nd pick overall).
Trey Lance started his first and probably his last career game. He went 20/34 (59%) for 244 yards with no TDs or INTs + rushed 6 times for 26 yards.
The three 1st-round picks that Niners used to move up to pick Trey Lance went to Trey Lance (2021), a 2022 pick that went to Miami, then Philly, then Houston where they used it on Kenyon Green - who was awful in his rookie season (last in PFF) and consistently been near the bottom of the NFL in terms of OGs per PFF. The Dolphins forfeited their 2023 as a penalty for tampering.
Who knows who the Niners would have picked, but the Dolphins absolutely squandered their bounty. A good offensive line would have been nice.
DALLAS (AP) Marta Suarez made three 3-pointers and finished with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, Kayla Williams scored 17 points and No. 20 California beat SMU 81-66 Sunday night.
Williams made 7 of 11 from the field, 3 of 4 from 3-point range and had seven assists. Lulu Twidale added 13 points and Ioanna Krimili 10 for Cal (14-2, 2-1 ACC).
It can be confusing. WaPo covers Maryland sports pretty well and don’t always specify which gender the story is about up front. So with hoops, soccer, lacrosse, and others it’s sometimes a paragraph or two before you know who they are writing about.
HONOLULU – The California women's tennis team dominated singles Sunday at the Rainbow Wahine Spring Invitational to complete its first tournament of 2025. The Golden Bears were 7-1 in singles on the last day of the annual Hawaii event, with sophomore Tiziana-Marie Schomburg and newcomer Greta Greco Lucchina each finishing with a 3-0 record at the UH Tennis Complex.
OCEANSIDE – The No. 4 California women's gymnastics team took home a pair of wins on Saturday at the season-opening American Gold Collegiate Classic posting a 196.275 at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside. No. 19 Oregon State finished second in the tri-meet with a 195.775 and No. 10 UCLA came in third at 195.250.
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – Andrej Stojakovic made 11 of 15 shots from the field and scored 30 points but the California men's basketball team fell to Clemson 80-68 Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Going to Saturdsay's game at Haas. Friend is buying and flying as a B-day gift. I have not been on campus for a BB or FB game since Dykes was coaching, sad to say.
Nice, and Happy Birthday! No 2 and I are trying to decide if we do Wed or Sat. Going to check if my friend is going with his dad to either of those games.
The tv guys at Clemson were praising Madsen's offense, but to me every play looks like 20 seconds of weave, then someone goes 1-on-4.
If Wilkinson and Stoyo stick around, we have a few Jrs for continuity next year, and would only need a couple new bodies to fill out the top 5-7. As Mark Fox proved, you can't win w/o talent, so Madsen is at least bringing in some guys who can score. Now he just has to talk them into playing defense (which did improve in the Clemson 2nd half).
Jason Novak has been named the new head athletic performance coach for the California football program, Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox announced Friday.
Novak comes to Berkeley with extensive experience, including most recently serving as director of strength & conditioning at James Madison in 2024 after serving in the same role at Michigan State from 2020-23.
Apparently, on the heels of getting sued by Diego Pavia - the NCAA granted an extra year to current players who played a year at JUCO. For Rogers he had a year of FBS level football where he redshirted at Southern Miss, 2020 at a JC, and then four straight years of FBS level football where he wasn't hurt.
Here's the weird part: 2020 didn't count against Rogers eligibility because it was the Covid waiver year. The word is the NCAA ruling isn't that the JUCO year not count toward eligibility, but instead grants another year of eligibility - which is a huge difference. By playing at a JC during a Covid year, he is essentially getting two years of football for free.
Is there any rule anymore about making progress toward a degree, or am I naive to think that? I remember there was a rule at one point but have no idea if it’s still applicable.
QB room is now JKS, CJ Harris, EJ Caminong. I expect Cal to fish for a QB out of the transfer portal because it is very very rare to have a true freshman be good. Walk-ons Belay Brummel and Andrew Maushardt are still on the roster - but I don't know how safe their spots are on the team now that we have to trim spots to meet the new 105 roster limit.
I'm looking at Cal's 2025 schedule. It won't get any easier than this. Cal (2024 FPI rank: 54) faces at home: Duke (60), UNC (64), SMU (13), UVA (74). Away: BC (52), L'ville (12), Furd (93), VA Tech (37). OOC: @OSU (97), Texas Southern (FCS team that lost to sadsack Rice team 69-7), Minnesota (29), @ SDSU (122)
I could see a game stratagem by Coach Wilcox, or a rash of injuries to someone else, putting 7-5, and therefore 7-6, squarely within reach.
But the Bears are also going to be on depth chart thin ice that makes a couple of key injuries or phantom targeting calls (or 4th down fiascos) the route to 5-7 or 6-7.
I wonder if that's why we seem to be going all-in on coaching staff - next season might be make-or-break for this team getting over the hump to something like 9 wins. If it doesn't happen next year, I think the program is in real trouble, as we have no way to pay for any of this without a winning program.
I think I'm going to go to the BC and/or the Virginia Tech games. I wanna see them play Enter Sandman. From this video I can't see nary a speck of West Virginia blue and gold.
Certification of the election is about all that’s going on here today. There is just under six inches of snow at my condo so most things are closed. Another inch or two may fall when the back edge of the storm passes later. When I was out in the morning one of the deer looked at me like - what’s wrong with you.
When we’ve had enough snow in the past they have often had it near the Capitol. But that area is already fenced off. This is the 15th year for a snowball fight when there’s enough snow.
Looks like they might be in trouble going forward, but WSU has had outsized success in the last decade compared to its attractiveness as a football school. Some shrewd hires by Pat Chun, sure, but I bet that their weekly exposure and mention on College GameDay with 'Ol Crimson flying every broadcast is worth a couple million/year in name recognition.
Liberty continues its tradition of scheduling out-of-conference cupcakes on top of competing in the terrible C-USA conference in its attempt to having a lot of wins when it comes to bowl season. Liberty schedules Maine (2025), Gardner-Webb (2026), and Delaware State (2027).
New Mexico State fires their AD after they prematurely ended their 2022 season and later settled for $8m for two players who were sexually assaulted by three teammates during hazing. In 2022-2023, NMSU had a $37m athletics budget for the entire university so $8m is a lot.
There is a lot of "self-insurance", which means no insurance, but no expense for unlikely mishaps, which can make up for the ones that do happen. At least long enough to mount the 873rd weekly mass email and advertising appeal for ever more investment in the program in some form.
Back despite popular demand: Oski Disciple's Question of the Day: I heard someone say they were going to their Psych class. Is that a course that teaches you how to psych people out?
I took one Psychology class at Cal. What I learned is that Psychology is hogwash.
There is much peer-reviewed research on abnormal psychology and mental health disorders. Are you saying it is not a field worthy of study and research?
my take was the it seems like an inexact science, however clearly the human mind does work in predictable ways .. and it is worth studying
not to mention that i am personally grateful for my therapist and the unique relationship we have.
In the psychology/social welfare class I took, female students told me it was a good class for meeting women. I did find it to be a good class.
And this, kids, is how I met your mother!
Pretty close!
i sat in on a couple undergrad psych classes at Cal. the intro stuff seemed pretty straightforward.
on the other hand i once had a person on my team who had a phd in quantitative psych. she knew statistics better than anyone i know.
Or maybe a class that just watches the TV show?
Actually, how to psych yourself out.
Yes, but you have to psych yourself out with class.
welcome back .. what fun things have people been up to last 2 weeks?
Around home for the Holidays. Lots of skiing with kids #2 and #3 as this is the first season we've had season passes. Local resort charging $200 for local students for full season pass with no restrictions. Absolute steal!
where did you ski?
Wow..that's like 1 day at Tahoe resorts.
Doing the opposite of what this lady has been doing.
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/05/nx-s1-5249090/ultramarathon-every-day-belgian-hilde-dosogne
You know that flu that went around that started with a sore through and settles into an annoying cough? I'm now in my 12 week of it and it has been terrible, but I am getting better. My body has gone to mush as I haven't been able to work out for a third of a year.
just back from 2 wk trip to Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore.
thanks SGBear for good food recs in Singapore. quite the food lovers city.
PRO
Steph Curry returns, but Warriors crushed by Malik Monk and the Kings
https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2025/1/5/24336931/warriors-kings-recap-scores-steph-curry-malik-monk-domantas-sabonis
On Saturday, the Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies — despite Steph Curry not playing — which gave them their first winning streak since November 22. On Sunday, the Dubs got Curry back and got to host a Sacramento Kings squad that was playing without De’Aaron Fox. It was a chance for their first three-game winning streak since November 15, and just their third of the season.
They blew it, and were blown out.
Really curious to see how well Kings do without Fox in rotation. Though he is 5th in scoring, he is a high volume shooter and I wonder if the Kings may be better off without him and with the addition of some bench depth.
Interesting how so many decry opting out as the demise of CFB, and especially the bowls, yet pro teams opt out of games and the NFL seems to be doing just fine.
Well, we don't want CFB to be like the pros, that is the point.
Here's one exception: Cincinnati fans were quite upset that the Chiefs tanked their game against the Broncos.
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article297984823.html
The NFL has always done this, it's a new thing for college, hence the hue and cry.
NFL teams are smartly opting out of games for health reasons (if they're in the playoffs) or for younger player evaluations (i.e. really the first scrimmage of 2025). I'm sure NFL fans are fine with both.
College coaches love making it into minor bowl games (as opposed to staying home) primarily because it means X number of additional practices, also building towards next season. But for the college fans, these games are next to meaningless unless your nephew is a 3rd string linebacker for Whatever State University.
That's expectations for you. And it stems from a system where college athletes had very little, if any, economic power. College athletes have historically had zero power to choose when they played. Expectations of fans and media reflect that historical context.
Also a double standard. For one, pro athletes have zero power to control when they play, and for most little control over where they play. And in many cases, less than a lot of college players now.
But in both cases, expectations that reflect a historical context that has had no relevance for several years now.
However, a large portion of college fans have alarmingly little touch with reality and its effects on current and near term future prospects.
Maybe that double standard is set up by CFB players protecting their draft value/stock by avoiding injury in an otherwise meaningless bowl game. CFB players actually have power because they can graduate to the next level (NFL). Pro players don't have that cushion, as it were. There's nothing above the NFL as a player.
The only way in which CFB players can be undercut is if *all* NFL teams would hold the decline to play against a player in the draft and/or contract negotiations.
Dallas Cowboy's kicker Brandon Aubrey connects with one of his cheerleaders
https://x.com/NFL/status/1875978774652796937
Partially deflected.
Executed the play just like we drew it up.
https://x.com/Broncos/status/1876030865064485343
Matsuyama beats Morkawa by 3 strokes to take the Sentry with a record 35 under.
https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/43302380/matsuyama-sets-pga-tour-scoring-record-35-finish
Morikawa disappoints when he wears red on Sunday.
The Athletic says that the owner of Jets has his teenage sons are part of the team's decision-making.
The 77-year old owner says "nuh-uh".
ESPN and it contact says "yuh-huh".
Aaron Rodgers intimates that its true.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/43308699/jets-owner-woody-johnson-says-teenage-son-brick-no-role-team
I'll bet his 18 year old son has at least 10 years of fantasy football experience under his belt, really all the qualification you need for that job.
Also insight into a significant demographic that a 77 year old wouldn't have,
Rodgers says he wouldn't be surprised if he's cut.
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2025/01/aaron-rodgers-jets-retirement
This is how the Jets' season went.
https://x.com/ZackBlatt/status/1876014178286371002
Jags fire HC Pederson. Pats fire HC Mayo.
I should have said "Kraft says hold the Mayo"
49ers secure 11th pick in the draft after the Cardinals drop nearly 50 on them.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/matchup/_/gameId/401671845
Nothing like tanking to improve draft position. I think it's dumb given that many teams if not most teams flub their first-round draft pick. Some of the most notorious failed first round selections have been QBs - Ryan Leaf (2nd overall), Jamarcus Russell (1st overall), Trey Lance (3rd overall).
Under the radar great picks have been Joe Montana (3rd Round, 82nd pick overall), Tom Brady (6th round, 199th pick overall), Brock Purdy (Mr. Irrelevant; 7th Round, 262nd pick overall).
Trey Lance started his first and probably his last career game. He went 20/34 (59%) for 244 yards with no TDs or INTs + rushed 6 times for 26 yards.
The three 1st-round picks that Niners used to move up to pick Trey Lance went to Trey Lance (2021), a 2022 pick that went to Miami, then Philly, then Houston where they used it on Kenyon Green - who was awful in his rookie season (last in PFF) and consistently been near the bottom of the NFL in terms of OGs per PFF. The Dolphins forfeited their 2023 as a penalty for tampering.
Who knows who the Niners would have picked, but the Dolphins absolutely squandered their bounty. A good offensive line would have been nice.
Indeed, a good offensive line is always nice, if not critical.
Wilcox says huh?
Well, he's free to take that attitude. But it doesn't relieve him of the duty of putting the best possible team out on the field.
CAL
[WBB] No. 20 Cal Stymies SMU
https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/5/womens-basketball-no-20-cal-stymies-smu.aspx
DALLAS (AP) Marta Suarez made three 3-pointers and finished with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, Kayla Williams scored 17 points and No. 20 California beat SMU 81-66 Sunday night.
Williams made 7 of 11 from the field, 3 of 4 from 3-point range and had seven assists. Lulu Twidale added 13 points and Ioanna Krimili 10 for Cal (14-2, 2-1 ACC).
The Bears are 14-2 and 2-1 in the ACC while the Furdies are 8-6, 0-3. Good times.
Oh WBB...at first I thought no way the men's team is doing that well.
It can be confusing. WaPo covers Maryland sports pretty well and don’t always specify which gender the story is about up front. So with hoops, soccer, lacrosse, and others it’s sometimes a paragraph or two before you know who they are writing about.
[WTEN] Cal Dominates Singles To End Visit To Aloha State
https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/5/womens-tennis-cal-dominates-singles-to-end-visit-to-aloha-state.aspx
HONOLULU – The California women's tennis team dominated singles Sunday at the Rainbow Wahine Spring Invitational to complete its first tournament of 2025. The Golden Bears were 7-1 in singles on the last day of the annual Hawaii event, with sophomore Tiziana-Marie Schomburg and newcomer Greta Greco Lucchina each finishing with a 3-0 record at the UH Tennis Complex.
[WGYM] No. 4 Cal Tops No. 10 UCLA, No. 19 Oregon State In Season Opener
https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/4/womens-gymnastics-no-4-cal-tops-no-10-ucla-no-19-oregon-state-in-season-opener.aspx
OCEANSIDE – The No. 4 California women's gymnastics team took home a pair of wins on Saturday at the season-opening American Gold Collegiate Classic posting a 196.275 at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside. No. 19 Oregon State finished second in the tri-meet with a 195.775 and No. 10 UCLA came in third at 195.250.
[MBB] Stojakovic Scores 30 In Loss At Clemson
https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/4/mens-basketball-stojakovic-scores-30-in-loss-at-clemson.aspx
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – Andrej Stojakovic made 11 of 15 shots from the field and scored 30 points but the California men's basketball team fell to Clemson 80-68 Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Going to Saturdsay's game at Haas. Friend is buying and flying as a B-day gift. I have not been on campus for a BB or FB game since Dykes was coaching, sad to say.
Nice, and Happy Birthday! No 2 and I are trying to decide if we do Wed or Sat. Going to check if my friend is going with his dad to either of those games.
Maybe Madsen isn't the coach we were hoping for. Or replacing the whole roster doesn't give them a chance to gel.
The tv guys at Clemson were praising Madsen's offense, but to me every play looks like 20 seconds of weave, then someone goes 1-on-4.
If Wilkinson and Stoyo stick around, we have a few Jrs for continuity next year, and would only need a couple new bodies to fill out the top 5-7. As Mark Fox proved, you can't win w/o talent, so Madsen is at least bringing in some guys who can score. Now he just has to talk them into playing defense (which did improve in the Clemson 2nd half).
20 seconds of weave then someone goes 1-on-4.
I think Fox ran a bunch of dribble handoffs as well. I remember complaining about it.
The NBA does run dribble handoffs, but usually they then go into something else. Like have off ball action like the Ws.
[FB] Novak Named Head Football Athletic Performance Coach
https://calbears.com/news/2025/1/3/novak-named-head-football-athletic-performance-coach.aspx
Jason Novak has been named the new head athletic performance coach for the California football program, Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox announced Friday.
Novak comes to Berkeley with extensive experience, including most recently serving as director of strength & conditioning at James Madison in 2024 after serving in the same role at Michigan State from 2020-23.
Hopefully fewer injuries next year.
this guy, former Cal baseball player, is taking my NLP course this semester
https://calbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/tom-mayer/23532
Go Bears!!!
Wanna hear something weird? Lu Magia Hearns declares for the NFL draft.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DEd8XxIJUtu/
I had such high hopes his freshman year. Kept rooting for him. I think he's got his Covid year so I guess he's deciding to not play CFB anymore.
I don't think he gets the covid year. That was for players who were in college in 2020.
Hey, we got a new QB.
Hey, we got a new super-sized lineman with a bit of baggage on him
https://x.com/moko_jordan/status/1876438685836849402
Hey, we got a new punter
https://x.com/honorebrook/status/1876399083730145698?s=46
Hey, we got a second new QB. Looks like a walk-on, not that this status matters much anymore.
https://x.com/dom_ingrassia14/status/1876396661368672714
Hey, we lost an old QB
https://x.com/_chandlerrogers/status/1876341257166803148
Thought he was a senior?
Apparently, on the heels of getting sued by Diego Pavia - the NCAA granted an extra year to current players who played a year at JUCO. For Rogers he had a year of FBS level football where he redshirted at Southern Miss, 2020 at a JC, and then four straight years of FBS level football where he wasn't hurt.
Here's the weird part: 2020 didn't count against Rogers eligibility because it was the Covid waiver year. The word is the NCAA ruling isn't that the JUCO year not count toward eligibility, but instead grants another year of eligibility - which is a huge difference. By playing at a JC during a Covid year, he is essentially getting two years of football for free.
Is there any rule anymore about making progress toward a degree, or am I naive to think that? I remember there was a rule at one point but have no idea if it’s still applicable.
Oh right, forgot about the Pavia lawsuit.
QB room is now JKS, CJ Harris, EJ Caminong. I expect Cal to fish for a QB out of the transfer portal because it is very very rare to have a true freshman be good. Walk-ons Belay Brummel and Andrew Maushardt are still on the roster - but I don't know how safe their spots are on the team now that we have to trim spots to meet the new 105 roster limit.
If he succeeds, will he stay if a blue blood has an opening in the following season?
Yes
Good to know.
I'm looking at Cal's 2025 schedule. It won't get any easier than this. Cal (2024 FPI rank: 54) faces at home: Duke (60), UNC (64), SMU (13), UVA (74). Away: BC (52), L'ville (12), Furd (93), VA Tech (37). OOC: @OSU (97), Texas Southern (FCS team that lost to sadsack Rice team 69-7), Minnesota (29), @ SDSU (122)
So we'll be 6-6 again.
I could see a game stratagem by Coach Wilcox, or a rash of injuries to someone else, putting 7-5, and therefore 7-6, squarely within reach.
But the Bears are also going to be on depth chart thin ice that makes a couple of key injuries or phantom targeting calls (or 4th down fiascos) the route to 5-7 or 6-7.
I wonder if that's why we seem to be going all-in on coaching staff - next season might be make-or-break for this team getting over the hump to something like 9 wins. If it doesn't happen next year, I think the program is in real trouble, as we have no way to pay for any of this without a winning program.
I think I'm going to go to the BC and/or the Virginia Tech games. I wanna see them play Enter Sandman. From this video I can't see nary a speck of West Virginia blue and gold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC8LLYMp4M4
I definitely doing Louisville. Maybe BC depending on when it is.
i can go to BC pretty easily. would be up for L'ville or VA Tech.
No 3 is coming with me to Louisville for sure and probably No 1. Trying to convince No 2 to fly up as well.
POLITICS
Justin Trudeau resigns as Canadian PM
woah...surprising.
Certification of the election is about all that’s going on here today. There is just under six inches of snow at my condo so most things are closed. Another inch or two may fall when the back edge of the storm passes later. When I was out in the morning one of the deer looked at me like - what’s wrong with you.
Breaking news: Civil conflict erupts in DC near the Capitol Building
https://x.com/ScooterCasterNY/status/1876317795073548531
When we’ve had enough snow in the past they have often had it near the Capitol. But that area is already fenced off. This is the 15th year for a snowball fight when there’s enough snow.
DBD AV CLUB
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
He could have walked on at Cal. And "Heap O Bears" is a hella metal name.
https://tulsahurricane.com/sports/football/roster/walter-young-bear/11621
Looks like they might be in trouble going forward, but WSU has had outsized success in the last decade compared to its attractiveness as a football school. Some shrewd hires by Pat Chun, sure, but I bet that their weekly exposure and mention on College GameDay with 'Ol Crimson flying every broadcast is worth a couple million/year in name recognition.
Liberty continues its tradition of scheduling out-of-conference cupcakes on top of competing in the terrible C-USA conference in its attempt to having a lot of wins when it comes to bowl season. Liberty schedules Maine (2025), Gardner-Webb (2026), and Delaware State (2027).
https://fbschedules.com/liberty-adds-three-opponents-to-future-football-schedules/
Look how pillowy soft their OOC schedule is:
https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/liberty/
Cal plays Clemson at home in 2026. They won't have to face DC Goodwin
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/43309386/clemson-fires-defensive-coordinator-wes-goodwin
New Mexico State fires their AD after they prematurely ended their 2022 season and later settled for $8m for two players who were sexually assaulted by three teammates during hazing. In 2022-2023, NMSU had a $37m athletics budget for the entire university so $8m is a lot.
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/43262419/new-mexico-state-fires-ad-mario-moccia-wake-report-sex-abuse-hoops-program
I assume universities have liability insurance for a host of things, wonder if that's the case here.
There is a lot of "self-insurance", which means no insurance, but no expense for unlikely mishaps, which can make up for the ones that do happen. At least long enough to mount the 873rd weekly mass email and advertising appeal for ever more investment in the program in some form.