USC blows millions on sports 'hype' videos
Tomo Chien
February 02, 2026
Good morning. It’s Monday, and these are the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
College athletic departments are spending big on hype videos and social media posts to woo top recruits in a crowded NIL landscape. Nowhere is this more apparent than USC, whose head of content creation said his department operates on a “close to eight-figure” budget — roughly one-third the funding of some of USC’s smaller schools.
2.
Police are searching for a pair of suspects who shot two men, killing one of them, a mile northwest of campus. Investigators said the suspects jumped out of a black Dodge sedan near the Interstate 10 overpass at Western Avenue, then opened fire, fatally striking a 25-year-old and injuring a 19-year-old.
3.
A proposed Metrolink station at LA General Medical Center would connect USC’s Health Science Campus to Union Station — a boon for students and employees who commute across LA. It’s unclear when the project, which is still in preliminary design stages, would be completed.
4.
A judge released the journalist Don Lemon without bond after federal agents arrested him in LA over his coverage of a Minneapolis church protest. The highly unusual indictment accuses Lemon of asking a pastor questions in an “attempt to oppress and intimidate him.”
5.
A USC professor narrated a sleep story on the meditation app Calm after being voted the school’s “most calming professor.” Oliver Mayer’s episode takes listeners on a nighttime drive from USC to the Griffith Observatory. “Our climb ends. Here we are: The perfect place to fall asleep under the stars. And we easily find a spot to park.”
