Amato, who guided the Wolfpack to a school-record 11 wins in 2002, had battled throat cancer in recent years.

With Philip Rivers as his quarterback for four of his seven seasons on the sidelines in Raleigh, Amato went 49-37 with five bowl appearances (four wins) at his alma mater from 2000-06.

The 11-3 season in 2002, capped by a win in the Gator Bowl and a final ranking of No. 12, remains the only season in school history with double-digit victories.

Amato was also an assistant coach at NC State (1971-79), Arizona (1980-81), Florida State (1982-99, 2007-09) and Akron (2012-17). The Seminoles won national championships in 1993 and 1999, with Amato serving as Bobby Bowden's assistant head coach.

Amato also coached defensive end Mario Williams, the only No. 1 overall NFL draft pick (2006) in Wolfpack history.

His coaching tree from his time at NC State includes current Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and Duke coach Manny Diaz.

The Gators were picked as the No. 1 team in the preseason poll, which was released Monday afternoon, after receiving 47 of the 59 first-place votes. It is the first time Florida will start the season as the No. 1 team since the 2006-07 season, when it was the defending national champion.

Florida returns four of five starters from last year's team, which went 16-2 in Southeastern Conference play and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season before losing to Iowa in the second round.

The Gators also found out earlier this month that Kentucky transfer Denzel Aberdeen, who rejoined the program after one season with the Wildcats, is eligible after receiving a temporary injunction by the courts.

Duke received 10 first-place votes and is ranked No. 2, while Illinois is No. 3 and got the other two first-place votes. UConn and Arizona round out the top five, while Michigan State, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia and Houston complete the top 10 in that order.

Defending national champion Michigan, which lost coach Dusty May and four of five starters to the NBA, begins its title defense at No. 16.

Kentucky, which begins the season No. 23, is two weeks away from becoming the first program to reach 1,000 weeks in the AP top 25.

Purdue is the third team outside of the preseason poll, snapping the Boilermakers' streak of 79 straight weeks as a Top 25 team, which had been the second-longest active streak behind Houston (127).

The SEC has seven teams in the preseason poll, just ahead of the Big 12's six. The Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference follow behind with five and four teams, respectively, while the Big East has two. Gonzaga, which moved from the West Coast Conference to the reassembled Pac-12 this offseason, is the only team outside those five conferences in the preseason poll, coming in at No. 15.

AP Top 25 preseason poll

1. Florida (47 first-place votes)

2. Duke (10)

3. Illinois (2)

4. UConn

5. Arizona

6. Michigan State

7. Texas

8. Tennessee

9. Virginia

10. Houston

11. Louisville

12. Arkansas

13. St. John's

14. Miami (FL)

15. Gonzaga

16. Michigan

17. Kansas

18. Iowa State

19. Texas Tech

20. Alabama

21. Southern California

22. UCLA

23. Kentucky

24. Vanderbilt

25. BYU

With the CFP conference commissioners expected to approve playoff expansion soon, according to multiple reports, ironing out the details of the expanded bracket will take more work. One of the major issues to discuss is the media-rights deal with ESPN.

The larger CFP field will eliminate conference championship games, with the regular-season champion from the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC earning automatic berths into the playoffs. Also getting an automatic berth will be the highest-ranked team among the champions from the Pac-12, Mountain West, MAC, Conference USA, American and Sun Belt.

The 24 playoff teams will be ranked, with the top eight earning a bye into the second round.

With conference championship games out of the way, the 16 teams participating in the first round will see action on the second week of December. Those eight winners and the eight teams receiving a bye will match up on the third week of December.

First- and second-round games will be played in the home stadiums of the higher-ranked team.

The quarterfinals and semifinals will continue to rotate among the Rose, Fiesta, Cotton, Sugar, Peach and Orange bowls. The quarterfinals will be played during New Year's week with the semifinals played during the second week of January.

According to Yahoo Sports, weeknight CFP games are expected, and not just when New Year's Day falls in the middle of the week. Some or all of the early-round games will be played during the week to avoid overlapping with late-season NFL games.

Left to decide is what happens to the 30-plus bowl games that have lost some luster with some top players opting out. There is already a reported plan of power conference teams that did not make the playoff field meeting up in standalone bowl games to complete their seasons.

Four other members of the coaching staff also received extensions with Ottawa off to a 6-3-0 start this season.

Green, 55, is 95-60-18 with two playoff berths since taking over in May 2024. The extension keeps him in the Canadian capital through the end of the 2030-31 campaign.

"When I was in the search to identify our head coach two years ago, it was clear to me that Travis had the qualities to move our team forward. I have watched him implement systems and structures that have reinforced my belief in his coaching abilities," said Steve Staios, Senators president of hockey operations and general manager. "We share the same vision and philosophy and are confident we can continue to build on our team."

Assistants Nolan Baumgartner, Ben Sexton and Mike Yeo and goaltending coach Justin Peters also received multi-year extensions.

Green owns a career record of 236-219-53 including stints with the Vancouver Canucks (2017-21) and as interim coach of the New Jersey Devils in 2024.

Lowry, winner of The Open Championship in 2019, joins good friend Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland in Boston's lineup.

In exchange, The Bay acquired Boston's fourth selection to fill its open roster slot this season. The Bay also receives one future selection over the next three offseasons plus additional "commercial considerations," the league said.

The move comes as TGL expands to five-player rosters for the 2027 season.

Boston Common opens the season on Jan. 2 against Los Angeles Golf Club.

"I'm delighted to be joining Boston Common Golf," Lowry said in a statement. "Having Rory alongside me and being part of this group makes it particularly exciting, and I'm looking forward to helping the team bring a championship to Boston."

Boston's roster last season featured McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Australia's Adam Scott and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama.

"Shane is a fierce competitor with a tremendous all-around game, and I'm excited to have him on our side," Bradley said. "He brings the kind of energy that makes team golf fun, and he'll fit right in with this group. We're eager to get back to SoFi Center, and adding Shane gives us even more confidence as we chase a championship for Boston."

Lowry, 39, recorded his most recent professional win at the Irish Open last month on the DP World Tour.

The remaining members for The Bay Golf Club are Wyndham Clark, Sweden's Ludvig Aberg and Australia's Min Woo Lee.

"Shane helped build The Bay Golf Club from day one -- in the team room, on the course and with our fans and partners," said Eric Kwait, The Bay's team president. "He's a major champion, and one of the most genuine and beloved players in professional golf, and he'll always be part of our story. We wish Shane and his family nothing but success in the future."

Kaufman-Renn, 24, never signed a pro contract with the Timberwolves. As a second-round pick, contract agreements are not guaranteed in the NBA.

Last season, the 6-foot-9 forward averaged 14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 37 starts at Purdue.

Kaufman-Renn began practicing with the Jayhawks last week and received a temporary injunction to participate while hoping for another year of eligibility. He would take the roster spot of Grant Mordini, a freshman guard who suffered a season-ending patellar tendon injury in September.

"Trey Kaufman-Renn, who had a tremendous career at Purdue, has enrolled in classes, and is practicing with us as of Sunday," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "He reached the national championship game, the Elite Eight and the Sweet 16 at Purdue and has been extremely well-drilled and well-coached. Even though it's late in the process, because of his basketball IQ, we think his transition will be quicker than most put in the same circumstance."

The Jayhawks open the regular season at home against Fordham on Nov. 2.

Kaufman-Renn played in 147 games (112 starts) over four seasons with the Boilermakers, averaging 11.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He redshirted his first year on campus and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2024-25.

According to the report, Stewart was booked by police in Springfield, Ore., early Sunday morning and later released.

He leads the Ducks in receptions (27) and receiving yards (352) and is tied for the team lead with four touchdown catches.

The school had not commented on the matter as of Monday morning.

A senior from Memphis, Tenn., Stewart did not play in Saturday's 17-14 home win against Nebraska due to an undisclosed injury.

The Ducks (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) return to action this Saturday on the road against Illinois (3-3, 1-2).

Stewart has 166 catches for 2,128 yards and 15 touchdowns in 36 career games with Texas A&M (2022-23) and Oregon (2024, 2026). He missed the entire 2025 season with a torn patellar tendon.

Banner will work alongside president of baseball operations Mike Elias, who held the GM role in Baltimore from 2018-25.

Banner has worked in operations in the major leagues for 18 years, most recently as assistant GM for the Cubs since January 2024.

"When I first heard Mike's vision, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. The Orioles are a storied franchise with a passionate fanbase, a historic ballpark, and an organization full of talent," Banner said in a news release. "I look forward to building upon the foundation laid by Mike and his team to construct a world-class organization and bring Championships back to Baltimore. I am extremely grateful to Mike, David, and Mike for the opportunity, and I am excited to get to work."

Banner joined the Cubs in December 2020 as vice president of special projects and was VP of player development from 2022-23.

"Jared has been one of the rising talents in our league for some time, now," Elias said. "He has demonstrated success running multiple different departments and has worked alongside some of the best people and front office talent in the league across multiple stops. He is a perfect fit to grow, evolve and improve the Orioles' baseball operations, and I look forward to working with him very closely as we build for 2027 and beyond. We welcome him and his family to Baltimore, and we are very pleased that they chose our team and our community for the next phase of their baseball journey."

Prior to his time in Chicago, Banner worked in the front offices of the New York Mets (2018-20) and Boston Red Sox (2007-18). His tenure in Boston included three World Series championships.

The Orioles plan to introduce Banner during a press conference at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Oct. 27.

Baltimore finished 79-82 this season and missed the playoffs for the second straight season. The Orioles have not been to the World Series since defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in five games in 1983.

The redshirt junior was standing over injured teammate DaShawn Stone while the safety was on his back and members of the Duke training staff tended to him in the third quarter in Durham, N.C. A third staff member ran over and put her hand on Robinson's shoulder to attempt to move him so she could tend to Stone. Robinson swiped at her hand and returned to watching over Stone.

"I want to publicly apologize to the member of our training staff for how I acted toward her during Saturday's game," Robinson wrote on his X account on Sunday. "I was completely wrong, and she did not deserve that. Immediately after the game, I apologized to her personally and checked to make sure she was okay."

Stone reportedly was able to walk off the field on his own, with the nature of his injury not disclosed.

"The injured player on the ground, DaShawn Stone, is like family to me, and I was scared he might be seriously hurt," Robinson wrote. "But being worried about him does not excuse how I treated her. I should have controlled my emotions, and I didn't.

"I'm truly sorry for my actions and for letting her, myself, and our program down," Robinson concluded. "I have to be better than that."

Robinson is in his third full season after appearing in one game as a true freshman in 2023. He has 64 tackles, six passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 25 games, including two this season.

Stone, a redshirt junior, also began his Duke career in the 2023 season and has 166 tackles, three interceptions, seven passes defended, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 38 games.

Duke (4-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) tries to snap a two-game losing streak on Friday when the Blue Devils visit the Virginia Cavaliers (4-3, 2-2).

ESPN first reported the extension, with attribution to Wallace's agents at Excel Sports Management.

Wallace, who turns 23 on Nov. 7, made the NBA All-Defensive second team last season, when he led the league in total steals with 150. He will earn $7.42 million for the 2026-27 season before the extension kicks in.

He averaged career highs of 8.6 points, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game and averaged 26.6 minutes in 77 contests (58 starts).

Wallace became a bigger part of the Thunder's plans after they traded another elite perimeter defender, Lu Dort, to the Atlanta Hawks in the offseason.

"I think the greatest sign of respect we could have shown Cason is moving Lu in that trade," Thunder president Sam Presti said in September. "We potentially could have looked at a series of other options, but it's a bit of a gesture to him to say, ‘We think you can have a great role on this team. We believe in you as a player.' "

He entered the league as a first-round pick (10th overall) in the 2023 draft out of Kentucky. The Dallas Mavericks drafted Wallace and traded him and Davis Bertans to Oklahoma City for the rights to Dereck Lively II.

Wallace has averaged 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 24.7 minutes in 227 regular-season games (114 starts).

He has played in 48 playoff games (five starts) and averaged 6.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 22.7 minutes. The Thunder won the league championship in the 2024-25 season.