Sports
B1G denies Michigan coercion claim over PE deal
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Big Ten Conference pushed back Tuesday on a claim by a University of Michigan regent that commissioner Tony Petitti threatened to punish the school if it refuses to support a plan that would clear the way for $2.4 billion in private investment in the league.
Mark Bernstein, chairman of the Michigan board of regents, told The Associated Press this week that Petitti had attempted to “strong-arm” Michigan in a move he said “calls into question his continued leadership of the Big Ten Conference.”
“The Big Ten conference commissioner has threatened the University of Michigan with penalties if we do not approve this deal,” said Bernstein, declining to provide specifics. “Nobody pushes around the University of Michigan — ever.”
The Big Ten disputed the allegation that any school is being forced to back the plan since discussions began last year.
“After receiving interest from third party investors, we formed a working group chaired by then-President (Santa J.) Ono of the University of Michigan to explore and evaluate all options on behalf of our members and the more than 12,000 student athletes in the Big Ten,” said Maryland President Darryll Pines, chair of the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors. “Since we first met in 2024, this has been a collaborative, fair and thorough process that included the University of Michigan. Any other characterization of the work of the COPC and the conference office is inaccurate.
“At Michigan’s direction,” he added, “the conference continues to work with a consultant retained by Michigan to evaluate the transaction.”
Like all major conferences, the Big Ten has been exploring new revenue streams to help its 18 member schools pay the bills in the new era of college athletics. Every school that opted into the House settlement can share up to $20.5 million this academic year alone with its athletes, a number set to rise in the years ahead. Some dramatic changes have already taken place on some campuses.
Private equity stakes have been a controversial subject for schools and conferences, with critics saying it would put profit concerns into the mix along with concerns about who is in control. The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors opened discussions in July with UC Investments, which handles the University of California’s public pension, on the potential to set up a commercial entity, Big Ten Enterprises, to generate money for all 18 schools through 2046.
UC Investments would give each school a portion of the $2.4 billion up front in a tiered distribution system, in exchange for a 10% cut of the Big Ten’s media rights and sponsorships.
Like Michigan, USC is against the deal as it currently stands. USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen noted that the deal calls for revenue to be “unevenly distributed to members” and was lukewarm in a letter to boosters last week.
“We greatly value our membership in the Big Ten Conference and understand and respect the larger landscape,” she wrote. “But we also recognize the power of the USC brand is far-reaching, deeply engaging and incredibly valuable, and we will always fight first for what’s best for USC.”
UC Investments chief investment officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher said Monday that conference leadership, including Petitti, has shown “exceptional leadership” and “recent misinformation has distorted some aspects of its effort.” He noted that “unity” from all 18 member schools will be “key to the success of Big Ten Enterprises.”
“We also recognize that some member universities need more time to assess the benefits of their participation,” Bachher wrote, without naming any schools. “UC Investments likewise requires some additional time to complete our due diligence as recent developments unfold and we continue to engage with the conference.”
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has asked the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation for an analysis of several key issues facing college sports, including how a deal to bring outside funding into athletic departments might impact their tax-exempt status.
“Legitimate questions have been raised about whether it is time to rethink the tax-exempt regime under which college sports currently operates,” Cantwell said, in reprising a theme she raised with Big Ten leaders last month.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni also expressed reservations about Big Ten schools approving such a deal without input from their boards.
“This is not how responsible governance functions,” the council president, Michael Poliakoff, wrote in an open letter last week.
Bernstein agreed.
“It also raises very important and urgent governance questions regarding leadership of the Big Ten Conference and the way many Big Ten universities make decisions,” he said. “It’s my well-informed impression that most of the presidents, chancellors and governing boards of Big Ten universities have not fully evaluated this deal. If they did, they would not support it in its current form.”
Regent Sarah Hubbard said the Big Ten has not given the school a deadline to vote on the proposal, and another regent, Jordan Acker, said he did not like the idea.
“Having the richest college football conference join arms with private equity is not in my view a positive for the University of Michigan,” Acker said.
Bernstein went a step further, saying the deal is “reckless” and “short-sighted.”
“The process has failed to fully evaluate alternatives that address the very real challenges facing many Big Ten athletic departments,” he said. “We acknowledge that the financial model for most athletic conferences and athletic departments is broken. A bailout from private equity is not the way to fix the systemic problems facing collegiate athletics right now.”
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The girlfriend of a college track and field athlete was arrested for allegedly stabbing her boyfriend to death.
Kevaughn Goldson, a senior sprinter from Jamaica, was killed in a stabbing off Lincoln University’s campus in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Goldson, 23, was found after police were called to a house on Monday morning with stab wounds in his back and chest. He died from his injuries after being taken to the hospital.
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Denita Jackson, 27, has been charged with the murder of her boyfriend, Kevaughn Goldson, 23, after an incident at Lincoln University. (Lincoln University/Cole County Sheriff’s Office)
“Our thoughts are with family, friends, faculty, staff and all who have been impacted by this tragic situation,” Lincoln University told KRCG in a press release regarding Goldson’s death.
“The well-being of our University community is our greatest priority. Students and employees are reminded of counseling and other support services for those who need them.”
Goldson’s girlfriend, Denita Jackson, was charged by Cole County prosecutors with second-degree murder and armed criminal action.
While in a romantic relationship, KMIZ in Missouri reported that there were past issues of domestic violence between the two. Jackson, 27, also ran track and field at Lincoln University.
Investigators questioned Jackson, who allegedly told them she believed Goldson was having an affair with one of her roommates, saying she found him in bed with her, both individuals being clothed, after returning home.
General view of starting blocks and baton at the 120th Penn Relays at Franklin Field. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
Jackson opened her roommate’s locked door with a hairclip after hearing her roommate talking with someone in her room, according to court documents. The docs said that Jackson jumped on her roommate’s bed and grabbed Goldson by the shirt, as well as a bottle of cologne that had allegedly been missing, leading to a fight.
Goldson, then, allegedly started to choke Jackson while on top of her, leading to the latter grabbing a knife from under the bed and stabbing the former.
Jackson was allegedly the one to call police regarding the incident, while authorities initially took Goldson to Capital Regional Emergency Room. He was, then, airlifted to University Hospital, where he eventually died during surgery.
General view of hurdles at a Track & Field event. (C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
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Goldson, who stood six-foot, 160 pounds, was a middle distance runner with the Blue Tigers earlier in his college career before moving into a sprinter role with the program.
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Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi has spoken of his regret over not applying himself in his studies when he was young, particularly when learning English.
The Argentina captain and 2022 World Cup winner admitted that he felt “half ignorant” when meeting famous personalities throughout his impressive career and not being able to communicate.
“I regret many things,” Messi, 38, told Mexican podcast “Miro de Atras.”
“To not have learned English as a boy. I had the time to have at least studied English and I didn’t do it. I deeply regret it.
“I experienced situations where I was with incredible and spectacular personalities to be able to talk and have a chat and you feel half ignorant.
“I always thought: ‘What an idiot, how I wasted my time.’
“When you’re young, you don’t realise it. Today that’s what I tell my children, [the importance of] having a good education, to study and be prepared.
“I always tell my children to take advantage of it. They have a different situation to the one I had although I never lacked anything…”
Messi arrived at Barcelona from his native city Rosario when he was 13.
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“It [my last year of school in Argentina] was a disaster,” he admitted.
“I knew that I was leaving [for Barcelona]. At Barcelona, I finished my high school with the other children that went to [Barcelona’s youth academy] La Masia.”
Meanwhile, Messi, who joined Inter Miami in the summer of 2023 after two years at Paris Saint-Germain, says football has offered him other valuable lessons.
“I was able to do everything and reach the top [in football], but along the way there are many experiences and lessons learned,” the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner said.
“It’s true that football is a way of life. It teaches you a lot, it gives you a lot of values. It creates lifelong bonds. You get to know places.”
South Africa have secured a 16-run victory over Pakistan in a thrilling One Day International encounter of the ICC Women’s Championship series at SuperSport Park, clinching the series 2-1 with a match to spare.
The hosts were made to struggle hard for their unassailable 2-0 lead, enduring a few nervous moments as the visitors launched a spirited pursuit of a daunting target.
Electing to bat first, the Proteas showed confidence from the very beginning of the match with openers Laura Wolvaardt (20) and Tasmin Brits (77) laying a solid foundation.
However, it was Brits who truly shifted the momentum. Her innings of 77 from just 62 balls set the tone for what was to follow.
Following the departure of Wolvaardt and a brief stint at the crease for Faye Tunnicliffe (7), the stage was set for a remarkable middle-order display.
Sune Luus played tactfully, compiling a measured 57, but the day belonged to Annerie Dercksen. In a breathtaking exhibition of power-hitting, Dercksen fell just ten runs short of a century, blasting 90 off 68 deliveries, with the help of six boundaries and and four sixes.
Her partnership with Luus gave the home side a commanding position. Nadine de Klerk’s late flurry, featuring a colossal 90-metre six, compounded Pakistan’s misery, with the tourists’ bowling discipline deserting them at crucial junctures.
Chasing a record target of 361, Pakistan found themselves in early trouble at 24 for two, as Dercksen sent Muneeba back. However, the tourists refused to capitulate.
A resolute third-wicket stand of 97 between Sadaf Shamas and Ayesha Zafar breathed new life into the contest. Zafar’s composed 75 and Shamas’s gritty 61 kept the required rate within reach.
The hosts’ sloppiness in the field, included 30 extras plus 24 wides. When Fatima Sana arrived at the crease, the equation began to look increasingly precarious for the home side. The Pakistan captain struck a defiant 52 from a mere 36 balls, shifting the balance in her side’s favour.
Pakistan’s valiant effort ended at 345 all out in the penultimate over, handing South Africa a hard-fought victory.
The teams will now head to Durban for the final ODI on Sunday.
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