RALPH D. RUSSO
FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020 file photo, Penn State head coach Pat Chambers gestures in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Bloomington, Ind. Penn State’s Pat Chambers has resigned following an internal investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct by the Nittany Lions’ basketball coach. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Penn State coach Pat Chambers resigns after investigation

By Ralph D. Russo Oct. 21, 2020 07:07 PM EDT
Pat Chambers resigned as Penn State's basketball coach Wednesday following an

A-10 commissioner: NCAA penalties against UMass unfortunate

By Ralph D. Russo Oct. 16, 2020 02:05 PM EDT
The NCAA is stripping Massachusetts of victories in men’s basketball and women

FILE - In this March 12, 2020, file photo, the national office of the NCAA in Indianapolis is shown. A set of proposals to permit NCAA athletes to earn money from endorsements and sponsorships deals will go up for vote in January, the last step for the association to change its rules but not the last word on how name, image and likeness compensation will work. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
After NIL, next NCAA challenge is restructuring Division I

By Ralph D. Russo Oct. 15, 2020 03:35 PM EDT
As the NCAA moves toward landmark changes that will empower athletes more than

FILE - In this Oct. 7, 2019, file photo, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott speaks to reporters during the Pac-12 Conference women's NCAA college basketball media day in San Francisco. The Pac-12 university presidents and chancellors will meet Friday, Sept. 17, 2020, and be presented options for staging a fall football season, but Commissioner Larry Scott says a vote by the the CEO Group is not expected. (AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron, File)
Pandemic-proof: Fall college football revived on West Coast

By Ralph D. Russo Sep. 24, 2020 08:08 PM EDT
A major college football season that was in peril six week ago as conferences

Baylor University's McLane Stadium is shown Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Waco, Texas. Baylor’s season opener against Houston, scheduled less than a week ago, was one of two FBS NCAA college football games postponed Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, the day before before they were supposed play. (Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP)
Baylor-Houston, FAU-Ga Southern postponed day before games

By Ralph D. Russo Sep. 18, 2020 05:14 PM EDT
Baylor's season opener against Houston, scheduled less than a week ago, was one

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)
NCAA cancels fall championships as major football marches on

By Ralph D. Russo Aug. 13, 2020 07:56 PM EDT
The NCAA called off fall championship events — a move Thursday that does not

FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2019, file photo, Ohio State players celebrate the team's 34-21 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game, in Indianapolis. The Big Ten won't play football this fall because of concerns about COVID-19, becoming the first of college sports' power conferences to yield to the pandemic. The move announced Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, comes six day after the conference that includes historic programs such as Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State had released a revised conference-only schedule that it hoped would help it navigate a fall season with potential COVID-19 disruptions.(AP Photo/AJ Mast, File)
Big Ten, Pac-12 pull plug on fall football amid pandemic

By Ralph D. Russo Aug. 11, 2020 08:19 PM EDT
A crumbling college football season took a massive hit Tuesday when the Big Ten

FILE - In this July 18, 2018, file photo, Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford speaks during a news conference at the ACC NCAA college football media day in Charlotte, N.C. Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford is retiring after the 2020-21 academic year, ending his tenure after 24 years. Swofford, 71, has been commissioner of the ACC since 1997, the longest run in that position in the history of the 67-year-old conference. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
ACC Commissioner John Swofford stepping down after 24 years

By Ralph D. Russo Jun. 25, 2020 02:14 PM EDT
When John Swofford became commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1997

In this April 25, 2020 photograph, a small Mississippi state flag is held by a participant during a drive-by "re-open Mississippi" protest past the Governor's Mansion, in the background, in Jackson, Miss. This current flag has in the canton portion of the banner the design of the Civil War-era Confederate battle flag, that has been the center of a long-simmering debate about its removal or replacement. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
NCAA expands ban, joins SEC in targeting Confederate flag

By Ralph D. Russo Jun. 19, 2020 11:30 AM EDT
The NCAA on Friday expanded its policy banning states with prominent

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2019, file photo, Baylor women's coach Kim Mulkey, center, talks with players during the NCAA college basketball team's practice in Waco, Texas. The NCAA Division I Council on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, approved a plan to allow college basketball players to start working with their coaches for the first time since the pandemic wiped out March Madness. The summer access period for men's and women's players will begin July 20. (Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP, File)
NCAA approves plan for basketball players to access coaches

By Ralph D. Russo Jun. 17, 2020 08:34 PM EDT
The NCAA Division I Council on Wednesday approved a plan to allow college

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2018, file photo, Texas players sing "The Eyes of Texas" after an NCAA college football game against Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. A group of University of Texas football players and athletes across several sports on Friday, June 12, 2020, urged the school to rename several campus buildings, change the traditional school song and donate a percentage of athletic department revenue to organizations supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. (AP Photo/Brad Tollefson, File)
NCAA encourages day off from college sports on election day

By Ralph D. Russo Jun. 12, 2020 05:11 PM EDT
The NCAA on Friday encouraged its 1,100 member colleges and universities to

Temple's Patrick Kraft hired as Boston College AD

By Ralph D. Russo Jun. 03, 2020 12:03 PM EDT
Boston College hired Patrick Kraft as its new athletic director on Wednesday,

FILE - In this March 15, 2019, file photo, Buffalo's Dontay Caruthers (22) looks to pass as Central Michigan's Dallas Morgan (23) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference men's tournament in Cleveland. The Mid-American Conference is eliminating postseason tournaments in eight sports, including baseball and softball, and men's and women's basketball are among nine sports that will have postseasons scaled back. The MAC's announced the cost-cutting move Tuesday in response to the financial crisis being brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
MAC eliminating and scaling back postseason tournaments

By Ralph D. Russo May. 12, 2020 07:58 PM EDT
The Mid-American Conference is eliminating postseason tournaments in eight

FILE - From left are American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco, in a 2017 file photo and Vice President Mike Pence in a 2020 file photo. The commissioners of the major college football conferences held a 30-minute conference call Wednesday, April 15, 2020, with Vice President Mike Pence and stressed to him that college sports could not return from the coronavirus shutdown until college campuses have re-opened. “We were able to talk about the differences between us and professional sports,” American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco said. (AP Photo/File)
Commissioners tell VP no football before campuses open

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 15, 2020 04:55 PM EDT
The commissioners of the nation's major college football conferences held a 30

In this June 13, 2018 file photo, grounds crew prepare TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., for the NCAA baseball College World Series. The Division I baseball championship, decided in this city of just under a half-million for the past 70 years, is among the many sporting events canceled or postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, file)
Preparing for budget crunch, conferences ask NCAA for relief

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 14, 2020 09:59 PM EDT
Five major football conference commissioners have asked the NCAA to relax some

FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, file photo, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes talks with guard Santiago Vescovi, of Uruguay, during the second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. With competition canceled across all NCAA divisions due to the coronavirus, many foreign athletes face a dilemma, return home or stay. Tennessee's men’s basketball team has players from France, Serbia, Uruguay and Finland, which meant Mary-Carter Eggert, the director of basketball operations, became a travel agent, looking for the best flights. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
Pandemic fallout: NCAA slashes distribution by $375 million

By Ralph D. Russo Mar. 27, 2020 01:22 AM EDT
Canceling March Madness because of the coronavirus pandemic will cost the NCAA

FILE - This March 12, 2020, file photo, shows the national office of the NCAA in Indianapolis. The NCAA will distribute $225 million to its Division I members in June, $375 million less than had been budgeted this year because the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation of the men's basketball tournament. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Pandemic fallout: NCAA slashes distribution by $375 million

By Ralph D. Russo Mar. 26, 2020 02:45 PM EDT
Canceling March Madness because of the coronavirus pandemic will cost the NCAA

Official March Madness 2020 tournament basketballs are seen in a store room at the CHI Health Center Arena, in Omaha, Neb., Monday, March 16, 2020. Omaha was to host a first and second round in the NCAA college basketball Division I tournament, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
How will NCAA recoup millions from lost tournament?

By Ralph D. Russo Mar. 17, 2020 05:25 AM EDT
The NCAA made more than $1 billion last year, almost $867 million from the men

Clemson players leave the floor after the NCAA college basketball games at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament were canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, March 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
AP Exclusive: Inside NCAA's attempt to save March Madness

By Ralph D. Russo Mar. 13, 2020 03:12 PM EDT
As it became apparent the NCAA basketball tournaments could not be held during

Mike Lemcke, from Richmond, Va., sits in an empty Greensboro Coliseum after the NCAA college basketball games were cancelled at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday, March 12, 2020. The biggest conferences in college sports all canceled their basketball tournaments because of the new coronavirus, seemingly putting the NCAA Tournament in doubt. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
March Madness: NCAA Tournaments canceled due to coronavirus

By Ralph D. Russo Mar. 12, 2020 12:35 PM EDT
March Madness came to a screeching halt before a bracket could even be filled