HOT POINT

Let me see if I've got this straight, because I'm a little fuzzy on the particulars.

The most successfulFCS program in the modern era, and the third-largest oil producing state in the country havejoined FBS football.

To this I say: What took so long?

North Dakota State has joined the Mountain West Conference in football beginning this fall, and if you're looking for some quick analysis, here it is: onlyTexas and New Mexicoproduce more oil than North Dakota, the black gold that can change everything in college sports.

Hello, private NIL.

Hayes:One solution to FSU's $437M debt — win. Mike Norvell, you're up

On the move:10 transfers I can't stop thinking about for 2026

If there's one thing we've learned in this upside-down world of get yours, it's money talks and tradition walks.

Indiana just won a national title. I still can't believe it, so I'm going to write it again: Indiana, lovable loser of Division I football for decades upon decades,found the perfect coachand won the whole thing.

And is now set up to take over the sport with an elite coach (Curt Cignetti), a billionaire booster (Mark Cuban) and the largest alumni base in college sports (800,000-strong).

Texas Tech, which never before won an outright major conference championship, won the Big 12 in 2025 with a school-record 12 wins. Only a quarterback playing with abroken legkeptthe billionaire-fueled― and black gold-infused ― Red Raiders from doing more damage in the College Football Playoff.

Duke, my god, Duke, won the ACC with a$4 million-a-year quarterback. And Steve Spurrier wasn't the coach.

Why in God's green earth would North Dakota State not attempt to move up to FBS?

TheBison— that's pronouncedBizon, everyone — aren't competing against the Power conference heavyweights, they're competing against the rest of the Group of 6 for the one CFP charity spot.

That immediately changes the calculus of it all.

You're not banging heads with established programs, you're playing — ready for this? — Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Illinois, San Jose State, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming.

I mean, really?

None of those nine teams would've won 10 of 15 FCS titles from 2011-2025. And more than likely, not more than one ― if that.

Four coaches (Craig Bohl,Chris Klieman, Matt Entz, Tim Polasek) won national titles at NDSU in that 15-year span, a line of succession that's almost unthinkable in this era of quick-change college football. The plan to win hasn't changed much from when Bohl built the beast, and Klieman perfected it.

Advertisement

They recruit players to fit their culture and system, and then develop them to reach their ceiling. Since 2020, eight NDSU players have been selected in the NFL draft.

The 2025 national champion (that would be Indiana, everyone) had six.Six!

Vanderbilt had three, Duke had seven, and if you want me to continue this exercise in Power conference draft futility, we'll be here all damn day. Suffice to say, NDSU knows how to develop players.

Yet that point brings us to the intriguing intersection of culture and cash, the very thing that could dismantle what NDSU has worked so hard to build. Or make it even more dangerous.

Because if Polasek — an assistant for 10 years with the Bison before getting the job in 2024 and winning 26 of 29 games — can mold the valuable NDSU culture with a handful of impact starters from the transfer portal, this thing could get big. Quickly.

Again, you're not reinventing the wheel, you're giving the hard-driving 18-wheeler a little more horsepower and a refined suspension with a handful of talented transfers. How do you get those transfers?

If Texas Tech can do it, NDSU sure can. Lubbock is in the middle of nowhere; at least Fargo is across the river from Minnesota.

Also, the middle of nowhere, but you get the point.

Money changes everything. It breathes life into recruiting efforts, and extends the arm of possibility. It can turn a wildly underrated college town into a hotbed of FBS college football.

Just like it did in Lubbock. Just like it will do in Fargo.

It was only a matter of time before this inevitable happened. There was too much good going on at NDSU, and not enough challenge.

There's only so many times you can beat the brakes off everyone else, and still be satisfied to do it again the following season. Before the advent of NIL and free player movement, the climb to FBS made no sense for the team no one wanted to see on the nonconference body bag circuit.

NDSU has a 9-5 all-time record vs. FBS schools since beginning Division I play in 2004, including wins over Minnesota, Kansas State, Iowa and Iowa State. But think about this all-telling reality: the Bison have been playing FCS football for 21 years, and have been asked to play only 14 FBS guarantee games.

There was nothing to gain, and more than likely everything to lose for anyone playing NDSU. Now the FBS has to play them — at least, in the Mountain West.

If things progress how NDSU has envisioned, the Power conferences will have to deal with Bison cash in the transfer portal, and in a perfect, oil-driven private NIL world, on the biggest stage of all in the CFP.

The most successful FCS program of our time, and the third-largest oil production state in the country teaming up in the new private NIL world of college football.

What took so long?

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

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:NDSU football move to Mountain West fueled by oil money, private NIL

Malik Reneau scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Miami upset the 11th-ranked North Carolina 75-66 on Tuesday in Coral Gables, Fla.

The Hurricanes never trailed, and they had a 46-28 edge in paint points and an 8-2 advantage on fastbreak points. Miami won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 13-2 at home this season.

Miami (19-5, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) also got 15 points and 10 rebounds from Ernest Udeh Jr., 14 points and a game-high five assists from Tre Donaldson and 12 points from Shelton Henderson.

The Tar Heels (19-5, 7-4) were led late by Caleb Wilson, who scored nine of his 12 points in the second half. Wilson, projected to be a top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, missed several minutes in the second half as he went to the locker room and returned with a wrap on his left hand.

North Carolina, which had a five-game winning streak end, also got 13 points from Jarin Stevenson and 11 from Henri Veesaar. The Tar Heels were coming off a dramatic win over No. 4 Duke on Saturday.

Miami raced to a 22-12 lead before North Carolina scored on five straight possessions, cutting the deficit to one point.

Noam Dovrat produced a four-point play for Miami as Wilson fouled him 30 feet from the basket, giving the Hurricanes a 35-30 advantage.

Miami led 43-40 at the break.

Early in the second half, North Carolina had its own four-point possession as Wilson dunked, got fouled, missed a free throw and was saved by Veesaar, who worked for a tip-in bucket.

The Hurricanes produced a 6-2 run on three straight dunks -- two by Udeh and the last one by Henderson with 7:24 left for a 61-56 lead.

With just over two minutes remaining, Miami went up 66-60 on an unusual three-point possession. Udeh made his first free throw, missed the second but got his own rebound and scored on a layup.

North Carolina had an opportunity to draw closer with 53 seconds left, but Veesaar missed a 3-point attempt and Donaldson made two free throws at the other end for a 72-64 lead.

Miami cruised from there, and Hurricanes fans stormed the court after the final buzzer.

--Field Level Media

Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron partnered to compete in ice dancing at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics

• Their partnership followed sexual assault allegations against Fournier Beaudry's former partner and boyfriend, Nikolaj Sorensen, which he has denied

• Cizeron was also accused of being "controlling" and "demanding" by his former partner, Gabriella Papadakis, after they went their separate ways in 2022

French ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaudry andGuillaume Cizeronhave become one of the most talked-about duos at the2026 Winter Olympics— but not without some controversy.

They announced their partnership in a March 2025Instagrampost that sent waves through the professional skating world less than a year before the Games. However, their collaboration was also met with scrutiny due to fallout from their previous partnerships.

Fournier Beaudry's boyfriend and former ice dance teammate, Nikolaj Sorensen, was suspended from the sport in 2024 after he was accused of a 2012 sexual assault of a former skater and coach. Though his initial six-year suspension was eventually overturned, Fournier Beaudry shared in Netflix's docuseriesGlitter & Gold: Ice Dancingthat it ended his career.

Two years after Cizeron and his longtime partnerGabriella Papadakis— with whom he won the gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics — ended their professional relationship, she accused him of being "controlling" and "demanding" in her 2026 memoirSo as Not to Disappear. He called her claims a "smear campaign" in a statement toReutersand said that he was pursuing legal action.

"We started a new chapter a year ago," Cizeron told reporters viaReutersat the Olympics in February 2026, of being at the Games with Fournier Beaudry. "Neither of us would have thought we'd be here today, so everything is like a bonus for us."

So what is the French ice dancers controversy? Here's everything to know about the drama surrounding Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron.

They teamed up after Fournier Beaudry's former partner was accused of sexual assault

Daniel Kopatsch - International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty

A year before she started skating with Cizeron, Fournier Beaudry's partner was accused of sexual assault. According to Reuters, Sorensen was investigated by Canada's Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner for an alleged 2012 incident involving an American figure skating coach and former skater.

He denied the allegations and was suspended for six years in 2024. However, that ruling was later overturned by the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, citing jurisdictional grounds.

Sorensen's alleged victim condemned the French duo for how they've handled the allegations in a statement sent to sports reporter Christine Brennan, as she shared onXin February 2026.

"The comments by the French team in the press and on a Netflix documentary create a dangerous environment for skaters who need to report abuse," the statement read. "The comments of the reigning Olympic champion and a team in contention for the upcoming Olympic title carry weight, and using their voices to publicly undermine a survivor's truths further enforces the culture of silence in figure skating."

When Brennan later asked Fournier Beaudry what she thought about the remarks, the skater said she and Cizeron "have no thoughts" and are "focused on the Olympics," per a post the reporter shared onX.

Fournier Beaudry said she was "collateral damage" after the allegations came out

Courtesy of Netflix

During an episode ofGlitter & Gold, the Canadian skater opened up about the aftermath of her boyfriend's sexual assault allegations and how she felt like "collateral damage." She and Sorensen had planned to go to the 2026 Olympics together.

"I never really publicly discuss about how much damage it's created," Fournier Beaudry said in the docuseries. "I don't even want to go back to what I've felt in those moments because I thought I was so strong, and I really thought I could handle everything."

She continued, "When they decided to suspend him, it meant that his career was over, which also meant that my career was over. This was extremely difficult because it was not only about skating, it was about my integrity, it was about his integrity. I know my boyfriend 100 percent. I know him. And we [stood] strong together."

Cizeron's former partner called him "controlling" in her 2026 memoir

Joosep Martinson - International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty

On Jan. 15, Papadakis released her memoirSo as Not to Disappear, in which she detailed the "unbalanced relationship" she allegedly had with her longtime partner. The Olympic duo announced in June 2022 that they were taking a break and retired two years later, per Reuters.

The former skater wrote that she felt under her partner's "control" and that she was "terrified" at the idea of being alone with him.

"I may have been under a kind of control and experiencing things that were not acceptable, but in fact, that relationship reflects the system," Papadakis toldAgence France-Pressein January 2026. "It's not unique, it's very common. There are still plenty of people living it today."

Cizeron responded to Papadakis' claims in a statement, calling them defamatory and a "smear campaign."

"I want to express my incomprehension and disagreement with the labels attributed to me," the skater said. "The book contains false information, including statements I never made, which I consider serious."

He continued, "For more than 20 years, I have shown deep respect for Gabriella Papadakis. Despite the gradual erosion of our bond, our relationship was built on equal collaboration and marked by success and mutual support."

Retired skater Adam Rippon claimed Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron had "sinister energy"

Courtesy of Netflix

InGlitter & Gold, retired U.S. skaterAdam Ripponsaid there was "some sinister energy around the partnership" between Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry.

"Laurence's boyfriend, ex-partner is banned from the sport, and Guillaume's former partner is saying that she didn't leave on her own terms," the Olympic bronze medalist said in the docuseries. "So I don't know if it's necessarily a story a lot of people are gonna root for at first."

"We've been very focused on having a lot of fun on the ice and bringing as much gratefulness as we can to our skating," Cizeron told reporters in February 2026, per Reuters, when asked how he felt about being portrayed as the villain in the Netflix docuseries. "We love skating, and we love skating together, and this is what we're focusing on."

Read the original article onPeople

All flights to and from El Paso International Airport in Texas have been canceled for "special security reasons," the Federal Aviation Administration said early Wednesday.

"No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM," the FAA said, using the abbreviation for Notice to Airmen. It listed the reason as "temporary flight restrictions for Special Security Reasons."

It did not elaborate on why the restrictions had been put in place for El Paso, which borders Mexico.

Advertisement

The restriction for the airspace over El Paso and the neighboring community of Santa Teresa, New Mexico came in at 6:30 a.m. UTC, or coordinated universal time (11:30 p.m. ET). It will end at the same time on Feb. 21.

The airport confirmed the development in a travel advisory issued on social media, saying that all flights "including commercial, cargo and general aviation" were grounded.

"Travelers should contact their airlines to get most up-to-date flight status information," it added.

The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from NBC News.

By Krishna N. Das

DHAKA, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The United States is concerned about China's expanding presence in South Asia and is planning to offer Bangladesh's next government U.S. and allied defence systems as alternatives to Chinese hardware, Washington's ambassador to Dhaka told Reuters.

Bangladesh ‌votes in a general election on Thursday after a Gen Z-led uprising toppled India-allied premier Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. She has ‌since taken refuge in New Delhi, allowing China to deepen its influence in Bangladesh as India's presence wanes.

China recently signed a defence agreement with Bangladesh to build a drone factory near the ​India border, worrying foreign diplomats. Bangladesh is also in talks with Pakistan to buy JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, a multi-role combat aircraft jointly developed with China.

"The United States is concerned about growing Chinese influence in South Asia and is committed to working closely with the Bangladeshi government to clearly communicate the risks of certain types of engagement with China," U.S. Ambassador Brent T. Christensen said in an interview on Tuesday.

"The U.S. offers a range of options to help Bangladesh meet its ‌military capability needs, including U.S. systems and those from ⁠allied partners, to provide alternatives to Chinese systems," he said without offering further details.

China's foreign ministry said that as comprehensive strategic partners, China and Bangladesh have cooperated in political, economic and security fields, benefiting both countries.

"Our mutually beneficial and friendly ⁠cooperation is not directed against any third party, nor will we tolerate interference from any third party," the ministry said in a statement to Reuters.

Christensen also said that President Donald Trump's administration would "like to see a good relationship between Bangladesh and India to support stability in the region".

New Delhi-Dhaka relations have nosedived since Hasina fled, badly ​affecting ​visa services and cricket ties between the two neighbours.

COMMERCIAL DIPLOMACY IS PRIORITY

Christensen said many ​U.S. businesses were looking at potentially investing in Bangladesh but ‌would want the next government to show early and clear signs that it is "open for business".

"Commercial diplomacy is one of our top priorities, and we look forward to working with the new government to build on progress made with the interim government, particularly in strengthening commercial, economic, and security ties," he said.

Energy producer Chevron has been in Bangladesh for decades but not many other U.S. companies are visible in the densely populated country of 175 million people, as high taxes and difficulties repatriating profits have created some hurdles.

There are no Starbucks or McDonald's outlets in Bangladesh.

The envoy said Washington would work with "whichever government is ‌elected by the Bangladeshi people". The race is between two coalitions led by former ​allies, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Islamist Jamaat‑e‑Islami, with opinion polls suggesting the BNP ​holds an advantage.

AID FOR ROHINGYA REFUGEES

Regarding the 1.2 million Rohingya refugees ​sheltered in Bangladesh, the ambassador said the United States remained the largest contributor to humanitarian operations.

"The U.S. remains the largest ‌contributor to the Rohingya refugee response and continues robust health programming ​in Bangladesh," he said, noting a ​recent $2 billion worldwide funding framework signed with the United Nations to improve the effectiveness of such assistance, including in Bangladesh.

He urged other international donors to take on a greater share of the burden.

"The U.S. cannot sustain the bulk of the effort alone. International partners need to increase ​their support for the Rohingya response," he said.

In recent ‌years, the U.N. refugee agency has been struggling to raise sufficient funds to support the Rohingya community, leading to cuts in their ​rations and the closure of some schools for them.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in Dhaka; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo in ​Beijing and Tora Agarwala and Zia Chowdhury in Dhaka; Editing by Saad Sayeed)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is visiting Turkey on Wednesday as part of an effort tosustain dialogueat a time when tensions between the two long-time rivals are rising.

Mitsotakis, who is expected to be accompanied by a delegation of senior ministers, will meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the so-called High-Level Cooperation Council — afence-mending initiativethat was launched to improve ties between the two NATO allies.

Greece and Turkey remain at odds over a series of issues, including maritime boundaries, Cyprus, and drilling rights in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean seas. Turkey has also voiced unease over a growing defense and energy cooperation betweenGreece, Israel, and Cyprusthat sidelines Ankara and which some view as a an effort to counter Turkey's influence in the region.

Advertisement

Greece and Turkey have come to the brink of war several times over the last half-century. A dispute over energy exploration rights in 2020 led to the two countries' warshipsfacing off in the Mediterranean.

In recent weeks, Greek officials have reaffirmed Greece's right to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean to 12 nautical miles (22.2 kilometers) from the current six. Turkey — whose parliament in 1995 declared such a move as a "cause of war" — has criticized the comments as unacceptable and argues that the extension of the territorial waters would violate its rights, severely restricting its maritime access.

The high-level talks in Ankara are expected to concentrate on a "positive agenda" — cooperation in trade, energy, education, and cultural ties — and no progress is expected on any of the contentious matters.

Both countries are also locked in a dispute over Cyprus, divided since 1974 between its ethnic Greek and Turkish populations. For the past seven years, Turkey has rejected a long-standing agreement for a reunified Cyprus under a federal system. Instead, Ankara and the Turkish Cypriot administration, which is only recognized by Turkey, have proposed a two-state solution.

The NBA announced in January that the league has expansion plans, in partnership with FIBA, tointroduce a new league in Europeas early as 2027. It has already began to draw interest from investors who want in on the new league.

Advertisement

An investment group backed byLos Angeles Lakerssuperstar Luka Doncic and basketball Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki have plans to buy an Italian basketball team with hopes of joining the NBA-European league,according to The Athletic.