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 has focused on Illinois, Northwestern, and Kansas State athletics throughout his career, with the Big Ten conference serving as his primary area of expertise.
He also covers combat sports for MMA Knockout On Sports Illustrated.
Bando hosts two weekly podcasts on the Empty The Bench Podcast Network – “Bando’s Breakdowns” and “The MMA Outsiders.” Both shows stream on YouTube and release on podcast platforms on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
A Chicago suburban native, Bando holds memberships in the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
Since June 2019, his work has appeared across multiple publications 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, memorizes Super Bowl history, and plans his future travels – laptop always in tow.
