The judge who ruled on Bediako’s eligibility donated *how much* to Alabama athletics?

Good Saturday morning,

I have an update on the most absurd story of the week: Charles Bediako’s eligibility at Alabama. This story probably won’t end any time soon. There are also notes about the college football playoff and SEC bellyaching about the Big Ten’s three consecutive national championships.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

— Kyle

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THE BIG 3

The judge who ruled on Bediako’s eligibility donated how much to Alabama athletics?

As if the Charles Bediako saga needed any additional layers of farce, AL.com’s Michael Casagrande uncovered a detail so perfectly on-brand it almost feels scripted.

The Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court judge who ruled in the case is a University of Alabama booster. You truly couldn’t design a more SEC-coded plot twist.

Judge Jim Roberts, who granted Bediako a temporary restraining order after the NCAA denied his eligibility to return to Alabama, is listed, along with his wife, as a donor on the Crimson Tide Foundation website. Their contributions fall in the $100,000 to $249,999 range. That’s not casual fandom. That’s major-donor territory.

Bediako, a 7-foot center, spent two seasons at Alabama, from 2021 to 2023, before declaring for the NBA draft and later playing in the G League. When the NCAA rejected his attempt to return to college basketball, Bediako sued, and Roberts stepped in with a ruling that immediately raised eyebrows across the sport.

And here’s where things move to legally uncomfortable.

The American Bar Association’s guidance on judicial ethics is clear: A judge should recuse himself if his impartiality “might reasonably be questioned,” or if he has a personal bias concerning a party involved. Given Roberts’s documented financial support of Alabama athletics, it’s hard to argue this situation doesn’t at least meet that standard. “Reasonably questioned” feels generous.

What makes this even more remarkable is how unevenly the concept of judicial caution is applied in similar situations. In the Darian Mensah case, the originally assigned judge recused himself because he was a Duke season-ticket holder. Meanwhile, in the Trinidad Chambliss eligibility case, filed in Mississippi state court, the presiding judge is an Ole Miss law school graduate.

And he has remained on the case.

It just means more.

Some clarity on the CFP (for now)

The College Football Playoff will remain a 12-team field for at least one more season, and most people would agree that it’s the most sensible outcome for a sport that rarely agrees on anything.

Behind the scenes, the Big Ten and SEC once again found themselves at odds over the future of the postseason. The SEC has pushed for a 16-team format, while the Big Ten countered with an even more aggressive 24-team model. That philosophical divide ultimately led to a stalemate. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti made it clear he would only support a 16-team playoff if the SEC committed to expanding to 24 teams after three years. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey balked, citing the uncertainty of what college football might look like that far down the road.

For now, stability wins. And for fans, that’s a good thing. The 12-team format strikes a balance between access and exclusivity, rewarding elite teams while keeping the regular season meaningful.

The four power conference champions will receive automatic bids in 2026, joined by the highest-ranked champion from the Group of 6. There’s also a notable wrinkle added to the equation: a carveout for Notre Dame. If the Irish finish ranked inside the top 12, they’re in.

That detail isn’t insignificant. Had the rule been in place in 2025, Notre Dame, not Miami, would have claimed the final spot in the field.

Sour grapes in the SEC

The recent comments from Paul Finebaum and Nick Saban about the Big Ten’s rising dominance are hilarious. And no, that’s not just because I’m from the region and a graduate of a Big Ten school. If I were sitting in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, I’d be laughing just as hard.

In the aftermath of Indiana’s national championship, Finebaum launched into a monologue warning that the Big Ten is lapping the SEC in the NIL era. 

“I can tell you in the state of Alabama there are two billionaires. Only two in the entire state,” Finebaum said. “They’re both Auburn supporters. Alabama doesn’t have a billionaire.”

It’s a tidy soundbite, but it misses the bigger picture. Yes, NIL has mattered. The transfer portal helped Michigan fortify the lines of scrimmage during its 2023 title run. Ohio State reportedly fielded a roster that cost north of $20 million in 2024. Indiana benefited from Mark Cuban’s involvement in 2025, though the Hoosiers didn’t come close to having the most expensive roster in the sport.

What Big Ten schools truly possess isn’t just a few ultra-wealthy donors. It’s scale. Massive alumni bases. National brands. Fan ecosystems that stretch well beyond state lines and feed NIL accounts.

Saban took a more direct approach on College GameDay, arguing that geography still matters and that money is the only reason Southern players would ever head north.

“It’s an advantage for the Big Ten,” Saban said. “You’ll never convince me otherwise, because people in the South would not go to the North unless you paid them.”

There’s a kernel of truth here. The SEC is, for the first time, operating on something close to an even playing field, and that’s the real discomfort. Everyone can legally pay players now. 

That’s the shift. Billionaires help, sure, but let’s not pretend Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Florida are suddenly strapped for resources. These are some of the most powerful athletic departments in college sports.

Indiana just won the national championship.

That fact alone should end the debate. The SEC isn’t losing because it lacks money. It’s losing its monopoly. And the sour grapes are as loud as they are revealing.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Free beer for life!

This is why coaches shouldn’t be opposed to press conferences: you could get free beer — for life! That’s what Curt Cignetti got from Upland Brewery after he revealed he had a Hoosier Beer to celebrate Indiana’s national championship. Hey, it’s the NIL era. Coaches should get deals, too.

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NIL BLITZ

♦️ Wisconsin’s new Under Armour contract puts men’s and women’s basketball on equal footing.

♦️ There’s another pro basketball player whose next destination is probably college basketball: Dink Pate.

♦️South Carolina football is the latest program seeking a buyout from a former player who transferred.

♦️Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen used the words “intolerable” and “chaotic” to describe the current state of college football.

♦️ 247Sports has an interesting story talking to 2027 college football recruits about their NIL mindset.

♦️ Missouri regulators will not ban prop bets on college sports events.

♦️ Mississippi could be the next state to allow high school NIL.

♦️ Billionaire Texas Tech super booster Cody Campbell laid out QB Brendan Sorsby’s NIL deal.

♦️ Notre Dame men’s basketball general manager Pat Garrity discussed the complexities of building a roster in the NIL era.

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Should prop bets be offered for college games?

• Yes - 13%

• No - 87%