This morning, the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League announced that they have signed now-former Denver goaltender Devin Cooley to a two-year, entry-level contract. The undrafted 23-year-old goaltender spent three seasons with the Pioneers and was poised to share starting netminder duties with rising sophomore teammate Magnus Chrona for a second straight year. Continue reading Denver Goaltender Devin Cooley Signs with Nashville Predators→
In a prior article, we talked about the potential benefit of Name, Image and Likeness legislation on DU student athletes – even though DU does not field a football team or benefit from significant basketball revenue.
The NCAA Board of Governors voted to support allowing its athletes to profit off endorsements and still maintain their eligibility beginning next year. The results of the vote were announced by the NCAA on Wednesday morning. The new rules must be approved by the NCAA’s three divisions before implementation. A January 2021 deadline has been set for that approval, which would allow the new rules to take effect for the 2021-22 school year. Continue reading NCAA and US House Advance Name, Image & Likeness Legislation for Student Athletes→
Denver Athletics has launched a year-long campaign to recoup some of the losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. DU still has the cost of administrative staff, support staff, student housing, and now, with the resumption of sports, the cost of travel, equipment, and associated support costs. According to the 5280 Together COVID Relief Fund announcement, “We face unprecedented losses in revenues and added expenses as we work to bring our student-athletes back to competition, keep them safe and provide a first-class experience at DU.” And the goal? One million dollars during the 2020-2021 season. Continue reading DU Reaches Out for Community Support with 5280 Together COVID Relief Fund→
The NCAA Division I Council met today (Wednesday) and approved a college basketball start date of November 25th. Earlier in the morning, the Big 10 announced a fall return to the gridiron October 24th with an 8-game schedule, leaving only the Pac-12 absent from football until a self-imposed deadline of January 1st set, in part, due to the restrictions in place in California and Oregon.
The running list of sports teams dropped by Division I schools has reached 84 teams with men’s tennis (12), women’s tennis (9), and men’s track (9) the biggest losers. The biggest surprise is Stanford dropping 11 of their most successful sports To include women’s sailing (3 national championships), synchronized swimming (8 national championships), men’s volleyball (2 national championships), field hockey (2 national championships), and men’s rowing (5 national championships).
To the shock of absolutely nobody, the NCAA Hockey season is officially postponed due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement released by the Hockey Commissioners’ Association, made up of the commissioners of every hockey conference, both men’s and women’s, each of the 11 conferences had been working closely together to come to a decision on how to move forward with the 2020-2021 season. As a result of the collaboration, each conference will make its own decisions on how to start competition this Fall or Winter, further indicating that there will likely be no non-conference play. Denver’s conference, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), announced in a follow-up statement, that it is currently planning to start play on or after November 20. Continue reading Hockey Commissioners Association Postpones NCAA Season, NCHC Aims to Start Nov. 20→
While the commissioner of the NCHC, Josh Fenton, is “optimistic” about the 2020-2021 collegiate hockey season, the NCAA has given hockey players the nod to play junior hockey this upcoming season without losing eligibility. But there are strings attached. Continue reading NCAA Hockey Players Given Option to Explore Potential “Plan B”→