WNBA players are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, focusing on issues like facilities, charter flights, and revenue sharing.
Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier highlighted disparities in facilities between teams, advocating for a more equitable standard across the league.
Despite the expiring CBA, players are committed to securing improved terms, citing the league’s recent unprecedented growth.

With the clock ticking on the WNBA collective bargaining agreement, Minnesota Lynx free agent Napheesa Collier explained what the players are fighting for in a profile in Glamour magazine.

Facilities and charter flights are among the talking points in the new CBA. But revenue sharing is where the rubber hits the road for the WNBA and its players as the deal expires on Friday, Oct. 31. Very few, if any, on either side believe a new CBA will be reached by the deadline. An extension can be agreed upon before a lockout is put into place.

“You know, everything is so great in Minnesota. We share everything with the men’s team [the Minnesota Timberwolves]. So whatever they have, we have,” Collier says. “After learning that [other teams] don’t even have practice facilities, they don’t even have changing rooms, they don’t have all these things. It just feels really unjust.”

Collier, who is the WNBPA vice president and co-founder of 3-on-3 league Unrivaled, would like to see an equal playing field. She referred to the New York Liberty being fined $500,000 in 2022 for violating the WNBA’s CBA using charter flights for travel during the 2021 season. The WNBA started a charter flight program in 2024 but it has not been codified in the CBA.

“I feel like that is not a hard thing for me to fight for because I’m a player in this league too. I want to lift this up for everyone.,’ Collier said ‘…. I don’t mind that New York takes planes. I’m glad for you guys. But it shouldn’t be unfair [to the point] where [some] people are living in squalor.”

Last week, the sides went back and forth after NBA commissioner Adam Silver appeared on ‘Today’ on Oct. 21 and took issue with a question about revenue sharing. Craig Melvin asked if WNBA players should get a larger piece of the revenue pie. “They get nine percent of total revenue compared to roughly 50 percent of the revenue of NBA players. Should they be getting a larger share of revenue in the WNBA?”

“Yes,’ Silver said ‘I think ‘share’ isn’t the right way to look at it because there’s so much more revenue in the NBA. You should look at it in absolute numbers in terms of what they’re making. They are going to get a big increase in this cycle of collective bargaining. And they deserve it.”

The WNBPA clipped Silver saying, ‘I think ‘share’ isn’t the right way to look at it,’ to its Instagram story with the caption, ‘Don’t want to share?’ and tagged the commissioner.

“You know they know it’s bad when the best they say they can do is more of the same: a fixed salary system and a separate revenue-sharing plan that only includes a piece of a piece of the pie, and pays themselves [the league] back first,” WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson said in a statement sent to The Athletic on Oct. 22.

“We’ve come to the table prepared to do business. They’ve responded with bad math and are hoping everyone doesn’t understand what ‘uncapped’ actually means. Adam Silver said it himself on behalf of the WNBA. ‘Share isn’t the word.’ It’s not in their vocabulary.”

The WNBA came back with its own statement to ESPN, saying: ‘It is incorrect and surprising that the Players Association is claiming that the WNBA has not offered an uncapped revenue sharing model that is directly tied to the league’s performance. The comprehensive proposals we have made to the players include a revenue-sharing component that would result in the players’ compensation increasing as league revenue increases — without any cap on the upside.

‘It is frustrating and counterproductive for the union to be making misrepresentations about our proposals while also accusing the league of engaging in delay. That is simply not true.

‘While we have delivered comprehensive proposals that seek an agreement that will benefit all, the Players Association has yet to offer a viable economic proposal and has repeatedly refused to engage in any meaningful way on many of our proposal terms. We stand ready to continue negotiating in good faith and hope they will do the same so that we can finalize a mutually beneficial new CBA as quickly as possible.’

The WNBA has undergone unprecedented growth since the last CBA was signed in 2020. Investment, franchise valuations, attendance, ratings and merchandise sales have all increased. The league’s $2.2 billion media deal also kicks in next season.

For her part, Collier told Glamour the players are steadfast in getting what they believe they deserve.

“If we give in, we’re not only doing a disservice to us, we’re doing a disservice to where we have gotten in women’s sports,” she said. “We really have no choice but to stand strong again, not just for the present, but for the future of our league too.

‘We are standing really firm on what we want and we’re not going to give in before we get it.”

We’re a week from the first College Football Playoff poll, and the unmasking of the absurdity of preseason polls.

And more important, their potential affect on the CFP.

It is here where the CFP selection committee, charged this offseason with putting more emphasis on good wins and good losses — not just wins — will get its first test.  

Ohio State is on top of the US LBM Coaches Poll and the Associated Press poll, the two polls used for ranking teams until the first CFP poll. And it has nothing to do with good wins. 

The three teams with legitimate arguments for the No. 1 ranking — Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M — all have one win against a currently ranked team, and have handled the remainder of their schedules with relative east. 

But all three wins against ranked teams are not equal.

Indiana went on the road and physically dominated Oregon, and Texas A&M went to South Bend and won in the closing seconds. Ohio State, meanwhile, won a yawner of a home game against a Texas team that struggles to move the ball offensively against any Power conference school not named Mississippi State. 

Ohio State and Indiana have one common opponent: Illinois. The Hoosiers won by 53 in Bloomington, Ind., and the Buckeyes won by 18 on the road.

Then there’s Texas A&M, a hot team with the big win of the moment (at LSU). But a bye week before the first CFP poll allows Ohio State (vs. Penn State) and Indiana (at Maryland) to make statements, and influence the selection committee. 

Or the committee will punt and select the No. 1 team in the coaches and media polls — which they’ve done a majority of the time with their initial poll since the first CFP in 2014. 

A look at this week’s CFP projections. 

1. Indiana: Three of the final four games are away from Bloomington, so if someone is going to upset the Hoosiers, this is the month. Next: at Maryland.

2. Ohio State: This team hasn’t been threatened all season by any semblance of an offense. And won’t until the Big Ten championship game. Next: Penn State.  

3. Texas A&M: If we’re being intellectually honest, the schedule isn’t what it first appeared to be (avoiding Georgia and Alabama). Aggies will cruise to 12-0. Next: Bye week.

4. Alabama: A year after a whole lot of ugly on the road in the SEC, the ugly is still there. But now it comes with wins. Next: Bye week. 

5. Georgia: Dawgs are measured against championship Georgia teams of recent past. That’s a losing proposition in every way imaginable. Next: Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.)   

7. Oregon: Considered a lock for the CFP, Ducks still have plenty of heavy lifting remaining. Next: Bye week.

8. Miami: The biggest question in Coral Gables: Can the Canes stay motivated over the final month of the season against overmatched ACC? Next: at SMU.

9. Vanderbilt: It’s all new territory for this program. Every week is the next step into the unknown, yet the Commodores keep stacking wins. Next: at Texas.

10. Georgia Tech: QB Haynes King is getting stronger as November arrives, and there’s a dangerous trap game against a team (and coach) desperate for a win staring back. Next: at NC State. 

11. Texas Tech: Biggest two-game stretch of the season for Red Raiders. Will stout defense have an answer for surging K-State QB Avery Johnson (12 TDs in past four games)? Next: at Kansas State.

12. South Florida: Blew a two-touchdown lead at Memphis. Will get one more shot to win there (and likely earn a CFP spot) in the AAC championship game. Next: Bye week.

The projected bracket

First round byes

Indiana, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Alabama.

First round games

(12) South Florida at (5) Georgia

(11) Texas Tech at Ole Miss (6)

(10) Georgia Tech at Oregon (7)

(9) Vanderbilt at Miami (8)

When do first CFP rankings projections come out?

Tuesday, Nov. 4, between 8:00 and 8:45 p.m. ET on ESPN

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

Whether it is taking one of the two openings at LSU or Florida or remaining at Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin will be one of the most sought-after and talked-about people in college football over the next couple of months.

In an appearance on ESPN’s ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Monday, Oct. 27, the Rebels’ 50-year-old coach said he’ll not will not be influenced by the Benjamins.

‘I have never made a decision based on money, nor will I,’ Kiffin said. ‘… I’ve seen too many examples in life that money does not buy happiness, so I’m never going to make a decision based on money. Nor do I care about it. (Kiffin’s agent) Jimmy Sexton gets really mad when I say that.’

At 7-1 this season, Kiffin has the Rebels positioned to make their first College Football Playoff appearance in program history.

Following Ole Miss’ top-15 ranked win over then-No. 11 Oklahoma on Saturday, Oct. 25, the Rebels have a 51-19 overall record under Kiffin. For his successes in Oxford and elevating the program into one of the country’s best — on top of his overall track record as college football coach, which features stops at Tennessee, USC and Florida Atlantic — he is looked at as a top candidate at Florida and LSU after the firings of Billy Napier and Brian Kelly respectively.

He also spoke at length about why he addressed the coaching carousel rumors with his team ahead of the Oklahoma game. Kiffin told McAfee he doesn’t see coaching rumors distracting a team from accomplishing their goals like they may have before because of the activity and ‘recruiting’ being done in the transfer portal.

‘I usually don’t talk about it with the team because we’ve dealt with this for a number of years because our players have performed really well and won a lot of games here. And so this attention has come with that,’ Kiffin said. ‘I just thought last week it was important late in the week to address it on Friday just because we have so many new players. So they hadn’t been here the year or the year before that these job rumors and stuff would come up, and so I just told them, ‘Hey, this is a product of how you guys play. They see the way you play, so then people, fans are like, ‘We want that system.’ And they say, ‘Coach.’

‘Really it’s the system of the players and the assistant coaches what a good job they do, and I just told them it’s a compliment to them and I think it’s easier for them nowadays. And remember, basically the same thing happens to them. They have a good game, what happens? You know our freshman receiver has a good game, Saturday night he’s got three calls from places saying, ‘Hey come here, we’ll give you more money.’ Pre-portaling, you know, before the portal opens. That’s what happens. They deal with this all the time. Places saying, ‘Come here, you’ll get more money,’ because they’re playing well. So I don’t think it’s that big a deal to them.’

Ole Miss remained at No. 8 in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll, which was released on Sunday, Oct. 26. The Rebels take on South Carolina in Week 10 of the 2025 season on Saturday, Nov. 1 at home in Oxford.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

The ‘Power of Friendship’ lifted the UConn women’s basketball team to the program’s 12th national championship in April and the phrase has been commemorated forever in the team’s new bling.

Nearly seven months after the Huskies defeated South Carolina 82-59 in the NCAA championship game to win the university’s first title since 2016, Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers returned to Storrs, Connecticut, to receive the first national championship ring of her career alongside former teammates.

‘The power of friendship … is the reason that we did win it,’ said Bueckers, who helped design the ring alongside Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme. ‘We just went off of straight vibes and we stuck together through it all.’

The championship rings, which feature many intricate details symbolizing the Huskies 2024-25 title run, were awarded during a team ceremony on Thursday night called, A Night With Champions, ahead of the Huskies season-opener against Louisville on Nov. 4. The matchup was originally to be held in Germany, but was relocated to the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland amid the government shutdown.

Here’s a closer look at the details that make up the Huskies’ national championship rings:

Twelve stones for every national championship

UConn’s signature logo is featured prominently across the front of the championship ring in blue stones layered over a gold championship trophy draped in a cut basketball net, a celebratory tradition after securing a national title. The team name and trophy is surrounded by ‘National Champions’ and 12 trapezoid stones to represent the record number of national titles the program has won.

Bueckers explained the team opted for a mostly silver ring because she’s “a huge silver girlie.’

“We all collaborated. We wanted mostly silver, but we got the national championship trophy as the gold, of course,’ Bueckers explained, offering some insight into the designing process.

Piece of championship game ball included

The championship ring comes with its own souvenir. The top can be removed to unveil a piece of the actual championship game ball. The top of the ring also doubles as a pendant and can be worn on a chain when not topping the ring.

“That’s a piece of the basketball that we won it with on the inside,” Bueckers pointed out. “So a total summary and a beautiful masterpiece of the national championship journey.’

The power of friendship, vibes

Bueckers revealed in April that the team adopted the ‘power of friendship’ motto after it first caught fire online. ‘I saw on social media, they were saying UConn won based on the power of friendship. It’s so accurate. Just how much we love each other, how much we’re connected, how much we’ve been through as individuals, as a team, and how much it has bonded us and helped us become national champions. So I wouldn’t trade it for anything,’ Buckers said during an appearance on the ‘Today’ show in April.

The phrase is featured on the side of the championship ring, alongside the Husky logo and Gampel Pavilion. The rings also includes the phrase, ‘Vibes,’ which Bueckers said was the Huskies ‘vibe of the year.’

“We just went off of straight vibes,’ she explained. ‘And on the inside of the ring where you put your finger, we have the national championship score, the Final Four score, the Elite Eight score, and the Sweet 16 score. So kind of the journey to get there.”

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

The USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-136 rounds the corner toward November with three newcomers in the top 10, a shakeup in the Big 12 and big drops from several would-be College Football Playoff contenders.

LSU led Texas A&M 18-14 at halftime but was bulldozed in the second half of a 49-25 loss. Now down to No. 35, the three-loss Tigers will move forward without coach Brian Kelly, who was fired on Sunday.

One minor change in the top five has the Aggies climbing to No. 3 and swapping places with No. 4 Alabama, which struggled to put away South Carolina.

No. 8 Vanderbilt is up two after beating Missouri, No. 9 Mississippi is also up a pair following a road win against Oklahoma and No. 10 Brigham Young climbs five spots after winning at Iowa State. BYU is one of four 8-0 teams in the Bowl Subdivision, joining No. 1 Indiana, A&M and No. 6 Georgia Tech. Ohio State and Navy are both 7-0.

Also in the Big 12, Houston is up 13 spots to No. 17 after beating Arizona State. Houston has already topped last year’s win total and are tied with Texas Tech for second place in the conference standings, though the Red Raiders own the head-to-head tiebreaker. Kansas State is up to No. 52 after moving to 4-4 with a blowout of rival Kansas.

On the other hand, Colorado drops 13 spots to No. 80 after being humiliated by Utah. The Utes ran for 422 yards while the Buffaloes managed just 2.1 yards per play.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards will be out at least two weeks, the latest NBA star to be sidelined because of injury.

Edwards suffered tightness in his right hamstring early in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 114-110 win over the Indiana Pacers Sunday, Oct. 26 and was ruled out for the rest of the game.

The Timberwolves announced Edwards had an MRI on Monday, Oct. 27 at Mayo Clinic, which revealed right hamstring strain. The team said he will be re-evaluated in one week, and ‘further updates of his progress will be provided when available.’

Edwards went 2-for-5 from the field (1-for-3 from long range) for five points and collected a rebound before exiting Sunday’s game after three minutes of play. He made a two-point shot off an assist from Jaden McDaniels to give the Timberwolves a 13-5 lead with 8:53 left in the first quarter. After the Pacers called a timeout, Bones Hyland entered the game, replacing Edwards.

A three-time NBA All-Star, Edwards has only missed three games apiece in each of the last three seasons and has never played fewer than 72 games in any of his five seasons in the league. He made the All-NBA second team each of the past two seasons.

Minnesota has started the 2025-26 season 2-1. Edwards leads the team in scoring, averaging 25.7 point per game, with forward Julius Randle, close behind at 25.3 points.

The Timberwolves host the Denver Nuggets Monday at 9:30 p.m. ET on Peacock.

The Los Angeles Rams are getting additional help in the secondary ahead of the NFL trade deadline.

The Rams on Monday agreed to acquire cornerback Roger McCreary from the Tennessee Titans in exchange for a pick swap. The Titans will receive a fifth-round selection while sending back a sixth-rounder.

McCreary, 25, is in the final year of his rookie contract. He’s the second cornerback to be traded by Tennessee’s new regime after the team also sent Jarvis Brownlee Jr. to the New York Jets in September.

The former second-round pick out of Auburn helps solidify the back end of a Rams defense that was left vulnerable after starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon suffered a broken clavicle in Week 2, landing him on injured reserve.

‘We’re looking to be able to just add some depth,’ Rams coach Sean McVay said in a news conference Monday after the deal. ‘He was a guy that we respect from playing against him earlier this year. Has some inside, outside flexibility….We’re excited to get him in.’

The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 4.

Fifth-year pro Austin Reaves just got thrust into the national NBA spotlight after the undrafted vet dropped 51 points.
Reaves’ career effective field goal percentage is .571.
Reaves has the skills necessary to take over any game he’s in. After all, he’s scored at least 30 on numerous occasions throughout his career.

Fifth-year pro Austin Reaves just got thrust into the national NBA spotlight after the undrafted vet dropped 51 points on the Sacramento Kings in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 127-120 win.

On a team that features both Luka Doncic and LeBron James − although the latter is currently injured − Reaves has established himself as a high-end third scoring option on one of the NBA’s most storied franchises. His 51-point performance was already the third 50-point game of the NBA season (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Aaron Gordon), but Reaves’ felt different.

SGA is the reigning league MVP, fresh off an NBA title and Finals MVP as well. Gordon is a former top-five draft pick who played a pivotal role in Denver’s 2023 championship run. Reaves was undrafted, and before 2025, his career high was 35 points.

You may not have known about Reaves before Sunday night’s game, but NBA fans have had this man on their radar for quite some time, and last night likely won’t be his last 50 piece.

Austin Reaves’ efficiency

Reaves is a shooter. After all, one of his more popular nicknames is literally a firearm. However, just because someone can hit shots doesn’t mean they have the potential to drop a 50-burger, right?

Sure, the best shooters of all-time can. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, Reggie Miller and many of the league’s best all-time shooters have done so. Many of them have even done it on multiple occasions. You probably think Reaves doesn’t fit into that category. Think again.

In terms of efficiency, Reaves is one of the best. He quietly put up over 20 points per game a season ago, which may not seem like a big accomplishment, but let’s dive a little deeper, shall we?

Reaves averaged 20.2 points per game, which ranked 34th in the NBA. He did this on just 14.2 field goal attempts per game. Among all guards who ranked in the top 50 in the NBA in scoring a season ago, only Tyrese Haliburton (18.6 PPG on 13.8 FGA) and Collin Sexton (18.4 PPG on 13.8 FGA) attempted fewer shots. And both of them averaged over 1.5 points fewer per game than Reaves. Reaves has always done a lot with what he’s been given, and no stat displays that better than effective field goal percentage (eFG%).

Effective field goal percentage

Effective field goal percentage is a statistic meant to more effectively represent a player’s field goal percentage based on the types of shots they take. For example, a three-pointer is worth 1.5 times a two-pointer, and eFG% takes that into account. The formula is as follows:

(2-pt FGM + 1.5*3-pt FGM) / FGA

For reference, anything over .400 for guards is considered solid. Anything over .450 is considered good. And anything over .500 is considered excellent. Obviously, the volume of shots will play a factor, but we’ll get into that in a moment.

Reaves’ career eFG% is .571. For context, Steph Curry’s is .582. Kevin Durant’s is .554. LeBron James’ is .548. Luka Doncic’s is .542. James Harden’s is .525. Anthony Edwards’ is .524.

Now the obvious difference is that Reaves hasn’t taken as many shots as those other players. If he was forced to take more shots, he wouldn’t have such great efficiency stats, right? Well, let’s not be too hasty.

For his career, Austin Reaves has had 90 games in which he has attempted at least 13 field goals. His eFG% was higher than .400 in 76 of those games. That’s right. He’s only had 14 career games where he was subpar as a high-volume shooter.

Last year, Luka Doncic had 49 games with at least 13 field goal attempts. Nine of those saw him post an eFG% under .400. Anthony Edwards had 14 such games in 73 contests with at least 13 field goal attempts last year.

Those are two of the most well-renowned scoring guards in the NBA, and in terms of efficiency, Reaves is right there with them for his career. His efficiency hasn’t dropped much at all as his role with the Lakers has increased.

Reaves’ outlook

It’s clear the Lakers want to increase Reaves’ role in the team’s offense. His field goal attempts and minutes played have increased every season he’s been in the league, and to that measure, so have his point totals.

Furthermore, with the NBA’s new ‘hot-stove’ contact rule, where fouls are called if a defender hits a shooter’s arm after the ball has been released, Reaves could see much more of the charity stripe as well, further enabling his scoring potential. While it has only been three games, he’s already averaging 12.3 free throw attempts per game this season, more than double his previous career-high (5.0). Albeit, he took 22 in his 50-point game last night, and that won’t happen every third game.

That said, even without taking a plethora of free throws, Reaves has the skills necessary to take over any game he’s in. After all, he’s scored at least 30 on numerous occasions throughout his career. 14 times to be exact. Is it that much of a leap to say that with the new rules, increased role and LeBron James’ impending retirement, Reaves won’t be able to score 50 again? No.

The man is only 27 years old, entering his prime. And if Tony Delk can hit 50, why can’t Austin Reaves do it again?