The Latest: Nebraska head coaches giving back some salary

0

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

___

Nebraska football coach Scott Frost and men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg will donate a portion of their salaries to the athletic department’s general operating fund to help offset revenue shortfalls because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The athletic department said in a statement Thursday the amount of the donations would be determined when the 2021 budget is closer to being finalized.

Frost’s salary is $5 million this year. Hoiberg is set to earn $3 million.

Frost is in his third year as head coach. He grew up in Wood River and was Cornhuskers quarterback in 1996-97. His father played football for the Huskers, his mother was a standout on the track team and is in the school’s athletic hall of fame.

“These are difficult times across our country and in college athletics, and Nebraska athletics is not immune to the financial crunch,” Frost said. “This athletic department has been so important to my family for several decades. Before I ever played or coached here, I was a Nebraska Cornhusker fan first. I wanted to do my small part to help ensure our athletic department and all of our teams have the necessary resources to compete for championships moving forward.”

Hoiberg is entering his second season at Nebraska. His parents are Nebraska graduates and his grandfather, Jerry Bush, was the Huskers’ men’s basketball coach from 1954-63.

“When I took this job, one of the things that stood out to me most about Nebraska was its complete commitment to the student-athlete, not just in football or men’s basketball, but in all sports,” Hoiberg said. “After a little more than a year here, I am even more impressed with the resources available to our young men and women. It is important to me to contribute to keeping Nebraska a leader in student-athlete support and services.”

___

The University of Texas announced that 13 football players tested positive for COVID-19 or are presumed positive, and contact tracing has 10 more in isolation.

Texas started bringing football players back to campus for workouts on June 8. The school has also identified four other players who tested positive for the COVID-19 antibody.

Kansas State officials reported Wednesday night that eight Wildcats athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 out of 130 tested.

The NCAA on Wednesday approved plans for an extended preseason to give teams more time to hold walk-throughs. With the coronavirus pandemic wiping out spring practice for most teams, along with the usual required summer activities for players such as weight training and film study, schools want to make up for lost preparation time.

___

Club rugby in Europe is set to resume on Aug. 22 after a five-month suspension because of the coronavirus outbreak with matches in the PRO14 league that contains teams Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Italy and South Africa.

A truncated regular season will be concluded by two rounds of matches where teams from the same nation play each other home and away to avoid cross-border travel.

Semifinal matches will take place on Sept. 5 and the final on Sept. 12.

PRO14 tournament director David Jordan says “we are very fortunate to be in a position where everyone involved is confident that we can conclude the season on the field of play.”

The league has two conferences. Leinster and Ulster are the current top two in Conference A while Edinburgh and Munster are the top two in Conference B.

___

The Atlantic Coast Conference is moving its football media days online because of concerns about COVID-19.

The ACC Football Kickoff was originally scheduled to be held at The Westin in Charlotte, North Carolina. It has been rescheduled for July 21-23 with coverage on the ACC Network. Commissioner John Swofford, each of the conference’s 14 head coaches and selected players will be featured.

All 10 FBS conferences have now announced that their media days will be altered because of the pandemic, with most going virtual. The Big Ten has not made a final decision on its media days.

___

Norwich midfielder Marco Stiepermann has returned to training after self-isolating at home following a positive test for COVID-19.

The English club was informed of the positive test on Friday. That was the same day Norwich played Tottenham in a friendly ahead of the resumption of the Premier League.

Norwich says Stiepermann has remained asymptomatic and has since taken two further tests that returned negative results.

Norwich is in last place in the league and hosts Southampton on Friday in their first Premier League game back after the three-month suspension.

One person has tested positive for the coronavirus in the latest round of checks. The Premier League announced that 1,541 tests had been conducted on players and club staff on June 15 and 16.

___

The Swiss Indoors tennis tournament in Basel wants to cancel its 50th anniversary edition in October because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Organizers say they told tour officials they would “prefer to cancel this year’s edition of the tournament in light of the current situation.”

Tournament head Roger Brennwald says playing the event with no fans or with social distancing “have to be ruled out for us in Basel on economic grounds.”

The ATP is expected to decide on its end-of-season indoor schedule in mid-July.

Brennwald says “it looks like coronavirus is on match point and is set for victory.”

Hometown great Roger Federer was already set to miss the tournament where he worked as a ballboy and is the record 10-time champion. He ended his season this month to recover from knee surgery.

___

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Sporting’s mascot lion waves from the empty stands during the Portuguese League soccer match between Sporting CP and Pacos de Ferreira at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, Friday, June 12, 2020. The Portuguese League soccer matches are being played without spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Antonio Cotrim/Pool via AP)
Advertisements