Faced with the prospect of dealing a potentially fatal blow to a conference it helped start more than 100 years ago, Oregon decided to leave the Pac-12 t o join the Big Ten even though that meant taking half the annual revenue payout established members receive for several years.
The Ducks really had no choice.
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Faced with the prospect of dealing a potentially fatal blow to a conference it helped start more than 100 years ago, Oregon decided to leave the Pac-12 t o join the Big Ten even though that meant taking half the annual revenue payout established members receive for several years.
FILE - Kyle Field, home of the Texas A&M football team, is shown before an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt, Sept. 26, 2020, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - Iowa running back Leshon Williams (4) runs from Michigan linebacker Michael Barrett (23) and defensive end Josaiah Stewart (5) during the second half of the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, file)
FILE - Alabama tight end Amari Niblack (84) and Georgia defensive back Malaki Starks (24) looks to catch the ball during the second half of the Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game in Atlanta, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
FILE - Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe (4) runs past Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant (78) and linebacker Michael Barrett (23) during the first half of the Rose Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)
In the new era of college football, there are three categories: Those who are in the Big Ten or the Southeastern Conference; those pondering how to get into the Big Ten or SEC; and those wondering if they are in danger of being left behind by the Big Ten and SEC.
The days of the Power Five are over. Now, it's a Super Two.
Whether this is good for the overall health of major college athletics is uncertain. But for now, at a time when college sports has never been more volatile, the Big Ten and SEC are wealthy bastions of stability.
“An incredibly strong conference, amazing TV deals, incredible partner, certainly exciting times to be part of the Big Ten,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens recent said recently on the Navigating Sports Business podcast. “So lots of excitement from our student-athletes, our coaches. Our fans are thrilled.”
Three years of tumultuous and destructive conference realignment spawned the superconference era and there are none more powerful than the Big Ten and SEC — on the field and off.
The 18-team Big Ten now stretches from coast to coast, with the additions of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, and features four of the top 10 teams in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 college football poll, including defending national champion and No. 9 Michigan.
The SEC welcomes former Big 12 powers Texas and Oklahoma, adding two schools with a combined 11 football national championships to a conference that has won 13 titles since 2006. Four of the top six teams in the country right now are in the SEC, including No. 1 Georgia, one of nine SEC teams overall in the Top 25.
The consolidation of more of college football’s biggest brands and traditional powers took the Pac-12 out of the picture and trimmed the Power Five to four.
“I’m not sure that that’s what’s best for the health of college football nationally,” said former Fox Sports executive Bob Thompson. “Now, as a TV guy, if I’m going to pay increasing dollars, I’m going to want better match ups.”
As new mega media-rights deals kick in this season for the Big Ten and SEC, the revenue gap between the ACC and Big 12 will continue to grow. Those conferences have all but conceded that the competition — at least when it comes to comparing bank accounts — is for No. 3.
On the field, the SEC is unmatched. At the bank, the Big Ten actually has a slight edge. According to tax filings released in May, the Big Ten reported revenue of $879.9 million compared with $852.6 million for the SEC.
The ACC was a distant third even though it jumped from $617 million in 2021-22 to $707 million in 2022-23.
The Pac-12, which saw 10 of its 12 members disperse to other conferences this summer, generated $603.9 million. The Big 12 was fifth at $510.7 million.
The Super Two also threw their weight around in the latest negotiations for the newly expanded College Football Playoff. In the previous deal, the Power Five conferences took home about the same share of revenue from the CFP deal with ESPN.
The new CFP contract with ESPN is worth $7.8 billion through the 2031 season and the Big Ten and SEC will split close to 60% of the revenue yearly — about $21 million per school while Big 12 and ACC schools take home $12 million to $13 million per year.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti also created an advisory committee earlier this year where two conferences can work together — and without the ACC and Big 12 — on issues facing college sports. Only the Big Ten is truly in position to push back on the SEC — and vice versa — when it comes to shaping the future of college sports.
“There’s going to be checks and balances between those two because they need each other,” former Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe said.
As the separation grows, it creates instability in the other conferences.
Florida State and Clemson have sued the ACC with an eye toward an affordable exit. FSU officials have cited the prospect of trying to keep up with Big Ten and SEC competitors with conference revenues that put the school at a $40 million per year disadvantage.
There appears to be peace and alignment in the Big 12, which adds Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah this year, but for how long?
"If Utah had a chance to go to the Big Ten tomorrow they would take it," Beebe said. “And probably every other school in conferences that are making half as much money because it’s become about money — and they’re going to have payments to make to players.”
As part of a $2.8 billion settlement of antitrusts lawsuits facing the NCAA and power conferences, the leagues have agreed to a revenue-sharing plan that would allow schools to direct about $21 million per year to athletes. The plan could be implemented as soon as next year if the settlement is approved quickly enough by a judge.
Tensions that caused unrest in the Big 12 for years, that led to the Pac-12's break up and are currently creating angst in the ACC seem likely to find their way to the the Big Ten and SEC.
"Those that have all the gold make all the rules, right? So if I was a member of the Big Ten or SEC, I’d start looking over my shoulder and wondering: When is the day going to come when the top of the SEC is not going to want the bottom of the SEC?” Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard told reporters in May.
Thompson said he could see that day coming when the this round of TV contracts comes to an end in the early 2030s.
Instead of more expansion, think Super League, where the upper crust of the SEC and Big Ten — Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, etc. — are lured away from those conferences into a new entity that delivers nothing but the most desirable made-for-TV matchups.
“Unless you could somehow find a way to invent more days of the week, you don’t need any more Big Ten or SEC games. You need better Big Ten and SEC games,” Thompson said.
For now, though, welcome to Year 1 of the Super Two.
Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
FILE - Tennessee players run onto the field at Neyland Stadium before an NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Texas A&M Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)
FILE - Kyle Field, home of the Texas A&M football team, is shown before an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt, Sept. 26, 2020, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - Iowa running back Leshon Williams (4) runs from Michigan linebacker Michael Barrett (23) and defensive end Josaiah Stewart (5) during the second half of the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, file)
FILE - Alabama tight end Amari Niblack (84) and Georgia defensive back Malaki Starks (24) looks to catch the ball during the second half of the Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game in Atlanta, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
FILE - Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe (4) runs past Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant (78) and linebacker Michael Barrett (23) during the first half of the Rose Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)
Gunshots were reported in Donald Trump's vicinity Sunday afternoon. The former president is safe.
U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a person with a firearm near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club in Florida while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing. No injuries were reported. Officials say the person fled in an SUV and was later apprehended by local law enforcement.
He was identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The U.S. Secret Service said it was investigating and that the incident occurred shortly before 2 p.m.
Roughly two months ago, Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear.
Here is the Latest:
The Associated Press filmed Ryan Wesley Routh in April 2022 at a demonstration in Kyiv’s Independence Square two months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
A placard he was holding said: “We cannot tolerate corruption and evil for another 50+ years. End Russia for our kids.” He wore a blue vest with the American flag on the back, along with a scarf and T-shirt in the colors of his national flag, while participating in a small rally.
Other participants held posters drawing attention to Mariupol, which was under siege at the time and is now occupied by Russia. That same day, Routh also paid tribute to foreign citizens killed during the war near a makeshift memorial sign reading “Foreigners killed by Putin.”
Ryan Wesley Routh has never served in the Ukrainian army nor collaborated with the military in any capacity, according to Oleksandr Shahuri, a representative officer of the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command.
Over the past two-and-a-half years, Routh has periodically contacted the international legion with what Shahuri described as “nonsensical ideas.” His plans and ideas can best be described as delusional.”
Shahuri, speaking to The Associated Press, firmly denied any connection to Routh. The International Legion of Ukraine was created shortly after the outbreak of the war by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It consists of foreign citizens “wishing to join the resistance against the Russian occupants and fight for global security,” according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.
Zelenskyy released a statement on X regarding the apparent assassination attempt: “I am glad to hear that Donald Trump is safe and unharmed. My best wishes to him and his family. It’s good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world. We sincerely hope that everyone remains safe.”
Trump campaign leaders are crediting the Secret Service with keeping the former president safe following an apparent assassination attempt in Florida.
In an email sent to staff Sunday evening, senior campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles wrote, “Today, for the second time in two months, an evil monster attempted to take the life of President Trump.”
“Thankfully, no one was injured at the Golf Course. President Trump and everyone accompanying him are safe thanks to the great work of the United States Secret Service,” they wrote.
They added that campaign staffers’ safety is “always our top priority” and asked those receiving the email to “remain vigilant” and “observant and maintain a constant level of situational awareness."
The leaders of a bipartisan task force in Congress that has been investigating the assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally in July said it is monitoring the Florida situation and has requested a briefing by the Secret Service.
“We are thankful that the former President was not harmed, but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms,” said Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa. and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. “The Task Force will share updates as we learn more.”
Fox News host Sean Hannity, a close Trump friend, said on air that he spoke with both Trump and the former president’s golf partner, Steve Witkoff, after the incident.
They told Hannity that they had been on the fifth hole and were about to go to up to putt when they heard a “pop pop, pop pop.” Within seconds, he said Witkoff recounted, Secret Service agents “pounced on” Trump and “covered him” to protect him.
In the aftermath, Trump checked in with allies, including his vice presidential nominee, JD Vance, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and several Fox News hosts.
It was not immediately clear whether the incident would affect Trump's campaign schedule.
On Monday night, he was set to speak from Florida about cryptocurrency live on the social media site X for the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. Trump planned a town hall Tuesday in Flint, Michigan, with his former press secretary, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, followed by a rally Wednesday on New York’s Long Island.
Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His campaign had not advised about any public plans for Trump on Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, said he and his wife, Gwen, are “glad” to hear Trump is safe. “Violence has no place in our country,” he said in a post on X. “It’s not who we are as a nation.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he has been briefed by the acting director of the Secret Service and applauded the agency “for their quick response to ensure former President Trump’s safety.” Schumer went on to condemn “political violence of any kind” and said the “perpetrator must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“It’s abundantly clear there are violent people who are willing to do anything to keep President Trump from the White House,” Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said in a statement posted to X.
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, chair of the House Republican Conference, questioned “how an assassin was allowed to get this close to President Trump again” in light of the attempt on his life at a Pennsylvania rally in July.
“There continues to be a lack of answers for the horrific assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and we expect there to be a clear explanation of what happened today in Florida,” Stefanik added.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he had spent the past few hours with Trump and the former president is “unstoppable.” The Republican speaker said he and his wife, Kelly, had been with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
The man who authorities say pointed a rifle with a scope into former President Donald Trump’s golf club and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
The officials identified the suspect to the AP but spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Secret Service agents shot at the suspect, who was taken into custody after fleeing the scene of what the FBI is calling an apparent attempted assassination of the Republican presidential nominee. Authorities are working to determine a motive.
— By Associated Press reporters Colleen Long, Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Michael R. Sisak
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump was the sitting president. But because he’s not, “security is limited to the areas that the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”
“But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done, they provided exactly what the protection should have been and their agent did a fantastic job," Bradshaw said.
Former presidents and their spouses have Secret Service protection for life, but the security posture around former presidents varies depending on threat levels and exposure, with the toughest typically being in the immediate aftermath of their leaving office.
Trump’s protective detail has been higher than some of his peers because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance, posted on X that he spoke to the former president before the news became public and said “he was, amazingly, in good spirits.”
Vance said there was still a lot “we don’t know” about the incident.
Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, indicated the suspect will initially be charged at the state level but could also be charged with federal crimes.
Aronberg said his prosecutors are working up warrant and pretrial detention applications.
“Our filing of the warrant and charges at the state level does not preclude the federal charges that could be coming,” Aronberg said. “But in the meantime, it looks like the warrants and a pretrial detention motion will happen first.”
A Secret Service agent walking on the golf course a hole ahead of where Trump was playing spotted the rifle sticking out of the fence and immediately opened fire, Palm Beach County Bradshaw said.
The agent fired four to six rounds, a Secret Service official said. The suspect then fled.
A witness who took a picture of the suspect’s vehicle and license plate number provided it to law enforcement officers.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the gunman was about 400 to 500 yards away from Trump and hidden in shrubbery while the former president played golf on a nearby hole.
The man had an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera, the sheriff said. Bradshaw said the backpacks had ceramic tile in them and that the suspect’s belongings are being processed.
The FBI says it is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” of Donald Trump.
Trump was returned safely after the incident to his private Mar-a-Lago club, where he resides in neighboring Palm Beach, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His campaign had not advised Trump’s plans for Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told WPTV that the suspect believed connected to the incident “was not armed when we took him out of the car.”
The man had a calm, flat demeanor and showed little emotion when he was stopped by police, Snyder said, saying the suspect did not question why he was being pulled over.
“He never asked, ‘what is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on. He never questioned it,” Snyder said.
A man with an AK-style rifle pushed the firearm’s muzzle through the perimeter of Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course as the Republican presidential candidate was playing a round, prompting U.S. Secret Service to open fire, according to three law enforcement officials.
The person dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV, and was later apprehended in a neighboring county, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, and agents were a few holes ahead of him when they noticed the person with the firearm, the officials said.
An AK-style firearm was recovered at the scene near Trump’s golf course, two law enforcement officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity about an ongoing investigation.
The golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, and agents were a few holes ahead of him when they noticed a person with the firearm, the officials said. The person appeared to push the muzzle of the rifle through a fence line and that’s when agents fired, the officials said.
Law enforcement officials were expected to speak to reporters Sunday afternoon about the incident and the apprehension of the suspect.
In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!”
“Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!” the former president said.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Sunday that it has stopped a vehicle on northbound Interstate 95 and taken a suspect into custody who is believed to be connected to the shooting.
The sheriff’s office said it made the stop after authorities in neighboring Palm Beach County put out a “be on the lookout” alert. Photos included in the post showed an SUV stopped behind multiple law enforcement vehicles.
The post by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office indicated the suspect was apprehended near Palm City, Florida, about a 45-mile drive north of Trump’s golf course. Northbound lanes of I-95 were shut down, the sheriff’s office said.
U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a person with a firearm near Donald Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing Sunday, according to two law enforcement officials. No injuries were reported.
The person fled in an SUV and was later apprehended in a nearby county by local law enforcement, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity about an ongoing investigation.
The incident comes roughly two months after an assassination attempt on Trump’s life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
— By Colleen Long, Alanna Durkin Richer, Eric Tucker and Mike Balsamo
In an X post, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s top congressional allies, said he had spoken with Trump after the incident and that Trump was in “good spirits” and was “one of the strongest people I’ve ever known."
Trump often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach, one of three he owns in the state.
Donald Trump was safe after gunshots were reported in his vicinity Sunday afternoon in Florida, his campaign and the Secret Service said.
The U.S. Secret Service said it was investigating and that the incident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. “The former president is safe,” according to the Secret Service.
Roughly two months ago, Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear.
Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser.
The campaign did not immediately provide any additional details.
No injuries were reported in the shooting incident, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in Florida says.
The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, had both been briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House added they are “relieved” to know Trump is safe.
A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation said officials were trying to determine whether the shots were fired near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course or on the grounds. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Ryan Wesley Routh pays tribute to foreign citizens killed during Russia-Ukraine war in a central square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Ryan Wesley Routh takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Police officers direct traffic near Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Photos that show an AK-47 rifle, a backpack and a Go-Pro camera on a fence outside Trump International Golf Club taken after an apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, are displayed during a news conference at the Palm Beach County Main Library, Sunday. Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Stephany Matat)
A police officer directs traffic near Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
This photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows Sheriff's vehicles surrounding an SUV on the northbound I-95 in Martin County on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP)
This photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows Sheriff's vehicles surrounding an SUV on the northbound I-95 in Martin County on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP)
FILE - Security agents talk at the entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, March 31, 2023, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump waves as he boards a plane at Harry Reid International Airport after a campaign trip, Saturday, Sept.14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Sheriff vehicles are pictured near Trump International Golf Club, Sunday. Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla., after gunshots were reported in the vicinity of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Stephanie Matat)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at Harry Reid International Airport to board a plane after a campaign trip, Saturday, Sept.14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FILE - The motorcade for President Donald Trump arrives at Trump International Golf Club, Feb. 15, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
