What is Extra Points?

There aren’t many places on the internet that talk about the COLLEGE part of college sports. Extra Points is one of those places.

This newsletter covers all the off-the-field stuff that shapes college sports, from the largest FBS schools to the smallest NAIA programs. Four days a week, you’ll get commentary, analysis, and original reporting on major issues like NIL legislation, how college athletic budgets function, how athletic departments fit (and don’t fit) with the rest of the university, and how the entire enterprise really operates.

If you care about the college and the sports in college sports, you'll love Extra Points.

What do I get with a free subscription?

With a free subscription, you'll get two newsletters a week, usually on Mondays and Fridays.

What do I get with a paid subscription?

In addition to those two newsletters and the podcast, you get two additional newsletters, giving you four newsletters a week. You also get access to our archives, which include hundreds of newsletters.

You’ll also get access to Athletic Director Simulator 4000, a computer game we built that lets you try to run a D-I athletic department.

PLUS, also get the satisfaction that comes with supporting independent media that includes coverage of smaller schools and lesser-known issues. If you’d like, I’ll even mail you some free stickers.

Who are you?

I'm Matt Brown. I’ve run Extra Points as my full-time gig since April 2020. I used to oversee SB Nation’s college team sites and regularly contributed to SBNation.com’s college football coverage. My coverage increasingly focused on off-the-field issues, from conference realignment to media rights to athletic department finances.

I wrote a book on great college football What If questions, covering pivotal moments through college football history like the Airplane Conference and the University of Chicago's descent from Big Time Sports.

Before getting into sports journalism, I taught elementary school, worked as a political organizer, and in executive search. I'm passionate about open records, college football history, higher education, and building internet for humans, rather than algorithms.

I have a degree from The Ohio State University, by way of brief pit stops at American University and Ohio State's Newark campus. I grew up in football-obsessed Ohio, then lived all over the country, and now currently live in Chicago.

How can I reach Matt?

Drop me an email at [email protected], shoot me a tweet at @MattBrownEP, or mail me something at:

Good Spot Publishing LLC

C/O Matt Brown

PO Box 411023

Chicago Illinois 60641