Approximately 1,000 former Northwestern University athletes have sent a letter condemning hazing while defending the school's culture. The Associated Press obtained the letter Thursday. The athletes say allegations of abuse within the football program and other men's and women's teams do not reflect their experiences. They say they "strongly condemn hazing" and that the allegations are "troubling" but "do not represent or define the overall athletics culture at Northwestern." Northwestern is facing more than a dozen lawsuits across multiple sports with allegations including sexual abuse of players by teammates as well as racist comments by coaches and race-based assaults.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark says his conference is done expanding, shutting down the possibility of adding UConn and Gonzaga after engaging with the basketball powerhouses on potential membership. Less than two weeks after the Big 12 announced Pac-12 schools will switch leagues and join the conference next year, Yormark appeared on the "Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast" and revealed other potential moves. He called landing Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah a "dream scenario." Yormark also said he reached out to Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff and had a "collegial" conversation.

Conference realignment has widened the recruiting footprint for Power Five college football programs long before many teams open play in their new league homes. Oklahoma and Texas already have taken advantage of their plans to leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference in 2024. The Big Ten has created the most significant shift, at least in terms of geography. The sprawling conference will boast programs from the West Coast all the way to New Jersey. Realignment also has made conference stability a more critical recruiting piece as young men try to figure out exactly what they are getting into.

The first Reality Check of the college football season from the Associated Press can be a real bummer. The truth hurts and the truth is a bunch of ranked teams won't be as good as the voters think. The past two seasons have been particularly volatile. Each year has seen a new record in the number of preseason ranked teams falling out of the Top 25 by the end of the season. Last year, it was 15 teams.

Players and coaches at Wisconsin and Cincinnati say getting away from campus for part of training camp helps them build camaraderie. But the number of schools training out of town has shrunk over the last decade. These off-campus training camps have gained attention in the wake of the Northwestern hazing scandal. Northwestern has announced it will no longer train at Kenosha, Wisconsin. Some of the hazing allegations that led to the filing of numerous lawsuits and the firing of football coach Pat Fitzgerald stem from those Kenosha camps.

Three former Northwestern baseball staffers filed a lawsuit against the university alleging their contracts were discontinued as retaliation for reporting misconduct in the program. Northwestern now faces more than a dozen lawsuits for hazing, racism and bullying in its athletics program. The complaint alleges Foster created a toxic environment rife with bullying and derogatory abuse, including racist and sexist remarks. Foster was fired July 13 amid allegations of verbally abusive behavior, three days after football coach Pat Fitzgerald was dismissed because of a hazing scandal.

There's one college football conference sitting out the reshuffling going on among its big-money brethren: The Ivy League will start the season with the same eight members it has had since it formed in 1956. Brown coach James Perry says what's going on in realignment is "lunacy." Coaches in the academic-oriented Ivies say they remain true to what college sports were all about. And that means putting schoolwork before sports. 

It's not easy picking a preseason Top 25. Take it from voters in The Associated Press poll. The 62 writers and broadcasters judge teams' bodies of work in the regular season. Preseason voting is a guessing game. Voters interviewed said some of the biggest factors they consider are whether a team has a returning quarterback, how many other starters are back, transfer portal additions and subtractions and the way a team finished the previous season. This year's preseason poll will be released Monday at noon Eastern.

The Atlantic Coast Conference presidents have chosen not to vote on whether to add Stanford and California to the league. That's according to two people with knowledge of the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the ACC nor the schools disclosed their internal discussions publicly. The ACC's inaction keeps the Northern California schools in limbo as they look for an escape from the crumbling Pac-12. The ACC has also been looking at SMU, the Dallas-based school from the American Athletic Conference, as an expansion target.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is back to full health and determined to finalize the business agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. Monahan has spoken publicly for the first time since he returned to work from a health scare. He stepped away a week after the Saudi deal was announced and said anxiety had built up over time. He believes the deal is the right path for the PGA Tour and that will be shown over time. The agreement has a Dec. 31 deadline to get it done. Monahan says that's the target and it's realistic.

Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg blasted assistant football coaches and staff members for wearing shirts supporting fired coach Pat Fitzgerald at practice Wednesday, calling them "inappropriate, offensive and tone deaf" given the hazing and abuse scandal engulfing the football program and other teams. Gragg says he and the university were unaware that the assistants and staff members owned the black shirts with "Cats Against the World" and Fitzgerald's old number "51" in purple type or would wear them at practice. He issued the statement after interim coach David Braun called it a free speech issue and said his focus was on supporting his players and staff.

Washington State and Oregon State appear to be the big losers in the destabilization of the Pac-12 that's bordering on complete collapse. They are the leftovers now stuck searching for a landing spot. While Washington and Oregon are headed to the Big Ten, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah are bound for the Big 12 and Stanford and California are flirting with a bicoastal association with the ACC, the Cougars and Beavers are still trying to find their own stable ground. Oregon State unveiled the renovations to Reser Stadium, and while athletic director Scott Barnes tried to keep the focus on the $160 million in improvements there remains major questions about the Beavers' future.

Atlantic Coast Conference presidents and chancellors held a conference call but took no action on West Coast expansion with California and Stanford. That's from a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke with The Associated Press. Another person with knowledge of the ACC's discussions says conference leaders are also talking about SMU as a possible addition. The Pac-12 is down to four schools committed to the conference beyond the upcoming school year: Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State.