The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
___
North Carolina has found another game.
The school announced Monday night that it has added a nonconference game Wednesday against Northeastern after having three Atlantic Coast Conference home games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
Earlier Monday, the program’s official Twitter account posted that the Tar Heels (12-7, 7-5) were seeking a home game for this week. That came after Tuesday’s visit from No. 18 Virginia Tech was postponed. Home games against Clemson and Miami have also been postponed since January.
Coach Roy Williams noted earlier Monday that the team had played just six home games and says “that’s not a good situation.”
Northeastern, a Colonial Athletic Association program, had four postponed games from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7.
UNC’s next scheduled ACC game is Saturday’s visit from Louisville.
___
The Southeastern Conference has shifted its men’s basketball schedule this week because of icy weather moving into the region and COVID-19 issues.
The league announced Monday that South Carolina’s visit to No. 19 Tennessee is moving from Tuesday to Wednesday night because of a combination of a positive coronavirus test, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the Volunteers program.
Because of the inclement weather in the forecast, Mississippi State-Auburn was pushed back from Tuesday to Thursday and two games were pushed back from Wednesday to Thursday — No. 9 Alabama’s visit to Texas A&M and LSU at Mississippi.
___
Iowa says it won’t drop its women’s swimming and diving program, one of four sports the school had planned to eliminate due to budget concerns brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
Members of the women’s swimming and diving team team filed a legal complaint against the school in September, arguing that a decision to eliminate their program violated a landmark gender equity law. In December, a U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the school from cutting the program.
Iowa officials said Monday they continue to disagree with the claims in the lawsuit.
School officials announced in August they were dropping men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s gymnastics and men’s tennis at the end of their 2020-21 seasons. Iowa still plans to eliminate those other sports.
At the time of the announcement, Iowa was estimating a $75 million deficit because of the pandemic. School officials have revised that estimated deficit to between $50 million and $60 million, thanks in part to the Big Ten’s decision to hold a modified version of a football season.
___
Vanderbilt says a limited number of students from its senior class can attend the men’s basketball home game Wednesday with Kentucky.
The release announcing the move didn’t specify how many seniors would be permitted to attend the game. School officials noted that Vanderbilt undergraduate students are tested twice a week for COVID-19.
Masks will be required of any students attending the game. Concessions won’t be activated to limit movement within the building.
___
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday that Clemson’s men’s basketball game at Notre Dame scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues.
The conference says in a release that the postponement follows a positive test, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the Clemson men’s program. The team is following ACC protocols.
A makeup date has not been announced.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright © 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
