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College Baseball

College Basketball

College Football

College Gymnastics

College Hockey

College Softball

College Wrestling

Death To The NCAA

Tom Ley

Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena on January 2, 2026 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Former Michigan State Player Makes Too Much Of A Scene For Even Tom Izzo To Tolerate

Maitreyi Anantharaman

If Syla Swords Takes A Shot But The Clock Is Frozen, Did It Actually Happen?


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 13: Yaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines handles the ball in the second half against David Coit #8 of the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on December 13, 2025 in College Park, Maryland.

Michigan Is Routing Everyone

Audi Crooks #55 of the Iowa State Cyclones takes a shot as Layla Hays #12 of the Iowa Hawkeyes blocks in the first half of play at Hilton Coliseum on December 10, 2025, in Ames, Iowa.

Audi Crooks Makes Every Minute Count

Hannah Hidalgo #3 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish takes the court before a game against the Chicago State Cougars at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center on November 9, 2025 in South Bend, Indiana.

It Should Be Illegal To Unleash Hannah Hidalgo On The Akron Zips

Hawaii Pacific celebrates in a game screenshot

Boise State Lost Its Gimme Game

Ray Ratto

Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers at the media day before the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game on April 3, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.

Bruce Pearl Always Knew What He Could Get Away With

Head coach Kalani Sitake of the BYU Cougars, head coach Joey McGuire of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, head coach Matt Campbell of the Iowa State Cyclones, head coach Chris Klieman of the Kansas State Wildcats, head coach Scott Satterfield of the Cincinnatti Bearcats, head coach Scott Frost of the UCF Knights, head coach Dave Aranda of the Baylor Bears and head coach Kenny Dillingham of the Arizona State Sun Devils speak with the media during the Big 12 Media Days at The Ford Center at The Star on July 08, 2025 in Frisco, Texas.

The Business Of Post-Settlement College Sports Is Already A Mess


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

A photo of Florida Gators basketball coach Todd Golden speaking to reporters at a press conference during the Final Four. Golden is sitting at a table with a nameplate.

Florida Built A Black Box And Put The Todd Golden Case Inside It

Will Richard of the Florida Gators celebrates after second half in the National Championship of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Houston Cougars at the Alamodome on April 7, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.

Florida Didn’t Lose The National Championship

Azzi Fudd #35 of the UConn Huskies celebrates during the trophy ceremony after beating the South Carolina Gamecocks 82-59 to win the National Championship of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena on April 06, 2025 in Tampa, Florida.

Azzi Fudd And The Huskies Finally Got Their Crowning Moment

Justin Ellis

J'Wan Roberts of the Houston Cougars defends the shot attempt of Cooper Flagg of the Duke Blue Devils in the final minutes of the 2025 Mens College Basketball semi final

Houston Showed Why You Play To The Final Buzzer

Sarah Strong #21 and Paige Bueckers #5 of the UConn Huskies react on the bench against the UCLA Bruins during the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at Amalie Arena on April 4, 2025 in Tampa, Florida.

Sarah Strong Doesn’t Act Her Age

TCU Horned Frogs forward Sedona Prince (#13) dribbles up court during the Big 12 college basketball game between the TCU Horned Frogs and Baylor Bears on January 26, 2025 at Ed &amp; Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Silence Surrounding Sedona Prince Is A Look Into Sports’ Future

David Roth

Paige Bueckers exults in a basket under the basket against the USC Trojans during the Elite Eight round of the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Spokane Arena on March 31, 2025.

Podcasts

Where’d She Go To College? With Maitreyi Anantharaman

Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda #32 of the Texas Longhorns reacts in front of Hailey Van Lith #10 of the TCU Horned Frogs during the second half in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Legacy Arena at the BJCC on March 31, 2025 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Texas Cut TCU To Pieces

Bree Hall #23 of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts against the Duke Blue Devils during the second half in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Legacy Arena at the BJCC on March 30, 2025 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks Are Escape Artists

8 Nov 2001: Alex Wesby #23 of Temple and #50 of Florida jump for the ball during the game in the Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Florida won 72-64. The photo is cropped so you only see the heads and arms of both players. Wesby is facing the camera; Haslem is looking away from it.

Eliminate The Possession Arrow

NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 29: Jon Scheyer head coach of the Duke Blue Devils has a laugh with Cooper Flagg #2 of the Duke Blue Devils after winning the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament game against the Alabama Crimson Tide on March 29, 2025 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Cooper Flagg, wearing a hat and a blue Duke East Regional championship shirt has his hands over his face while Duke coach Scheyer has him in a half-hug with. a huge grin on his face. Scheyer is wearing the same shirt as Flagg, and the same hat too—only his is backwards.

Oh, No! They Made A Likable Duke Basketball Team

UCLA Bruins gathers against the LSU Lady Tigers during the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Spokane Arena on March 30, 2025 in Spokane, Washington.

UCLA Finally Finds Its Place

Dave McKenna

Darrion Williams #5 and Kevin Overton #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders react after Williams scored a three point basket to tie the game during the second half in the West Regional Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Chase Center on March 27, 2025 in San Francisco, California.

Texas Tech Made It Feel Like Destiny

JuJu Watkins #12 of the USC Trojans is attended to by team staff after being injured against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the Second Round of the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Galen Center on March 24, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

JuJu Watkins’s Season Ends With A Torn ACL

Dan Hurley making a skeptical face with his glasses pushed up onto his forehead during UConn's loss to Florida in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Dan Hurley Is The Last Angry Man

Derik Queen #25 of the Maryland Terrapins makes a shot against Ethan Morton #25 of the Colorado State Rams to win the game 72-71 in the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena on March 23, 2025 in Seattle, Washington.

One Good Shot Deserves A Great One

The McNeese Cowboys celebrate their win over the Clemson University Tigers during the first round of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Amica Mutual Pavillion on March 20, 2025 in Providence, Rhode Island.