COVID-19 and the cutting of college athletic teams

Abstract

Almost as soon as the NCAA announced the cancelation its 2020 "March Madness" basketball tournament, college administrators began moving to cut sports from their schools' portfolios. This study explores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on college athletics. It examines the historical and sociological context surrounding the decisions to eliminate athletic programs (affecting nearly 2,500 athletes at the time of writing) at universities across the country. Drawing on research surrounding the implementation of Title IX, the authors examine how college athletics' most recent crisis caused university leaders to once again cut sports in the name of gender equity. 30 days. That's the length of time it took college athletic directors and conference commissioners to get from the cancellation of March Madness to a direct request to reduce the number of sports offered by their institutions. The NCAA cancelled its Division I men's and women's college basketball tournaments on 12 March 2020. According to the Wall Street

Disordered eating & body image of current and former athletes in a pandemic; a convergent mixed methods study - What can we learn from COVID-19 to support athletes through transitions?

“…For instance, endurance runners have largely been able to train unaffected in many countries, whereas swimmers or team sport athletes have faced significant barriers to train or perform their sport at all with the closure of pools and facilities [76]. For other individuals COVID-19 has meant the end of their sporting career with widespread collegiate team cuts seen in the USA [39,40]. Some athletes have been able to find light in the darkness, develop resilience, new meanings and thrive in this time, whereas other athletes have been battling new challenges that have surfaced; particularly related to mental health, isolation and fitness deconditioning [41,77,78].…”

“…Prior to COVID-19, current and former athletes were already seen as at-risk population groups with estimates of EDs occurring in rates three times as often than the general population [16,[32][33][34][35][36]. Considering how much psychosocial factors contribute to DE development, COVID-19 is anticipated to have generated significant changes to athletes food-body relationship especially given the closure of gyms and training facilities, reduced access to healthcare provision including injury rehabilitation and management, limited team access including the central role of teammates and coaches, and the cancellation of competitions [37][38][39][40][41]. The postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is of particular note for elite athletes as it is an event that individuals commit many years towards whereby the psychosocial preparation towards the event is significant and psychological distress has been anticipated in those this postponement has affected [37,[42][43][44].…”

Disordered Eating & Body Image of Current and Former Athletes in a Pandemic - What Can We Learn From COVID-19 to Support Athletes Through Transitions?

“…For instance, endurance runners have largely been able to train unaffected in many countries, whereas swimmers or team sport athletes have faced signi cant barriers to train or perform their sport at all with the closure of pools and facilities (53). For other individuals COVID-19 has meant the end of their sporting career with widespread collegiate team cuts seen in the USA (54,55). Some athletes have been able to nd light in the darkness, develop resilience, new meanings and thrive in this time, whereas other athletes have been battling new challenges that have surfaced; particularly related to mental health, isolation and tness deconditioning (56)(57)(58).…”

Pandemics of COVID-19 and racism: how HBCUs are coping

“…It is no secret that HBCUs have always struggled with fewer resources since their inception than the PWIs (Predominantly White Institutions). Despite losing money from campus housing, dining, sporting events, and other revenue sources when the campuses were closed due to COVID-19, HBCUs had to invest additional funds to upgrade and expand their technologies to accommodate students and faculty for online instruction—all posing a physical and financial threat to their survival [7] , [8] . Additionally, many public HBCUs were hit by further budget cuts before re-opening for Fall 2020.…”