Friday Five: Big Ten business, portal season and wins beyond Lincoln
As the NFL Draft opened in Pittsburgh, the Big Ten and Nebraska were making moves of their own.
As the NFL draft began Thursday in Pittsburgh, plenty was taking place in Lincoln. One of those things? TV negotiations for the future of the Big Ten football title game. Let’s just say there was a lot of interest by a specific outlet to regain those rights.
Other than that, basketball received another commitment, while tennis and swimming had plenty of recognition. It wasn’t just on a local stage either. We’re talking internationally.
Let’s get into it.
Big Ten title game back on FOX
The Big Ten Championship Game is heading back to FOX.
After NBC briefly held the rights, FOX officially finalized a deal to re-acquire the broadcast for the 2026 title game, according to reports this week. NBC reportedly received between $45 million and $55 million for the move, plus one additional Big Ten game this season.
The 2025 Big Ten title game between undefeated Indiana and Ohio State pulled 18.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched conference championship game of the weekend and the sixth-most watched college football game of the season overall. It outdrew the SEC title game by nearly 1.5 million viewers.
FOX now holds the rights to five of the next seven Big Ten title games under the current agreement, with CBS owning the other two. For a network that has made “Big Noon” and Big Ten football central to its fall identity, bringing the championship game makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons.
Nebraska basketball adds Taj DeGourville and keeps building
Nebraska landed San Diego State transfer Taj DeGourville on Thursday, giving the Huskers a 6-foot-5 wing with two years of eligibility remaining and another player who fits the program’s identity more than just its stat sheet.
His numbers at SDSU—5.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game across two seasons—won’t jump off the page. But San Diego State is a place where toughness and defense determine minutes, and DeGourville played 64 games there. His three-point percentage also climbed from 30.4% to 34.5% between freshman and sophomore seasons.
Nebraska now has just two open roster spots left, and the roster construction is becoming clearer. The frontcourt has already been reshaped with Sam Orme, Kadyn Betts and Boden Kapke. DeGourville and Trevan Leonhardt help the perimeter.
The bigger question is still what happens with the final two spots.
Do the Huskers add more frontcourt depth? Do they hold for possible eligibility changes if the NCAA moves toward a five-for-five model? Do internal returns change the math?
We’ll see what happens.
Women’s tennis gets the recognition it earned
Nebraska women’s tennis had the kind of season that deserved conference recognition and this week it got it.
Maria Taranova and Katie Spencer were both named All-Big Ten Second Team selections, while Spencer also earned All-Freshman Team honors. Spencer’s freshman year was especially impressive.
She led Nebraska in spring singles wins with 12, tied for the team lead in doubles victories and floated between the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots without looking overwhelmed by any of it. She also helped anchor the No. 40 doubles pairing in the country alongside Conley Raidt.
That’s a lot for a freshman.
Taranova, meanwhile, handled the grind of No. 1 singles and picked up wins over multiple ranked conference opponents while regularly facing some of the best players in the country. That role doesn’t always produce the prettiest record, but it usually tells you who the program trusts most.
Spencer being this good this early matters for the long-term ceiling of the program. Taranova’s consistency matters for the present.
Men’s tennis keeps pushing
On the men’s side, Henry Bilicic earned Big Ten Sportsmanship honors, and honestly, sometimes those awards say more than a stat line ever could.
Head coach Peter Kobelt made that clear.
“He’s been a leader for our team both on and off the court the past two years,” Kobelt said. “While one of our team values is being a good sport, win or lose, I believe a lot of it stems from Henry. He’s done so much for the program that no one sees. Always willing to go the extra mile for the guys, the program and the community. No one deserves this award more than him.”
Bilicic is finishing his final collegiate season after helping Nebraska to 12 wins, four ranked victories and a Big Ten Tournament upset over No. 39 Michigan.
He also checks every academic and leadership box imaginable from Academic All-Big Ten, Distinguished Scholar to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team and more.
Programs don’t stay stable because of one star season. They stay stable because guys like Bilicic hold the standard every day when nobody’s watching.
Nebraska advanced to face Ohio State in Ojai, California, on Thursday1 and regardless of how postseason play ends, his role in this season is already clear.
Beatrix Tanko keeps rewriting the record book
Nebraska swimming had a strong international week, but Beatrix Tanko stole it.
The junior collected her second gold medal at the 2026 Hungarian National Championships by winning the 100m fly in a personal-best 58.53 after already taking the 50m fly title earlier in the week. She broke her own school standard in the process and improved significantly from last year, when she won silver in 59.41.
Amelia Riggott also posted a new long-course personal best in the 100m breaststroke at the Aquatics Great Britain Championships, while Maisie Gilford added a strong B final finish in the 50m free.
Swimming stories like this can get buried because they happen internationally and outside of the direct spotlight in Lincoln, but they matter because they show where Nebraska’s program stands globally. Tanko winning gold isn’t just a good Nebraska story. It’s a reminder that some of the best athletes on campus are competing on stages people don’t always see.
And often, winning there says the most.
The Huskers fell to the Buckeyes, 4-0.
Thank you very much for these ☝🏻stories. My interest in football is waning, but it is being replaced and then some by the stories of all the other teams. And I don't mean just volleyball and softball. ☝🏻 Tennis, swimming, these are not sports that I have traditionally thought the Huskers were very competitive in. But here we are. I mean bowling has been a consistent performer, and rifle Team does well.