BIG 12 COMPLETES DEAL FOR CINCINNATI, HOUSTON, UCF:
Cincinnati, Houston and UCF will officially join the Big 12 on July 1, 2023, after reaching an exit agreement with the American Athletic Conference, the league and schools announced Friday.
After Oklahoma and Texas announced planned moves to the SEC last year, the Big 12 added Cincinnati, Houston, UCF and BYU to its conference. The initial goal was to get the three schools from the American into the Big 12 in time for the 2023-24 season. BYU is currently an independent and will join the conference next year as well.
Oklahoma and Texas will depart for the SEC in 2025, though that timeline could change. If they stay in the Big 12 through 2025, the Big 12 would be at 14 teams for two seasons.
According to the term sheet, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF will each pay $18 million to exit the American. The schools had been paying a $10 million exit fee in four annual payments through 2024, and they agreed to pay an additional $8 million — spread over 12 payments from 2025 to 2036 — to leave in 2023.
GRANT RECEIVES NJCAA HONOR:
Nebraska running back Anthony Grant will be presented with the David Rowlands Male Student-Athlete of the Year award during the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Foundation Awards.
N.C. Grant is being recognized as the top male student-athlete across all sports in the NJCAA ranks, and he is the first football player to win the award since 2017 and only the fifth since the award began in 1993.
The award caps a decorated final season for Grant at the New Mexico Military Institute. Grant was also the 2021 NJCAA Football Division I Offensive Player of the Year, the Division I rushing champion, a first-team All-American and the MVP of the National Championship Game.
RUNZA SENIORS PREPARE FOR LINCOLN WEEKEND:
The Runza Senior Legion Baseball team looks to get back into their winning ways this weekend with a trio of contests in the Pete/Coach K tournament in Lincoln.
The first game for Kearney has first pitch set for 3 PM today against Modern Real Estate, followed by two contests on Saturday at 10 AM and 12:30 PM.
Runza currently sits at 3-10 on the season.
HUSKER SOFTBALL COACHING STAFF EARNS REGIONAL HONOR:
The Nebraska softball coaching staff was honored as the Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).
Head Coach Rhonda Revelle shared the award with Associate Head Coach Lori Sippel and Assistant Coach Diane Miller. A Revelle-led staff earned the regional coaching honor for the fifth time.
The coaching staff led Nebraska to its first Big Ten Tournament title and the eighth 40-win regular season in school history. The Huskers finished the 2022 season at the NCAA Stillwater Regional, going 1-2. The Huskers also finished the 2022 season with a 17-5 Big Ten record, its best conference record since 2014 and second-best since joining the conference.
HUSKER HOOPS ALUM McVEIGH TO REPRESENT AUSTRALIA NATIONAL TEAM:
Former Husker Jack McVeigh will represent his native Australia during FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying later this month. Australia will play three games during this qualifying window with two games against China (June 30 and July 3) and against Japan (July 1).
This will mark McVeigh’s second appearance with the Australian Boomers and first since 2019. The 6-foot-8 forward from Cabarita Beach, New South Wales, has played professionally in Australia following his college career.
McVeigh spent three seasons at Nebraska (2016-18), playing in 78 games, including 15 starts.
TWO HUSKERS GARNER T&F NCAA MEDALS:
Maddie Harris and Axelina Johansson earned medals in the javelin and shot put, respectively, on Thursday at Hayward Field on the second day of the NCAA Track and Field Championships.
Harris, a sophomore, led the Husker women with a second-place finish in the javelin to earn the silver medal. Johansson, a freshman for the Big Red, earned the NCAA bronze medal in the shot put to score six team points and also collect first-team All-America accolades.
Today, Mayson Conner will look to build off last year’s bronze medal in the high jump when he enters the competition at 7:30 p.m. CT.
OKLAHOMA REPEATS AS NATIONAL SOFTBALL CHAMPS OVER TEXAS:
No. 1 seed Oklahoma defeated unseeded Texas 10-5 on Thursday night to win its second straight title.
Jocelyn Alo, the two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, was named Most Outstanding Player. She hit .667 for the World Series, tied Jennings for a series-record five home runs and set a series mark with 12 runs scored.
The Sooners (59-3) claimed the best-of-three series against their Big 12 rival 2-0 after winning Game 1 16-1 on Wednesday. It was Oklahoma’s sixth overall national championship and fifth in the past nine World Series.
Local Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:
THURSDAY:
- NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Game 5 @ New York
- Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – 1 New York Rangers (TBL 3-2)
FRIDAY:
- Runza Seniors – @ Pete/Coach K Lincoln Tournament
- @ Modern Real Estate Post 8 – 3 PM
- POST 52 – Kearney/GI/Hastings Tournament
- NBA FINALS: Golden State Warriors @ Boston Celtics – 8 PM (BOS 3-1)
SATURDAY:
- Runza Seniors – @ Pete/Coach K Lincoln Tournament
- @ Lincoln East Carpet Land Seniors – 10 AM
- v. Peitzmeier Demolition Seniors – 12:30 PM (@ Lincoln)
- POST 52 – Kearney/GI/Hastings Tournament
- NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Game 6 @ Tampa Bay – 7 PM
SUNDAY:
- Runza Seniors – @ Pete/Coach K Lincoln Tournament
- POST 52 – Kearney/GI/Hastings Tournament
