Big 12 Conference affirms stance to play fall football
The Big 12 Conference reaffirmed its decision to press on with college football and other fall sports Wednesday, joining the Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conferences in taking the field amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The move came one day after the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced they would not be participating this fall. There is a chance those two Power Five leagues will push their seasons to the spring, but that remains to be determined.
In the meantime, the Big 12 board of directors approved a plan to begin fall sports after Sept. 1 with football playing a schedule in which each team can play one non-conference game before league play begins Sept. 26. The schools will all play each other to give them 10 total games with the Big 12 title game scheduled for Dec. 12.
The decision was made following discussions with infectious disease experts, scientists and physicians along with the input of athletic administrators, coaches and athletes. It culminated with a two-hour call Tuesday in which the board of directors agreed it was safe to move forward.
“Our student-athletes want to compete, and it is the board’s collective opinion that sports can be conducted safely and in concert with the best interests of their well-being,” said TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini, chairman of the Big 12’s board of directors. “If at any point our scientists and doctors conclude that our institutions cannot provide a safe and appropriate environment for our participants, we will change course.”
The next big question for Big 12 schools is whether to permit fans in the stadium on game day. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said each institution will make the decision on stadium capacity under guidelines from state and local government.
All athletes will be subject to three tests per week — likely Sunday, Wednesday and Friday — in “high contact” sports such as football, volleyball and soccer. Should an athlete test positive, they would be subject to echocardiograms, a cardiac MRI, blood tests and other examinations before they are cleared to return.
Golf
NO ROARS AT AUGUSTA AS MASTERS TO BE PLAYED WITHOUT FANS >> The Masters, the major known as much for the roars of the crowd as the raw beauty of Augusta National, will be on mute this year. The club decided Wednesday there will be no spectators.
That means all three majors in this year of COVID-19 will not have fans, and the silence figures to be most deafening at Augusta National when the Masters is played Nov. 12-15.
Golf is coming off its first major without fans last week at the PGA Championship.
Motorsports
RYAN NEWMAN GETS DEAL WITH ROUSH >> Roush Fenway Racing announced a 12-race sponsorship deal with Guaranteed Rate to fund Ryan Newman’s car throughout the remainder of this NASCAR season.
Newman was seriously injured in a crash in the season-opening Daytona 500 in February. The coronavirus pandemic caused NASCAR to suspend its season in March, so Newman missed just three races. Newman is winless this season and ranked 26th in the Cup standings.
Soccer
PSG STAGES LATE COMEBACK TO
REACH CHAMPIONS SEMIFINALS >> Paris Saint-Germain staged a stoppage-time comeback to beat Atalanta 2-1 and reach the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 25 years.
Marquinho’s 90th-minute goal canceled out Mario Pašalic’s first-half opener for Atalanta in Lisbon. The quarterfinals are not being played home and away as usual but as single games because of the pandemic.
Tennis
GOFF HOLDS OFF SABALENKA IN LEXINGTON >> Coco Gauff survived a match that lasted nearly three hours to upset second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 and advance to the quarterfinals at The Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky.
Both players struggled with their serves in the first tournament in the U.S. since the hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with a combined 19 double faults (11 by Sabalenka) and 14 breaks of service (seven each).
Jennifer Brady cruised past sixthseeded Magda Linette of Poland 6-2, 6-2.