Sports
Reports: Utah State’s Jerrod Calhoun heading to alma mater Cincinnati
Mar 19, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Utah State Aggies head coach Jerrod Calhoun at press conference ahead of the first round of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun is set to take the same position at Cincinnati, several reports said Monday.
Calhoun will replace Wes Miller, whom Cincinnati bought out after five years as its head coach and no trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Calhoun, 44, is an Ohio native who attended Cincinnati and served as a student assistant under Bob Huggins in 2003-04.
Calhoun worked under Huggins again on the staff at West Virginia (2007-12) before becoming a head coach for the first time. He has held the main job at Division II Fairmont State (2012-17), Youngstown State (2017-24) and Utah State.
He leaves behind a Utah State program that he coached to an impressive 55-15 record over two seasons. The Aggies made the NCAA Tournament and held an AP Top 25 ranking for at least one week in each season under Calhoun.
No. 9 seed Utah State defeated No. 8 Villanova in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday before falling to top seed Arizona 78-66 on Sunday.
Utah State is in the market for a new head coach for the fourth time this decade. After Craig Smith left for rival Utah in 2021, the Aggies hired Ryan Odom, who stayed two seasons before taking over VCU and now Virginia.
Following Odom was one season under Danny Sprinkle, who coached Utah State to an NCAA Tournament win and promptly jumped to Washington. That’s when the Aggies hired Calhoun, who had gone 118-106 in seven years at Youngstown State.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kirby Smart, SEC Continue Complaining About College Football’s Future
As the calendar flips to the next day, things continue to change; however, one consistency will always come to the forefront, and it’s that the SEC will be the biggest crybabies on the planet.
Similar to its geographic counterparts, Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart went to the media to discuss the SEC’s potential to secede from the NCAA. There are currently two issues causing strife for the SEC.
The major power conferences and Notre Dame want to expand the playoffs to 24 teams, while the SEC only wants to expand to 16 teams. I personally don’t think any expansion should occur, as the regular season should still matter in college football. That said, I’m shocked the SEC doesn’t want the larger expansion.
A larger playoffs means more money, more potential home games, and smaller schools feeling that they can genuinely compete for national titles. The SEC complains every year when their 9-3 teams miss the playoffs, so I’m shocked they wouldn’t want half their conference playing in the postseason.
Kirby has his complaints about playoff expansion, but uncontrolled NIL expansion is his bigger concern. I think most people with common sense believe there needs to be more guardrails around NIL. I’m just not sure that head coaches are the right messengers for these complaints.
NIL isn’t going anywhere, either.
College football head coaches tend to be the highest-paid public worker in most states. They can also leave their job whenever they want and hold their universities over the fire for more money. When you hear Kirby Smart complaining about these kids, many of whom coming from limited money, it feels super disingenuous. These high level coaches keep complaining about the current state of NIL, but aren’t coming up with better solutions. Our current “wild west” of NIL is significantly better than these college athletes playing for free in years past.
NIL isn’t the death of college sports, but the SEC leaving the NCAA would be. Smart argues that the SEC can stand on its own, and doesn’t need to play by rules they don’t like.
Things like this is why everyone hates the SEC. If they don’t get everything they like, they take their ball and go home. If the SEC ever left the SEC, maybe the NCAA could survive, but it would always be a shell of its former power.
Also, I feel this is mostly just a bad bluff by Kirby Smart. Yes, SEC fans love their teams, but having an entire season of only SEC football feels like a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately, the SEC is locked into contracts through the next 5 years, so they’ll have to wait a little before getting too off the rails.
Sports
Report: Serena Williams wants to make comeback at Queen's Club
Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian of Los Angeles Golf Club watch their team against Jupiter Links GC during the TGL finals at SoFi Center on March 23, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Serena Williams reportedly is planning a return to professional tennis.
The Telegraph reported Thursday that Williams, 44, plans to request a wild card to play doubles with Victoria Mboko, 19, of Canada in the Queen’s Club Championships next month in London. The tournament, which begins on June 8, serves as a grass-court tune-up for Wimbledon.
Williams had great success on the courts at Wimbledon, where she won seven singles titles. She also teamed with her sister, Venus Williams, for six doubles championships in London.
Serena Williams last played on the WTA Tour in a loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open.
In her time away from tennis, Williams gave birth to her second daughter in August 2023.
She reportedly re-entered the registered testing pool for the International Tennis Integrity Agency in December. She has completed the mandatory six-month period in that pool.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion initially dismissed comeback rumors in December before slightly changing her tune during an appearance on the “Today” show in late January.
“I’m just having fun and enjoying my life right now,” Williams said, when asked on the show about a potential comeback. “That’s not a yes or no. I don’t know. I’m just gonna see what happens.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
MAAC rebranded, now The Metro Conference
Iona Men’s Basketball vs Siena in MAAC men’s basketball tournament quarterfinal game in Atlantic City on March 10 7:30 PM
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The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is shedding part of its name while trying to maintain tradition.
The conference will rebrand as The Metro Conference effective July 1, as an element of strategic planning launched three years ago.
“The goal of this project was to establish a bold and clear identity that eliminated longstanding confusion surrounding the Conference’s name,” said Travis Tellitocci, MAAC commissioner, in a news release. “Throughout this process, we wanted to create a brand that better positions the Conference for the future while still honoring the tradition and foundation that have defined this league for the past 45 years. We are excited about this next chapter and the future of the Metro Conference.”
Confusion existed with the similar-sounding Mid-American Conference — the Cleveland-based MAC. The length of the full name of the conference also “created inconsistencies in how the brand was referenced and frequently led to the conference being referred to incorrectly,” the new Metro Conference said in its release.
The rebranding includes a new red-and-blue logo with a bold type.
The MAAC was founded in 1980 and has 13 member schools, largely based in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut: Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Marist, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary’s, Niagara, Quinnipiac, Rider, Sacred Heart, Saint Peter’s and Siena.
–Field Level Media
Kirby Smart, SEC Continue Complaining About College Football’s Future
Report: Serena Williams wants to make comeback at Queen's Club
