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Even the most stubborn owners of a failing business eventually must face the facts that their business may never become profitable.

LIV Golf is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).  The oil-rich nation’s investment conglomerate is worth more than $1 trillion.  It holds a variety of assets which are generally expected to deliver a reasonable rate of return to the fund.

To date, LIV Golf has run through an estimated $5 billion of Saudi PIF funds during its first four years of operation.

The sports media (chasing rumor after rumor hoping for bad news) pounced on a story this week that the Saudi PIF may be ending their support for LIV Golf soon.

How soon?  No one knows.

That hasn’t stopped the anti-LIV Golf crowd from generating headlines about a looming closure of the upstart league.

LIV Golf president Scott O’Neill emerged Thursday prior to the opening round of the tour’s event in Mexico City to say that the league is fully funded through the August, 2026 season ending events.

He was asked, “What about next year”?  No comment.

At some point, every business needs to be able to stand on its own.  The Saudi group was initially excited and proud to begin a worldwide professional golf operation.  It hoped to rival the PGA Tour and the DP World (European) tours.

Losing $1 billion per year only amounts to about 1% of the Saudi PIF assets.

Make no question about it, the Saudis’ investment in LIV Golf has become a giant money pit with no end in sight.

How did we get here?

By early 2022, the Saudi PIF hired golf legend Greg Norman to put together a new worldwide golf league.

Norman dangled plenty of bonus signing money (well over $100 million in several cases) to lure some of the PGA Tour’s biggest stars to jump leagues that spring.

At least $1 billion would eventually be paid just to have these players under contract for three to four years (depending on each player’s negotiated deal).  American golf stars such as Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, and Bryson DeChambeau all made the leap to LIV Golf.

The new LIV Golf League initially offered tournament purses of $25 million (now up to $30 million) to a field of just 54 (or so) players.  That was nearly three times the $8 million average tournament purse being offered by the US-based PGA Tour.

Each LIV event (prior to 2026 when the league went to a 72-hole format) initially featured a 54-hole competition.

Reminder – LIV is the number 54 in Roman numerals. 

In addition to individual titles, LIV golfers also participate on a season-long four-man team.  Every tournament pays an extra $5 million to the three teams posting the lowest total scores for the week.

It appeared that money seemed to be no object to the Saudi PIF.  Each year has seen insufficient revenues to cover massive losses.

LIV Golf plays more than half of its events outside of the United States.  That presents a big problem in trying to attract a US television audience.

A tournament in Singapore, Australia, or South Africa will be played in a time zone which makes “live” TV coverage in the US quite unattractive to home viewers.  Who is going to watch golf on television during the overnight hours?

LIV Golf’s actual on-air television coverage itself (which I find more interesting to watch than most PGA Tour events) has been hampered by poor distribution.

The year 2025 brought the current television deal with FOX Sports. 

However, finding LIV Golf on television from day-to-day on one of several different FOX outlets is akin to playing “Whack-a-Mole” daily.

It’s quite confusing and almost as if FOX is intentionally trying to bury the golf coverage.  See for yourself at this link.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund spent at least $1 billion just for signing bonuses for the players.  LIV Golf has then lost about $1 billion per year on bloated tournament purses and oversized operating expenses.  Television audiences have been shrinking (primarily due to lousy TV placement) instead of growing.

The trends are not the friends of LIV Golf.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”

That saying is often attributed to genius Albert Einstein.  It definitely applies to the Saudi owners of LIV Golf as Season #5 nears the halfway point.

The media pounced on information which surfaced this week that LIV Golf is likely “toast” – perhaps even before the end of this season in late August.

The usual suspects (including LIV Golf’s biggest “hater” – Brandel Chamblee at Golf Channel) have reacted with “I told you so!” glee.

Not me. I fully admit to have been rooting for LIV Golf to find its niche in professional golf.

Remember the ABA?

My youthful self in the 1970’s was a big supporter of the American Basketball Association. I still shoot hoops with my ABA red, white, and blue basketball!

The ABA’s innovative three-point shot helped to make its basketball games rather unique and more fun.  This creative new league also placed an emphasis on higher-scoring contests in contrast to the NBA’s more deliberate playing style of the 1970’s.

The ABA placed franchises into growing markets such as Denver, San Antonio, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, and Louisville.  Yes, there were numerous franchise failures in the ABA.  The league was woefully undercapitalized and lost millions trying to play in weak markets.

ABA franchises outbid the NBA for the services of future Hall-of-Fame stars like Julius (Dr. J.) Erving, Moses Malone, George Gervin, Rick Barry, Dan Issel, and David Thompson. The league also attracted a younger audience to games and on television to watch the league’s higher scoring and entertaining contests.

In 1976, four ABA teams (Denver, San Antonio, Indianapolis and the Virginia Squires-turned New York/New Jersey Nets) agreed to join the NBA.  Salt Lake City was able to lure the NBA’s Jazz away from New Orleans to Utah a few years later in 1979.

Some basketball fans laughed at the ABA’s basketball.  Many traditionalists made fun of the ABA’s 3-point line.

Years later, it was the NBA which added four key ABA franchises and the league’s 3-point shot.

Yes, the ABA helped to shape today’s NBA.

Likewise, PGA Tour golfers have benefited from the presence of LIV Golf

LIV Golf started poaching golfers away from the PGA Tour in 2022. 

Almost immediately, the PGA Tour began raising its tournament purses to keep other remaining golf stars from contemplating their own exit to LIV.

LIV Golf’s limited its fields to 54 (or so) golfers with “no-cut” events.  That insured every player would receive a minimum paycheck for their weekly efforts.

By contrast, most PGA Tour events begin with a field of 144 to 156 golfers.  Half of the field is cut after the opening 36 holes. Those sent home early leave without earning a dime for their troubles that week.

Taking its cue from LIV golf’s star-laden but smaller tournament fields, the PGA Tour began creating several “no cut” tournaments a few years ago featuring only the highest ranked 70 golfers.  That type of event may not have occurred without LIV Golf’s competitive presence.

Some media critics have laughed at LIV Golf’s 4-man team competitions within each tournament.

Perhaps the media should take note that the TGL (Tomorrow’s Golf League) recently concluded its second year of indoor golf competitions.  This popular weekly made-for-television golf series features four-man teams comprised of top PGA stars!

Let’s see.  Higher purses, smaller “no cut” fields, and team competitions. 

None of those were on the scene for PGA players prior to LIV Golf’s entry in 2022.

Truth – LIV Golf has been a flop in the US

Competing in the United States against the established PGA Tour has been tougher than expected for LIV Golf.  Few top US golf courses have been willing to commit to months of course preparation and the financial obligations required to host a top-level men’s golf tournament.

Several LIV Golf events in America have come and gone since 2022.  Cities like Houston, Dallas, Miami, Tulsa, and Chicago have hosted a LIV Golf tournament in previous years but not in 2026.

This year’s remaining LIV Golf schedule brings the tour to several US markets.  LIV plays in northern Virginia/DC metro (May 7-10), New Orleans (June 25-28), New Jersey/NYC metro (August 6-9), and Indianapolis (August 20-23).  The LIV team competition season finale is in Detroit (August 27-30).

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and his economic development team have invested $5 million of state taxpayer dollars to pay LIV Golf to play its June 25-28 event at the newly renovated Bayou Oaks at City Park (formerly City Park South).  An additional $2 million is being spent right now to prepare this venerable public golf course for the upcoming LIV Golf tournament.

Pinocchio would chuckle knowing that the Pelican State officials claim that the LIV Golf New Orleans event is going to inject $40 million into the local economy during late June.

As a former resident of the New Orleans area, locals know why major hotels are readily available and cheaper during the summertime.  It is exceptionally hot and steamy in the Crescent City by late June.  The conditions may be miserable for both golf fans and the players.

Regardless, the State of Louisiana is now holding its collective breath that LIV Golf won’t shut down operations prior to playing its inaugural New Orleans tournament in two months.

Around the world, LIV Golf has been more successful

Sold-out LIV Golf tournaments in Australia and South Africa this spring brought LIV’s group of top golf stars to golf-starved countries.  Fans openly welcomed the LIV Golf stars and seemed to enjoy the league’s party-like atmosphere.

LIV Golf’s 2026 schedule has taken the golfers to Saudi Arabia (of course), Hong Kong, Singapore, and, this week, Mexico.  Upcoming overseas events are scheduled for South Korea (May 28-31), Spain (June 4-7), and the United Kingdom (July 23-26).

The costs of taking the LIV Golf’s traveling show via jet to tournaments around the globe is staggering.  PGA Tour events in the US are usually scheduled within a one-day driving distance.  That reduces transportation costs for the television broadcast trucks, crews and players.

The clock is ticking for LIV Golf

Let’s give LIV Golf a mulligan for its first two years of operation.  Since then, the losses have continued to be unsustainable.  By any reasonable measure, LIV Golf should cut its losses and end operations by the end of the 2026 season in late August.

Perhaps the Saudi Public Investment Fund might forge a partnership with the DP World Tour to bring men’s golf to worldwide locations where LIV Golf has performed well.

The top names in LIV Golf have been paid multi-million dollar signing bonuses.  They’ll be fine.  The remaining talented golfers at LIV Golf will find another home to play professionally soon.

Just like basketball’s ABA did for the stalwart NBA, LIV Golf has made a lasting impact upon professional golf and, especially, the PGA Tour.

The post LIV on Life Support appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

So much for playing a (potential) 20-game football season this year for Louisiana Tech University!

Bulldogs fans can breathe a rather expensive $8 million sigh of relief after the school and Conference USA have apparently come to terms on a long-awaited exit agreement.

This will allow Louisiana Tech to officially begin play in the Sunbelt Conference beginning with this fall’s college football season.

The national news media enjoyed a not-that-funny field day making jokes about how Louisiana Tech might play a 20-game schedule this fall.  Conference USA and the Sunbelt Conference each released their football schedules in March which featured the Bulldogs participating in games in both conferences this fall.

It started when Conference USA posted a 2026 fall football schedule on March 12 which included Louisiana Tech.  The Bulldogs have been a part of Conference USA since 2013. 

However, the school gave notice to C-USA last summer that the Bulldogs intended to leave and join the geographically-closer group of schools in the Sunbelt Conference.

Not to be outdone, the Sunbelt Conference released its own 2026 fall football schedule – including Louisiana Tech – the following day on March 13.

A quick review of those two football schedules meant that the Bulldogs might have to play a 20-game football schedule this fall!

A very creative sportswriter in Shreveport recently came up with a plan where Louisiana Tech could possibly play all 20 games this fall by utilizing a split-squad on a couple of occasions.  With 20 possible football games, the Bulldogs might be able to post the school’s first 10-win season and secure a top bowl invitation!

The deal is not official – yet

A few news outlets reported Tuesday that Louisiana Tech will open its wallet to pay Conference USA over $8 million to exit the league in order to join the Sunbelt Conference this fall.

If you would like some history as to how this began, check out my previous posts here and here.  In recent weeks, Louisiana Tech and Conference USA have been at the negotiation table trying to settle this matter via arbitration.

Neither Louisiana Tech nor Conference USA have officially announced this settlement agreement or its terms.  Many negotiated settlements include certain provisions which the two parties are required to keep confidential.

We may never know the actual amount or how long Louisiana Tech has to pay it.

Given the size of the reported settlement, the smiles seem more likely to be coming from Conference USA and its attorneys as many expected the final amount to be in the range of $4-5 million.

What is $8 million worth to Louisiana Tech?  Plenty!

The Knight Foundation college athletics database showed Louisiana Tech’s total athletics spending in 2024 was $33 million.  Football amounted to $9 million or 27% of the total.

By contrast, Louisiana’s football giant LSU showed athletics spending of $221 million in 2024. 

Football expenditures were $60 million of the total.

To my surprise, football at LSU consumed the same 27% of the total athletics budget as Louisiana Tech’s.

Unlike Louisiana Tech, though, LSU’s expensive athletics program has been turning a profit for decades. 

The Ruston-based Bulldogs have gone into the red in several recent years.

That’s why Louisiana Tech’s willingness to pay a $8 million price tag to exit Conference USA is a bit surprising.

Why did Louisiana Tech agree to pay up?

The school’s national reputation was on the line if a deal wasn’t consummated this spring.

Conference USA’s agreement with Louisiana Tech had specific requirements which the school had to meet in order to exit the contract before its scheduled termination.  One stipulation involved Louisiana Tech giving a minimum notice (rumored to be 14 months) prior to exiting C-USA.  Another required Louisiana Tech to forfeit two years of its share of C-USA media revenues (estimated to be at least $2 million or more per year).

For its part, Louisiana Tech watched as former Conference USA members Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss locked hands and broke away together to join the Sunbelt Conference in 2022.

Not only did the exiting trio appear to give less prior notice than Louisiana Tech provided, the word leaked that each party had paid Conference USA about $3 million apiece in order to walk away.

It’s quite possible that the leadership at Louisiana Tech expected similar treatment.

One thing which most media sources have failed to consider is Conference USA’s current television/media deal with ESPN and CBS Sports Network.

The new arrangement began in 2023 – one year after Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss had already walked away.

The current media contract may have included a provision to reduce the annual media revenues to C-USA should any of the league’s then-current members (such as Louisiana Tech) leave the conference prior to the end of the latest media contract.

Perhaps Conference USA demanded Louisiana Tech to compensate the remaining group of primary Conference USA members for several years of lost media revenues.

Even at $8 million, should this be considered a good deal for Louisiana Tech?

In the short term, it appears that the proverbial cart got before the horse.

The $8 million price tag was a very steep price to pay for a school leaving a declining mid-major athletics conference to join a rising mid-major conference like the Sunbelt.

Anyone looking to point fingers should start with Louisiana Tech’s decision makers.  Many openly expressed their desire to join the Sunbelt Conference months ahead of the official announcement last July.  Nearly everyone wanted to see the Bulldogs renew their old rivalries, save significantly on travel expenses, and retain top athlete-students.

This fall’s move to the Sunbelt Conference will be a very positive moment for Louisiana Tech athletics.  The $8 million price tag must be amortized over a period of more than just a few years in order to feel better about the short-term financial pain.

I have been a long-time critic of Conference USA’s rinky-dink October mid-week college football games. 

Bulldogs fans cringed as their Saturday home games were moved to Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday nights during October purely for television.

This was done to quench the media’s insatiable desire to show competitive football on television (and reap the advertising benefits) seven nights per week during fall’s pre-Christmas advertising blitz.

Sports fans of the ULM Warhawks and Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns will be thrilled to have Louisiana Tech join their athletics conference.  Those two Sunbelt schools will see higher attendance and lower travel costs for all sporting events involving Louisiana Tech beginning this fall.

The unfortunate downside of this expensive buyout is whether Louisiana Tech failed to fully understand its existing contract agreement with Conference USA.

Someone at the school had to have established a value representing the worst-case scenario of the potential exit costs prior to making a deal to join the Sunbelt Conference.  A good attorney should have flagged the potential worst-case possibilities as well.

It appeared that the school expected to make a reasonable exit deal ($3 million) similar to what Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss accomplished in 2022.

Last July’s announcement decision by Louisiana Tech to join the Sunbelt Conference “no later than 2027” almost immediately started the clock running on legal fees.

Conference USA sued Louisiana Tech in state court months later in November.  Tech countered with their own suit against C-USA in early 2026.  Recent weeks of arbitration and settlement discussions have been ringing up even more legal bills.

In the end, Conference USA “won” its $8 million, but that’s about it

Nothing against other long-time Conference USA members such as Western Kentucky, Florida International, and Middle Tennessee State, but Louisiana Tech carried the most recognizable national sports footprint in C-USA in recent years.

Conference USA will no longer be able to claim the school whose athletics history includes Hall-of-Famers such as football’s Terry Bradshaw and Willie Roaf.

The same goes for basketball Hall-of-Famers Karl Malone and women’s point guard-turned-four-time national championship coach Kim Mulkey.

Conference USA’s far-flung geography was a big factor in Louisiana Tech’s decision to move to the Sunbelt.  Liberty University in Virginia and the University of Delaware are both more than 1,000 miles northeast of Ruston, Louisiana.  To the west, New Mexico State in Las Cruces is 936 miles away.

By contrast, Louisiana Tech will become a member of the Sunbelt Conference Western Division.

That means playing intrastate rivals UL-Monroe (35 miles east of Ruston) and UL-Lafayette (185 miles to the south).  Other Sunbelt West partners include Southern Miss in Hattiesburg (240 miles), Arkansas State in Jonesboro (300 miles), South Alabama in Mobile (340 miles) and Troy (440 miles away in southern Alabama).

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs sports teams spent $5 million during 2024 on game expenses and travel as a member of Conference USA.  The school could save $1 million or more annually on reduced travel expenses as a member of the Sunbelt Conference Western Division.

Louisiana Tech sports fans will now get to enjoy a Saturday, October 10 home college football visit from in-state rival UL-Lafayette.

The following week will have the Bulldogs taking a short trip down I-20 to Monroe.  This much-anticipated football game against the ULM Warhawks will fill Monroe’s Malone Stadium on Saturday, October 17.

Had the Bulldogs remained in Conference USA, their October football schedule would have included a Thursday night game followed by three consecutive Wednesday night contests.  The league’s annual “made-for-midweek-TV” October schedule would make any serious football program want to leave C-USA at the first opportunity.

In all fairness, the move to the Sunbelt wasn’t likely worth $8 million, either.

At least this year’s new Sunbelt football schedule (especially during the month of October) will be a nice down payment to build years of renewed fan interest in Louisiana Tech athletics.

Go, Dogs, Go!

The post Go, Dogs, Go! appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Congratulations are in order to Sunday’s back-to-back Masters’ winner Rory McIlroy.

His 12-under par total was good enough for a one-shot win over Scottie Scheffler.  He won a second Masters’ green jacket for his closet.

It was McIlroy’s sixth career Grand Slam win.  That moved Rory into a tie for 12th place all-time with golf legends like Lee Trevino, Phil Mickelson, and Nick Faldo.

Rory McIlroy also became the fourth member of an elite golf club who have won The Masters in back-to-back years. 

Jack Nicklaus (1965 and 1966), Nick Faldo (1989 and 1990), and Tiger Woods (2001 and 2002) make for pretty good company, indeed.

Ironically, Rory McIlroy finished at the same score relative to par (12-under) that he posted through Friday as Round 2 concluded.  He led by a record six shots at the halfway point of this golf tournament.

Marketing executives at CBS Sports and Golf Channel were sweating bullets on Friday night

The media bosses feared that Saturday’s third round might lead to an insurmountable (and very boring) final round on Sunday if McIlroy was up by six or more strokes after Round 3. 

The Masters usually delivers golf’s biggest television audience of the year.

Fortunately for a very nervous media, Rory’s good fortune on Thursday and Friday turned into a “hold on for dear life” weekend of golf survival playing in the trees.

Northern Ireland’s top golfer watched his six-shot lead completely evaporate as Round 3 drew to a close Saturday.  He went into Sunday’s final round tied with the unshakably steady Cameron Young at -11.  More than a dozen other top golfers had moved within five shots of the lead.

But no one in the 2026 Masters field mounted a back nine charge on Sunday!

Former Shreveport and LSU golfer Sam Burns briefly joined McIlroy and Cameron Young at the top of the leaderboard at -11 Sunday after carding a birdie on his opening hole.  Unfortunately, a double bogey 7 on the par-5 second hole quickly dropped Burns from the top of the leaderboard. 

He never recovered but still finished the tournament at 9-under par and in a tie for seventh place.

LIV Golf’s Tyrell Hatton started Sunday seven shots behind the leaders.  Even with two bogies during his final round, Hatton posted four straight birdies at one point in his round.  He finished with a nifty 66 on Sunday to post a 10-under par total and tied for third place.

Georgia native Russell Henley posted a brilliant 3-under score on the front nine and found himself just one shot off the lead at -10 at the turn.  Unfortunately, Henley (like so many others chasing the lead) failed to capitalize on the two par-5’s on Augusta National’s back nine holes.  He finished at ten under par and tied for third.

Cameron Young (a recent winner of The Players Championship) took the lead alone at -12 at the second hole after posting a birdie.

Unfortunately, that would be one of just two birdies made by Cameron Young during his final round.  He stayed close all day Sunday but consecutive bogies at holes #6 and 7 dropped him out of the lead.  Young missed numerous opportunities on the back nine. He would par every hole from #10 through 18 to finish -10 and, yes, tied for third place.

Perpetual contender Justin Rose finished second last year to Rory McIlroy after a playoff.

On Sunday, Rose mounted a mid-round charge to take briefly claim the lead at -12 after converting three straight birdies.  The patrons at Augusta National were solidly behind 45-year old Justin Rose as he was trying to claim his first green Masters jacket.

Unfortunately, Rose posted consecutive bogies at #11 and 12 to drop out of the lead for good.  He failed to birdie either of the two remaining par-5 holes and finished in a four-way tie for third place at ten under par.

Two-time Masters winner Scottie Scheffler started the final weekend on Saturday trailing by a whopping ten shots at 2-under par.  He shot a near-perfect bogey-free 67 on Saturday. Scheffler began the final round at -7 and only four shots behind the leaders.

Scottie Scheffler started slowly on Sunday.  After posting a birdie on the par-4 third hole, he then parred 11 straight holes and seemed unlikely to mount a late charge.  Scheffler finally converted birdies on both #15 and 16 to juice the massive crowds and pull within one shot of the lead at -11.  Unfortunately, he was unable to birdie either of the final two holes to tie the leader.

Scheffler’s closing round of 69 climaxed the first bogey-free final 36 holes of golf played at The Masters since 1942!  He finished alone in second place – just one shot behind Rory McIlroy.

Rory kept his head above water just long enough to grab a second consecutive green jacket

McIlroy posted a torrid 12-under par score on Thursday and Friday to take a six shot lead into the weekend.  His second round on Friday featured six birdies over the closing seven holes.

He literally couldn’t miss for nearly two hours. 

McIlroy punched out of the trees after wayward tee shots and still birdied the par-5 holes.  He even birdied hole #17 after producing a timely 30-yard pitch shot all the way across a lightning-fast green and into the cup.

Those two stellar rounds of 67 and 65 gave McIlroy the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history.

Only an epic collapse by Rory would save the day for CBS’s television coverage over the weekend.

And that’s exactly what (almost) happened

Saturday saw a talented pack of competitors rally up the leaderboard as Rory’s early magic faltered.  After struggling to a one-over par 73, McIlroy’s entire lead vanished during the third round of play.

In the opening holes on Sunday, Rory McIlroy still looked shaky at times.

He double-bogeyed the par-3 4th hole by taking three putts from five feet away from the cup.  McIlroy added another bogey at the par-3 6th hole to drop to 9-under par and briefly fell two shots behind playing partner Cameron Young.

That’s when Rory McIlroy finally steadied his nerves and golf game as a number of competitors failed to apply much pressure over Augusta National’s slightly easier final nine holes.

McIlroy (known for his go-for-broke playing style) took a big risk by taking aim at the flagstick on the treacherous par-3 12th hole.

Rae’s Creek has claimed many final round victims (ask Jordan Spieth) if your golf ball should come up short or fade toward the adjacent water hazard guarding the green.  Rory McIlroy’s tee shot at #12 finished less than seven feet away the cup. It was the closest shot to the hole on Sunday.  He rolled-in that birdie putt to reach -12 and never lost the lead again.

Rory McIlroy’s final round one-under par 71 wasn’t a classic round of golf. However, it was good enough for him to capture a second straight green jacket at The Masters.

Other Masters takeaways

By virtue of his top-15 finish, England’s Justin Rose will return to play The Masters again next year at age 46.

Rose has finished second at The Masters three times and was tied for third place on Sunday.  Fans (oops, I mean patrons) would love to see Rose finally break through and win his first green jacket in 2027. 

It might produce an 18th hole celebration similar to that heard in 1986 when 46-year old Jack Nicklaus claimed his sixth and final Masters title.

Expect LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau to be spending a lot of “beach time” this week.

The long-hitting fan favorite missed the cut in this year’s Masters after a couple of sand traps doomed his chances of competing this weekend.  DeChambeau took three shots to exit the sand on #11 during Thursday’s opening round in carding a triple bogey.

During Friday’s second round, Bryson needed an up and down from a greenside bunker at #18 in order to make the 36-hole cut and play this weekend.

His first shot from the bunker came up a foot short but rolled back down into the trap.  Those sand shot issues led to a couple of triple bogies, a 6-over par finish, and an early trip home.  Expect Bryson DeChambeau to be spending a lot of time in the sand this week!  

One final odd thought.   The Masters tournament proudly continues to offer $1.50 sandwiches to hungry patrons made from either Pimento cheese or egg salad.

A rather creative Masters merchandiser began selling golf hats featuring the names of those two classic bargain-priced sandwiches.  No, the hats do not go for $1.50!  

One particularly creative fellow wore his Masters “Egg Salad” hat and sat in the same spot at the back of the 16th tee box for the television cameras to see him – every single day of the tournament.

I wouldn’t want to be standing all day behind the “Egg Salad” guy at the 16th hole, would you?

The post Masters Monday – Rory Repeats after the Field Faded Away appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Another year, another abysmal performance by ol’ SwampSwami in the CBS Sports March Madness predictions.

Though I played high school basketball, I remain “O-for-Life” at predicting the men’s March Madness champion.

My chances for victory crashed last Thursday after the University of Houston lost to Illinois in the Sweet Sixteen round. 

The same failed outcome happened for my pick (LSU) in the women’s bracket.  Kim Mulkey’s Tigers lost to Duke on a last second 3-pointer in the Sweet 16 to sink my battleship in that competition.

CBSSports.com showed my men’s picks currently ranked a pitiful 1,138,732 (which must be somewhere near the bottom).  My women’s selections have been slightly less embarrassing, but I am still ranked at a microscopic 477,876th overall.

Go ahead and laugh.  I’m used to it. 

Since my personal top selections are now vaporized, let’s take a closer look at the upcoming weekend of March Madness games.

But first…

I wanted to take a moment to agree with legendary UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma about some issues which he expressed concern about last week.

Beginning in 2023, the NCAA found a way to screw-up the women’s second weekend of Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games.

In the second weekend of men’s play, there are four regionals (East, South, Midwest, and West).  Each region features four teams.

By contrast, the women’s second weekend featured just two regions with eight teams assigned to each site to play the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games.

Why did the NCAA do that to the women’s tournament? (Hint – $$$)

Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma rightfully complained about logistics issues created by lumping eight teams together.  His team was one of the eight assigned to “Region 1” in Fort Worth, Texas.  The other eight teams in “Region 2” played in Sacramento, California.

In both cases, the city’s arena is needed to host two tournament games per day.  That leaves the eight participating teams with odd practice times and inconsistent media times for the players and coaches.  Some practices were conducted at the crack of dawn.  Others happened in evening hours after the second game of the day concluded.

Coach Geno Auriemma told the assembled press last week, “You know what time our shoot-around was yesterday? 6:20 AM for just half an hour.  Does anybody who makes these decisions ever ask the coaches and the players?”

The UConn coach then rolled off the poor 3-point shooting statistics for every team participating in last week’s 8-team Fort Worth regional.

He added, “They bring in new baskets and new basketballs right out of the box.  We’ve got people dribbling the ball off their feet, missing layups all over the place!  How many arenas are we going to sell out with that BS!”

He was blunt and made several valid points.

The eight teams in each of the two women’s regions had very little time to get familiar with the arena surroundings prior to playing in last Friday and Saturday’s games.

The only plausible reason for doing this is a cost savings decision by the NCAA.  It is cheaper to lease two arenas than four like the men are utilizing during the tournament’s second weekend.  The television production costs for ESPN are also lower with only two sites to broadcast from.

It’s doubtful that the NCAA home office in Indianapolis gave much (if any) thought to the logistical difficulties caused by bringing eight teams together to play over two days in the same facility.  One report indicated that the NCAA will keep this format for another two years.

Good grief.  How cheap can you get?

Now that we have that out of the way.  Let’s review the women’s Final Four!

This year’s women’s semifinal and final games are being played in Phoenix.  The same four finalists from last year (UConn, South Carolina, Texas, and UCLA) will return and try to win the title currently held by Connecticut.

This elite quartet won an incredible 95% of their games this season with a combined record of 143-7.

Semifinal #1 – 6PM CDT Friday on ESPN – Connecticut (38-0) vs. South Carolina (35-3)

Get your popcorn ready for this epic battle!

This is the women’s basketball version of pitting King Kong vs. Godzilla.  These two teams have captured three of the last four national titles.  UConn defeated South Carolina 82-59 in last year’s championship game, so the Gamecocks want payback.

Carolina has five players averaging in double figures led by All-American forward Joyce Edwards.  She scores nearly 20 points per game. 

Connecticut counters with two of the best players in the country.  Forward Sarah Strong and guard Azzi Fudd are responsible for nearly 40 points per game this season for the Huskies.

Semifinal #2 – 8:30PM CDT Friday on ESPN – Texas (35-3) vs. UCLA (35-1)

Texas features ten players getting more than ten minutes of playing time every game. Forward Madison Booker leads the Longhorns with 19.3 points per game.  UCLA’s veteran roster is led by center Lauren Betts (17 points per game) and elusive guard Kiki Rice (15 points ppg).  Texas handed the Bruins their only loss of the season in a 76-65 win in late November.  UCLA has won 25 straight games since that defeat and will be seeking revenge on Friday night.

Men’s Final Four – Scouting report

Unlike the four #1 seeds in the women’s Final Four, West region #1 Arizona and Midwest #1 Michigan are the only top seeds remaining in this weekend’s Final Four for the guys in Indianapolis.

Arizona’s last national title came in 1997, while Michigan’s “Fab Five” won the last title for Big Blue in 1989.

This Saturday evening’s nightcap between the Wildcats and Wolverines insures that there will be one top seeded team playing in Monday night’s championship game.

Fans of the East #1 seed Duke Blue Devils are still in shock this week.  Duke surrendered a 19-point lead in a 73-72 loss at the buzzer to #2 seed Connecticut on Sunday afternoon.  That other #1 seed was defending champion Florida.  The South top seed lost in the second round to #9 Iowa by that same 73-72 score.

The UConn Huskies are riding a lot of momentum as they now seek their third national championship in the past four seasons.

Quietly, #3 seed Illinois has not advanced this far in the tournament since 2005 when they lost to North Carolina in the championship game.  This season’s Fighting Illini basketball team is on a quest to bring home the school’s first men’s basketball title.

Saturday afternoon’s Men’s Final Four match-ups

Semifinal #1 – 5PM – TBS – South #3 seed Illinois (28-8) vs. East #2 Connecticut (33-5)

The Fighting Illini had lost three of its last five games heading into the NCAA March Madness tournament.  Coach Brad Underwood’s team has tightened-up its defense during the tournament and has allowed less than 60 points per game.  Illinois rings-up 84 points per game on offense with five double digit scorers in the starting line-up.

UConn has been led all season by the inspired play of senior center Taris Reed.  He leads the team with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots per game. The Huskies proved their never-say-die mettle during Sunday’s 19-point comeback against #1 Duke.  This team will hang tough until the final buzzer.

Semifinal #2 – 7:45PM – TBS – Midwest #1 Michigan (35-3) vs. West #1 Arizona (36-2)

Michigan won the Big Ten regular season title and was a perfect 11-0 on the road.  Coach Dusty May’s Wolverines have scored 90 or more points in all four March Madness tournament games this year.  Michigan features three players who have played at the center position in college.  Getting a rebound has not been a problem for Big Blue this season.

Likewise, Big 12 champion Arizona has dominated teams by scoring from within the paint.  The Wildcats’ outside shooting, though, has been suspect at times.  Arizona was ranked #363 in the nation in three point shot attempts primarily because the team’s interior offense has been so effective all season.

Enjoy the games!

The post Finally! The Final Fours! appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Springtime means a return of increasingly warm temperatures (ugh), pollen galore (yuck), and a very eventful initial weekend of sports.

Major League Baseball’s 2026 season opened as all 32 teams began tied for first place with a 0-0 record

After this past weekend of opening games, it should come as no surprise that the homeless “Athletics” are off to an 0-3 start.  Voodoo dolls in Oakland seem to be having their desired effect on this wandering baseball franchise!

The former Oakland Athletics vacated the Bay Area last year and temporarily moved into a minor league baseball stadium in Sacramento.  This team is simply known as the “Athletics” today. 

They will remain in Sacto for 2026 and 2027.  A new indoor baseball stadium is under construction in Las Vegas and is expected to become home for this downtrodden franchise starting in 2028.

The UFL returned, too.  It’s a good thing St. Louis still has their team!

Spring professional football’s UFL began its third year with four games played over the weekend.  The St. Louis Battlehawks attracted more than 31,000 fans to watch its 16-10 win over the defending champion DC Defenders on Saturday in the Battledome.

Three other UFL home teams failed to attract even 15,000 patrons for Game #1.

The new Louisville Kings franchise were welcomed by 14,000 fans in their inaugural game being played in Kentucky.  They watched the Birmingham Stallions rally to score the game-winning touchdown with two minutes left in a 15-13 victory over the hometown Kings Friday night. 

A Sunday night gathering of 11,000 cheered as Orlando “Stormed” to a 23-16 victory over the Columbus Aviators.  The Dallas Renegades pulled a quaint crowd of less than 9,000 fans to its debut game in Frisco, Texas on Saturday.

As stated in my league preview last week, the UFL continued to have problems getting most of its teams to score points.  Only two of the eight teams in Week #1 tallied 20 or more points.

Are the NFL referees going on strike soon?

An under-the-radar story this weekend involved the growing tension between the NFL and its referees union.  The NFL Referees Association may be recommending a strike soon.  The current collective bargaining agreement between the refs and the league is set to expire on May 31.

NFL owners have angered the referee union by wanting to raise the probationary period from three years to five and make playoff assignments based on performance rather than seniority.  As you might expect, the referees union looks at those issues differently.

A referee strike last occurred in 2012 and lasted three games into the NFL’s regular season. 

After several botched calls during the opening weeks of the regular season, the owners and referees finally reached an agreement in late September, 2012.

This weekend’s news indicated that the NFL owners are preparing to move forward if there isn’t a new deal soon.  They are compiling a list of possible replacement referee candidates from the ranks of college football.  If a new deal with the NFL referees’ union is not reached by May 1, the football league may be planning to hire and train a set of new referees for the upcoming football season.

Golf – first, let’s have some good news!

PGA golfer Gary Woodland’s last professional victory came at the 2019 US Open. 

About three years ago, the golfer underwent a very delicate surgery to remove a lesion from his brain.  Just two weeks ago, Woodland told the media that he had developed PTSD during his difficult recovery from brain surgery.

Sunday’s final round saw Gary Woodland holding a one-shot lead starting the final 18 holes at the Texas Children’s Hospital Houston Open.  He raced out to a 4-under par 31 on the front nine in posting a final round 67 to win the event by five shots.

The Houston crowd chanted, “Gary…Gary…Gary!” on the closing holes as Woodland tried to remain focused on the task at hand.

Woodland once played on both the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team and on college golf team.  He wisely chose to play professional golf for his post-college career.  Now 41, Gary Woodland picked-up his fifth career PGA win in Houston and a paycheck for nearly $1.8 million.

His emotional win in Houston also came with an invitation to play in The Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia in just ten days.

Golf – Tiger Woods flipped his SUV and earned a DUI charge in Florida

Now 50 years of age, Tiger Woods captured the spotlight once again on Friday.  Golf’s biggest name since Jack Nicklaus was placed under arrest near his home in central Florida after flipping his Land Rover vehicle at a high rate of speed.

Tiger Woods’ SUV quickly came upon a truck which was slowing to turn into a driveway. Woods lost control of his vehicle.  The SUV flipped onto its side and Woods safely crawled out of the passenger-side window.  Fortunately, there was no oncoming traffic around when the accident occurred.

Woods agreed to a breathalyzer test for alcohol, but he then refused to submit to a lawful test for DUI.

He was briefly taken into custody late Friday afternoon and released on bond after several hours at the local jail.

I was a bit surprised to learn that Tiger Woods still had a valid driver’s license after having more than one past issue involving driving while impaired.

This might be a good time for Tiger limit his future driving to the tee boxes at the golf course.

NCAA Basketball – March Madness Mauls SwampSwami’s men’s bracket

I don’t know which game surprised me more over the past few days.

The #2 seed University of Houston faced #3 seed Illinois on Thursday night with the game being played in the Cougars’ home city of Houston at the Toyota Center. 

The Cougars were playing in their seventh year of making it to the Sweet 16 round or further.

Houston clanked three-pointers, two pointers, and hardly ever shot a free throw in losing to the Fighting Illini 65-55.  The Cougars shot only two free throws in the entire game.

This game was U-G-L-Y from start to finish.  The halftime score was Illinois 24, Houston 22.  Coach Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars again failed to bring the school and their long-time coach a first national championship trophy in men’s basketball.

And, yes, ol’ SwampSwami picked Houston’s Cougars to win it all this year.  Drat!

Congratulations to Illinois and coach Brad Underwood!   After knocking off Houston, the Fighting Illini downed upstart #9 seed Iowa 71-59 on Saturday to advance to the Final Four on Saturday in Indianapolis.  It will be Illinois’ first trip to the Final Four in 21 seasons.

The 62-year old coach Underwood was a longtime assistant coach who received his first Division I coaching job at Stephen F. Austin.

He took the Lumberjacks into the NCAA March Madness field twice in three seasons while in Nacogdoches, Texas prior to joining Illinois in 2017.

Yet another head-scratching game in this weekend’s NCAA March Madness men’s tournament was Sunday afternoon’s massive collapse by #1 East seed Duke in losing at the buzzer to #2 UConn 73-72. 

Duke led by as many as 19 points in this game before committing a turnover and allowing a 30 foot 3-pointer by Huskies guard Braylon Mullins (his only made 3-point basket of the day) with less than one second remaining.

Duke’s first three games in the NCAA tournament were closer than most of us expected.  The Blue Devils struggled against #16-seed Sienna (71-65).  Third round foe and #5 seed St. Johns kept Duke off balance until a final minute surge lifted the Devils to an 80-75 win.

Duke had no shortage of high school All-Americans on its team again this season.  A few of these “rentals” move onto the NBA later in the spring.  Duke’s starting five featured one senior, one sophomore, and three freshmen.

Contrast that to UConn’s starting five which included two seniors, two juniors and just one freshman.

When Duke had Connecticut down by 19 points, the Huskies played like a veteran group and kept fighting hard until the end of Sunday’s game.

As for the Dukees, the coach’s inability to keep his team together from one year to the next has kept this fading basketball powerhouse out of the winner’s circle for ten straight seasons.

Regional furniture seller could lose a millions soon!

Both the Connecticut Huskies men’s and women’s teams have advanced to their respective Final Four national semifinal games at the end of this week. Jordan’s Furniture (a New England based chain) stands to lose millions of dollars if both Huskies teams should win their Final Four opening games later this week.

The regional furniture retailer offered customers a full rebate for merchandise purchased between January 20 through February 16 if both University of Connecticut basketball teams advance to play in this year’s NCAA title games.

A representative for the furniture store said the company had purchased some form of risk insurance in the event the company needs to pay off millions to its customers soon.

No matter how they “couch” it, Jordan’s Furniture may want reconsider promotions which involve “bedding” against the state’s favorite college basketball teams!

The post Baseball returned, Tiger was jailed, and my NCAA Picks are toast (again) appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

It’s official! 

Former LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade is returning to Baton Rouge to coach the Tigers again next season.  The 43-year old Wade coached the LSU basketball team from 2017-2022 until he was fired following an NCAA probe into improper payments being offered to certain LSU basketball recruits.

Back then, the NCAA did not allow schools to pay their players.  Yet.

Ironically, Will Wade’s dismissal by LSU in 2022 happened right as the NCAA’s new rules (such as they are) were being implemented to allow college athletes to receive compensation for their name, image, and likeness (NIL).  

Wade was simply ahead of his time.  LSU was slapped with five NCAA sanctions and sent the basketball coach to the unemployment line.

Will Wade re-emerged at McNeese State University in Lake Charles a year later in 2023.  He led the Cowboys into their first-ever NCAA March Madness tournament in 2024 and, again, in 2025.

Wade was then hired to become the head coach at North Carolina State this past season.  His NC State Wolfpack team was selected to participate in the NCAA “First Four” round. They lost to Texas in that game to finish the year at 20-14.

While that was happening in the life of Will Wade, LSU’s then-Athletics Director Scott Woodward hired former Murray State basketball coach Matt McMahon to run the men’s program in the spring of 2022. 

The Murray State Racers qualified for the NCAA March Madness tournament three times in five seasons under Coach McMahon before he left for LSU.

Four years later, coach Matt McMahon’s LSU teams had won only 17 SEC games against 55 conference losses (23.6%).  This season’s Tigers finished dead last in the league with a woeful 3-15 record.

Matt McMahon was dismissed this week, but he won’t go away empty handed

The ex-LSU basketball coach will receive nearly $8 million as part of his contract buyout provisions.  He joined a growing number of former LSU sports leaders who were fired in recent years but received lucrative going-away presents upon their exit.

Former LSU head football coaches Brian Kelly ($54 million – 2025) and Ed Orgeron ($17 million – 2021) along with former AD Scott Woodward ($6 million – 2025) have been paid handsomely to hit the road.

When added to Matt McMahon’s $8 million buyout, that is $85 million which LSU’s wealthiest athletics backers have been asked to cover.

In exchange, the school’s financial backers demand winners (sooner than later) in return for being asked to pay for so many expensive changes in Baton Rouge.

Speaking of money, basketball coach Will Wade’s former school at North Carolina State will receive $4 million as compensation after his abrupt exit following season #1 in Raleigh.

NC State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan was understandably miffed at coach Will Wade’s decision to leave his program after just one year.

“As far as the resignation letter, it was an email that we received from his agent,” said Corrigan.  “I’m disappointed at how it went down.”

Is the LSU basketball job actually better than North Carolina State?

LSU has zero NCAA men’s basketball tournament titles. 

Long-time coach and fan favorite Dale Brown’s Tigers played in two Final Four appearances (1981 and 1986), but his teams lost in the national semifinals both years.

Brown’s successor, John Brady, led LSU to another Final Four appearance in 2006. Same result.

Over the past twenty years, LSU was selected for the NCAA post-season tournament just five times.  Three of those occurred during coach Will Wade’s five seasons with the Tigers (2019, 2021, and 2022).

After being fired by LSU, Will Wade rebuilt his credibility by turning the McNeese State Cowboys of the Southland Conference into a basketball powerhouse during his two years in Lake Charles. 

The Pokes went 30-4 and 28-7, won the Southland Conference title both years, and made two consecutive March Madness post-season appearances.

Wade left after two seasons to take the job at North Carolina State of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Wolfpack already had two national championship trophies in Raleigh.

Coach Norm Sloan’s 1973-74 team featured dynamic high-flying forward David Thompson, 7’4” center Tom Burleson and diminutive 5’7” point guard Monty Towe. 

NC State defeated legendary coach John Wooden’s mighty UCLA Bruins in overtime in the semifinals and then polished-off Marquette to win the school’s first basketball title.

Coach Jim Valvano’s 1983 North Carolina State team won the ACC Tournament and barely qualified for the NCAA March Madness field as a lowly #6 regional seed.  His “Cardiac Pack” thrilled the nation by defeating a series of top teams on their way to the title game against heavily favored Houston. 

Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Houston’s Phi Slamma Jamma team lost to NC State on a stunning last second put-back for the Wolfpack’s second national championship.

Given North Carolina State’s national stature in basketball, the job in Raleigh seems to be slightly higher in prestige than the men’s head coaching job at LSU.  Since the turn of the century, the ACC was won ten national titles versus four by the SEC.

Coach Will Wade’s first year at North Carolina State improved the Wolfpack from 12-19 last year to 20-14 in 2026. However…

North Carolina State recently announced that it is having athletic budget issues

A February report indicated that North Carolina State’s athletics department ran a $18.5 deficit over the past 12 months.  The school’s athletic revenues of $126 million did not cover the expenses of $144 million.

The report cited increased costs due to revenue sharing with the athletes.  In fact, $18 million was shared by NC State’s athletes over in the past year.

The school (like so many others) is now looking at raising ticket prices, holding large concerts on-campus, and other measures aimed to increase revenues without trimming athletic costs.

Perhaps Will Wade saw the handwriting on the wall at NC State.  He has moved to a school which has been spending money on athletics like the proverbial drunken sailor.

Is LSU becoming McNeese State University – East campus?

In the past six months, LSU has looked 130 miles to the west to hire two of its key leaders from McNeese State University in Lake Charles.

McNeese President Wade Rousse accepted the vacant top position at LSU in November, 2025.  The new LSU President was rumored to be the top choice of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.

Yesterday (Thursday), McNeese State University Athletics Director Heath Schroyer announced his departure for LSU as well.  He was named “Senior Deputy AD/Executive Director of External Relations” for the LSU system.

Translation – Heath Schroyer will be tasked with raising more money for sports (particularly men’s basketball) while hovering over the shoulders of current LSU Director of Athletics Verge Ausberry.

Schroyer had been a long-time college basketball coach.  After becoming the McNeese State University Athletics Director, he brought Will Wade to coach the men’s basketball team in 2023.  The program quickly blossomed into a Southland Conference dynamo.

As the week draws to a close, the 2023-2025 era McNeese State University posse of President Wade Rousse, AD Heath Schroyer, and men’s basketball coach Will Wade has been reunited again in Baton Rouge.

LSU’s athletics budget was already huge.  What’s a few more million dollars to bring in a new men’s basketball coach and his good buddy, right?

Men’s basketball at LSU has been in significant decline in recent years.  However, the men’s basketball team financial income statement is, somehow, still profitable.

LSU’s 2025 annual report to the NCAA showed that men’s basketball turned a profit of around $2.5 million despite declining home game attendance.

Meanwhile, Coach Kim Mulkey’s very popular women’s basketball team at LSU averaged 10,707 fans per game vs. 7,147 for the men.

The LSU women won the 2023 national championship and earned a #2 regional seed in the Women’s March Madness tournament this year.  LSU fans are very proud of Kim Mulkey and the school’s women’s basketball program.

Would you believe that the LSU women’s program posted an $8 million loss in 2025?

How is that even possible?

The compensation (salary, bonus, and benefits) for the LSU men’s and women’s basketball coaches and staff are fairly equal.

In case you were wondering, Kim Mulkey earned $500,000 more than men’s coach Matt McMahon’s $3 million last year.

Total expenses for the men’s team last year were $11.1 million.

The LSU women’s basketball team spent $12.1 million in 2025.

However, the LSU women’s basketball program produced total revenues of just $4.137 million (tickets, program donations, and about $500,000 from NCAA post-season tournament revenues).  The women’s team had zero media income from the SEC and other media sources, though.  

The LSU’s men’s basketball team posted revenues of $13.625 million!  The Tigers benefited from a $2 million check from the massive NCAA’s men’s March Madness TV contract plus another $7 million received from the SEC and others for media rights.

That incremental $9 million for LSU men’s basketball from SEC media sources and NCAA tournament revenues makes a world of difference!

From LSU’s perspective, there is still upside potential to increase men’s basketball ticket sales, merchandising, and, of course, NIL fundraising as coach Will Wade returns to the school next year.

Ride ’em, ex-Cowboys!

Expect the former McNeese State Cowboys’ dynamic duo of Will Wade and cohort Heath Schroyer to join forces to shake every possible money tree in Louisiana on behalf of the LSU men’s basketball program.  Will Wade wants more money to buy better basketball players.

LSU’s athletics budget of more than $200 million annually dwarfs the $146 million (and its $18 million annual loss) at North Carolina State.  Coach Wade envisions LSU’s bigger pie and more to share with his players.

The increased interest in men’s basketball around Baton Rouge resulting from Will Wade’s return should provide a reasonable boost to season ticket sales revenue.  If Coach Wade is able to transform LSU’s men’s basketball team into an March Madness contender soon, the funding from basketball donors will grow as well.

Time to giddy-up and Geaux Tigers!

The post Will Wade and the McNeese State Posse Rides into Baton Rouge appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Ah, yes.  Springtime means the return of your favorite eight United Football League (UFL) spring football teams for a third consecutive season.

Except for the San Antonio Brahmas, Michigan Panthers, and Memphis Showboats, that is!

Those three UFL teams were vaporized last summer to become a part of league history.

The UFL moving trucks have been busy during the off-season

United Football League team locations in San Antonio, Detroit, and Memphis were replaced with new franchises in the states of Florida, Ohio, and Kentucky.

The Orlando Storm, Columbus Aviators, and Louisville Kings will join the Birmingham Stallions, DC Defenders, Houston Gamblers, and St. Louis Battlehawks in 2026.

In addition, the former Arlington Renegades moved across town to morph into the Dallas Renegades.  But even the name “Dallas” is a bit misleading.  The Renegades will play this season in Toyota Stadium – a 24,000 seat soccer stadium in fast-growing Frisco.  That city is 25 miles north of downtown Dallas.

The UFL has smartly downsized its stadiums and cut more costs this season.

All eight UFL teams still practice at the same facility in Arlington, Texas on weekdays and then fly to play games on weekends in each team’s respective home market.

All but two of the eight spring football franchises will play in smaller soccer venues beginning this season.  The new stadiums generally have a seating capacity of no more than 25,000.

The Houston Gamblers vamoosed from the 40,000 seat football stadium at the University of Houston in favor of a more “right sized” environment at the downtown home of the Houston Dynamo soccer franchise.

Wisely, the UFL owners have learned that the optics of showing thousands of empty seats on nationally televised football games is a very bad look for TV.  The high costs of leasing a traditional football stadium was another big factor in making that switch, too.

The St. Louis Battlehawks (which led the UFL in home attendance with more than 30,000 fans per home game) will continue to play in the 60,000 seat Dome at America’s Center.

Locally known as the “BattleDome”, the indoor football stadium was the former home of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams prior to the team moving to Los Angeles.

Birmingham will continue to play in UAB’s state of the art 47,000 seat football stadium.  The league smartly cordoned off the upper deck last season, so the actual seating capacity for Stallions home games is about 25,000.

When is the first UFL football game this year?

The 2026 UFL season picked a bad time to get started (again).   This weekend’s season openers will have stiff competition from the men’s and women’s NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament.

Game #1 of the new UFL season is this Friday night (March 27) at 7PM CDT on FOX.

The Birmingham Stallions visit Kentucky to play in the first-ever home game for the Louisville Kings.

Saturday, March 28 will feature an afternoon doubleheader.  The opening game will start at 11AM CDT on ESPN as 2025 champion DC Defenders invade the St. Louis Battlehawks.  The second game (3PM CDT on FOX) has the Houston Gamblers riding up I-45 to play their intrastate rival, the Dallas Renegades.

Sunday’s final opening weekend game will pit two new entries taking the field for the first time.

The Columbus Aviators take flight to central Florida to play the Orlando Storm at 7PM CDT on ESPN.

The UFL added a giant source of cash as billionaire Mike Repole joined the ownership team

Who is Mike Repole, you ask?

If you have heard of beverage brands such as VitaminWater and BodyArmor, it was entrepreneur Mike Repole who built and sold those companies to Coca-Cola for a cool $12 billion.

That means that the UFL just added another financial partner with deep pockets.  Mike Repole is about to learn that the UFL and every other prior spring football iteration has been a gigantic money pit.

Last season’s UFL was owned by former WWE wrestling legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his ex-wife Dany Garcia along with Fox Sports, Disney (ESPN), and private equity investor Redbird Capital Partners.

The privately-held United Football League is not required to publish annual financial reports.  They are quite tight-lipped about the league’s finances.

It’s not a secret that the UFL has posted annual losses into the tens of millions of dollars.

A lot of cash is required to pay stadium leases, players, and other significant costs

One source reported that Ford Field in Detroit (former home to the now-deceased Michigan Panthers franchise) cost the league $500,000 per home game.

That’s a cool $2.5 million per season for just one stadium’s rental fees.

Last year’s Michigan Panthers averaged less than 12,000 fans per home game.  Their average ticket price in 2025 was about $25.  That generated about $300,000 in ticket revenue per home game for a season-ending total of about $1.5 million. Ouch.

But wait, there’s more.

Each team had 45 active players on the roster in 2025.  The average salary per player was about $60,000.  That’s another $2.7 million per team – just for the player salaries.

Coaches are another significant expense.  Even relatively unknown coaches will cost a UFL team about $1 million annually.

Don’t forget the cost of insurance, transportation costs to and from the games, practice facilities, home office costs, and a lot more.

Yes, the UFL is losing money with every game they play

Television advertising is the largest revenue source for the UFL.

However, the television ratings in 2025 dipped 20% below 2024’s mediocre numbers.  The UFL’s average weekly television audience last season was less than 800,000 viewers per game.  Even the league’s title game failed to attract more than one million television viewers.

Until the UFL can capture and sustain at least one million television viewers per game, the league’s television revenues will be insufficient to cover the costs of operations.

The UFL receives a set amount from its television partners (ESPN and FOX Sports).  In return, the networks pay for the production costs of each telecast.  They also retain the vast majority of the revenue generated from ads sold within each football game.

The more home viewers tune-in to watch UFL games, the more money the networks will be able charge to advertisers.  The UFL must produce results for the networks this season.  It’s that simple.

The UFL’s costs of operations seem relatively fixed.  The league can improve its financial picture by growing additional home stadium revenues (higher attendance and/or higher ticket prices).  Revenues from annual television fees will become more significant once home viewership grows by 50% over the puny 2025 TV ratings.

That’s why new investor Mike Repole’s billion dollar checkbook is so important to the UFL this year.

The other owners are, most likely, tapped-out.

What’s new in the UFL for this season?

Aside from my rather gloomy financial comments, the on-field product for the United Football League will feature some rather interesting innovations this spring.

A 4-point field goal is coming!

If your kicker can somehow clear the crossbar from 60 yards or more, a field goal will be worth four points in the UFL.  This new 4-point field goal option sounds good, until you realize that a missed attempt will hand the football over to the opposing team near midfield.

Pass receivers need only one foot in-bounds for a legal catch!

This is the same rule being used in college football.  The UFL felt like the NFL’s “both feet must be in bounds” rule was also a little bit dangerous for wide receivers.

Another reason for the “one foot in-bounds” change by the UFL is get teams to score more points.

The UFL has struggled with relatively low scoring games during its first two seasons.  Teams which first reach the 20 point mark generally win most UFL spring football games.

No “tush push” in the UFL!

This should have been outlawed by the NFL, too.  My personal thanks to the UFL for getting rid of this rather odd-looking and often dangerous play where the quarterback is shoved by his own players for a first down or into the end zone.

No punts allowed from inside the 50-yard line

This is yet another attempt to improve overall scoring in the UFL.  Today’s punters have become quite proficient at landing the football inside of the opponent’s ten yard line.  Statistically speaking, most offenses do not move the football 90 yards downfield for a touchdown or even a field goal after being pinned near their own goal line to start a drive.

Summary:

UFL televised games will be shown on FOX, FS1, ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 again this season.

There is a ten game regular season beginning this Friday, March 27 and ending on Sunday, May 31.  There are two semifinal playoff games on Sunday, June 7.  The league championship game will be played on Saturday, June 13 with kick-off at 2PM CDT on ABC.

New UFL financial backer Mike Repole is pushing hard to make the spring football league more fan-friendly this season.

He said, “The UFL exists to innovate.  If we’re not making the game more exciting and fan-focused, we’re not doing our job.”

As usual, I will track the attendance at UFL home games in addition to the television ratings this season.  Both measures must improve by 15% or more, or you could be watching the final season of UFL spring football unfold over the next 2 ½ months.

The post Ready or not, UFL Spring Football returns this Weekend appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

The opening weekend of the men’s March Madness concluded late Sunday night.

The women’s first two rounds of their tournament are ending today (Monday) with eight games being played.  As widely expected, the majority of the top 16 seeds in the women’s bracket have remained intact through Sunday evening.

Not so in the men’s division after the second round.

Down went #1 East seed and defending men’s champion Florida!

The Gators were chomped by 9th seed Iowa 73-72 on Sunday in Round 2.

Iowa’s Hawkeyes (now 23-12) lost four of its last five games coming into the NCAA tournament.  Iowa finished in 9th place in the Big Ten Conference this season with a mediocre 10-10 record.  Obviously, something has clicked for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa’s new basketball coach brought a long track record of success to Iowa City

Ben McCollum isn’t a household name among men’s college basketball coaches – yet.

The 44-year old head coach at Iowa had won four national titles at the NCAA Division II level over his 15 years at Northwest Missouri State University in rural Maryville, Missouri.

That success translated into job offer for McCollum at Drake University in Des Moines last season.  The coach took the Division 1 Bulldogs into the second round of the NCAA March Madness tournament last year and finished with an amazing 31-4 record.

Afterwards, the state’s largest public university in Ben McCollum’s birthplace of Iowa City made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

The Iowa Hawkeyes had fired Fran McCaffery in March, 2025 after 15 seasons at the school.  Though Coach McCaffery’s teams made the NCAA tournament field on seven occasions, the Hawkeyes never advanced beyond the second round.

Until this year – under new head coach Ben McCollum.

Iowa defeated defending national champion Florida 73-72 on a three-point shot with less than five seconds to play.  The gritty Hawkeyes are advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1999.  They will face another Big Ten upstart in the University of Nebraska.

Cornhuskers coach Fred Hoiberg had the loudest fans this weekend

Oklahoma City is 430 miles south of Lincoln, Nebraska.  You would never have guessed the arena wasn’t transported from Oklahoma to Nebraska over the weekend.

OKC’s basketball arena just hosted the first two rounds of the South Region.  If you watched either game involving the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the 18,000-seat arena sounded like those contests were being played in a major Nebraska city.

Coach Fred Hoiberg’s Nebraska Cornhuskers are now 26-8.  They claimed the school’s first ever March Madness men’s basketball victory on Thursday with a convincing 76-47 win over Sunbelt champion Troy.  Big Red basketball fans then returned in even larger numbers Saturday for the team’s second round match-up against SEC tournament runner-up, Vanderbilt.

In one of the most dramatic game of this year’s very exciting NCAA tournament, Nebraska’s loud and proud fans pushed Big Red to grab a two point lead on a basket with 2.2 seconds remaining.

Then, Vanderbilt’s talented freshman guard Tyler Tanner lofted a desperation half-court shot which could have won the game at the buzzer.  The ball was online the entire way.  It hit the backboard, bounded inside of the rim, but somehow bounced back out again.

Nebraska survived 74-72 and advanced into the Sweet Sixteen round this week in Houston against fellow Big Ten Conference rival, Iowa.

Cornhuskers coach Fred Hoiberg and Iowa men’s coach Ben McCollum have something unique in common – other than playing in the Big Ten Conference.

These two successful basketball coaches were Finance majors in college.  Today’s NIL-driven college sports teams require coaches who can manage a payroll as well as they teach a pick and roll.

This weekend’s games may end the coaching careers for other top basketball coaches!

University of Kansas basketball coach Bill Self is 63 years old.  He accepted the Jayhawks top job 23 years ago at age 40.  Coach Self has won two national championships while at Kansas (2008 and 2022).

His Jayhawks have participated in the NCAA March Madness post-season tournament in each of his 23 years at the school.  That’s amazing!

Coach Self’s Kansas Jayhawks were just bounced out of the NCAA tournament on Sunday by a spunky, quirky St. John’s team 67-65.  KU finished the season 24-11.

The Kansas Jayhawks simply failed to launch this season.  They invested (quite literally) much of the team’s capital into signing a prima donna 5-star basketball recruit named Darryn Peterson.  Coach Self already knew that Peterson would be another “one and done” freshman player looking to impress NBA scouts in this June’s annual college draft.

Peterson played well at times and will, no doubt, become a high draft selection in the “We rarely play defense” NBA.  He seems quite ready for his future role.

Darryn Peterson took his basketball talents to Kansas.  That’s only because the NBA requires future players to be at least one year removed from high school prior to entering their draft. 

Much like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, Peterson did not seem to play with much of a heart on the basketball court.

He appeared disinterested most of the time when the ball wasn’t in his hands.

Peterson’s inability to fit-in with this year’s Kansas teammates was Coach Bill Self’s fault. He erred in signing Peterson.  Anyone watching the games in Round 1 and 2 this weekend saw several other talented college freshmen shining brighter while leading their teams during March Madness.

Stay or go, Coach Bill Self remains the winningest coach in Kansas Jayhawks history.

His 633 basketball victories plus two national titles at Kansas makes him a sure bet for basketball’s Hall of Fame.

Coach Self developed heart issues of his own four years ago.  He is not sure if he plans to return to Lawrence to coach the team again next year.

Perhaps this season’s “heart failure” of 5-star freshman dud Darryn Peterson may have convinced the Kansas basketball coach that retirement isn’t such a bad idea after all.

Former North Carolina basketball great and current coach Hubert Davis could be toast soon

Another major college coach on the hot seat right now is Hubert Davis at the University of North Carolina.

The current Tar Heels basketball coach was also a star guard at the school from 1988-1992.  Davis became a first round NBA draft pick and played 14 seasons for six different professional teams.

Hubert Davis later became a North Carolina assistant basketball coach.  He was the hand-picked successor to Carolina’s long-time basketball coach Roy Williams.

However, Davis just finished his fifth season in Chapel Hill with a “thud” after an ugly first round loss to Virginia Commonwealth University.  VCU (a #11 seed) beat #6 North Carolina 82-78 in overtime after the Rams rallied from 19 points down in the second half to force the extra period.

Like it or not, the record of Coach Hubert Davis continues to be compared against former coaches such as Dean Smith and Roy Williams.

North Carolina (much like Kansas) is expected by its fans to compete for national titles.  Recent teams at UNC have not been as competitive as Tar Heel Nation would like for them to be.

Hubert Davis (now age 55) played for Coach Dean Smith and was a long-time assistant under his predecessor, Roy Williams.  He is considered “family” at North Carolina.  With a contract buyout of more than $5 million, Carolina’s well “heeled” (ha ha – get it?) benefactors can easily afford to write a final check to Coach Davis. 

Don’t be surprised if this happens quickly in order to find and sign a talented successor.

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope could be looking for a new job soon, too

Like Hubert Davis at North Carolina, Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope was a very popular player in Lexington prior to becoming the team’s latest head coach.

The 53-year old Mark Pope was captain of Kentucky’s 1996 national championship team.  Expectations were sky high for Mark Pope upon his hiring just two years ago.  Pope, who bleeds Big Blue blood, was welcomed to his new job at Rupp Arena in 2024 by a standing-room crowd of exuberant fans hoping for a quick turnaround of Kentucky’s basketball fortunes.

Mark Pope took the job after building a successful program at Brigham Young.  He was hired by his alma mater to follow a coaching legend.  Former head coach John Calipari’s Kentucky teams won nearly 80% of their games over his 15 seasons in Lexington.

However, the expectations at Kentucky (like at Kansas and North Carolina) are to compete for a national title every season.

John Calipari won just one NCAA championship during his 15 years at Kentucky.  He was released in 2024 after three straight seasons of failing to advance into the second weekend of March Madness.

Coach Calipari quickly was hired by SEC rival Arkansas.  For the second straight season, it will be the Arkansas Razorbacks participating in the NCAA’s second week.  The University of Arkansas men will travel to San Jose to face top West region seed Arizona on Thursday night at 8:45 PM CDT on CBS.

Meanwhile, Kentucky’s current basketball coach, Mark Pope, will be at home watching that game on television like the rest of us.

This year’s Big Blue (22-14) was fortunate to have been given a #6 regional seed.  The Wildcats were quite lucky to have prevailed 89-84 in overtime against #11 Santa Clara in the opening round.  It took a miraculous half-court shot at the buzzer by guard Otega Oweh to put Kentucky into overtime in that game.

Kentucky’s second round opponent was #2 Midwest seed Iowa State.  The Cyclones, quite literally, extinguished Big Blew (oops, I mean Big Blue) 82-63 for Kentucky’s largest NCAA playoff loss since the year 1972.  Ouch!

Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope has completed Year #2 in Lexington.  Some of those same fans who filled-up Rupp Arena to welcome him back to town may be planning to put a “For Sale” sign on the front lawn of his house.

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That’s right!  My men’s and women’s March Madness college basketball picks have a perfect record.   

I have been been wrong on selecting a champion in every previous season for decades during my adult life.

Forget about having a perfect bracket.  This former high school basketball player is still seeking his first winning team to watch cutting down the nets at the end of March Madness!

That makes me “O-for-Life”.  Yes, I somehow cannot bring myself select the overall #1 seed to win it all.  Why accept the easy way?  That’s much too boring.

The NCAA March Madness men’s tournament starts on Thursday.  The women tip-off on Friday.  Thankfully, I am not someone who donates money to local gambling establishments to profit from my annual embarrassment.

If you are so inclined, my NCAA March Madness selections have been posted at the CBS Sports website.   Feel free to check the entry called “SwampSwamiSports.com”, and we’ll review how well my picks are doing.

Let’s face it.  I AM overdue for a winner this year, right?

Who is SwampSwami ruining the chances for this year?

Given that the statistics may (perhaps) work in my favor with my advancing age, I am selecting (drum roll, please) the University of Houston to win the men’s bracket.

This would be U of H’s first national championship in men’s basketball.

If you had believed that the famous Phi Slamma Jamma teams of the early 1980’s had won at least one title, you are incorrect.  It’s time for the Cougars to finally bring home their first national championship to H-town!

In the March Madness women’s tournament, let’s crown…(drum roll again)

the LSU Tigers – to capture their second national title under Coach Kim Mulkey.

LSU needs some breaks along the way and several of its top players to perform well for the next six games to pull the big upset.  This team is sneaky-good.  You’ve been warned.

For fans of both the University of Houston and LSU, I am NOT trying to jinx your favorite teams!  I really like both coaches and both programs.  I truly WANT them to win.

Unfortunately, I tend to select winners based on my emotions every season.  That’s why I am “O-for-Life” in picking a team which eventually gets to cut down the nets.

My March Madness picks are like watching Charlie Brown running to kick that football just as Lucy picks up the ball and causes ol’ Chuck to fall on his backside.

Let’s start with the Women’s March Madness field

The top of the women’s college basketball field is filled with several very impressive teams.

UConn is 34-0 and the only unbeaten team in this field.  The #2 overall seed in the tournament is UCLA.  They are no slouch at 31-1 and received a top seed for their region.

Don’t forget the SEC’s dynamic duo of South Carolina and the University of Texas.  Both of those #1 seeds are 31-3 entering this week’s first games.

The #2 seeds for the women’s tournament are also quite good.

SEC gives us another two powerful teams.  LSU (27-5) and Vanderbilt (27-4) are worthy of a title run. 

The Big Ten’s Iowa Hawkeyes (26-6) and Michigan Wolverines (25-6) should be in the mix for at least the first two weekends of the women’s tournament.

The #3 seeds on the women’s side are very good, but I don’t expect any team below a #2 seed to win it all.  I do believe that at least one of the #3 seeds will make a run into the Elite Eight.  Duke (24-8), Ohio State (26-7), TCU (29-5), and Louisville (27-7) are all capable of getting to the cusp of the Final Four.

Since 2012, women’s college basketball has been ruled by a very small group of teams with elite coaches and extremely talented players. UConn (5 titles), South Carolina (3) and Kim Mulkey (3 – two at Baylor and one after moving to LSU) have ruled the women’s division.

Expect nothing less this year.

My women’s Final Four is UConn, South Carolina, Texas, and LSU. 

That makes three SEC teams ganging up on poor ol’ undefeated Connecticut.

I’ll take UConn to take down South Carolina in an epic battle in one semifinal game.  LSU (fresh off of defeating #1 regional seed UCLA in the Elite Eight) will subdue its SEC rival Texas in the other.

LSU wants no part of South Carolina in this tournament.  The Gamecocks have won 19 straight games against the Tigers.  LSU will (quietly) be pulling for the Huskies against South Carolina.

I think UConn will finally crack under the pressure to post an undefeated season.

I envision LSU pulling a thrilling upset to win the women’s title for the second time in school history!

March Madness – Men’s top tournament teams

Unlike the women’s field, the winner in the men’s division could be fairly wide open this year.

Beginning in 2012, only UConn (2014, 2023, and 2024) and Villanova (2016 and 2018) have posted multiple titles during that span.

Last year’s champion (Florida) is 26-7 and the East #1 seed this year.  They are joined as top seeds by 32-2 Arizona (West), 32-2 Duke (South), and 31-3 Michigan (Midwest).

The group of #2 seeds on the men’s side is strong, but no one projects invincibility.  East #2 seed UConn (29-5) is joined by West #2 Purdue (27-8), Houston (28-6) in the South, and Midwest #2 team Iowa State (27-7).

Despite getting ten teams into the tournament this year, the SEC has only one team (Florida) in the top eight.

The Big Ten (nine) came in second with the ACC and Big 12 each securing eight bids apiece.  The so-called “Big Four” conferences comprise more than half of this year’s men’s tournament field.

Watch out for these early upsets!

Let’s dig into the statistics to uncover a few possible upset specials this year.

Most teams will shoot about three pointers at around 35%.  The 2-point shots fall around 45-47% of the time.  Surprisingly, most of the teams in the field shoot free throws at 71-75%.

So, how can you pick an upset when so many of the teams are fairly evenly matched?

Easy!  Find a team has a clear advantage in at least one category.  If that team is also playing fairly close to home, there is yet another advantage which may be worth a few points.

Here are three possible upsets in the opening round.

Let’s begin with #11 VCU (27-7) over #6 North Carolina (24-8).

The Rams from Richmond, VA are on a six-game winning streak, while UNC has lost two straight. VCU shoots 3-pointers 3% better than the Tar Heels (37% to 34%).  The game is being played in Greenville, South Carolina.  Though UNC will have more fans in the building, I sense an upset here!

I also like #9 Utah State over #8 Villanova (Friday, 3:10 PM on TNT).

The Aggies shoot 3% better than the Wildcats on two-pointers.  This game is being played in San Diego.  Utah is much closer than Villanova fans needing to travel 2,744 miles from Philadelphia.

Ever heard of the St. Louis Billikens? According to the school’s website, a billiken is a mythical creature representing “things as they ought to be” on campus. 

Uh…sure!  

St. Louis of the Atlantic-10 Conference went an impressive 28-5 this year to earn a #9 seed against #8 Georgia (22-10) of the SEC.  The Billikens shoot 6% better than the Bulldogs from the 3-point line and 4% better on two pointers. Down goes Georgia!

Men’s Final Four Picks!

I expect two of the #1 seeds (Duke and Arizona) to make it to Indianapolis for the Final Four.

SwampSwami is calling for the University of Houston (a 2-seed) to upset #1 Florida in the South Region finals.

One other big surprise will have #3 seed Virginia (29-5) pulling the upset to beat top ranked Michigan in the Midwest finals.

That puts Houston against Duke in one semifinal, and Arizona versus Virginia in the other.

I’m picking Houston’s defense to upset Duke.  Arizona should prevail against upstart Virginia in the other semifinal game.

The Arizona Wildcats have beaten Houston twice in the regular season. I expect Kelvin Sampson is saving his best coaching for last. 

The Cougars will subdue the Arizona Wildcats to win the school’s first national title in men’s basketball.

Enjoy March Madness!

The post My (almost) 100% GUARANTEED March Madness Picks! appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Yes, I’m old enough to remember when the term “spring break” was primarily for college students.

Apparently, spring break now extends to giving the entire week off to high school, middle school and even the elementary school kids, too.

My long-suffering sports wife works a schedule based on our local school calendar.  Last week, we visited one of our sons (and two of our grandsons) prior to heading to Gulf Shores, Alabama for a few more days of vacationing.

We had loads of fun but not enough time to keep up with sports.

Never fear!  We will catch-up right now.

March Madness – Men

The University of Miami (Ohio) Redhawks were the lone unbeaten men’s team in the nation coming into last week’s Mid-American Conference tournament. 

The 20th ranked Redhawks took their perfect 31-0 record into last week’s opening round game against the University of Massachusetts (17-16).  Miami was only the fifth men’s college hoops team in the past 25 years to post a perfect regular season record.

Until Thursday.

U Mass took the lead with 30 seconds left to hand the Redhawks an 87-83 loss.

Would you believe that some of TV’s talking heads actually felt that 31-1 Miami should be left out of the 68-team NCAA Men’s tournament field?

Some of those same people suggested that a 17-16 Auburn Tigers team (just 7-11 in SEC play) should have received Miami’s spot in the tournament field.

Perhaps this is why we call it madness

For those who favor March Madness invitations going to sub-500 big conference schools like Auburn, please name the last time any team with less than 20 regular season wins made it into the Final Four.  I’ll wait while you ask your favorite search engine.

Answer:  Zero.

I understand that Auburn played a really tough slate of non-conference games.  The Tigers lost to top-ten teams such as Houston, Michigan, and Purdue in the opening months.  However, Auburn also lost eight of ten SEC games played during the final weeks of the regular season.

If Auburn cannot beat teams in the SEC, why should they deserve to play for the national championship?

However, what have the Miami Redhawks done to deserve a bid?

Good question!  Miami (Ohio) plays in the Mid-American Conference.  That conference has never produced a men’s basketball team which has reached the Final Four.

Miami posted a solid 25-9 record last year.  Prior to 2025, the Redhawks had not won 20 games in a season since March, 1999.  The school is not (yet) a basketball juggernaut.

This year’s team raced to a 31-0 start featuring six games which Miami won by three points or less.  Yes, they have been lucky at times, but they were also very good.

The Runnin’ Redhawks have scored 100 or more points in eight games this season.

The NCAA “rewarded” 31-1 Miami of Ohio with a play-in game on Wednesday night against 20-13 SMU.  Tipoff will be at 8:15 PM CDT on TruTV. 

The winner advances to play #6 seed Tennessee (22-11) on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, Auburn is playing in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) beginning tonight at 9PM CDT vs. South Alabama (20-11).

McNeese State’s home court advantage led to a rout over #1 seed SFA

Four years ago, the city of Lake Charles became the home city for the Southland Conference men’s basketball tournament.  The games are played on the campus of McNeese State University.

The host city’s Cowboys were already coming off back-to-back NCAA March Madness seasons.

Unlike previous years, though, the 2026 top seed in the Southland Conference tournament was Stephen F. Austin.  The Lumberjacks posted a nifty 20-2 conference record to edge McNeese by one game for the men’s #1 seed in the tournament.

These two teams (both 28-5 for the season) met in last week’s conference finale.  The hometown McNeese fans packed the gymnasium to standing-room only capacity and cheered their team to a resounding 76-59 win over #1 seed SFA.  The Lumberjacks fell behind by 20 points early in the second half and never recovered.

McNeese will enter its third straight NCAA men’s March Madness tournament as a #12 seed against #5 Vanderbilt of the SEC.  That game will tip-off Thursday at 2:15 PM on TruTV.

Stephen F. Austin accepted a bid into the NIT tournament and travels to face Tulsa in the opening round tonight (Tuesday) at 8 PM.

March Madness – Women

Historically, there has been a wide gap in women’s college basketball between the “haves” and the “not yet’s”.

This year has been no different.

The #1 overall seed U-Conn Huskies are the only remaining unbeaten women’s team entering this year’s March Madness women’s tourney.

Connecticut (now 34-0) is a whopping 54-point favorite over #16 regional seed UT-San Antonio (18-15) in Round 1.

Out west, #2 overall seed UCLA (31-1) is a 52-point favorite in their opening round game against #16 seed California Baptist (23-10).

The other two top seeded women’s teams are a pair of 31-3 SEC teams – South Carolina and Texas.  Both will be prohibitive favorites in their first round games, too.

This wide gap between the top 16 teams and the rest of the women’s field is why the NCAA has continued to play the opening two rounds of their tournament in the home market of the top 16 teams.

What just happened to Louisiana Tech’s Lady Techsters?

Louisiana Tech’s women’s basketball program was one of the early giants of the sport. 

They won national titles in 1981, 1982, and 1988.  The Lady Techsters remained a regular NCAA March Madness participant through the year 2006.

Since then, Louisiana Tech’s women’s team has been in decline.  The team had not made the NCAA tournament field in 20 years.

This season’s Louisiana Tech women’s team was steamrolling opponents during their 19-game winning streak.  The team was 26-5 and #1 seed in Conference USA entering Saturday afternoon’s title game in Huntsville, Alabama.

Their opponent (21-12 and #6 seed Missouri State) has been playing in its very first Conference USA season.

The winner would receive an automatic bid into the NCAA March Madness women’s field.

The tournament finale was unable to produce one player on either team who shot better than 50% from the field.  Tech clanked 15 of 66 shots into the basket (23%).  Missouri State wasn’t much better with 17-52 from the field (33%).

Final score – Missouri State 43, Louisiana Tech 38

This game stunk for the entire 40 minutes.  (I know, because I watched all of it!)

The Lady Bears of Missouri State (a deserving winner of this game) advanced into this week’s NCAA tournament as a #16 seed.  Louisiana Tech accepted a bid into the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).  They will travel to Houston and play 28-5 Rice on Thursday.

LSU women’s Coach Kim Mulkey told her assistant coach to hit the road

Last week, LSU women’s assistant basketball coach Gary Redus was hired by Rutgers University of the Big Ten Conference.

He offered to stick around Baton Rouge to help his boss, Kim Mulkey, prepare the #2 seed LSU Tigers in this week’s NCAA March Madness opening game(s) in Louisiana’s capitol city.

Instead, Mulkey told him, “Get out of here!”

Politely, that is.  She added, “You can’t be married to two wives!”

The LSU women’s coach advised her ex-assistant coach that Redus needed to spend the next few weeks getting to know his players at Rutgers in New Jersey.

There is a good chance that another LSU basketball assistant (Daphne Mitchell) may also be joining Gary Redus’ new staff at Rutgers.

What is happening to the defending champion LSU baseball team?

LSU’s defending national college baseball champions have been playing like a group of neighborhood kids in a pick-up game at times.  The team is struggling to find an identity.

LSU lost two of three SEC games to Vanderbilt over the weekend in Nashville to drop to 14-7 on the season.  That’s nearly half of the number of losses which LSU’s 2025 championship team posted in a 56-15 season.

The pitching for this 2026 Tigers team ranks as worst in the 16-team SEC.  They allow 5.24 earned runs per game.  LSU pitchers have served-up a league-high 18 home runs through 21 games.

The Bayou Bengals are dead last in the SEC in fielding, too.  LSU has committed 25 errors in 21 games and have turned a league-low of five double plays.

Yikes!

Coach Jay Johnson is trying to remain positive and patient as his team contains a number of transfer players.

LSU needs to complete its 2026 baseball chemistry experiments quickly.  The Tigers play intrastate rival Grambling State University on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge prior to hosting an important SEC weekend series against #7 University of Oklahoma.

LSU’s baseball season will only get tougher after tonight’s game with the G-Men.

*Come back tomorrow, and I’ll pick the Men’s and Women’s March Madness winners!

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