UConn refutes president’s remarks

UConn president Tom Katsouleas created a stir Tuesday afternoon when he addressed the possibility of fall sports being canceled due to the coronavirus while speaking to a university class.

“Current thinking is that likely fall sports will be canceled — with the exception of those that can be played at a safe distance,” Katsouleas told a journalism class on Tuesday, according to a tweet from @UCTVSports, the account for the sports department of the college’s student-run TV station.

However, UConn quickly walked back the statement, which touched off speculation about the loss of the college football season. Spokesperson Stephanie Reitz, who was on the video conference with Katsouleas and the students, said, “it was a misunderstanding about the phrasing of what he said. Fall sports are still on.”

Players ejected from football games for targeting will be allowed to remain on the sidelines, the NCAA announced Tuesday. All other aspects of the rule discouraging above-the-shoulders contact remain the same.

The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team has been placed on one-year probation and agreed to other NCAA sanctions after a former assistant coach was found to have forged recruiting documents.

Boise State head football coach Bryan Harsin and other coaches and athletic department employees earning more than $40,000 per year will be furloughed.

Ball State guard K.J. Walton will return for his sixth college season after receiving a waiver from the NCAA and the approval of the Mid-American Conference.

IN OTHER NEWS

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is bracing for cuts of up to 20% because of the coronavirus pandemic and warning that a cancellation of the Tokyo Games would be “devastating” to athletes and the organization.

Bob Lazier, the 1981 CART rookie of the year and father of 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier, died Saturday from COVID-19. He was 81.