On Friday, the NCAA encouraged its 1,100 member colleges and universities to give athletes a day off from sports on Election Day, responding to grassroots activism by players and coaches.
Following nationwide protests of police brutality and racial injustice, Georgia Tech announced earlier this week that on November 3 it would give nine fall sports teams a day off from athletic activities so athletes can vote in person. .
UCLA followed up with a similar announcement and Wisconsin said Friday it would also skip sports activities on Election Day.
“We just want them to exercise their responsibility to have their voices heard and to vote,” said Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez.
Clemson’s soccer team helped organize a March for Change scheduled for Saturday at its South Carolina campus.
The protests were sparked by the death last month of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for several minutes.
Instead, the NCAA encouraged schools to help students register to vote and give them a day off from athletics to vote.
In the Mid-American Conference, the Buffalo football team is scheduled to play in northern Illinois that Tuesday night in November. Although MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher issued a statement on Friday saying the schools, the conference and ESPN will work to move the game to a different date.
The Division I college basketball season will begin approximately one week after Election Day.
Sankey told the AP that during a recent video call with the league’s soccer coaches, they discussed having speakers talk to their teams about the electoral college, the electoral map and how elections are decided at the local, state and federal levels.
“Nonpartisan. We want people to make their own voting decisions. But part of our responsibility is to educate, “Sankey said.” That is probably the first time that our soccer coaches’ meeting includes a discussion about the electoral college. “
