COVID-19 continues to cast its long shadow on the college sports landscape in the United States.
With college football all set to resume on November 6th, 2020, the Pac-12 has become the last of the ‘Power Five’ US college sports conferences to commit to a return to play.
The entire set of Power Five conferences that dominate the American college sports scene will now be playing football this Fall after the Pac-12 formally reversed course and voted unanimously to reinstate its 2020 season. Earlier, the Pac-12 had taken a decision to suspend all Pac-12 Fall sports until at least January 1, 2021.
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the higher of two tiers of NCAA Division I football competition.
The Big Ten (oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States) recently announced it will open its American football season on October 23rd – 24th, 2020.
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-A, is the top level of college football in the United States. The FBS is the most competitive subdivision of NCAA Division I, which itself consists of the largest and most competitive schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletes from up to 1,268 North American institutions and conferences.
The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas (US). The conference consists of 10 full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the NCAA for all sports.
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States.
The football season is likely to start for those teams that have the requisite State and local health approvals on November 6th, followed by men’s and women’s basketball on November 25th in harmony with the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) official start date for these sports, and other winter sports in concert with the NCAA season dates for those sports.
Here are few updates from the US college sports world in Year 2020 on which COVID-19 continues to cast its long shadow:
- Southern Miss-UTEP game postponed: The October 17th (Saturday) football game between Southern Miss and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has been postponed due to COVID-19 cases in the Golden Eagles program, the school announced on October 16th (Friday).
The Southern Miss Golden Eagles football program represents the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (US). They play college football in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division.
The UTEP Miners football program represents University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in the sport of American football. The Miners compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the West Division of Conference USA (CUSA).
- Missouri-Florida postponed from October 24th to October 31st: The Southeastern Conference has postponed the October 24th game between Missouri Tigers and No. 10 Florida (Florida Gators) to October 31st due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
The University of Missouri or Missouri Tigers is a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and is the only NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision program in Missouri (US).
The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the NCAA and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
- LSU-Florida postponed: The October 17th game between No. 10 Florida and Louisiana State University (LSU) at ‘The Swamp’ has been postponed after the Gators saw a rise in positive COVID-19 tests recently. The game has tentatively been rescheduled for the SEC’s built-in bye week on December 12th.
The LSU Tigers football program, also known as the Fighting Tigers, represents Louisiana State University in college football. The Tigers compete in the FBS of the NCAA and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
‘The Swamp’ is the football stadium for the University of Florida’s football team which is located on its Gainesville, Florida (US) campus.
- NCAA: Bowl teams won’t require .500 records: All winter athletes in NCAA Division I sports will be given an additional year of eligibility and all football programs will be allowed to compete in bowl games – regardless of their win-loss record – as part of one-time rules changes in response to the COVID-19 onslaught.
The NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the NCAA in the United States. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with larger budgets, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Divisions II and III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition.
- C-USA pushes back title game: Conference USA has pushed its football championship game back by two weeks to December 18th, giving the league additional time to make up games postponed due to the coronavirus scourge.
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA’s Division I in all sports. C-USA’s offices are housed in Dallas, Texas (US).
- Pac-12 to allow families depending on health officials’ nod: In the wake of a petition that began circulating recently aimed at allowing parents of Pac-12 football players to be able to watch their sons play in person this year, the conference clarified it will permit such attendance where permitted by health officials.
- The Missouri-Vanderbilt football game which was scheduled for October 17th in Columbia, Missouri (US) has been postponed to a later date, tentatively December 12th, making it the first SEC game to be moved this season because of issues related to the deadly COVID-19.
The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the FBS of the NCAA and the East Division of the SEC.
- UConn-Notre Dame women’s basketball postponed: Barring a postseason meeting, UConn and Notre Dame will not play each other in women’s basketball for the first time in 25 years after this season’s expected encounter was postponed until the 2021-22 seasons due to coronavirus -related Notre Dame scheduling issues.
The UConn Huskies football team is a college football team that represents the University of Connecticut in the sport of American football. The team competes in NCAA Division I FBS as an Independent.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
- The game between Baylor and No. 7 Oklahoma State scheduled to be held on October 17th stands postponed. The Bears and Cowboys were scheduled to meet on October 17th, but the Big 12 announced recently that the game will be moved to December 12th.
The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys football program represents Oklahoma State University–Stillwater in college football. The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes at the NCAA Division I FBS level.
- Colorado can begin practice: The Colorado Buffaloes have received approval from health officials to begin football practice.
The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men’s and women’s teams are called the Buffaloes.
The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is currently a member of the Pac-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference.
- Georgia Southern-Appalachian State moved: Georgia Southern’s football game against Appalachian State, originally scheduled for October 14th at Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Georgia (US), has been postponed and rescheduled to December 12th.
The Georgia Southern Eagles are the athletic teams of Georgia Southern University. The Eagles compete in the Division I FBS and are members of the NCAA Division I Sun Belt Conference.
The Appalachian State Mountaineers football team is the college football program at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. The Mountaineers have competed in the FBS and the Sun Belt Conference since 2014.
- Patriot League to nix games in 2020: Coaches in the Patriot League have been informed of plans to begin the basketball season in 2021 with an 18-game conference schedule.
The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States.
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