🏈College football playoffs to end conference titles; Brrr: UTA funded for Antarctica research; AA Thanksgiving flights every 12.3 seconds.

The College Football Playoff management committee unanimously approved a 24-team playoff that eliminates conference championship games and gives the top eight seeds a first-round bye. It also reached an exclusive, global rights agreement on a five-year, $1.7-billion deal with ESPN that will begin the first full week of December 2027. No CFP games will be scheduled the same day as Army-Navy, which usually falls on the first Saturday of December. 

Fort Worth-based GM Financial has cut 400 employees, months after GM, its parent company, cut hundreds in May. The cuts were made “to support operating performance efforts,” a GM Financial spokesperson said. Affected roles included compliance analysts, product managers and corporate.

The University of Texas at Arlington received a four-year, $799,527 National Science Foundation grant to study space weather in Antarctica. Physics associate professor Zhonghua Xu will lead research using a network of autonomous magnetometers to examine solar storms that can disrupt satellites, aviation communications and electrical grids. 

Westlake-based Charles Schwab this week is lowering its minimum requirement for individuals to participate in initial public offerings. Retail clients will need at least $50,000 in household assets, half the previous requirement, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

A rare eye disorder that can cause sudden, permanent vision loss has prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to require new warnings for Ozempic, Zepbound, Wegovy, and other GLP-1 drugs prescribed for diabetes and obesity.

Westworth Village’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend re-zoning the 27-acre Kite Farms, a former horse farm on White Settlement Road, for a proposed 318-unit Trinity Terrace senior care development. The proposal for residents 62 and older includes 236 independent living units and 40 villas, plus assisted living and memory care. The proposal awaits council approval. 

The Rainwater Charitable Foundation, a large independent funder of neurodegenerative research based in Fort Worth, announced more than $1 million in grants to fund three one-year research projects focused on targeting tau as an underlying disease driver, stemming from the 2026 Sprint to Lead (S2L) drug discovery grant program.

Lockheed Martin reached two milestones in the accelerated production of GMLRS rockets, a critical weapon for the U.S. Army and America's allies. Lockheed delivered its 100,000th rocket and is producing nearly 14,000 per year – a production rate achieved ahead of schedule.

Fort Worth and Willow Park Railhead BBQ restaurants are celebrating 40 years by offering $4 sandwiches through November 14. Co-owners Charlie Geren and Harry Pilcher didn’t expect it to last this long after taking over a nameless barbecue joint in a concrete-block building on Vickery St., a former drive-in and beer store.

American Airlines says it has 7,021 flights planned Sunday, Nov. 29 (Thanksgiving weekend), its highest number since the pandemic. That is one takeoff every 12.3 seconds.

Tesla wants a 10-year break on school property taxes for a proposed $10.1-billion plant in Fort Bend County, Texas. Named Project Crystal Sun, the facility would make photovoltaic solar cells and assemble solar modules. Lamar Consolidated Independent School District approved the incentive, 7-0, but Tesla has not made a final site-selection decision.

Having visitors for the Stock Show? Might be a good idea to check out the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Enthusiast Program. The online course covers the Stock Show's history, signature events and how to recommend experiences that make the visit memorable. 

Jambaloo, a free music festival spanning indie rock, hip-hop, Americana, electronic music and soul, returns Feb. 11-21, with more than 60 artists at multiple Dallas-Fort Worth venues. Past Fort Worth locations include Tulips FTW, The Cicada and The Post at River East. Organizers estimate the 2026 festival generated $5 million in economic impact across D-FW.

After 25 years together, the longest-running broadcast duo in NFL history looks like it’s headed for an ugly divorce. Here’s how the Joe Buck and Troy Aikman partnership stacks up against the all-time greats.

TechFW member Brooke Hipps, founder of Weekend Will, is the Women's Business Council-Southwest representative for the WBC national service division award. The pitches are scheduled next Monday. Weekend Will — limitless access to your will — is offered as a low-cost benefit for companies to offer to employees. 

Fort Worth-based BODYBAR Pilates signed a franchise development agreement for three studios in the Portland, OR. area. BODYBAR reported 103 operating studios nationwide and approximately 23,000 members.

Toronto-based Greybrook Realty Partners acquired Evolv, a 334-unit apartment community at 370 N. State Highway 360 in Mansfield. Cushman & Wakefield arranged the sale and Greystone provided $39.2 million in Fannie Mae financing. Evolv is the third investment in Greybrook's U.S. Multi-family Income & Growth Fund. 

More business news is coming our way. (We could lie and say we love all the competition.) Technical.ly, based in Philadelphia, is launching its innovation ecosystem coverage of entrepreneurs, technology and commercialized science in Fort Worth. The Fort Worth-Tarrant County Innovation Partnership, which manages the Switchyard Innovation District, is the primary underwriter. 

George Grubbs III, President and CEO of the Grubbs Family of Dealerships, says the company has opened Grubbs Nissan of North Colorado Springs, its 15^th  dealership and first in Colorado. 

Fort Worth-based Cowtown Angels has invested in RootCause.ai, a San Francisco simulations company that helps build a live model of a business from internal and external data. No terms were announced. 

Earnings reports:

• Fort Worth-based HighPeak Energy posted a third-quarter net loss of $55.7 million, driven by $107.5 million in hedging losses. Revenue rose to $256.8 million from $208.7 million a year earlier, and the company generated $22.4 million in free cash flow and paid down $30 million of debt. It also raised its 2026 production guidance to 44,500 to 45,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and raised its 2026 capital budget to $310 million to $320 million.

• Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway reported third-quarter results showing net income of $1.73 billion, up 19.3% year over year, according to parent company Berkshire Hathaway. Total operating revenue of $6.8 billion was up 14.7%. Operating income was $2.48 billion, up from $2.15 billion, but operating expenses rose to $4.39 billion from $3.84 billion.

• Southlake-based Natural Gas Services Group reported third-quarter net income of $5.6 million and a profit of $.43 a share ($.48 adjusted for non-recurring costs). The maker of natural gas compression equipment and industrial flare systems posted revenue of $61.3 million. 

Today is Veterans Day, honoring those who have served in the military. Here’s what you need to know:

• Veterans Day parades are today at 11 a.m. in downtown Fort Worth and at 5:30 p.m. in Arlington’s Entertainment District, followed by a drone show.

• Veterans make up 5.9% of the U.S. population overall and 6% of Texas' adult population. The states with the greatest shares of veterans are Alaska (9.7%), Virginia (9.0%) and Montana (8.6%), per the latest census data.

• As part of its commitment to provide 130k free Meta AI glasses to every legally blind veteran in the U.S., Meta is partnering with the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Fort Worth tomorrow to distribute the glasses and train blind veterans on how to use them.

• The Texas Lottery has offered veterans-themed lottery games since 2009 to help support veterans and their families. The efforts have generated over $313 million in funding. One of this year’s games is Patriotic Payout.

Snippets:

• Today and Friday through Sunday are free admission days at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, courtesy of Amazon and H-E-B.  

• Pausing a federal judge’s ruling, Supreme Court justices voted 8-1 to allow the Trump administration to continue building the border wall within Big Bend National Park in Texas. 

• NASA opened applications for its 25th astronaut class to help carry out the Artemis moon missions.

Believe it or not: Red Bull built the world’s largest human catapult and launched two “dudes” from it. Watch the video. Somewhere, a personal injury lawyer just bought a boat.

Today in history: 1926 = Route 66 was officially designated, connecting Chicago with Los Angeles through eight states, including Texas. The highway helped build a roadside economy of motels, diners, gas stations and tourist attractions. The 178-mile corridor across the Texas Panhandle remains a destination for travelers exploring the “Mother Road.”

Daily digit: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” officially re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 last week, with streams up 295 percent and reaching 7.1 million the week after Halloween.

Significant stat: -27.8% = Decline in homicides in Fort Worth during Q3 compared to the prior year.

Announcements:

• Vancouver Symphony Orchestra: Hires former Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Keith Cerny as its President and CEO. He also will lead the VSO School of Music when he starts Jan. 11.

• OncoNano: Names Brett Giroir CEO. 

• Gridworks: Names Brittni Schwarz Project Controls Specialist.

• TCU Office of Graduate Studies: Selects Aisha Torrey-Sawyer as Executive Director of Graduate Student Success & Engagement. 

• Texas Lyceum: Selects former Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp for its 2026 Stewardship of Texas Values award. 

• Moonshot: Hires Emily Aguilar as Executive Assistant to the CEO and COO.

• Medical City Fort Worth: Selects Mandy Adcock as Chief Nursing Officer.

• GL Seaman & Company: Names Camber Brown Director of Business Development for Fort Worth. 

• Dallas Mavericks: Agree to multi-year deal with New Balance as its footwear and apparel partner. Star Cooper Flagg is a prominent part of the partnership’s story.

• Texas Veterans Commission: Selects First Command Financial Services as Large Employer of the Year.

• National Head Start Association: Designates Center for Transforming Lives as a 2026 Program of Excellence.

• ÀDG Venture Group: Hires Caleb Rooker for M&A Advisory.

• Dallas Jet: Promotes Matt Rhoda to Executive Sales Director.

• TriVAN Roofing: Hires Mitchel Simmons as Sales Manager for Oklahoma.

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