News: Extra Points is joining the D1.Ticker family

Good morning, and thanks for spending part of your day with Extra Points.

I’ve written a lot about realignment on this newsletter. Today, I’m excited to share my favorite realignment news yet...my own.

I am pleased to announce that Extra Points is joining the D1.ticker family.

Who is D1.ticker?

D1.ticker is an industry-leading news source for college athletics professionals. They produce the wildly popular D1.ticker newsletter, as well as similar news clipping newsletters for D2, D3 and even NAIA. The D1.ticker family also includes AthleticDirectorU, a site providing awesome professional development and strategic insights to the college athletics community, along with other strategic projects within the industry.

By working together, we believe we can provide best in class content for anybody interested in the nuts and bolts of college sports, from industry professionals, academics, media members, students, and fans.

What does “joining the D1.ticker family” mean, exactly?

D1.ticker is acquiring Extra Points. I will continue to write the newsletter, record Going For Two, and will retain editorial control over what is published on the site. D1.ticker will manage ad sales and distributions, the Extra Points tech stack, and all the business and operational duties that go into running a company, so I can focus on editorial and educational responsibilities.

I will also regularly contribute content for AthleticDirectorU, and help develop and grow that property. You may occasionally see my bylines, hear my voice, or even see my face on other D1.ticker properties and projects. For example, I'm producing a weekly College Football Playoff Rankings podcast with ADU, which you can find here.

Andy Wittry will continue to contribute for Extra Points on a regular basis as well.

Why are you doing this?

I didn’t expect to be a small-business owner, but honestly, I’ve really enjoyed the experience. I’ve loved building something unique, I’ve loved throwing everything I’ve got at trying to learn how to build a better sports internet, and I’ve loved writing about the stuff I want to write about. I've written, like, four times as many newsletters about UConn football as I have about Alabama football. I love that. That's on purpose!

But I’ve also been pretty up front about the challenges that come from that. I actually like learning about new products, about ad tech, about audience growth and distribution. But I also love writing, reporting, podcasting and researching, and every moment I’m digging through Product Hunt or A/B testing or making ad sales calls is a moment I’m not filing a FOIA, conducting an interview...or keeping my phone away from my children.

By partnering with D1.ticker, I honestly think we’re getting the best of all possible worlds. Not only do I get to focus on writing, reporting and working with schools, but I’m partnering with one of the most connected organizations in the college sports industry, which should improve my source network and help deliver a better product for you. I get to work with a team that simply knows a lot more about the business side of running a publication in this industry. I get to work with people I already know and trust.

At the end of the day, by working together, I really believe this will build a higher quality, and a more sustainable, Extra Points.

So what changes for us, the Extra Points reader?

In the short term? I don’t think too much will change. We’re going to need some time to really get everybody integrated, and we’re already heading into the end of the football season and the end of the year. Once we have a chance to get settled, we’ll dig in and look for all sorts of ways to make Extra Points better. I promise to share specifics once we finalize some of those plans.

So….are you rich now?

No, and that was never the goal. If I wanted to get rich in the newsletter business, I’d be hyping NFTs and finding ways to mention the Multiverse in every HL.

I will just say that this process has confirmed to me that it is possible to make a good living in the newsletter business, even if you don’t have a huge audience.

Let me just close with this.

I care a lot about this newsletter.

I care because I love college sports. I care because I’ve treasured the relationships I’ve built with my readers and others in this industry. I care because I passionately believe that you can produce interesting and quality content without being beholden to scale, and the more I learned about how to build a sustainable newsletter, the more I could share with other publishers, so they can help build a better internet for readers everywhere.  

If I was going to give up my independence, I wanted it to be with a team that I know shared those passions, and I believe I've found that team.

I really believe acquisition will make this newsletter better. I’m so excited about it. Thank you for helping to make this moment possible, and thank you sticking with me. The best for Extra Points has yet to come.

-Matt Brown

Extra Points