Zain Bando covers college football for The Sporting News. He 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 also covers combat sports for MMA Knockout On Sports Illustrated, focusing on MMA and boxing.
Bando hosts two weekly podcasts: “Bando’s Breakdowns” and “The MMA Outsiders.” Both shows air on YouTube and are available on podcast platforms on Tuesday nights and Wednesday afternoons.
A Chicago suburban native, Bando is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
Since June 2019, his work has appeared in MSN, Yardbarker, Deadspin, FanSided, BJPenn.com, Bridge Media Network, Mike Farrell Sports, Reuters and other outlets.
When not writing, Bando watches old UFC fights, spends time with family and friends, memorizes Super Bowl history, and plans his travel destinationsālaptop always in tow.
