Government and politics
The U.S. flag flies at half-staff over Heinz Field before the start of an NCAA college football game between Pittsburgh and Syracuse , Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, in Pittsburgh. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died late Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Syracuse at Pittsburgh 9/19/2020

Sep. 19, 2020 01:39 PM EDT

The Husker Hounds sports apparel store in Omaha, Neb., shows on television screens Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, a Big Ten virtual news conference to discuss the reopening of the football season. President Donald Trump was quick to spike the ball in celebration when the Big Ten announced the return of fall football at colleges clustered in some of the Midwest battleground states critical to his reelection effort. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
With Big Ten reversal, Trump aims to score in battlegrounds

By Aamer Madhani Sep. 17, 2020 12:18 AM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2019, file photo, the Pac-12 logo is displayed on the field at Sun Devil Stadium during an NCAA college football game between Arizona State and Kent State in Tempe, Ariz. As the wealthiest conferences like the Pac-12 lay out plans they hope will protect athletes from contracting and spreading COVID-19, most of the schools in the second-tier of Division I football have given up on trying to play in the fall. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso, File)
Pac-12 football plans remain in holding pattern

By John Marshall Sep. 16, 2020 02:52 PM EDT

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, in Washington. Seat at left is Larry Kudlow, White House chief economic adviser, left, and former coach Lou Holtz. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Longtime football coach Lou Holtz to get Medal of Freedom

By Darlene Superville Sep. 04, 2020 06:37 PM EDT

University of Alabama football Coach Nick Saban speaks at a social justice rally in front of Fosters Auditorium, the sight of the famous stand in the Schoolhouse Door to voice his support for social justice Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Then Governor George Wallace made his famous stand in this doorway to attempt to prevent the integration of the university. Football players at Alabama staged the march and rally to support Black Lives Matter and issues of social justice. (Gary Cosby Jr./The Tuscaloosa News via AP)
Nick Saban, Alabama players hold protest march on campus

Aug. 31, 2020 07:31 PM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2020, file photo, Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn directs his team during the Outback Bowl NCAA college football game against Minnesota in Tampa, Fla. Auburn spokesman Kirk Sampson confirmed that Auburn hadn't practiced Wednesday or Thursday as scheduled. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
Auburn expected to be without 16 players in practice return

Aug. 30, 2020 09:51 PM EDT

South Carolina football taking Monday off for demonstration

Aug. 29, 2020 03:02 PM EDT
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said his team will forgo football activities on Monday and participate in a campus demonstration...

Chanse Sylvie, left, head coach Lincoln Riley, center, and Creed Humphrey, right, lead the Oklahoma football team from the Unity Garden after they held a 57-second moment of silence in honor of the 57-year anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, as they protest racial injustice in Norman, Okla., Friday, Aug. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
College athletes add voices to those protesting injustice

By Cliff Brunt Aug. 28, 2020 04:54 PM EDT

Members of the Baylor football team including Dave Aranda, bow their heads during a prayer after marching around campus, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, in Waco, Texas, protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. (Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP)
Baylor, BC, Kentucky and USF call off football practices

By The Associated Press Aug. 27, 2020 09:14 PM EDT

FILE - In this March 1, 2003, file photo, University of South Carolina students head towards the 192,000-square-foot Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center in Columbia, S.C. Some of the University of South Carolina's most prominent recent athletes are calling for the renaming of the $38.6 million complex, arguing that its namesake shouldn't be glorified for his segregationist views. (Renee Ittner-McManus/The State via AP, File)
U. of South Carolina considers removing Thurmond's name

By Meg Kinnard Aug. 21, 2020 08:27 AM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2019, file photo, Wake Forest wide receiver Sage Surratt (14) runs a pass route during an NCAA football game in Houston. Wake Forest all-conference wide receiver Sage Surratt has opted out of the coming season to prepare for the NFL draft amid the coronavirus pandemic. Surratt announced his decision on social media and cited “the many uncertainties and risks associated with COVID-19.”(AP Photo/Matt Patterson, File)
The Latest: Auburn to limit seating capacity for home games

By The Associated Press Aug. 19, 2020 11:20 AM EDT

A Herriman player wear a mask during a high school football against Davis on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, in Herriman, Utah. Utah is among the states going forward with high school football this fall despite concerns about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that led other states and many college football conferences to postpone games in hopes of instead playing in the spring. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
The Latest: Texas A&M to have reduced capacity for football

By The Associated Press Aug. 18, 2020 04:40 PM EDT

FILE - In this March 14, 2012, file photo, a player runs across the NCAA logo during practice in Pittsburgh before an NCAA tournament college basketball game. A court decision the NCAA says will hurt college sports by allowing student-athletes to be paid “vast sums” of money will go into effect. That's after the Supreme Court declined Tuesday to intervene at this point. Justice Elena Kagan denied the NCAA’s request to put a lower court ruling on hold at least temporarily while the NCAA asks the Supreme Court to take up the case. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
Senators lay out plan for college athletes bill of rights

By The Associated Press Aug. 13, 2020 10:36 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2019, file photo, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields (1) runs with the ball against Wisconsin during the first half of the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game, in Indianapolis. 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/Michael Conroy, File)
Trump, coaches push for college football as cracks emerge

By Ralph D. Russo Aug. 10, 2020 03:22 PM EDT

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis arrives at a news conference, Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, at the Broward Health Corporate Office in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. On Friday, the governor's office released a video promoting "One Goal One Florida," a public service campaign that also urges Floridians to keep their distance and wear masks as a way to lower the risk of coronavirus infections. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Florida governor pushes to reschedule UF-FSU football game

By Brendan Farrington Aug. 06, 2020 05:50 PM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2017, file photo, Indiana's Cory Thomas (11) kicks the winning goal past Penn State's Dani Marks (18) during overtime in a Big Ten NCAA college soccer match in Bloomington, Ind. The NCAA Board of Directors is allowing each division of the association to decide independently whether it will be able to conduct championship events safely in fall sports such as soccer, volleyball and lower levels of football during the coronavirus pandemic. (Chris Howell/The Herald-Times via AP, File)
Signs ominous and hopeful as college sports hangs in balance

By Ralph D. Russo Aug. 05, 2020 12:38 PM EDT

FILE - This Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019, file photo, shows the Pac-12 logo during the second half of an NCAA college football game between Arizona State and Kent State, in Tempe, Ariz. The Pac-12 has set Sept. 26 as the start of its 10-game conference-only football schedule. The Pac-12 announced three weeks ago it would eliminate nonconference games for its 12 member schools. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso, File)
#WeAreUnited players reach out to California Gov. for help

By Ralph D. Russo Aug. 04, 2020 09:47 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2011, file photo, fans fill Ohio Stadium as Ohio State takes on Akron in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State will limit home crowds to about 20,000 and prohibit tailgating if the football season is played this fall. Fans inside Ohio Stadium will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing to help stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)
The Latest: Colorado State pauses football after 8 positives

By The Associated Press Jul. 28, 2020 12:54 PM EDT

Mick Hoffman, executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, poses for a photo, Thursday, July 16, 2020, sitting in the empty stands of the Renton School District's Renton Memorial Stadium, which is used for high school football, soccer, and track events in Renton, Wash. Hoffman and other administrators across the country are facing difficult decisions regarding the overwhelming uncertainty of whether high school sports can go forward this fall as the clock ticks closer to the start of the 2020-21 school year with little clarity in place for an obvious and safe path moving forward for athletics. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
The Latest: Michigan State stops workouts amid positive test

By The Associated Press Jul. 22, 2020 04:42 PM EDT

Nathan Chen with coach Raf Arutunian learn Chen's score after his the men's senior free skate program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Greensboro, N.C. (AP Photo/Lynn Hey)
The Latest: SWAC postpones fall sports, eyes spring football

By The Associated Press Jul. 20, 2020 05:06 PM EDT