UNDATED (AP) — The Associated Press has learned an NCAA panel is scheduled to discuss potential changes to eligibility rules that would incorporate age into the process. Two people with knowledge of the situation told AP the proposal would give athletes five years of eligibility with the clock starting at the earliest of two dates: either when they turn 19 or graduate high school. The people did not want their names used because the NCAA hasn’t publicly discussed the proposal.
NEW YORK (AP) — Michigan’s 69-63 victory over Connecticut on Monday night averaged 18.3 million viewers on TBS, TNT, truTV and HBO Max, making it the most-watched men’s NCAA Tournament final since 2019. The audience for Michigan’s first title since 1989 peaked at 20.4 million for the conclusion between 11-11:15 p.m. EDT. It was a 23% increase from the 2024 final on TNT. CBS and TNT started alternating the Final Four in 2016. Overall, the tournament averaged 10.9 million across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. It is the second-most watched March Madness since 1994, which aired entirely on CBS, and a 7% increase over last year.
UNDATED (AP) — Michigan is No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the 2025-26 season after winning the program’s first national championship in 37 years. The Wolverines claimed all 57 votes in Tuesday’s poll in the third year the AP has released its last poll after the completion of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan beat UConn 69-63 in Indianapolis for the program's first NCAA title since 1989. UConn finished second, followed by Arizona, Duke and Illinois. No. 15 Iowa and No. 22 Texas jumped into the poll after reaching the tournament's second weekend.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley says it is time to move past her Final Four skirmish with UConn coach Geno Auriemma that became the talk of the tournament. Staley released a statement on South Carolina’s X account on Tuesday in which she expressed her respect for Auriemma and said the two have spoken since South Carolina’s 62-48 victory on Friday night. The season ended with UCLA’s runaway 79-51 win over South Carolina in Sunday’s national championship game. Staley says “one moment doesn't define a career” and doesn't change the impact Auriemma has made on the game. Auriemma released a statement on Tuesday night again apologizing and hoping to shift the focus on growing women's basketball.
UNDATED (AP) — The value of name, image and likeness deals that can avoid review by the College Sports Commission over whether they are appropriately priced has risen from $600 to $2,500, providing an athlete doesn’t make more than $15,000 total. That's according to a memo the commission issued Tuesday to Division I schools. The CSC was formed to oversee NIL payments to athletes in college sports. The raised amount is expected to allow the commission to act faster in approving deals and focus more on the big-money arrangements between players and third parties that need more scrutiny.
UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA decision to allow former professional players in college hockey has changed the makeup of rosters across the country. A number of former Canadian Hockey League players can now chase an NCAA championship. Nearly 20 players with CHL ties are on the rosters of this week's Frozen Four teams: Denver, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. Coaches say this influx of talent is boosting college hockey's quality.
UNDATED (AP) — Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, Wake Forest’s Juke Harris and Saint Mary’s Paulius Murauskas are among the parade of players entering the transfer portal on the first of 15 days Division I men’s basketball players can go looking for a new school. Bidunga was the Big 12 defensive player of the year and an all-conference first-team pick. Harris was voted the Atlantic Coast Conference’s most improved player after he increased his scoring average from 6.1 points per game to 21.4. Murauskas was the West Coast Conference’s second-leading scorer with 18.4 points per game and had two 30-point games.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell is soaking up his first Masters experience. He played a practice round Monday with PGA Tour winner Jacob Bridgeman. In the evening, he attended an exclusive dinner for amateurs. He even slept in the Crow's Nest, the iconic little apartment inside the clubhouse at Augusta National. Pretty heady stuff for an 18-year-old high school senior. Howell earned his way into the Masters by winning the U.S. Amateur last summer. He's a native Georgian and will be attending the University of Georgia this fall. That means he ought to have quite the cheering section when play begins Thursday at Augusta National.
