Zain Bando covers college football as a freelance writer for The Sporting News. The Illinois native graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.
Bando specializes in Big Ten coverage, having reported on Illinois, Northwestern and Kansas State athletics throughout his career.
He’s a member of both the Football Writers Association of America and U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Beyond college sports, Bando covers MMA and boxing for MMA Knockout On Sports Illustrated. He hosts two weekly podcasts on the Empty The Bench Podcast Network – “Bando’s Breakdowns” and “The MMA Outsiders” – which stream on YouTube and all major podcast platforms on Tuesday nights and Wednesday afternoons.
Since 2019, his work has appeared across multiple platforms including MSN, Yardbarker, Deadspin, FanSided, BJPenn.com, Bridge Media Network, Mike Farrell Sports and Reuters.
When not writing, Bando watches old UFC fights, spends time with family and friends, recites Super Bowl history from memory, and plans his next travel destinations – laptop always in tow.
