University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino was suspended on Thursday from his team’s first five Atlantic Coast Conference games next season in an alleged sex-for-pay scandal. Louisville said it would appeal the ruling by the NCAA, which also put the basketball program on probation for four years. In addition, the NCAA wiped out all basketball records in which ineligible student-athletes competed from December 2010 to July 2014. The university will pay a self-imposed $5,000 fine, as well. Pitino at a news conference called the NCAA penalty “unjust” and “over-the-top severe.” The decision stems from the NCAA’s investigation into allegations…
Author: Benjamin Scott
North Carolina women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell had built a Hall of Fame career over more than three decades with the Tar Heels, including a national championship and becoming the Atlantic Coast Conference’s all-time winningest coach. That tenure ended with her resignation after a program review found concerns over “racially insensitive” comments and pressuring players to compete through medical issues. The school announced the 67-year-old Hatchell’s resignation late Thursday, along with findings from that external review conducted this month by a Charlotte-based law firm. Among the issues: a “breakdown of connectivity” between Hatchell and the players after 28 interviews of…
Famed football coach Howard Schnellenberger, who led the University of Miami Hurricanes to its first national championship in 1983, died Saturday, his family announced. He was 87. A cause of death was not revealed. His Miami years were arguably the height of Schnellenberger’s career. He led the team to its first bowl game in 13 years in 1980 before besting Nebraska three years later for the title. When he arrived at the Coral Gables campus in 1979, there was talk of disbanding the poor-performing football program. “Without him, there is no Miami Football,” the Hurricanes tweeted Saturday. He also made a mark in…
Jon Gruden has resigned as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after emails he sent before being hired in 2018 contained racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments. Gruden released a statement Monday night, saying: “I have resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. I love the Raiders and do not want to be a distraction. Thank you to all the players, coaches, staff, and fans of Raider Nation. I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt anyone.” Special teams and assistant head coach Rich Bisaccia will take over on an interim basis. It was a rapid downfall for Gruden, who is…
Six former Florida State basketball players sued Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton on Monday, alleging he failed to make good on a promise to get each of them $250,000 in name, image and likeness compensation. The plaintiffs — Darin Green Jr., De’Ante Green, Cam’Ron Fletcher, Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears and Jalen Warley — filed suit in Leon County Circuit court. Their attorney, Fort Lauderdale-based Darren Heitner, shared the 20-page complaint with The Associated Press. Yahoo Sports first reported the case. The former players allege Hamilton promised them the money from his “business partners.” The lawsuit says they walked out of a practice last…
Behind every great college basketball team stands a strategic mastermind—a coach who balances leadership, psychology, discipline, and vision. NCAA basketball coaches are more than instructors of a sport; they are motivators, educators, and tacticians who shape young athletes during some of the most formative years of their lives. So what truly goes on inside the mind of a successful NCAA basketball coach? What separates the average from the elite? This in-depth look explores the mindset, habits, and strategies that define coaching excellence at the collegiate level. 1. Building a Championship Culture Every successful NCAA coach starts with one foundational principle:…
Jessica Campbell became the first female coach in the NHL when the Seattle Kraken named her an assistant Wednesday, the league announced. Campbell, 31, joins Dan Bylsma, who was named the team’s head coach on May 28, the NHL said. For the last two years, the pair worked together as coach and assistant for Seattle’s American Hockey League affiliate in Thousand Palms, California, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The Firebirds named Campbell the first female full-time assistant coach in the AHL two years ago, on July 4, 2022, according to the NHL. “During our tenure in Coachella Valley, I saw firsthand Jessica’s…
Hall of Fame men’s college basketball coach John Calipari said Tuesday he is stepping down at Kentucky and has been announced as the new head coach for the University of Arkansas. In his 15 seasons with the University of Kentucky, Calipari’s led the Wildcats to seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours and the 2012 national championship. “This is a dream job. It was my dream job. Anybody in our profession looks at the University of Kentucky in basketball and says it’s the bluest of blue,” Calipari said Tuesday on social media. “The last few weeks, we’ve come to realize that this…
Bela Karolyi, one of the United States’ most eminent gymnastics coaches alongside wife Márta, has died at age 82, a spokesperson for USA Gymnastics said Saturday evening. Jill Geer, a spokesperson for the organization, the nation’s governing body for the sport, confirmed Karolyi died Friday. A cause of death was not provided. Bela Karolyi helped build USA Gymnastics into an Olympics and international competition powerhouse starting in the 1980s and extending through the 2010s, when his wife had taken over many of his leadership duties. After success with Nadia Comăneci in Romania, the couple helped to launch the athletic careers…
The Chicago Bears are hiring Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their new head coach, reports NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Johnson, 38, had been the Lions’ offensive coordinator since 2022. The Bears finished the 2024 season 5-12 and in last place in the NFC North, the only team in the division with a record under .500. Chicago fired head coach Matt Eberflus after a 4-8 start to the season — the first time it had fired a head coach midseason. Johnson began his NFL coaching career in 2012 as an offensive assistant with the Miami Dolphins. He remained with the Dolphins…