SBJ College: America East Doubles Down On Justice Dialogue

America East Commissioner Amy Huchthausen had my favorite quote of the day: "Time will tell if people meant what they said in their statements and videos."

AFTER ANTI-RACISM STATEMENTS, WHAT’S NEXT?

• There’s been a lot of discussion about what college programs will do next in the pursuit of social justice. Many ADs and coaches have issued statements and pledged to do a better job listening after George Floyd’s death. But how can they make sure this anti-racism movement doesn’t wind up being another episode in history that fails to bring about real change?
  
  
• That’s exactly the conversation America East Commissioner Amy Huchthausen had with her top conference officials during recent meetings. The conference, which stretches from Maine to Maryland, hit the social-media airwaves with two ideas:
  
  
  • Stage an anti-racism game, with proceeds going to a charitable group.
    
    
  • A conference-wide day off for athletes on Election Day (Nov. 3).
    
    
• Georgia Tech and associate head basketball coach Eric Reveno are widely receiving credit for being the first school and coach to organize collective team action on Election Day, but best I can tell, the America East was the first conference to make it a day off across the league for all nine schools. An anti-racism game could fall under the America East’s “Spread Respect” platform going on its seventh year -- or it could become a separate platform.
  
  
• America East ADs also voted in favor of creating a task force that will be charged with keeping the dialogue going. “Our group is absolutely committed to action in some way, shape or form, not just statements and videos,” said Huchthausen, an SBJ "Forty Under 40" honoree in 2016. “We want to still be talking about this in 12 months on behalf of our teams and student athletes. Time will tell if people meant what they said in their statements and videos.”

DUKE, UNC ADs ALIGN ON NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS DEBATE

• Rarely do rivals Duke and North Carolina agree on anything, but ADs Kevin White and Bubba Cunningham have found themselves on the same side of the name, image and likeness debate. White issued an exhaustive critique of the NCAA's most recent plans to introduce athlete compensation to college athletics in a lengthy statement on Twitter today.
  
  
• Like Cunningham, who has been a relatively lonely voice against NIL legislation, White is concerned that a large percentage of college-related revenue will go to a small number of elite athletes in football and basketball, leaving the Olympic sports without the necessary funding to keep producing Olympic stars and internationally competitive programs. "My passion is the continued advancement of Olympic sports, especially at the collegiate level," wrote White, who got into college coaching as a track coach and now serves on the USOPC board.

NEW RULES FOR GOLF’S TOP JUNIORS

• College administrators are eager to see teams and leagues begin competition, so they can see how others are running events during the pandemic. While all eyes are understandably on the return of the PGA Tour in Ft. Worth this week, there’s a high-level amateur golf tournament starting today at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, a course that also plans to host the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship later this summer.
  
  
• The American Junior Golf Association hits the restart button today with the AJGA Invitational, a tournament for many of the nation’s top golfers, ages 12-19, plus 12 international players. The new health and safety protocols in effect this week will take some getting used to. The AJGA is not messing around, and there will be an array of new rules to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
  
  
• Players cannot arrive at the course more than 70 minutes before their tee time and social distancing rules will be enforced, even on the driving range. Players who violate the 6-foot distancing guidelines are subject to a two-stroke penalty. The AJGA consulted with the PGA Tour, USGA and Wyndham Tournament Director Mark Brazil, as well as local and state health officials, to create the new protocols, which include taking a player’s temperature upon arrival.
  
  
• Each player has an assigned practice time and they can warm up only in those time windows. When they finish their round, golfers and their families are expected to leave the course after signing their scorecard. No hanging out. The players will not have scorecards; they will keep their score on the Golf Genius mobile app to limit the number of items the players touch. If a player pulls the flag out of the hole, he will be penalized a shot.

Social distancing and temperature checks are on tap for a junior golf event teeing off today

CHECK OUT THE PRINT ISSUE OF SBJ THIS WEEK

• Don’t miss this week’s issue of SBJ. Meanwhile, if you’d like to receive the print issue at your home office, update your delivery address at any time within your account settings here. If you have any questions about how and where to receive your print copy of SBJ, please email help@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

SPEED READS

• Tomorrow night was supposed to be a key moment in strengthening the relationship between MLB and NCAA baseball. Before the pandemic hit, the MLB Draft was set to be held in Omaha for the first time, just ahead of the start of the College World Series. It was a shift years in the making and was aimed at giving the event a boost in attention. But there was no Road to Omaha this year, and plans shifted. The draft will now borrow a page from the WNBA and NFL in recent months by going remote. A bonus: ESPN will air the first round for the first time in over a decade, and will have 15 college players mic'd up for the experience.
  
  
• New UCLA AD Martin Jarmond has quickly made his presence felt in Westwood. Through the Bruins' athletic department today, Jarmond launched the Voting Matters Initiative, which is intended to drive registration and voting among student athletes. UCLA coaches have agreed to devote time to voter education.
  
  
• We're a long way from the start of the college basketball season, but Villanova coach Jay Wright isn't optimistic about fans packing the stands around the country. "I can’t see, right now, having fans," Wright said of the 2020-21 season. “College basketball is up in the air.”
  
  
• Syracuse looks like it is ramping up its standoff with Carrier, the brand that has a deal in perpetuity to title sponsor the school’s primary athletics venue. The Syracuse Post-Standard noted with the roof of the venue “coming off the dome this spring and being replaced with a new one this summer, so has the word ‘Dome’ been removed from the school’s most recent release on the men’s basketball schedule.” The school used “Dome” or “Loudhouse,” leaving off “Carrier” in recent years.
  
  
• Marshall AD Mike Hamrick said that while the timetable for the Thundering Herd’s new ballpark “will be delayed, he has the backing of Huntington mayor Steve Williams and the stadium project will move forward once students return to campus.” Hamrick told the Huntington Herald-Dispatch that the “hopeful new open date for the facility is in time for the 2022 season -- one year later than originally scheduled when plans were unveiled -- if everything goes as planned.”
  
  
• In an op-ed for tonight's newsletter, Jon L. Pritchett & Ed Tiryakian write about the Univ. of California System, which has announced it will no longer accept or require SAT or ACT test results. "This is in ... direct violation of NCAA guidelines for eligibility. Just imagine a top basketball prospect deciding between becoming a Cal Bear or a UNC Tar Heel. He was likely only planning to be around for one year regardless, but now -- instead of spending his junior year with a tutor and prepping for the SAT -- he can concentrate on his AAU summer schedule knowing that Cal will not look at his standardized test scores as part of his transcript and eligibility requirements." For the complete op-ed, click here.

NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR SBJ GAME CHANGERS!

• Online nominations for Game Changers have opened. We’ll be accepting nominations through midnight June 21. The Game Changers event will be Oct. 27-28, and a special section will run in SBJ in the Oct. 19 issue.

Enjoying this newsletter? We've got more! Check out SBJ Media with John Ourand and SBJ Esports with Adam Stern and Trent Murray. Also check out the SBJ Unpacks newsletterevery Monday-Friday night, as we look at how the sports industry is being impacted by COVID-19.

Something on the College beat catch your eye? Tell us about it. Reach out to either me (msmith@sportsbusinessjournal.com) or Austin Karp (akarp@sportsbusinessjournal.com) and we'll share the best of it. Also contributing to this newsletter is Thomas Leary (tleary@sportsbusinessdaily.com).