Another week without college football or basketball games nonetheless featured plenty of news impacting both sports.
Here are four developments that will resonate with Pac-12 legacy schools and other universities across the region.
1. Bill Belichick’s interview gone bad
Nitty gritty: During an interview with CBS Mornings, North Carolina coach Bill Belichick was upstaged by his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, who interjected from off camera, “We’re not talking about this” when the 73-year-old Belichick was asked how they met. The blowback was immense and added scrutiny to Hudson’s role in Belichick’s professional life.
Why it matters: On this topic, we plan to tread carefully and proceed with extreme nuance.
Hudson’s actions during the CBS interview, her presence on UNC’s practice field and her role in shaping the Tar Heels’ strategic communcations plan undoubtedly complicate matters for the school, but they don’t matter a lick to college football writ large.
At least in any direct sense.
But indirectly? That’s an issue worth exploration, because North Carolina isn’t just any school. It’s quite possibly the trigger for the net wave of realignment.
Were the SEC and Big Ten to conduct a draft of schools not currently in either conference, Notre Dame would be picked first, followed by North Carolina.
But given that Notre Dame has no plans to join a conference — if anything, the proposed College Football Playoff format for 2026 and beyond incentivizes the Irish to remain Independent — North Carolina is the presumptive No. 1 selection.
That’s right: The Tar Heels are higher on the SEC and Big Ten’s wish-list than Clemson and Florida State, the ACC rabble-rousers whose lawsuits created short-term security for the conference but long-haul instability.
North Carolina is the dominant school in the ninth most-populous state — a state that has no teams currently in the SEC or Big Ten. It’s an elite academic school with one of the few basketball programs that carries value to media companies. The football program has been average but possesses significant potential.
The link to realignment comes courtesy of the legal fight waged by Clemson and Florida State, which resulted in the ACC altering its departure penalties. Once 2030 arrives, schools can leave for a manageable sum: $75 million, according to ESPN. And it just so happens that 2030 is the expiration year for the Big Ten’s current media rights deal.
It’s entirely possible that 2030 sparks the Great Restructuring that so many believe is inevitable, with implications for schools across the Power Four and the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Which brings us back to Belichick and, by association, Hudson.
If he manages to unlock North Carolina’s potential as a playoff-contending, needle-moving football brand, the school’s value on the expansion market could be such that realignment starts at the earliest possible point and takes the form of a bidding war for the Tar Heels.
On the other hand …
If North Carolina flounders under Belichick and is not deemed a must-have property, perhaps realignment is delayed until the 2032-34 range.
After all, we don’t know how the situation will play out because of the challenges facing the NCAA economic model, the financial stresses those challenges could create and any variables in the media ecosystem that underpins college football.
The uncertainty currently at the center of major college football could increase by an order of magnitude by the end of the decade. And Hudson, of course, will play no part in shaping the secular trends.
But as a symptom of trouble, not an instigator of change, Hudson’s actions are worth monitoring.
How so?
If, like the Hotline, you believe her role in Belichick’s professional life suggest he has lost the traits that defined his greatness with the Patriots — the singular will to win, the aversion to distractions, the authoritarian management style — then the CBS interview, and Hudson presence on the practice field, are nuggets to remember.
They are bread crumbs on the trail to 2030.
Belichick’s success with the Tar Heels could have major implications on the timing and severity of the next realignment wave.
So, too, could his failure.
2. Pac-12 signs one-year media deal
Nitty gritty: Washington State and Oregon State will have all 13 home games in the upcoming season broadcast on The CW (nine), CBS (two) and ESPN (two).
Why it matters: The season begins in four months, so the schools were under increasing pressure to get their ’25 home schedules completed. But there’s more to the news than a single season.
Sometime this spring, and perhaps in the next few weeks, the Pac-12 will sign a multi-year media rights contract for the rebuilt conference. The nature of the ’25 deal, with every game on over-the-air or cable networks, suggests a longer-term strategy that smartly prioritizes linear exposure.
Also, we were struck by CBS’s presence within the one-year agreement. (The network will air the Apple Cup and the first of two WSU-OSU matchups.)
For those unfamiliar, CBS and Fox share the rights to the Mountain West for the upcoming season. That deal expires in the summer of 2026.
It’s difficult to imagine CBS partnering with both the rebuilt Pac-12 and the reconstituted Mountain West. Does the two-game deal for ’25 signal the network is preparing to switch conference partners in 2026 and beyond?
And how might CBS’ strategy impact Fox, or vice versa?
It’s an unusual situation, for sure, with the networks currently sharing media rights with a conference that’s about to lose its top brands to a regional rival just as one contract cycle ends and another begins.
3. Trump mulls executive order for NCAA
Nitty gritty: Following a meeting between President Donald Trump and former Alabama coach Nick Saban, the administration is considering “an executive order that could increase scrutiny of the explosion in payments to college athletes,” according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Why it matters: In theory, the order would provide a framework for the chaotic NIL marketplace. But the details and legal protections are uncertain because so many states have their own laws.
What the NCAA needs, first and foremost, is antitrust protection from Congress. If Trump’s interest in adding regulation is real, it could spur Congress to take the action college officials have coveted for years.
Or maybe not.
The push for an executive order could reflect the NCAA’s growing realization that antitrust protection isn’t coming anytime soon, so its focus has turned to the next-best outcome.
Which wouldn’t come close to providing the panacea it craves.
4. Arizona reloads for ’26 (the old-fashioned way)
Nitty gritty: The Wildcats recently secured a commitment from Sidi Gueye, a forward from Senegal who joins a six-player freshman class in Tucson. ESPN described Gueye, who has a 7-foot-4 wingspan, as “an elite defender who is often tasked with guarding smaller players on the perimeter.”
Why it matters: Arizona’s roster was hit hard this spring by the transfer portal (Henri Veesaar and KJ Lewis) and declarations for NBA Draft (Jaden Bradley and Carter Bryant).
But coach Tommy Lloyd has restocked with a stellar collection of prep talents, including five-star wings Koa Peat and Brayden Burries.
At this point, the class is No. 2 nationally in the 247Sports rankings, behind Houston. But we wonder: How many of the newcomers will make immediate impacts?
Arizona’s non-conference schedule is rugged, with a season-opener against Florida, according to CBS, and matchups against UConn, UCLA, Alabama and Auburn.
The lineup is great for fans and thrilling for the players, but is the schedule too difficult for a rotation that could be flush with freshmen?
The Big 12 offers far more Quadrant I opportunities than the (former) Pac-12 — enough that teams with soft non-conference schedules can nonetheless secure high seeds.
Losses matter in the NCAA selection process. How many will Arizona sustain before Big 12 play begins?
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