Another Casualty Due to Covid

[ZagDad84]

We all are aware of the more obvious ramifications to sports teams (High School, Collegiate and Pro) and have discussed them frequently on this board. Like Gonzaga, when March Madness was cancelled, the non-football schools lost a bunch of the funding for the Athletic Departments.

From the Associated Press:

George Washington to Drop 7 Sports in Cost-Cutting <Measure
Jul 31, 2020
Associated Press

George Washington is discontinuing seven sports programs -- three that compete at the NCAA level and four non-NCAA sports -- as part of the university's attempt to address an expected $200 million budget shortfall because of the coronavirus pandemic.

GW announced after this academic year it was cutting NCAA programs in men's indoor track, men's tennis and women's water polo.

The university also intends to eliminate men's rowing, sailing, and men's and women's squash.

George Washington competes in the Atlantic 10 in most sports. The schools said if the sports can be self-sustaining, they would be supported at the club level.

Article Link: https://www.espn.com/college-sports/...utting-measure

Women's Sports are somewhat safe in football schools because they need the number of women's scholarships to offset the large number of male scholarships given out in football. However, in non-football schools, non-revenue generating sports (male and female equally) will be on the chopping block to try and balance the AD budget.

Have not heard of any sports being chopped at Gonzaga, but the longer this Covid goes on, the more likely schools will need to significantly trim their athletic departments.

ZagDad

[SkipZag]

I heard that the McCarthey family made a donation just recently to make the athlete department whole... to keep everyone in place. Don’t know them but that was really nice....

#2

[Zag Swagger]

Thanks to the McCarthy family for their generosity now and always. They are appreciated in our house for their support of GU and University of Utah, my husband’s other NCAA love. I feel saddened for the kids that are losing the opportunity to participate in the sports they love. #maskup

[ZagDad84]

Today the University of Connecticut canceled its entire 2020-2021 football schedule.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Big-10 conference has set up a 10-game conference only schedule starting on Sept 5, 2020. However, the Big-10 leave itself an out of sorts issuing this statement with the release of the schedule:

"In making this announcement, the Conference acknowledges that there is much work to be done on our campuses, in our communities and across the country to gain control of a virus that continues to spread at an alarming rate. While the Conference remains hopeful for a September 2020 start in all fall sports, including football, issuing a schedule does not guarantee that competition will occur. While our strategy is to continue planning for all fall sports, if the virus continues to spread among our students despite our many preventative measures, including testing and quarantine protocols, we are also prepared to delay or cancel competition pursuant to local and state public health orders or the recommendations of our medical experts."

"As Commissioner Kevin Warren has consistently stated, our country is navigating unprecedented times and throughout all decisions, the health and safety of our students, student-athletes, and everyone associated with our Big Ten university communities remains our primary focus as we work with our institutions to provide a healthy and productive learning environment that includes intercollegiate athletic competition."

Link: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...or-2020-season

ZagDad