College

TGIF!

Sign Up

The GIST: Play vintage Taylor and stock up on some bubbly — the 2023–24 school year’s first national champions will hoist their hardware this weekend.

🏑 Field hockey: Host No. 1 UNC opens today’s semifinals against Virginia at 12 p.m. ET. These squads split wins this year, with UNC avenging their only conference loss by beating Virginia 3–2 in the ACC tourney semis. As for the ’Hoos, Virginia’s already shown they can bag an upset in this tourney, but ousting the reigning champs is one helluva tall order.

• Then at 3 p.m. ET, the only non–ACC contender, No. 2 Northwestern, will take on No. 3 Duke. Northwestern’s won 20 (!!!) straight games, and they’re rarin’ to make their third consecutive final, but the Blue Devils’ formidable defense can’t be overlooked.

• The winners of these clashes will advance to Sunday’s 1:30 p.m. ET title game on ESPNU. Start cutting that confetti — fockey’s grand finale will not disappoint.

👟 Cross country: Over 500 runners will race for individual and team national championships in front of a sold-out crowd tomorrow, but the sport’s fiercest rivalry between last year’s top two women’s finishers, No. 2 NC State senior Katelyn Tuohy and No. 8 Florida redshirt junior Parker Valby, is commanding all the hype.

• Valby already proved she can beat Tuohy this season, but betting against the current titleholder in what could be her final NCAA race before going pro is risky, to say the least. Prep for a photo finish at 10:20 a.m. ET on ESPNU.

• The men begin just 50 minutes later, and while there’s no dominant individual favorite, No. 1 Northern Arizona’s the clear frontrunner for the team trophy. Adding a seventh title in eight years would turn this dynasty into a legend.

The GIST: The men’s and women’s soccer tourneys are only in their second rounds, but brackets are already busted.

The men: The 32 unseeded teams duked it out yesterday for a chance to dance to Sunday’s second round, where the 16 seeded squads lie in wait. The biggest jaw-dropper? Junior midfielder Max Rogers’ last-minute screamer from midfield that delivered Yale a 1–0 upset over Bryant (who’s ranked No. 19 nationally) — Yale’s first NCAA tourney win since 1999. Hot damn.

• Denver also took a shock-and-awe approach, finding the back of the net twice in under three minutes to secure a 2–1 first-round dub over Long Island, and Oregon State ousted Seattle U (ranked No. 9 nationally) 2–1 in double-overtime. Hugs on hugs.

The women: The gals’ second round promised so much excitement that it needed two days, with a pair of matches providing a second-round starter course last night. No. 5 Michigan State scooped the tourney’s third upset (and the program’s first-ever trip to the Sweet Sixteen) with a 1–0 win over No. 4 Harvard, while No. 1 BYU cruised to a 1–0 dub over No. 8 USC.

• The remaining 14 matchups hit the pitch today starting at 2 p.m. ET. The most intriguing bout? Giant-slayer UC Irvine’s 4:30 p.m. ET game against No. 8 Gonzaga. Tune in to see if this Cinderella keeps on dancin’.

The GIST: Picture this: Your period unexpectedly came early, so you have to rummage for coins to buy a tampon from an out-of-date bathroom machine. That’s exactly what happened to then–college student, now–Aunt Flow CEO Claire Coder. She decided to take matters into her own hands.

The why: Since one in 10 college students can’t afford period products, Coder made it Aunt Flow’s mission to work with schools to make period products freely available across campuses. If toilet paper's free, why not tampons or pads?

• Other people joining the effort? Celebrity investor (and Tree Hill’s fave fashion designer) Sophia Bush and Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman. Let’s go team.

How to get involved: Join the cause by submitting your period story and nominating a school to provide Aunt Flow period care for students. Leveling the playing field, one cycle at a time.

🚫 Utah placed women’s gymnastics HC Tom Farden on paid leave earlier this week. Confusingly, the school said the decision was based on conduct “not related to student-athlete welfare” — though allegations of abuse were made by former Utes just last month. Make it make sense.

🏀 Former Miami women’s hooper and TikTok star Haley Cavinder announced Monday that she’ll join TCU next season for her final year of NCAA eligibility.

⚖️ Virginia’s Attorney General threatened legal action on Wednesday in anticipation of the NCAA’s denial of undefeated No. 18 James Madison football’s postseason waiver, which the school requested to supersede their FCS to FBS transition postseason ineligibility.

🇺🇸 Nearly 200 college athletes medaled for Team USA in the 2023 Pan American Games — including a whopping 15 podium finishes by Stanford competitors — the NCAA announced yesterday.

📅 While control of the Pac-12 remains an ongoing fight, Oregon State and Washington State have re-engaged with the Mountain West conference in hopes of nailing down a future football scheduling alliance. Watch this space.

🏈 No. 2 Michigan football HC Jim Harbaugh accepted his three-game sign-stealing sideline ban yesterday, ending the Big Ten’s investigation. But, if Harbaugh’s absent for Saturday’s (likely) 1,000th program win, can the milestone be attributed to him? Plot, thickened.

🏒 Women’s ice hockey: No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers (12-0) vs. No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1) — Tonight at 6 p.m. ET and tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET — B1G+

• A Top-2 rematch of last year’s national championship between fierce conference rivals, both running explosive offenses? Plus Badger forward and recent barrier-breaker Laila Edwards will be on the ice? Welcome to hockey heaven.

🏐 Women’s volleyball: No. 4 Louisville Cardinals (23-3) vs. No. 7 Pitt Panthers (22-4) — Tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET — ACCNX

• Louisville has Pitt’s number: They swept the Panthers on October 13th and bested them in last year’s national semis. But Pitt just posted a huge win and almost never loses at home, so they’ll be feeling themselves in this crucial conference matchup.

🏈 Football: No. 5 Washington Huskies (10-0) vs. No. 10 Oregon State Beavers (8-2) — Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ET — ABC

• For Washington, the stakes are sky-high — a dominant win would build their CFP case, lock up a Pac-12 Championship bid, and secure quarterback (QB) Michael Penix Jr.’s lead in the Heisman race. Expect tons of touchdowns from two explosive offenses.

🤽 Men’s water polo: MPSF West Division championship game — Sunday at 6 p.m. ET — Overnght

• The nation’s top four teams — UCLA, Cal, USC, and Stanford — dominate the sport, and they’re going head-to-head in this conference tourney. See who makes a splash in a sneak peek of December’s natty.

For every major achievement and shattered record in women’s hoops, State Farm is there…and they want you there, too. That’s why they’re working overtime to ensure women’s sports receive the coverage they deserve.

• From investing in female athletes to teaming up with us to keep this newsletter free, State Farm’s increasing accessibility to women’s sports — so no fan has to miss another broken barrier.