Sports
January 1 Is Just Another College Football Day
The college bowl games are just steps to the championship game
When January 1st Meant the End of the College Football season
Once upon a time, January 1st marked the finish line of the college football season. The traditional bowl games played out, a champion was crowned, and players returned to campus to resume their roles as students. That version of the sport no longer exists.
Money changed everything. January 1st is no longer a conclusion. It is now a checkpoint. This year, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena serves as a College Football Playoff quarterfinal. Two more quarterfinal games follow at the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. What was once a ceremonial finale has become one of the most lucrative days on the college football calendar.
A Playoff That Pushes Deeper Into the Academic Year
The expansion does not stop on New Year’s Day. The College Football Playoff continues with semifinal games in Glendale, Arizona, and Atlanta. The national championship game follows on January 19 in Miami Gardens.
That date sits deep into the second semester of the academic year. Classes are underway. Campuses are back in full session. The obvious question lingers in the background. Will the players competing for a national title be excused from attending class?
College football now operates on a professional calendar while still claiming an academic identity. That tension grows harder to ignore with every added game.
Players Are Paid, and the NCAA Is Uneasy
The biggest shift in this new era is money flowing directly to players. Stars now receive compensation through schools, collectives, or third-party arrangements. Name, Image, and Likeness payments have effectively turned elite recruiting into a bidding process.
NCAA leadership does not like this reality. The organization has urged federal lawmakers to intervene and create national standards. Their stated concern centers on fairness and competitive balance. Without regulation, boosters can offer massive financial incentives to steer players toward specific programs.
The system is legal. It is also chaotic. And it has stripped away much of the control the NCAA once exercised.
The “Student-Athlete” Label Under Scrutiny
For decades, the NCAA relied on the term “student-athlete” as a legal shield. That label helped deny players salaries, workers’ compensation, and long-term health care for injuries sustained on the field. Courts often sided with schools, ruling athletes were students, not employees.
As a result, schools avoided financial responsibility for life-altering injuries. Scholarships were presented as fair compensation, though the arrangement overwhelmingly favored institutions.
Now, the landscape has shifted. Players earn money. Games stretch further into the academic calendar. The business looks professional in every way except accountability.
A New Order Nobody Fully Controls
College sports leaders find themselves uncomfortable in the world they helped create. The old model no longer holds. The new one lacks structure.
January 1st used to close the season. Now it opens the most profitable chapter. The page has turned. There is no going back.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
2025 Will Not Be Forgotten
They tell us to move on. 2025 is over. Close the book and turn the page. History, however, rarely listens to that advice.
When historians look back decades from now, 2025 will stand out for one uncomfortable reason. Gambling scandals cut across professional and collegiate sports. Major League Baseball, the NCAA, and the NBA all faced serious questions about integrity. The year exposed how deeply betting had embedded itself into sports. It also showed how little resistance existed from those who profit the most.
The games continued. The partnerships continued. The arrests did too.
Major League Baseball Faces a Direct Hit
MLB took one of the hardest blows. Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz became central figures in a federal investigation that shook the league.
In July, MLB placed both pitchers on paid administrative leave while investigators examined suspicious betting activity. In November, federal authorities arrested both players. Prosecutors allege the two began conspiring with sports bettors as early as 2023. According to the indictments, the pitchers shared advance information about specific pitches they planned to throw during games.
Bettors allegedly used that information to place prop bets totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. The trial is scheduled for May 4, 2026. The case marked one of the most serious gambling-related scandals MLB has faced in decades.
NBA Scandals Extend Beyond the Court
The NBA did not escape the storm. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was placed on indefinite leave after federal authorities launched an investigation into an illegal sports betting operation.
In October, agents arrested Rozier on charges that include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors allege he played a role in a betting scheme tied to manipulated outcomes.
That same month delivered another shock. FBI agents arrested Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups in connection with a separate illegal gambling investigation. The NBA placed Billups on indefinite leave as the case proceeds. A sitting head coach facing federal charges sent tremors through the league.
College Basketball Pays the Price
At the collegiate level, the consequences were swift and severe. In November, the NCAA suspended multiple players for gambling violations. Six men’s basketball players received permanent bans from competition.
Unlike professional leagues, college athletes do not have unions or guaranteed contracts. Their careers ended instantly. The message was clear. The rules exist. The penalties remain harsh.
Gambling Grows While Oversight Lags
Despite all of this, the business of sports betting never slowed. Team owners maintained partnerships with gambling companies. Sports cable networks continued promoting betting lines and prop wagers during broadcasts.
The contradiction became impossible to ignore. Gambling was labeled a growing problem. At the same time, it remained a primary revenue stream.
2025 exposed the fault line. Integrity matters, but profits matter more. That is the legacy historians will not forget.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
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