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.
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Colorado quarterback Dominiq Ponder had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit for driving under the influence when he died in a single-car crash, according to the autopsy report from the Boulder County Coroner’s Office. The 23-year-old Ponder was killed in a single-car crash early on March 1 when he lost control on a curve and hit a guardrail. The car struck an electrical line pole and rolled down an embankment. Ponder’s blood alcohol level was .167, according to the autopsy report. The limit is 0.08. There is a lower limit, of .05, for driving while ability impaired.
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.
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.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The transfer portal has opened in college basketball, marking a crucial phase for teams aiming for the 2027 title. More than 1,200 players have already entered the portal, with hundreds more expected. Michigan won the NCAA championship with transfers playing key roles. The Big Ten swept the football championship and both Division I basketball titles this year.
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.
PHOENIX (AP) — Cori Close and the UCLA Bruins are going to have to work hard to repeat as champions. They lose their top six players to graduation after putting on one of the most dominant performances in championship history to win their first NCAA title and second overall, routing South Carolina by 28 points. But with the transfer portal opening Monday, the UCLA coach can build a new team quickly. Close has said that the school will be very active, looking to add five players. Challenging the Bruins will be the runner-up Gamecocks and coach Dawn Staley. The Gamecocks will be one of the favorites for the title when the Final Four moves to Columbus, Ohio, next year.…Read more by AP