UNDATED (AP) — Four Major League Soccer teams have taken the first small step toward returning to play by allowing players to use team training fields for individual workouts. Sporting Kansas City, Atlanta United, Orlando City and Inter Miami had players in on the first day they were allowed by the league. Nashville, LAFC, Real Salt Lake, Houston and Portland are among the league’s 26 teams that plan to start Thursday, with more lined up next week.
UNDATED (AP) — All 10 schools in the Big 12 Conference expect their campuses to be open in the fall, a key step toward launching fall sports. Conference commissioners have stressed to Vice President Mike Pence that college sports cannot return until campuses reopen. The football season is slated to begin Aug. 29, though Big 12 schools don’t begin play until the following week.
UNDATED (AP) — It is less than four months before the scheduled kickoff of the college football season. Not one of the 14 schools in the Big Ten Conference can say for sure they will have students back on campus this fall. That is a crucial step for sports. The most resolute about having students back has been Purdue President Mitch Daniels. He says he expects students will be back on campus “in typical numbers.” No other school has gone even that far.
UNDATED (AP) — All but one of the 14 schools in the Southeastern Conference have indicated they plan to reopen their campuses for the fall semester. That step is widely believed to be needed to resume football and other sports. South Carolina and Tennessee became the latest schools in the nation’s top football conference to announce their plans, joining Alabama, LSU and others. Vanderbilt hasn’t announced its plans for the fall. Schools across the nation are largely closed through the summer because of the coronavirus pandemic.
UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA approved a waiver that will allow schools to spend below the minimum level on athletic scholarships required to compete in Division I. The Division I Council approved two other blanket waivers that had been requested by several conferences in recent weeks in response to coronavirus pandemic. Basketball and football players will be allowed to participate in summer athletic activities without being enrolled in school. Also, schools that are in the process of moving to D-I can be counted toward the minimum required Division I opponents.
UNDATED (AP) — There are 130 major college football teams spread across 41 states. The goal is to have all those teams start the upcoming season at the same time around Labor Day weekend or later if needed. The hope is to also play the same number of games. With each passing day it is becoming apparent the pandemic is going to make that difficult to achieve. There is a chance some schools will go ahead while others wait, throwing uncertainty and inconsistency into the fall college sports season.
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard has won the Cornish Trophy, presented annually to the top Canadian player in NCAA football. Hubbard was the AP Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting, the third-best finish for a Canadian player. He rushed for 2,094 yards last season, the second-best single-season total in Oklahoma State history. Hubbard plans to return to school next season. He was the runner-up for the Cornish Trophy in 2019. Other finalists this year included Notre Dame receiver Chase Claypool and Oklahoma defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, both of whom were picked in the NFL draft.
UNDATED (AP) — The NFL has set protocols for reopening team facilities and has told the 32 teams to have them in place by May 15. Commissioner Roger Goodell mapped out several phases of protocols in a memo obtained by The Associated Press. The first phase to deal with the coronavirus pandemic would involve a limited number of non-player personnel. That number initially would be 50% of the non-player employees and up to a total of 75 on any single day being approved to be at the facility. But state or local regulations could require a lower number.
UNDATED (AP) — The NBA says some players can voluntarily return to their team practice facilities beginning on Friday amid some very specific conditions. However, players can congregate only in places where local and state governments have signed off on such openings. It’s unclear how many players will be back on the floor when the league ban gets lifted. Positive tests during individual training or practices could delay or destroy plans for games.