The highly-anticipated launch of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s new golf league has been delayed until 2025.

TGL, the virtual competition originally announced last year, was scheduled to debut on Jan. 9 with primetime matches on ESPN and ESPN 2 throughout the winter and early spring. But last week, the league’s new South Florida venue — SoFi Center — had a power failure that resulted in the collapse of its air-supported dome.

After assessing the damage, TGL has decided to push back its launch by at least a year — likely to the same January-March time frame in 2025. 

The league’s media rights deal with ESPN — which was set to deliver the new-age golf competition to a different audience than most of the sport’s broadcasts — appears to be a key factor in the decision to delay the launch a full year, rather than by weeks or months. ESPN had carved out primetime broadcasts windows for TGL that likely wouldn’t be as widely available later this year. 

The network expressed its full support for the new 2025 launch date.

Body Blow

The unfortunate news for TGL temporarily kills what had been some serious momentum for the new golf league.

Beyond the support of co-founders Woods and McIlroy, TGL had signed up many top PGA Tour pros like Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, and Collin Morikawa. Jon Rahm, the No. 3-ranked golfer in the world, initially committed to TGL’s first season before pulling out. It remains to be seen how the year-long delay will impact TGL’s roster.

A superstar-packed list of team owners also gave TGL mainstream credibility. Representatives from all six groups have expressed their support for the league’s launch in 2025.

It’s been over a year since news broke that leaders from the Big 12 and Gonzaga met in person to discuss the potential of the Bulldogs joining the conference.

Rumors have persisted during the ensuing months without confirmation either way — but now there could finally be some movement.

The Houston Chronicle reported that Big 12 school presidents are expected to meet this week to discuss expansion, and could even vote on adding Gonzaga. A source familiar with the situation confirmed to Front Office Sports that there has been some positive momentum around Gonzaga’s potential move to the Big 12, but noted it isn’t a slam dunk.

Previously, FOS reported that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark had “overwhelming support” from conference presidents in his quest to add Gonzaga and was tasked with exploring it further.

Adding Gonzaga would need 75% approval from conference members. Right now, that means nine out of the 12 schools — aside from Texas and Oklahoma, which are leaving to join the SEC next year. Once the conference expands to 16 teams next summer, a vote would require 12 schools to sign off.

If Gonzaga joins and becomes the 17th member, speculation could ramp up around UConn or another basketball powerhouse as candidates to take the conference to 18 teams.

Newly relegated Leeds United is pushing hard for a return to the Premier League — and turning to some unexpected American help to do it. 

Now competing in the EFL Championship, Leeds has sold a minority stake in the club to Ackerley Partners, a Seattle-based holding company and venture capital firm that also owns a minority stake in the NHL’s Kraken, according to Bloomberg. 

The new capital will be used to boost both the commercial and football operations of the club. 

The move extends the growing Americanization of the English club. 49ers Enterprises, the strategic investment arm of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, completed its long-planned takeover of the club in July. Since then, 49ers Enterprises has been on a push to overhaul club functions, quickly remaking the club’s board of directors, and is also reportedly considering whether to bring in another new investor. 

Ackerley Partners is led in part by brothers Ted and Chris Ackerley. Their father, the late Barry Ackerley, owned the Seattle SuperSonics from 1983-2001 and co-founded the WNBA’s Seattle Storm.

Leeds’ hopes for promotion are thus far holding firm — it sits in third place in the EFL Championship, one point above the cut line, with wins in six of its last seven matches. A promotion back to the Premier League would bring much more sponsorship and broadcast income, with annual media revenue projected to be more than $125 million per club.

The club is also one of three recently relegated clubs preparing to sue Everton, which faces unprecedented Premier League penalties for violations of profitability and financial sustainability rules.