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Upcoming Curbstone speakers
The Curbstone Coaches will resume on Monday. Below is the line-up of speakers through November.
The weekly luncheons are held at the Avion Banquet Center in Beaver Township. Meetings are at noon, with lunch beginning at 11:45 a.m.
Cost is $20 per person with a 50/50 available.
Monday - Ron Strollo - YSU A.D. and honor YSU Women's Tennis Team
Sept. 21 - Tony Stephens - Ursuline Head Football Coach
Sept. 28 - Rich Wall - YSU Soccer Coach
Oct. 5 - Ethan Faulkner - YSU Men's BB Coach
Oct. 12 - Melissa Jackson – YSU Women's BB Coach
Oct. 19 - Doug Phillips - YSU Football Coach
Nov. 2 - Riley Jarrett - YSU Volleyball Coach
Nov. 9 - Bob Hannon - United Way president/YSU Football Radio
Nov. 16 - Hannah Saiz - YSU Men's/Women's Swim Coach
Nov. 23 - Reid Lamport-former Poland HS Softball Coach & 2011 State Champ
Nov. 30 - No Meeting - Thanksgiving Holiday
Mount Union favored by coaches
WESTERVILLE -- The Ohio Athletic Conference's head coaches picked Mount Union, under the direction of seventh-year Head Coach Geoff Dartt, to win the OAC football title in 2026.
Mount Union received eight of nine first-place votes and collected 64 points, followed by Baldwin Wallace with 54 points. Ohio Northern finished third with 53 points and the final first-place vote, followed by Heidelberg with 43 points in fourth and Marietta with 32 points in fifth. Head coaches do not vote for their team in the balloting.
The 13-time National Champion Purple Raiders won their 36th total (conference record) and ninth-straight OAC title last season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the 36th time (an NCAA Division III record). Last season, Mount Union completed its 34th undefeated regular season. Under Dartt, the Purple Raiders have gone undefeated in the regular season and claimed the OAC championship in every season.
The 2026 Purple Raiders start their season with a top-5 nationally ranked matchup at Wheaton College in Illinois on Sept. 5, at 2 p.m. Mount Union is ranked No. 3, while the Thunder is ranked No. 5 in the 2026 D3football.com preseason poll.
Full OAC preseason poll
(first-place votes in parentheses)
1. Mount Union 64 (8)
2. Baldwin Wallace 54
3. Ohio Northern 53 (1)
4. Heidelberg 43
5. Marietta 32
6. Muskingum 31
7. Capital 21
8. Wilmington 18
9. Otterbein 8
Big Ten to release availability reports
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The Big Ten announced the expansion of its player availability reporting process for the 2026 college football season Friday, requiring teams to submit four reports per week instead of one for games matching conference opponents.
Schools will submit availability reports beginning three days before a contest and concluding with a gameday report. For a Saturday game, reports would be due by 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and two hours before the scheduled kickoff on Saturday.
Midweek status designations will identify players as probable, questionable, doubtful, out or out for the first half. Gameday reports will include three categories: game-time decision, out and out for the first half. Players not listed on a report are considered available.
Because of travel party limitations, visiting teams will indicate the availability status of players who were part of the travel squad or were not part of the travel squad but are (or have been) included in the two-deep on offense, defense, or special teams or otherwise regularly participate in games.
The policy applies for competition against conference opponents only, with the first reports of the season due in advance of the Southern California-Rutgers and Purdue-UCLA games on Sept. 19. Availability reports will be published on BigTen.org.
The Big Ten began requiring availability reports in 2023.
Gators extend hoops coach Golden
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Todd Golden's third raise in as many years will make him the second-highest paid basketball coach in the Southeastern Conference.
The 40-year-old Florida coach signed a one-year extension earlier this month that increased the total value of his deal to $49.5 million. It averages $8.25 million annually and keeps him under contract through the 2031-32 season.
Golden's salary for next season jumps from $6 million to $7.5 million. He's due a $300,000 raise annually, with the contract culminating at $9 million in its final year. Only Kansas' Bill Self, UConn's Dan Hurley and Arkansas' John Calipari are slated to make more than Golden next season. New North Carolina coach Michael Malone also will make $7.5 million this season.
Golden's deal is nearly fully guaranteed. Florida would owe him 85% of the remaining value if the school fired him without cause at any point.
Golden's buyout to leave Gainesville starts at $16 million next season and drops annually: $13 million in 2027-28; $5 million in 2028-29; $3 million in 2029-30; $2 million in 2030-31; and $1 million in 2031-32.
However, Golden can leave for the NBA at a much lower price. His NBA buyout begins at $3 million next season and drops to $2 million (2027-29) and then $1 million in 2029-30.
Golden's raise makes him the highest-paid coach on Florida's campus; first-year Florida football coach Jon Sumrall's six-year contract averages $7.45 million.
Golden has done plenty to earn his latest payday. He is 103-41 (.715) in four seasons in Gainesville, including a 36-4 mark in 2024-25 while leading the Gators to the program's third national title.
Golden joined Florida in 2022 after three seasons at San Francisco. He got his first contract extension after Year 2, signing a deal that bumped his annual salary to $4.1 million. He signed another one last year that raised his salary to $6 million.