IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has paused ticket sales for the 2020 football season until there’s clarity about how many people will be allowed to attend games in 69,250-seat Kinnick Stadium. Only individuals who have renewed season tickets and completed per-seat contributions by June 30 will be included in potential stadium seating plans. Spokesman Steve Roe said about 35,000 season tickets and 5,000 student tickets have been sold. New sales of the “Fight for Iowa” digital season pass, mini-plans, group, Hawkeye Village and single-games ticket sales are paused until social distancing requirements are determined.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The new committee formed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to address racism and diversity recommends that high schools and colleges establish required courses on Black history for graduation. The proposal is the first to come from the Committee on Racial Reconciliation since it was established in response to the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd and other race-related incidents in America.
UNDATED (AP) — Cade Cunningham, one of the nation’s top basketball recruits, has chosen to remain at Oklahoma State despite the program being banned from the 2021 postseason. Cunningham won the Naismith High School Trophy given to the nation’s best player. The 6-foot-7 point guard was a key piece of Oklahoma State’s highly ranked recruiting class. Many wondered what the one-and-done prospect would do. Cunningham announced in a video he posted to social media that he would stay.
WACO, Texas (AP) — The Baylor Lady Bears have signed a graduate transfer guard from another major conference for the third year in a row. Former All-Pac 12 guard DiJonai Carrington played 108 games the past four seasons at Stanford. She was limited to five games last season because of a knee injury and got a medical hardship waiver to play another season. Baylor had grad transfer Chloe Jackson from LSU two seasons ago and T'ea Cooper from South Carolina last season. Guard Jaden Woods also signed with Baylor this year after her freshman season at UCLA.
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball plans to unilaterally issue a 60-game schedule for its shortest season since 1878 after the players’ association rejected a negotiated deal of the same length, putting the sport on track for a combative and possibly unhappy return to the field amid the coronavirus pandemic. Six days after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and union head Tony Clark negotiated to expand the playoffs from 10 teams to 16, widen use of the designated hitter to National League games and introduce an experiment to start extra innings with a runner on second base, the deal was rejected by the union.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have signed first-round draft pick Ed Howard to a minor league contract that includes a $3,745,500 bonus. The 18-year-old shortstop was a prep star at Mount Carmel High School on Chicago’s South Side. He also started for the 2014 Jackie Robinson West Little League team that advanced to the finals of the Little League World Series. Howard had committed to the University of Oklahoma. He received a signing bonus equal to his assigned slot value.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons introduced Troy Weaver as their new general manager. The former Oklahoma City Thunder executive joins a Detroit team that was interested in him previously — and he takes over a GM spot that was vacant for a couple years. Pistons owner Tom Gores said the team tried to talk to Weaver a couple years ago, but the Thunder weren’t ready to let him go. Detroit has not had an official GM since shaking up its front office in 2018. Ed Stefanski, a senior advisor to Gores, has been running the front office. Gores says Weaver will work with Stefanski and coach Dwane Casey.
DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks will be without veteran guard Courtney Lee when organized workouts resume. The Mavericks say Lee injured his left calf during the NBA hiatus and won’t be available when workouts are scheduled to start up again July 1. Lee had become a part-time starter after Jalen Brunson injured his right shoulder. After playing in only 10 of the first 50 games for the Mavericks this season, Lee appeared in 14 of their last 17. That included March 11 against Denver in the final NBA game completed before the season was put on hold because of the coronavirus.
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Novak Djokovic’s charity tennis exhibition series combined with an overall softening of coronavirus restrictions in Serbia and Croatia has been followed by an increase in the number of positive cases among professional athletes. Two tennis players ranked among the top 40 in the world and five players at Serbia’s biggest soccer club have tested positive for the virus after being involved in sporting events where fans packed into the stands and social distancing was not enforced. Djokovic will now be tested as well. His media team says he has no symptoms but “he needs to do the test and then we will see what’s going on.”