Justin Williams

Staff Writer, Cincinnati

Justin Williams covers college football and basketball for The Athletic. He was previously a beat reporter covering the Cincinnati Bearcats, and prior to that he worked as a senior editor for Cincinnati Magazine. Follow Justin on Twitter/X @williams_justin

The unprecedented million-dollar recruitment of the nation’s best softball player

Former Stanford ace NiJaree Canady brings name, image and likeness deals to another level for an Olympic sport.

Justin Williams and Stewart Mandel97

House v. NCAA settlement takes next step toward schools paying athletes

Justin Williams28

NiJaree Canady, softball’s player of the year, commits to Texas Tech with $1M NIL deal: Source

The Athletic Staff and more71

Judge denies Houston Christian's motion to intervene in House v. NCAA as settlement nears

Justin Williams5

Georgia has 2 players arrested on reckless driving charges, including star LB Smael Mondon Jr.

Justin Williams and Lauren Merola382

The Big 12 is embracing parity. It should hope for a new powerhouse instead

The Big 12's parity is nice, but producing a consistent national title contender is a better bet for it to compete with the Big Ten and SEC.

Justin Williams101

Who are X-factors for every Big 12 team? KJ Jefferson, Dylan Edwards, Evan Pryor head the list

Each team has its stars. We know those names. But the league is also loaded with under-the-radar players who will impact the 2024 season.

The Athletic College Football Staff18

Big 12 football recruiting update: One thought on each team following June official visits

Which league programs made the biggest moves during a key recruiting month?

Justin Williams19

Welcome to the new Big 12: Featuring Deion, parity, shifts in playing styles

The conference is molting its Texas-and-Oklahoma identity while bringing in a total of eight schools last year and this summer.

Justin Williams73

Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon II arrested on suspicion of DUI

OSU is aware of the incident reports but had no comment as of late Monday night.

Justin Williams60

Cincinnati All-America DT Dontay Corleone out indefinitely due to blood clots

Corleone, a product of local Colerain High School, earned an All-Big 12 second-team nod in '23, Cincinnati’s inaugural season in the league.

Justin Williams19

FCS school challenges House v. NCAA settlement proposal: What Houston Christian’s motion may mean for case

HCU argued its financial interests were not adequately represented by the proposed terms of the House settlement agreed to last month.

Justin Williams86

Big 12 mailbag: Undervalued Oklahoma State, Iowa State’s hype train and plenty of parity

Plus: best position groups in the league, Texas Tech's five-star recruit and Cincinnati's path toward stabilization.

Sam Khan Jr. and Justin Williams83

The Big 12 needs more money, fast. Is Allstate or private equity investment a good fix?

Private equity? A sponsor-titled conference? It may be squeamish to purists, but that doesn't mean the Big 12 shouldn't do it.

Stewart Mandel and Justin Williams216

Bill seeking to block college athletes from employee status advances to House of Representatives

H.R. 8534 — dubbed the “Protecting Student Athlete’s Economic Freedom Act" — was approved by the House committee with a 23-16 vote.

Justin Williams and Nicole Auerbach151

Big 12 discussing private equity investment, sale of naming rights to Allstate: Sources

Selling naming rights to a title sponsor could potentially be worth as much as nine figures on its own, according to Big 12 sources.

Justin Williams303

Submit your questions for Justin Williams, Sam Khan's Big 12 football mailbag

Submit your questions about all things Big 12 football, and Sam Khan Jr. and Justin Williams will address them.

Justin Williams and Sam Khan Jr.50

What I heard at Big 12 spring meetings: Settlement fallout, 'value creation' on everyone's minds

The changing financial landscape of college sports was the overriding topics of conversation, publicly and privately, among the 16 members.

Justin Williams56

Big 12 distributes record $470M to schools, but original members see decrease after expansion

IRVING, Texas — The Big 12 will distribute an estimated $470 million to 14 member universities in 2024, conference commissioner Brett Yormark announced Friday at the league’s spring meetings. That $470 million represents a record high for the Big 12, while at the same time a reduction for the conference’s 10 original members compared to last year. The league distributed $440 million evenly amongst 10 schools in 2023, with $44 million going to each. This year’s amount was diluted due to the additions of BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston, which received partial shares of $18 million. That...

Justin Williams28

Big 12 recruiting primer: Where does each team stand heading into June official visits?

Which school is poised to jump to the top of the recruiting food chain in the revamped Big 12?

Justin Williams and Sam Khan Jr.12

Ex-Penn State doctor awarded $5.25M in lawsuit alleging James Franklin interference: Reports

Dr. Scott Lynch alleged in the lawsuit he reported the "undue influence and attempts" of Franklin to interfere with his medical management.

Alex Andrejev and Justin Williams66

What to know about House v. NCAA settlement and a historic day for college sports

College athletes could soon receive pay directly from the schools they compete for, a break from the NCAA's long-held system of amateurism.

Nicole Auerbach and Justin Williams151

NCAA, power conferences approve settlement that makes way for players to be directly paid

This is another step toward finalizing a settlement in the landmark case that is likely to reshape the college sports business model.

The Athletic College Football Staff371

How the House v. NCAA settlement could reshape college sports: What you need to know

A nearly $3 billion settlement would offer a plan for revenue sharing and a way forward for college sports, but plenty of questions remain.

Nicole Auerbach and Justin Williams138

How do college football teams keep players out of the transfer portal in the NIL age?

In college football's transfer portal era, coaches — and NIL collectives — have to spend a lot of their time recruiting their own roster.

The Athletic College Football99