Humanitarian crises
FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020, file photo, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops points at an official during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi in Lexington, Ky. Sloppy play has been common over the first few weeks of the season, and much of it has been attributed to there having been little or no spring practice and disrupted summer workouts and preseason practices. As a result, game officials' preparation also was impacted. They typically hone their craft at game speed by working live scrimmages in the spring and preseason. There weren't nearly as many opportunities this year. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston, file)
Pandemic makes tough job even tougher for football officials

By Eric Olson Oct. 08, 2020 02:26 PM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2019, file photo, Minnesota football players hold up the Governor's Victory Bell after winning 31-26 against Penn State during an NCAA college football game in Minneapolis. Big Ten is going to give fall football a shot after all. Less than five weeks after pushing football and other fall sports to spring in the name of player safety during the pandemic, the conference changed course Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, and said it plans to begin its season the weekend of Oct. 23-24. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs, File)
Column: College football whiffs in tackling the coronavirus

By Paul Newberry Sep. 16, 2020 06:57 PM EDT

Cuban boxer Yunier Menen, right, and his trainer Carlos Agrazal train at the Amador causeway amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Panama City, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. Panama lifted a months-old coronavirus measure on Monday that restricted women to going out one day, and men the next. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
The Latest: Florida athletics seeing a rise in COVID cases

By The Associated Press Sep. 15, 2020 04:58 PM EDT

COVID-19 knocks out Virginia-Virginia Tech football opener

By Hank Kurz Jr. Sep. 12, 2020 11:21 AM EDT
The pandemic disrupted college sports again Saturday, with Virginia and Virginia Tech postponing their Sept. 19 football opener because of COVID-19 issues at...

Real Salt Lake fans wearing masks wait for the team's MLS soccer match against Los Angeles FC on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020, in Sandy, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
The Latest: 2 South Carolina football players test positive

By The Associated Press Sep. 10, 2020 05:50 PM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2019, file photo, Houston Baptist running back Ean Beek (2) takes a hand-off from quarterback Bailey Zappe (4) during the first half of an NCAA football game against UTEP in El Paso, Texas. Houston Baptist still had three games scheduled for its eighth football season when its FCS Southland Conference decided only a few weeks ago to not play league games this fall. Even with expanded protocols and more costly virus testing, the Huskies are moving forward with their remaining games. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
Texas schools carry apprehension into kickoff amid pandemic

By Stephen Hawkins Sep. 05, 2020 04:14 PM EDT

TCU-SMU game postponed by COVID outbreak among Horned Frogs

Sep. 04, 2020 06:47 PM EDT
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU and SMU postponed their Sept. 11 game as TCU announced Friday a cluster of Horned Frogs players and team support staff tested...

FILE - In this June 4, 2019, file photo, Minnesota Vikings chief operating officer Kevin Warren talks to reporters after being named Big Ten Conference Commissioner during a news conference in Rosemont, Ill. After the Power Five conference commissioners met Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, to discuss mounting concern about whether a college football season can be played in a pandemic, players took to social media to urge leaders to let them play.(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
Big Ten's Warren, under fire, elaborates on virus concerns

By Eric Olson Aug. 19, 2020 07:10 PM EDT

University of Nebraska athletes train in Lincoln, Neb., Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. The Big Ten won't play sports this fall because of concerns about COVID-19, becoming the first of college sports' power conferences to yield to the pandemic. The move announced Tuesday. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
NCAA cancels fall championships as major football marches on

By Ralph D. Russo Aug. 13, 2020 02:26 PM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2019, file photo, Indiana coach Tom Allen watches the second quarter of the team's NCAA college football game against Penn State in State College, Pa. The Big Ten and Pac-12 became the first Power Five conferences to cancel their fall football seasons because of concerns about COVID-19. The Big Ten said it hopes to compete in the spring, and the Pac-12 pushed even basketball back to Jan. 1. “My heart breaks for our players. I couldn’t be prouder of the commitment and focus they have demonstrated from the start of this pandemic," Allen said of the Big Ten's decision Tuesday, Aug. 11. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger, File)
Coaches' emotions on edge as pandemic questions linger

By Hank Kurz Jr. Aug. 11, 2020 06:33 PM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2019, file photo, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields (1) runs with the ball against Wisconsin during the first half of the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game, in Indianapolis. The Big Ten won't play football this fall because of concerns about COVID-19, becoming the first of college sports' power conferences to yield to the pandemic. The move announced Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, comes six day after the conference that includes historic programs such as Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State had released a revised conference-only schedule that it hoped would help it navigate a fall season with potential COVID-19 disruptions. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Big Ten, Pac-12 pull plug on fall football amid pandemic

By Ralph D. Russo Aug. 11, 2020 03:20 PM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2019, file photo, members of the Miami of Ohio team pose on the field after the Mid-American Conference championship NCAA college football game against Central Michigan, in Detroit. The Mid-American Conference on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, became the first league competing at college football’s highest level to cancel its fall season because of COVID-19 concerns. A person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press the university president’s voted to not play in the fall and consider a spring season. The person spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because an official announcement was still being prepared.(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
After MAC surrenders to pandemic, will other leagues follow?

By Ralph D. Russo Aug. 08, 2020 11:38 AM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2019, file photo, Connecticut quarterback Jack Zergiotis (11) rolls out of the pocket during an NCAA football game against Illinois in East Hartford, Conn. UConn has canceled its 2020-2021 football season, becoming the first FBS program to suspend football because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Stew Milne, File)
UConn becomes 1st FBS program to cancel football over virus

By Pat Eaton-Robb Aug. 05, 2020 09:29 AM EDT

Thousands of cardboards with photos of Borussia Moechengladbach soccer fans are displayed on the stands at he stadium in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. A banner reads "football without fans". Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all Bundesliga matches took place behind closed doors. The German football league, DFL, works on a concept for the new season with fans returning to the stadiums. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
The Latest: Lions' Stafford removed from COVID list

By The Associated Press Aug. 04, 2020 11:28 AM EDT

Fans wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus watch the KBO league game between Doosan Bears and LG Twins in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, July 27, 2020. Masked fans hopped, sang and shouted cheering slogans in baseball stadiums in South Korea on Sunday as authorities began bringing back spectators in professional sports games amid the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The Latest: Bears place DT John Jenkins on COVID-19 list

By The Associated Press Jul. 30, 2020 03:22 PM EDT

Fans wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus take a selfie before the KBO league game between Doosan Bears and LG Twins in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, July 27, 2020. Masked fans hopped, sang and shouted cheering slogans in baseball stadiums in South Korea on Sunday as authorities began bringing back spectators in professional sports games amid the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The Latest: Lions place five players on COVID-19 list

By The Associated Press Jul. 29, 2020 01:36 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2011, file photo, fans fill Ohio Stadium as Ohio State takes on Akron in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State will limit home crowds to about 20,000 and prohibit tailgating if the football season is played this fall. Fans inside Ohio Stadium will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing to help stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)
The Latest: Colorado State pauses football after 8 positives

By The Associated Press Jul. 28, 2020 12:54 PM EDT

A security guard peers out from behind NHL-branded fencing at the entrance where players arrive at Toronto's Royal York hotel, which is acting as the "bubble" ahead of the return of the league's season following disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sunday, July 26, 2020. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Latest: 49ers wide receiver James on COVID-19 list

By The Associated Press Jul. 27, 2020 04:12 PM EDT

Mick Hoffman, executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, poses for a photo, Thursday, July 16, 2020, sitting in the empty stands of the Renton School District's Renton Memorial Stadium, which is used for high school football, soccer, and track events in Renton, Wash. Hoffman and other administrators across the country are facing difficult decisions regarding the overwhelming uncertainty of whether high school sports can go forward this fall as the clock ticks closer to the start of the 2020-21 school year with little clarity in place for an obvious and safe path moving forward for athletics. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
The Latest: Michigan State stops workouts amid positive test

By The Associated Press Jul. 22, 2020 04:42 PM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2020, file photo, LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson (2) is tackled by Clemson during the first half of an NCAA College Football Playoff national championship game in New Orleans. The NCAA's latest guidance for playing college sports during the COVID-19 pandemic recommends testing players once a week within 72 hours of competition. For typical Saturday football games, that means Wednesday would be the soonest athletes would be tested. Is that enough for a team of about 100 athletes playing a contact sport to get through a season without major disruptions? Especially, considering simply being exposed to someone who tests positive can land an athlete in quarantine for two weeks? (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
'Big window' - Is testing plan rigorous enough for football?

By Ralph D. Russo Jul. 17, 2020 05:32 PM EDT