Stanford was already facing some difficult financial choices as it tried to support one of the nation's largest athletics departments. Stanford also is eliminating 20 support staff positions. As you can imagine this has been a heartbreaking day for all of us, especially with those student-athletes and coaches involved, athletic director Bernard Muir said. Stanford originally projected a deficit of $12 million for the 2021 fiscal year, a number that more doubled as it faced fewer donations, sponsorships and ticket sales. Muir said the $25 million deficit for 2021 would likely double if the football season is canceled.

They, like thousands of other U.S. college students from foreign countries, are still overseas because of international travel bans instituted as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Auriemma said Wednesday. These issues are going to be really, really difficult to overcome, Auriemma said. "UConn has about 40 international athletes still overseas, the school said. Corasaniti said they are being told that right now college athletes and students in general are considered nonessential and must wait for travel restrictions to be lifted. Auriemma questions why international students aren't being given the same consideration.

(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)The NCAA is expanding its policy banning states with prominent Confederate symbols from hosting its championship events. The current ban, in place since 2001, prevents states from hosting what the NCAA calls predetermined championship sites, such as mens basketball tournament games. Mississippi is the only state currently affected by the policy. The expanded policy means that even when sites of NCAA events are determined by performance, as they are in sports such as baseball, womens basketball and lacrosse, Mississippi schools will not be permitted to host.

The NCAA on Friday encouraged its 1,100 member colleges and universities to give athletes the day off from sports on election day, responding to grassroots movements of activism from players and coaches. UCLA followed with a similar announcement and Wisconsin said Friday it would also skip athletic activities on election day. The NCAA did not mandate a day off for athletes on election day. Instead, the NCAA encouraged schools to assist students in registering to vote and to give them a day off from athletics to vote. Though MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher released a statement Friday saying the schools, conference and ESPN will work to move the game to a different date,The Division I college basketball season will start about a week after election day.