ESPN is making a significant change to its college football broadcasts for the 2026 season.
According to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, ESPN is getting rid of the BottomLine ticker that appears during a college football game. The network is making this change to make the presentation look cleaner.
MORE: Paul Finebaum applauds Big Ten, SEC bans on NFL players
"We're always looking for ways to better serve sports fans. By removing the BottomLine during live action, we're creating a cleaner presentation that keeps the focus where it belongs—on the field," an ESPN spokesperson told Glasspiegel.
The ticker already doesn't appear during College Football Playoff games, and that will now be extended to regular-season games.

#espn #glasspiegel

Aaron Donald has many passions in life, and while his playing career is at the forefront of people's minds when they think about the legend, it's what Donald does off the field that allows him to be the dominant force he is on it. Since retiring, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year has focused more on his businesses, but he's also taken an interest in the media.
In the midst of considering a return to football, Donald is making moves in the media ******* e. According to Front Office Sports' Ryan Glasspiegel, Donald has sought further opportunities to expand his image.
Donald has signed with Jon Rosen's management team at Envisionary to grow his businesses, brand partnerships, and overall profile in the media and entertainment industries, Rosen confirmed to FOS.
Donald is also in the process of developing a docuseries, one source said.
Envisionary is an advisory service that has represented multiple athletes breaking into sports media roles. Their chief executive officer, Jon Rosen, has over 30 years of experience and has helped Rachael Ray, Alex Rodriguez, Stephen A. Smith, Bobby Flay, and others sign near-record deals in their respective media fields.

#Media #envisionary #businesses #player

As defensive tackle Aaron Donald focuses for now on whether he'll end a two-year playing hiatus in pursuit of a second Super Bowl ring, he's activating a longer-term vision for his post-football future.
Via Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, Donald has hired Jon Rosen of Envisionary to "grow his businesses, brand partnerships, and overall profile in the media and entertainment industries."
Per Glasspiegel, Donald is currently developing a docuseries.
Earlier this year, Donald served as a guest ***** yst for NBC's Super Bowl pregame show.
He has otherwise kept a fairly low profile since retiring after the 2023 season. It appears that Donald will be re-entering the public eye in a significant way. All that's left to be determined is whether it's as a player, as a media personality — or both.

#super #glasspiegel #Media #ryan

ESPN is reportedly planning a new college football show built around Josh Pate and Bussin' With The Boys co-hosts Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, airing Friday afternoons from college campuses, according to Front Office Sports' Ryan Glasspiegel.
The reported show would mark an expansion of ties ESPN has already built with all three hosts. Pate joined the network's Get Up rotation last year, as part of a broader push from content president Burke Magnus, who has said college football is under-covered on ESPN's talk programming relative to how many people actually watch the games. Compton and Lewan started appearing on ESPN's daytime lineup around the same time, following their decision to leave Barstool Sports for a presenting sponsorship with FanDuel.
Of course, the show, which sometimes originates from the same city as the next morning's College GameDay broadcast, also indicates ESPN is looking to further lean into a strategy where its top personalities are digital natives. Naturally, the comparisons will be made to Pat McAfee's own rise at the Worldwide Leader, given the trio's SEC Championship altcast debut on ESPN2 last December — an altcast built off the Field Pass template McAfee had already proven out several times over — and now a reported Friday show on top of it. If it feels like a coincidence, it isn't. It's more a barometer for what's possible when a network invests in an audience someone's already built, according to Pate.
"I think when you combine that… year-round college football being viable and then just sports media as a concept being presented in practice the way Pat has done it, I think that there is no ceiling on what you're allowed to do, what you're capable of doing," Pate told Front Office Sports in July.
What Pate, Lewan, and Compton are actually capable of doing won't be clear until games are being played this fall, when ESPN will have to find out whether a Friday show built around three podcast hosts can hold up against the machine it already runs on Saturdays, one anchored by College GameDay and, per Glasspiegel's reporting, the same site the new show would sometimes share. On a recent episode of Bussin' With The Boys, though, Pate and Lewan laid out a vision for the alleged concept and the specific gap in ESPN's Friday programming they think it can fill.

#sports #compton

Jacob Tobey, the TV play-by-play voice of the San Antonio Spurs, is reportedly being fired after an alleged affair with a team player’s sister, and Colin Cowherd doesn’t think he should go quietly.
The alleged affair went viral on social media earlier this week after Tobey’s Instagram account posted a story outing the Spurs TV voice for the relationship.
“This is my girlfriend of six years. But I cheated on her with Loren Waters. lorenkwatrs So feel free to continue following me if you really think I’m a good guy because I’m not. :)” the post read.
The Instagram story was followed by photos that appeared to show Tobey and Loren Waters, the sister of Spurs guard Lindy Waters III. In the photos, the two were seen together and kissing. Two days later, Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reported that Tobey is out as the Spurs TV announcer, which Cowherd appears to find confusing.
“I did learn something new today, that you can get fired in America for cheating on your girlfriend,” Cowherd said during his Thursday afternoon FS1 and Fox Sports Radio show. “I had no idea that was legal. You can get fired in America for cheating on, not your wife, your girlfriend. Feels like he should hire an attorney. That is a crazy story.”

Adam Schefter has spent nearly 17 years at ESPN. He'll be there even longer.
Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reports that ESPN and Schefter are closing in on a "long-term extension."
Terms weren't included. Schefter is reportedly making $9 million annually. (And to think some folks lost their minds at Dianna Russini making $800,000 per year.)
The new deal, per Glasspiegel, will run "several years into the '30s." Schefter, who is less than six months away from his 60s, had bristled at reports from earlier this year that ESPN was eyeing Ian Rapoport as a replacement for the 59-year-old Schefter.
"I know a lot has been made about my age this week and how I'm retiring, which by the way, no **** chance about that if you don't mind my language," Schefter said in his podcast in April, via Glasspiegel.

Another NFL Network talent is getting the green light for a longer term stay at ESPN.
Longtime NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo is reportedly “closing in” on a new contract with ESPN, which acquired NFL Media earlier this year, according to Ryan Glasspiegel in Front Office Sports. ESPN is reportedly making retention decisions for NFL Network talent as their old contracts come up for renewal. Front Office Sports previously reported that ESPN is bracing for layoffs in short order, and some of those layoffs could be the result of “cost efficiencies” **** ociated with combining the NFL Network operation with ESPN.
Garafolo would join colleague Ian Rapoport as the second person on NFL Network’s evening show The Insiders to receive a new contract from ESPN, leaving Tom Pelissero as the only member of the show awaiting a potential renewal.
No doubt, the NFL Network acquisition added plenty of talent to an already deep bench of NFL reporters at ESPN. In addition to the Insiders trio, NFL Network employs reporters like Jane Slater, Cameron Wolfe, and Sherree Burruss. ESPN, of course, has its own cohort of reporters including the likes of Jeff Darlington and Jeremy Fowler.
Given the aforementioned “efficiencies” ESPN is planning with regard to NFL Network, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see at least some on-air talent not reach a renewal with the Worldwide Leader. The network already opted not to renew Will Blackmon, a fill-in host on NFL Network’s flagship morning show Good Morning Football, for instance.

When ESPN acquired NFL Network on April 1, all NFLN employees currently under contract made the move. Whether they would get new contracts would depend on whether ESPN chose to continue the relationship.
As to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the decision has been made.
Via Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, ESPN "is closing in" on signing Garafolo to a new contract. The deal, per the report, has yet to be finalized.
Although, for now, NFL Network and ESPN have largely operated separately, there presumably will be opportunities for crossover. That, of course, could make some of the current NFL reporters at ESPN a little nervous about potential encroachment on their turf.
And, frankly, a decision to keep Garafolo could result in a decision, down the line, to part ways with someone else.

Brian Kelly has been the head coach at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and LSU.
Front Office Sports' Ryan Glasspiegel reported June 24 that Kelly, who was fired eight games into LSU's 2025 season, is expected to be part of a three-man broadcast booth doing Mountain West Conference games for CBS.
Former Mountain West football members Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Utah State recently joined the Pac-12. The Mountain West added North Dakota State, Northern Illinois and UTEP to join Air Force, Hawai'i, Nevada, New Mexico, San José State, UNLV and Wyoming.
Kelly was UC's head coach from December 2006 to December 2009, when he left to become the Fighting Irish's head coach. His record with the Bearcats was 34-6, and he led UC to appearances in the 2009 Orange Bowl and 2010 Sugar Bowl.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Brian Kelly, ex-UC Bearcats coach, to call Mountain West games for CBS

The war that some would say isn't a war in Iran disrupted plans for the inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic in Saudi Arabia. That has now sparked a legal battle that no one could say is anything but a legal battle.
Via Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, the Saudi Arabian group known as Sela (owned by the Public Investment Fund) has sued Fanatics Studios over the decision to relocate the event to Los Angeles and proceed as scheduled on March 21. Sela wanted to postpone the event by a full year.
The action was filed in England last month. The complaint, per standard procedure, remains under seal because Fanatics Studios has yet to respond.
Saudi Arabia pulled the funding for the event after it was moved.
The case will turn on the terms of the relevant contracts, as interpreted and applied by a commercial court in England. If Sela prevails, Fanatics could be required to reimburse the entity for expenses incurred in connection with the planning for the event, along with any revenue that was lost.

In NFL Network merger, Scott Hanson wasn't transferred to ESPN

Most NFL Media employees were transferred to ESPN as of April 1, when Bristol's NFL Network takeover became effective. There was one major exception.
Via Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, Scott Hanson is staying put.
It makes sense. The NFL has retained control of the RedZone product, which Hanson hosts. If the NFL will continue to produce RedZone, it needs a host.
Indeed, Hanson announced after the last Sunday of the regular season that he’ll remain the host of RedZone. Hanson's clarification came after he seemed to b