· Some players (Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw) have pushed back against any plan that would require them to spend months in isolation away from their families

College Sports

Forbes - Is the college student-athlete an endangered species in the Covid era?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephengavazzi/2020/04/22/the-college-student-athlete-endangered-species-in-the-covid-19-crisis/#45088d565b32 (Links to an external site.)

· Over 400,000 NCAA student-athletes; $14 billion in generated revenue annually

· Even before the pandemic, conversations happening about revenue-sharing with athletes

· NCAA announced an over $375 million in payout reductions to schools due to the cancellation of March Madness

· College football is king, largest revenue generating sport, but may not begin in the fall as scheduled

Sports Illustrated - How the College Football Season Could be Shaped by the Coronavirus Pandemic

https://www.si.com/college/2020/04/08/college-football-future-2020-ncaa-coronavirus (Links to an external site.)

Good video clip and article drawing on a variety of sources

· Billions of TV dollars and ticket revenues in jeopardy

· Long-term changes could include conference realignment or formation of a super division

· What’s the safest amount of preparation time for a college football team? Probably somewhere between six weeks - 60 days

· Even if programs get back up and running, would coronavirus testing need to happen on a daily basis?

· Interesting look at the revenue sources (Links to an external site.) for the SEC and Conference USA. All main sources of revenue -- media rights, tickets sales, student fees and state funding -- will be impacted by the pandemic’s effect on the economy

· The average Big 10 school loses $22.9 million on sports excluding football and men’s basketball. Football makes up for it, but without football revenue, it could mean cost-cutting and discontinuing some revenue-losing sports. But, obviously there are also Title IX considerations, and NCAA requirements that each school sponsor a minimum of 14 sports.

· In Power 5 programs, donations account for 25% of revenue, and some places, like Texas A&M, it’s as much as 40%. Donations will clearly go down.

Effect on Recruiting

The Buffalo News: https://buffalonews.com/2020/03/29/coronavirus-covid-19-recruiting-college-athletics-greg-paulus-niagara-basketball-mark-schmidt-st-bonaventure-mike-ruechel-buffalo-softball-allison-daley-canisius-lacrosse-news-2020/ (Links to an external site.)

· Without high school tournaments and AAU tournaments, it makes it challenging to recruit not just for next year, but 2 and 3 years from now

· Can’t do recruiting visits

· The extension of eligibility is great for existing college athletes, but also means less scholarships available

Amateur Sports

New York Times - Youth Sports Worry about Weathering Pandemic, and Future Play

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/sports/coronavirus-youth-sports.html (Links to an external site.)

· Current pandemic has disrupted the “Tournacation” circuit; normally generates $15 billion annually

· Summer is the big money season; family vacations planned around tournaments

· 45 million children that play in youth leagues and on club teams

· Most optimistic projections point to a late August return

· Utah State University report (Links to an external site.) from 2014 showed some families spend $20,000 or more on youth sports -- will be unlikely to continue with the drop in discretionary income

Spectators in Sports

Insider - Bill Gates Says Sports will be Gone Longer than Fans Realize

https://www.insider.com/bill-gates-sports-will-be-gone-longer-than-fans-realize-2020-4 (Links to an external site.)

· Gates says sports will likely be one of the last things to come back because sports events have a high chance of spreading coronavirus

· Might be lucky to have some sports by Thanksgiving according to some experts

· Fauci agrees that a “bubble” idea could work for sports, but that would be reliant on mass availability of COVID-19 tests

MarketWatch - poll on how many fans would feel comfortable attending games

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-many-sports-fans-are-ready-to-sit-in-a-packed-stadium-when-the-economy-reopens-after-coronavirus-2020-04-20 (Links to an external site.)

· Poll conducted by Seton Hall’s Sharkley Institute:

· 72% of Americans say they would not be comfortable attending games before a vaccine is developed

· 12% would only go to games if people adhere to social distancing

· 13% would feel safe

· 76% would watch broadcasts of games with no fans

Boston Globe - What will the sports fan’s experience look like after coronavirus?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/17/sports/what-will-sports-fans-experience-look-like-after-coronavirus/ (Links to an external site.)

· Possible changes once fans are allowed back at games:

· Long socially distanced lines

· Reduced seating capacity (could be ¼ of normal seats/tickets available) - maybe could have families still sit together

· Health checks before entering games

· Masks issued for every fan

· Different approaches to food and concessions, probably no vendors waking around

· More self-scanning of tickets (no ushers)

· Fans may not be able to bring bags into games

- LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and NYC mayor Bill de Blasio have essentially ruled out the idea of fans in the stands before 2021

Up to Date, KCUR segment - sports section starts at 51:05

https://www.kcur.org/2020-04-22/u-s-postal-service-travel-industry-disruption-wedding-industry-freeze-fans-without-sports (Links to an external site.)

· How many times can we re-watch our favorite sports memories?

· Sports is such a part of our country’s spirit

· ESPN has aired alternative sports - stone skipping, etc.