Excellence in Sports Reporting

Shehan Jeyarajah, “West Texas boom: Inside Texas Tech's bold all-in bet on NIL and the billionaire landman responsible,”

CBS Sports

ABOUT THE WORK: West Texas Boom became one of the defining exposés of college football's NIL era. The piece exploded, recording more than 100,000 pageviews and posting the most time on page of any article published on CBS Sports in 2025. The piece helped set the stage for Texas Tech's rise through the Big 12 and trip to the College Football Playoff, and was often cited as the definitive work on their rise as they underwent a bold bet unlike anymore.

Shehan Jeyarajah is an award-winning sports journalist who works as a National College Football Writer at CBS Sports. A graduate of Baylor University, Jeyarajah has established himself as a leading multimedia authority in the college space through his national insight and Texas roots. He received the Edward Aschoff Rising Star Award in 2025. Jeyarajah serves as president of the Football Writers Association of America and on the board of AAJA Texas. He lives in Dallas with his wife (Bhargavi), daughter (Sona) and a second daughter on the way in August.

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