D2.ticker - News from July 3-5, 2020

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We continue to update a comprehensive list of sport changes and fall sports status across college athletics that have occurred during the pandemic.

In a Washington Post piece on the financial implications of testing student-athletes, Morehouse Prez Thomas expounds upon the decision to cancel FB this fall: "I don’t see how any school can play football safely. If their standard is, ‘I’m not going to place my student-athletes at any greater risk than I place my other students’ … I don’t see how a president or chancellor can make the decision to have football in the fall." West Texas A&M AD McBroom, whose department has an annual budget of $10M, explained a canceled FB season would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but "the real pressure at Division II and Division III is the revenue the school generates from having full-time enrolled students on campus. The drive to play, for us, is not really a financial decision." GLVC Commish Naumovich is succinct regarding a possible prerequisite of weekly testing being prohibitive: "Where the Power Five are and their ability to test on a weekly basis, that’s just not our reality." Lost more from leaders in all three divisions. (link)

Grand Valley State AD Becker projects a $900K loss from shutting down facilities and camps this summer and is asking coaches "to go through an exercise, where they’re — as of today — building their budgets based on their big buckets of expenses (travel, officials and uniforms) and then we’ll figure out the shortfalls. Then, we can figure out how to fill the gaps, hopefully with money that I have — discretionary money as an AD." Also notes she's building her budgets based on a 50% projection from sponsorships and ticket sales: "That means we’ll still have some capacity somewhere. But I haven’t built a budget based on zero percent. I’m trying to be cautiously optimistic. I talked to my vice president, and if we get to that space where we get worse than what we think, then I’m going to have to start getting a little deeper into some places that I don’t want to go, and that’s people." (link)

MSU Mankato AD Buisman calls the fall status "fragile" and expects the Ivy League (DI)'s upcmoing Wednesday announcement to have a major impact on what others do: "Everybody is waiting with bated breath to see what the Ivies do next week. They’ve always kind of been a barometer for college athletics. They led the decisionmaking in March, and the decisions they announce next Wednesday could be something that has a broad influence on others." NSIC Commish Lind, who expect to hear from league presidents, chancellors and board of directors in mid- to late-July: "We’re not to the point of cancellation yet, by any means. We have taken the approach that we are preparing for the fall of 2020, that we are going to compete. There’s always an asterisk behind the schedules we make." (link)

MSU Moorhead FB HC Laqua wonders how different his team might look after winter break, if the season is pushed to the spring: "We don’t have any players that are on full scholarships. So we have 18 seniors; a majority of them have planned on graduating at the end of fall semester. So they’re not around in the spring. And are they going to pay tuition to take extra credits to play football? I’d say that’s probably an unlikely scenario." Macalester AD Brooks emphasizes the logistics wouldn't just impact FB student-athletes, noting the strain that would be put on athletic training staff and delineating that "every ball field is going at the same time. That means early practice times and late-night practice times. And it would have a serious impact on the student experience." (link)

The National Institutes of Health is pushing forward on its "shark tank" or "Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Initiative (RADx)" initiative "to produce tens of millions of quick, reliable diagnostic tests." Timeline goal: By September. U.S. Senator Alexander (R-Tenn) co-championed legislation to create the RADx, "In addition to wearing masks to contain the disease, it looks to me like we’re going to need a lot more tests to find out who has the disease if we want to see some football this fall, or basketball this winter. Every road back to school, back to work and to a football or basketball game leads through testing." (link)

More than 75% of the colleges and universities across the country have decided to allow students back to campus this fall, but as the New York Times' Hartocollis points out, many professors aren't so keen on returning. 70-year-old Pitzer Professor Emeritus Ward: "Until there's a vaccine, I'm not setting foot on campus. Going into the classroom is like playing Russian roulette." Cornell (DI) conducted a survey and found roughly a third of its faculty are "not interested in teaching classes in person." More than 1,000 faculty members at Penn State (DI) signed a letter demanding the school "affirm the autonomy of instructors in deciding whether to teach classes, attend meetings and hold office hours remotely, in person or in some hybrid mode." More. (link)

Simon Fraser could have a new moniker around the start of the classes, as 133 student-athletes voted near-unanimously to get rid of Clan. Former MBB student-athlete Spence: "This word is traumatizing. It may represent Scottish heritage, but it is dangerously close to the historical wounding of black people in North America." AD Hanson: "The support to change our name has never been this overwhelming. It’s like nothing I have seen before… nothing the university has seen before. [...] I acknowledge the work of the student-athletes who have been advocating for this, and to those who participated in the survey. It was the basis to start this formal process." FB student-athlete Glover: "(SFU athletic administration) didn’t come in and say ‘We are going to look into this’ or ‘We’re going to look into that. It seemed more like ‘We are proposing a name change because we know how the student-athletes feel.’ They listened and they felt how we feel. We felt heard at that point." (link)

Queens Charlotte coaches "established the Royals Racial Reconciliation Coalition (R3C) as a platform to provide a voice to our minority student-athletes surrounding the topics of unconscious bias, bigotry, and institutional racism." Of note, a "zero tolerance policy for racism in any form within our athletic teams." (link)

Idaho became the 12th state on California's list of states banned by California Assembly Bill 1887, which prohibits universities and other public entities from using taxpayer dollars to travel to place with laws considered discriminatory. (link)

Miscellaneous Items:
+ Emporia State hosted a virtual 5K at $25 a pop as an athletics fundraiser. (link)
+ The 2020 Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic, scheduled to feature Howard (DI) and Central State, has been canceled. (link)
+ Hawaii Pacific Softball co-HC Nakasone retired after 19 seasons. Co-HC Lono takes the reins to himself. (link)

The Washington Post notes that housekeepers and custodians are hesitant about campuses reopening, asking for more protection from the schools. The housekeeping staff at Maryland (DI), for instance, are demanding coronavirus tests provided by the school, as well as temperature checks and screening protocols, N95 or KN95 masks, goggles, face shields, gowns, booties and extra cleaning agents. Housekeeper Lyons: "We are the front-line staff on the campus. We are the ones who are doing the most work, and we get the lowest pay. I’m not coming there for $20 to kill myself." (link)

North Carolina (DI) Gillings School of Global Public Health Assoc. Professor of Health Behavior Stroman pens for Medium, offers her advice on how black high school athletes should select an "Historically White College and University." 1) Read the college's newspaper; 2) Meet with at least two black professors; 3) Ask the Diversity or Institutional Research Office for the racial and ethnic numbers of the past 10 years for campus; 4) Check to see how many full-time black counselors are employed in the Counseling and Psychological Services department; and, 5) Meet one of the leaders of the black student association. In terms of reviewing a school's facilities: 1) Who is the stadium/field named after? 2) Which buildings on campus are named after black people? and, 3) Are there more photos of alumni athletes in pro leagues or wearing their cap and gown? Additionally, "To further incite attention and integrity from HWCUs, elite Black athletes should also carefully consider selecting an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) as one of their official college visits." Lots more, including what you should ask your potential HC. (link)

Our deepest condolences to the Colorado State Pueblo community on the passing of FB AC Donnell Leomiti at the age of 47 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. (link)

Higher Ed:
+ New Central State Prez Thomas signed a three-year, $250K deal, with annual raises of $25K. (link)
+ Ohio Valley has been placed on probation by the Higher Learning Commission due to "concerns about the school’s financial status and enrollment numbers." (link)

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(Posted from most recent over the last 30 days)

Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations (Western New Mexico University / Silver City, NM): Plans and coordinates all facets of the athletic department’s sport media relations while being the liaison between the athletic department, and the media and public. More details HERE.

Head Softball Coach (Covenant College / Lookout Mountain, GA): Covenant College, a nationally ranked, faith based, NCAA Division III institution in Lookout Mountain, GA is searching for a full time, 12 month, head softball coach. (DIII) More details HERE.

Athletic Equipment and Facilities Manager (John Carroll University / University Heights, OH): This position is responsible for the practice and game preparation of all NCAA sanctioned sports. Oversight of the care of athletic facilities and distribution and collection of athletic equipment. (DIII) More details HERE.

Head Swimming and Diving Coach (John Carroll University / University Heights, OH): The Head Swimming and Diving Coach will direct, instruct and administer a John Carroll University Athletic program in compliance with applicable NCAA , OAC conference, and institutional regulations. (DIII) More details HERE.

Athletic Compliance Coordinator (University of Central Oklahoma / Edmond, OK): Under the direction of the Senior Compliance Administrator through the General Counsel, the successful candidate will be primarily responsible for assisting all NCAA related initiatives. More details HERE.

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