NCAA fall championships officially off
With more than 50% of eligible Division I schools already postponing their fall sports seasons amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA Division I board of directors felt it had no choice but to postpone all fall championships, as NCAA President Mark Emmert said earlier this month would be the case. The board made it official Friday when it announced in a statement that it will “work toward hosting scaled back fall championships in the spring.”
The ruling affects all fall sports except football. The format for the championships, including bracket size and composition, still need to be approved by the board. The group also cautioned that the tournaments can be played only in the spring if they can be conducted according to federal, state and local health and safety guidelines.
The board also approved a waiver that allows fall sport athletes to compete in any number of competitions this school year, whether during normally planned fall seasons or postponed spring campaigns, and not have their eligibility be affected. — Thuc Nhi Nguyen
This year’s Kentucky Derby will be run without fans for the first time in the 146-year history of the country’s most famous horse race.
It is the second change in plans since the race was postponed from May 2 to Sept. 5. It was originally scheduled to be run with limited fans in the grandstands and on the infield. A few weeks ago, the infield was struck from the plan and limited attendance of slightly more than 25,000 was going to be allowed in the reserved seating sections. The Kentucky Derby normally draws more than 150,000 fans. — John Cherwa
Iowa will drop men’s gymnastics, men’s tennis and men’s and women’s swimming and diving at the end of the 2020-21 academic year in response to the financial hardships caused by the coronavirus outbreak . ... Louisiana Monroe paused football practices because of nine new positive COVID-19 tests . ... The Detroit Lions said they will not have fans at their first two home games, and there will be no fans for the Denver Broncos’ Monday night season opener Sept. 14 because of the COVID-19 crisis . ... Parents of Big Ten football players, upset over the process that led to the postponement of the fall season, held a protest near the conference’s Chicago-area headquarters . ... Kei Nishikori, the runner-up in tennis’ 2014 U.S. Open, said he tested positive for COVID-19 a second time.