Student Union
Desperate to Play: Coronavirus' Impact on College Sports
Many colleges and universities in the U.S. are in danger of losing millions in revenue from canceled sports events.
College sports make roughly $1 billion annually in ticket sales and promotions for universities, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Athletic dollars from basketball, football and baseball can contribute more than half to a school's operating budget.
“There's never a good time for a pandemic but for college sports, I think this was particularly bad, because it happened right at the beginning of the men's basketball tournament, and the men's basketball tournament is the largest source of revenue for the NCAA,” Kristi Dosh, a college sportswriter and analyst, told VOA.
“Not having the men's basketball tournament this year was a huge loss for college sports. And you're only going to see that compounded if we go into the fall and football is impacted,” she added.
Some of that money trickles down to students through financial aid. There are more than 20,000 international student athletes enrolled in competing NCAA schools. These schools provide more than $2.9 billion in athletic scholarships to students annually.
Ira Graham IV, a high school student in Columbus, Ohio, was having a great season as a track athlete before the pandemic hit.
“I was pretty confident that I would be able to get a scholarship with the improvements I would have made during the season,” he said, noting in particular his improvements in hurdle races.
“But because of the ending of the season that didn't happen ... hopefully, in the end, I'll be able to still get a scholarship and still be competitive at the college level,” he said.
Some schools are pushing to go ahead with their college football season. But health experts have warned that this would require an enormous increase in COVID-19 testing for their athletes.
Thomas Huard, an expert in clinical laboratories and diagnostic testing, started the Campus Health Project this summer to help colleges and universities increase their testing capacity not just for athletes but for all students they are welcoming back on campus.
“They don't necessarily have the right resources to do all the testing. So, it's a concern because I don't know of a university football team that hasn't had positive cases,” Huard said.
Though he has concerns about the risks of going ahead with the college football season, Huard, a former college football player himself, said he understands the financial strain that canceling the season would cause.
“The economic impact to the universities is huge, as you can imagine. I think the budget for football is like $500 million for Texas,” he said.
“What do you do with season ticket holders? What do you do with people that have already bought tickets? Can you refund all that money or have you allocated it somewhere else already?” he asked.
The Ivy League and several other conferences have canceled fall season sports; many others are still considering their options.
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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STEM, business top subjects for international students
The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.
STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)
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Safety and visa difficulties among misconceptions about US colleges
U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.
Read the full story here. (January 2025)
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Work opportunities help draw international students to US schools
US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)
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British student talks about her culture shock in Ohio
A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.
Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.
Read the full story here. (December 2024)
