NCAA DENIES SPORTS WAIVER
The NCAA Division I Council denied a request to temporarily waive the minimum number of sports required to be a Division I member and delayed a decision on allowing all college athletes to be immediately eligible one time after transferring.
The NCAA announced Friday night that a request made recently by five FBS conference commissioners to waive numerous Division I requirements for up to four years would be considered in the coming weeks. But a blanket waiver permitting schools to drop below the minimum 16 sports would only be considered on a caseby-case basis.
The request was made with schools bracing for tough times as the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic begins to take a toll on athletic departments.
The transfer waiver working group recommended in February to allow all athletes to transfer onetime in four years without sitting out a season. Some sports already have a onetime transfer exception, but not football, men’s and women’s basketball, hockey and baseball.
The waiver change could have gone into effect this year, but the council cited the uncertainty related to the COVID-19 outbreak for delaying a vote.
The council also recommended the Division I Board of Directors lift the current moratorium on transfer legislation so the council could vote on the concept of a one-time exception for all transfers in January 2021.
More colleges
The NCAA is moving closer to allowing Division I athletes to earn money from endorsements and sponsorship deals they can strike on their own as early as next year. Recommended rule changes that would clear the way for athletes to earn money from their names, images and likeness are being reviewed by college sports administrators this week before being sent to the NCAA Board of Governors, which meets Monday and Tuesday.
• Memphis freshman Precious Achiuwa said he will enter the NBA Draft. The 6-foot-9, 225-pound Nigerian-born star is projected as a likely first-rounder and possible lottery pick.
• Texas landed top basketball recruit Greg Brown III when he decided to attend the college where his father played football instead of following other elite players to the NBA’S developmental G League.
Death
Steve Dalkowski, a hardthrowing, wild left-hander whose minor league career inspired the creation of Nuke Laloosh in the movie “Bull Durham,“has died. He was 80.
He died Sunday at the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain. His sister, Patricia Cain, said Friday he had several preexisting conditions that were complicated when he became infected with the new coronavirus. Dalkowski had been in assisted living for 26 years because of alcoholic dementia.
Dalkowski never reached the major leagues but was said to have thrown well over 100 mph.
Long before velocity was tracked with precision, he spawned legends that estimated he approached 110 mph or 115 mph — some said even 125 mph.
Mixed martial arts
The UFC is returning to competition on May 9 for three shows without fans in eight days in Jacksonville, Fla. UFC 249 will be held May 9 at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville with no fans in attendance. The pay-per-view show will still be headlined by Tony Ferguson’s interim lightweight title bout against Justin Gaethje.
Soccer
The rest of the Dutch soccer league was canceled and leading team Ajax won’t be declared the champion. The Eredivisie is the first top-tier European league to end its season prematurely because of the coronavirus crisis, but its decision sparked instant complaints from clubs who felt they had lost out. Belgium could ratify an end to its season on Monday.
• Phil Neville, 43, will step down from coaching the England women’s team when his contract expires next year, missing out on leading the country at the rescheduled European Championship in 2022. The former Manchester United player could still coach the British Olympic team.
• The National Women’s Soccer League said it is extending the team training moratorium through May 15.
Virus
A Summer X Games stop in Minneapolis scheduled for July has been canceled due to the coronavirus.
• The U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Girls’ Junior have been canceled. That makes six USGA championships that have been canceled.
• The Cape Cod League, the top summer competition for college baseball players, canceled its 2020 season. The 10-team league said Friday its executive committee made the decision in a unanimous vote “based on the health concerns and safety needs of all involved.”
Also
The Whitman County coroner said a Washington State football player who was found dead in his apartment last month died of acute intoxication. Coroner Annie Pillers said Friday that 22-year-old Bryce Beekman died after consuming a combination of fentanyl and promethazine. Pillers said the death was ruled accidental.