ERIC OLSON
Hector Aguilar rides Traveler VII during the second half of an NCAA college football game between Southern California and Utah, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015, in Los Angeles. Football is being played in the Power Five conferences, but many of the longstanding traditions that go along with the games are on hold during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Games go on, but many traditions on hold in college football

By Eric Olson Sep. 24, 2020 01:32 AM EDT
To the delight of fans young and old, an English bulldog named Uga has been

Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy (15) runs off the field after an NCAA college football game against Louisiana-Lafayette, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, in Ames, Iowa. Louisiana-Lafayette won 31-14. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Cyclones head into Big 12 opener at TCU in bounce-back mode

By Eric Olson Sep. 22, 2020 05:09 PM EDT
Iowa State knows all too well about picking up the pieces after a heartbreaking

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, file photo, Pittsburgh's Todd Sibley Jr. (23) blocks a punt by Austin Peay punter Cole Deeds before returning it for a touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game, in Pittsburgh. The first 29 games of the 2020 college football season have exposed the toll coronavirus restrictions have taken on special teams play. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
Virus-caused disruptions get blame for special teams follies

By Eric Olson Sep. 17, 2020 02:56 AM EDT
Blocked kicks, missed kicks, snaps sailing through punters' hands, confusion in

FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2019, file photo, Texas Tech quarterback Alan Bowman looks to pass the ball against Arizona during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Tucson, Ariz. Houston Baptist plays at Texas Tech on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso, File)
STAT WATCH: Big 12 teams post top 3 passing totals of week

By Eric Olson Sep. 14, 2020 02:29 AM EDT
Big 12 teams posted the top three passing totals of the weekend in the Football

North Carolina's Michael Carter breaks away from Syracuse's Geoff Cantin-Arku in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 in Chapel Hill, N.C. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP, Pool)
Stadiums quiet but college football, shows of unity go on

By Eric Olson Sep. 12, 2020 05:02 PM EDT
The first big weekend of college football was mostly stripped of the pageantry

FILE - Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell, center, walks off the field with quarterback Brock Purdy after the Camping World Bowl NCAA college football game against Notre Dame Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Orlando, Fla. Iowa State enters this season off its second-best three-year stretch in program history and with its sights set on doing something it's never done — make the Big 12 championship game. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
No. 23 Iowa State facing stiff test against Ragin' Cajuns

By Eric Olson Sep. 10, 2020 02:38 PM EDT
For the first time since 2012, Iowa State will open its season against an

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 7, 2020 file photo, BYU running back Lopini Katoa runs for a touchdown as Navy cornerback Michael McMorris (5) and defensive back Cameron Kinley (3) chases during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Annapolis, Md. (AP Photo/Tommy Gilligan, File)
Altered practices due to virus could lead to sloppy games

By Eric Olson Sep. 10, 2020 04:18 AM EDT
The coronavirus pandemic wiped out most spring practices and disrupted the

This Oct. 8, 2006 photo shows Tom Vint, who covered the dominant Nebraska football teams of the 1980s and '90s as an Associated Press sports writer. Vint died Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020, after a monthlong battle with COVID-19, his daughter Mandy Troia said. He was 72. Vint retired from the AP after 25 years working in multiple roles in the Omaha bureau. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Tom Vint, retired AP sports writer, dies of COVID-19 at 72

By Eric Olson Sep. 02, 2020 04:30 PM EDT
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — As much as Tom Vint loved writing about sports, he might

FILE - In this July 16, 2019, file photo, Iowa State defensive end Jaquan Bailey speaks during Big 12 Conference NCAA college football media day, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The fifth-year senior returned to Ames a well-chiseled 6-foot-2 and 261 pounds and with renewed sense of responsibility to be a leader of the defense. (AP Photo/David Kent, File)
With Purdy leading way, Cyclones look to make some history

By Eric Olson Sep. 01, 2020 02:36 PM EDT
Iowa State enters this season coming off one of its best three-year stretches

University of Iowa football players father Rodney Dixon, left, fist bumps Ohio State football players father Randy Wade outside Big Ten headquarters in Rosemont, Ill., Friday, Aug. 21, 2020. Parents of Big Ten football players, upset over the process that led to the postponement of the season until spring, held a protest near the conference's Chicago-area headquarters Friday while an attorney in Nebraska demanded commissioner Kevin Warren turn over material illustrating how the decision was made. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune via AP)
Big Ten presidents voted 11-3 to cancel fall football season

By Eric Olson Aug. 31, 2020 06:11 PM EDT
A court filing disclosed Monday shows Big Ten Conference presidents voted 11-3

University of Iowa football players parents protest outside Big Ten headquarters in Rosemont, Ill., Friday, Aug. 21, 2020. Parents of Big Ten football players, upset over the process that led to the postponement of the season until spring, held a protest near the conference's Chicago-area headquarters Friday while an attorney in Nebraska demanded commissioner Kevin Warren turn over material illustrating how the decision was made. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune via AP)
Nebraska players' lawsuit seeks to restore B10 fall football

By Eric Olson Aug. 27, 2020 02:52 PM EDT
A group of Nebraska football players filed a lawsuit Thursday, hoping a jury

Midland University head coach Jeff Jamrog calls a play during NAIA college football practice in Fremont, Neb., Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. Midland University is among five small colleges in the state that are pushing forward with plans to play football this fall. The Nebraska Cornhuskers, meanwhile, won't play after Big Ten presidents voted to move back football season until after Jan. 1. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Huskers surrounded by college teams pushing on with football

By Eric Olson Aug. 27, 2020 03:24 AM EDT
FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — The temperature was approaching 90 and a light breeze was

FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2020, file photo, Iowa's Brandon Wong competes during an NCAA gymnastics meet in Chicago. Iowa will drop four sports programs as part of the athletic department's response to a projected loss of $100 million in revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic. School president Bruce Harreld and athletic director Gary Barta said in a joint statement Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, that men's gymnastics, men's tennis and men's and women's swimming and diving will be discontinued after the 2020-21 academic year. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski, File)
Hawkeyes drop 4 sports amid financial crisis tied to virus

By Eric Olson Aug. 21, 2020 02:31 PM EDT
Iowa will drop four sports programs as part of the athletic department's

Jay Kallenberger, parent of two University of Iowa football players, speaks at a press conference asking for more transparency and communication by the Big Ten outside of their headquarters on Friday, August 21, 2020 in Rosemont. Parents of Big Ten football players, upset over the process that led to the postponement of the season until spring, held a protest near the conference's Chicago-area headquarters Friday while an attorney in Nebraska demanded commissioner Kevin Warren turn over material illustrating how the decision was made. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune via AP)
Big Ten parents at protest want details on no-play decision

By Eric Olson Aug. 21, 2020 01:11 PM EDT
Parents of Big Ten football players, upset over the process that led to the

FILE - In this June 4, 2019, file photo, Minnesota Vikings chief operating officer Kevin Warren talks to reporters after being named Big Ten Conference Commissioner during a news conference in Rosemont, Ill. After the Power Five conference commissioners met Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, to discuss mounting concern about whether a college football season can be played in a pandemic, players took to social media to urge leaders to let them play.(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
Big Ten's Warren, under fire, elaborates on virus concerns

By Eric Olson Aug. 19, 2020 07:10 PM EDT
After facing backlash from players, parents, fans and others, Big Ten

FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2019, file photo, the Big Ten logo is displayed on the field before an NCAA college football game between Iowa and Miami of Ohio in Iowa City, Iowa. The Big Ten released its 10-game conference-only football schedule beginning as early as Labor Day weekend but cautioned there is no certainty games will be played. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
Big Ten football season set to begin on Labor Day weekend

By Eric Olson Aug. 05, 2020 10:14 AM EDT
The Big Ten released its 10-game conference-only football schedule beginning as

FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, file photo, Nebraska kicker Lane McCallum (48) is carried off the field by his teammates after kicking the game-winning field goal as time expired in an NCAA college football game against Northwestern, in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska's 24-sport program has about 600 athletes and is one of a handful that makes money. Though a 10% budget cut was announced recently, the program is able to absorb the cost of coronavirus testing, in part because of its affiliation with the university’s medical school. (Francis Gardler/Lincoln Journal Star via AP, File)
Coronavirus testing a stress threat for athletic budgets

By Eric Olson Jul. 05, 2020 12:10 PM EDT
Coastal Carolina already had one of the smaller athletic budgets in the

FILE- In this Nov. 4, 2017 file photo, Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos is seen at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., before an NCAA college football game. Faced with the possibility college football games will be played in stadiums with reduced capacities as a safeguard against coronavirus, athletic administrators at schools with high ticket demand are making plans to determine who gets a seat. This is a particularly painful task for athletic director Bill Moos of Nebraska, which has sold out every home football game since 1962. The Cornhuskers are a year-round passion in his state. The season ticket renewal rate for the 2020 season is a robust 93 percent. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, file)
Seniority, generosity may decide who enters college stadiums

By Eric Olson Jun. 09, 2020 03:23 PM EDT
Athletic administrators at schools with high ticket demand for college football

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2013, file photo, Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle, front left, celebrates with defensive back John Lowdermilk (37) following their win in overtime against Northwestern in an NCAA college football game in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa football strength and conditioning coach Doyle has been placed on administrative leave after several black former players posted on social media about what they described as systemic racism in the program. Head coach Kirk Ferentz made the announcement Saturday, June 6, 2020, calling it "a defining moment” for Iowa's football program in a video posted on the team's Twitter account. (AP Photo/Brian Ray, File )
Iowa players voice unity amid racism allegations in program

By Eric Olson Jun. 08, 2020 06:10 PM EDT
Iowa players returned to campus Monday to prepare for voluntary workouts amid

FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, file photo, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, speaks during a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on intercollegiate athlete compensation. Federal legislation setting guidelines for college athletes to pursue money-making opportunities could be proposed within a month, and Gonzalez, who is planning to introduce it, said Thursday, June 4, 2020, there will be no blanket antitrust exemption for the NCAA. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Congressman: No NCAA antitrust exemption in athlete pay bill

By Eric Olson Jun. 04, 2020 05:57 PM EDT
Federal legislation setting guidelines for college athletes to pursue money