| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Feb 28, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Welcome back. ⚾️ Lockout update: MLB and the MLBPA will meet again today and are ready to stay as long as it takes to reach a deal, per ESPN. Today's word count: 1,805 words (7 minutes) Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏈 College football's attendance crisis |  Data: NCAA; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios College football attendance declined for the seventh straight year and hit a 40-year low last season, according to figures compiled annually by the NCAA since 1976. Why it matters: Virtually all sports are facing an attendance crisis, which COVID only exacerbated. It's particularly worrisome for college football, whose culture is defined by the game-day experience (think: tailgates, fight songs, marching bands). By the numbers: FBS teams averaged just 39,848 fans per game in 2021. That's the fewest since 1981, the year before Ivy League institutions and other smaller schools dropped down to FCS. - 2021 attendance was down 4% from 2019 (the NCAA didn't compile 2020 data) and down a whopping 15% — or more than 7,000 fans per game — from 2008's record high of 46,971.
- Over half the teams in the final AP Top 25 experienced attendance declines, including eight of the top 10. No. 3 Michigan saw a dip, but still led the nation for the 21st time in the last 22 seasons.
By conference: The SEC drew the highest average attendance for the 23rd straight year, while the Big Ten was the only Power 5 conference to see an increase in 2021. - SEC: 72,195 (-0.007%)
- Big Ten: 65,252 (+0.003%)
- Big 12: 55,017 (-4.3%)
- Pac-12: 43,865 (-4.8%)
- ACC: 42,599 (-11.7%)
- Independents: 32,146 (-13.2%)
- AAC: 28,592 (-3%)
- MWC: 21,401 (-7.9%)
- Sun Belt: 18,410 (+0.04%)
- C-USA: 18,048 (-11.5%)
- MAC: 17,456 (+12.4%)
The big picture: A host of factors are to blame, ranging from COVID concerns in 2021 to small-stadium teams (15 new schools have joined FBS since 2000) and the ever-increasing competition from the couch. "I've even caught myself sometimes during a season [where] I don't want to go to a game because I like to watch three or four games that are on television." — Todd Berry, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, via CBS SportsThe bottom line: College football is a TV show. That's where the money is, and that's what drives most decisions (see: earlier kickoffs). But seven straight years of attendance declines is ominous, and can't be ignored. |     | | | | | | 2. 🇺🇦 Catch up quick: Sports and Ukraine |  | | | Roman Abramovich celebrates Chelsea' FIFA Club World Cup title earlier this month. Photo: Michael Regan/FIFA via Getty Images | | | | Russia's invasion of Ukraine has reverberated through the sports world, as players, teams, leagues and federations attempt to wade through the ongoing conflict, Axios' Jeff Tracy and I write. - ⚽️ Chelsea shakeup: Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich turned over "stewardship and care" of Chelsea to the club's charitable foundation as he distances himself from the team he's owned since 2003. The next day, Chelsea lost to Liverpool in the League Cup final.
- 🇺🇦 Solidarity: Manchester City's Oleksandr Zinchenko was in tears as fellow players and fans showed support for his native Ukraine. A similar scene played out for Benfica's Roman Yaremchuk.
- 🏒 Russian faceoff: Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has only supported Russian President Vladimir Putin. Rangers star Artemi Panarin has openly criticized him. The two Russians went head-to-head on Friday night at MSG.
- 🥊 Boxers join the fight: Two-time gold medalist Vasiliy Lomachenko joined a battalion in his Ukrainian hometown. Former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, vowed to take up arms.
- ⚽️ World Cup impact: Poland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and England have refused to play Russia in World Cup qualifiers, and FIFA barred Russia from hosting matches or playing under its flag.
- 🎾 Lasting image: Russia's Andrey Rublev wrote "No War Please" on a camera lens en route to winning the Dubai Tennis Championships.
- 🥇 Paralympics in limbo: None of the 20 athletes from the Ukrainian Paralympic team have reached Beijing with the Games set to begin on Friday. As of now, Russian athletes are expected to compete.
- 🥋 Putin suspended: The International Judo Federation suspended Putin as its honorary president and ambassador and canceled its upcoming event in Russia.
- 🏁 F1 takes action: Formula 1 canceled September's Russian Grand Prix, and the future of Russian driver Nikita Mazepin — whose father has close links to Putin — is suddenly in doubt.
- ⚽️ Taking refuge: 13 Brazilian players from Ukrainian soccer clubs have sought refuge with their families in a Kyiv hotel. "We are with our children ... and don't know what to do," said one player's wife.
- 🏒 Farewell, KHL: Finnish hockey team Jokerit, one of five non-Russian teams in the KHL, withdrew from the playoffs days before the first round was set to begin.
Go deeper: | | | | | | | | 3. 🏀 February madness: March is coming... | | Source: Giphy Saturday was bonkers. For the first time ever, the top six AP ranked teams — and seven of the top 10 — all lost on the same day. Scoreboard: The big picture: Parity has been a theme all season, but this weekend was a reminder of just how wide open the field is this year. 13 days until Selection Sunday... Fun fact ... If you had parlayed the moneyline of all six winning teams, a $100 bet would have netted you $37,500. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Recruit top talent with Axios Local | | |  | | | | Axios Local now has job boards in the fastest growing cities in America. Reach smart professionals that visit Axios Local daily to make decisions about where to work, what to do and where to live. Post your job opening on Axios Local. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Courtesy: North Carolina State University | | | | ⚾️ Tommy Tanks: NC State freshman Tommy White is off to one of the best starts in baseball history with nine home runs in eight games. 🏈 McVay turns down TV: Sean McVay won't pursue TV jobs and is committed to the Rams, who should be giving him a huge raise. Amazon was reportedly willing to go as high as five years, $100 million. 🎓 New weed policy: The NCAA has relaxed the amount of THC an athlete can have to trigger a positive test, and is recommending less-stringent penalties for athletes who do test positive. ⛳️ Fleeing Phil: Callaway and Workday have ended their partnerships with Phil Mickelson after his controversial comments, joining KPMG and others. He will also no longer host The American Express event. 🏀 Good read: Which player does each NBA team introduce first? Who comes last? And why? (Jared Dubin, FiveThirtyEight) "Almost every team has some rhyme or reason for introducing their preferred starting lineup in the order that they do." | | | | | | | | 5. 🇺🇸 Photos across America | | Photo: Sky Candy Studios/NHLI via Getty Images NASHVILLE — 68,619 fans packed into Nissan Stadium on Saturday for the NHL Stadium Series outdoor game between the Predators and Lightning. Tampa Bay won 3-2. Photo: Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images MINNEAPOLIS — James Harden (27-12-8) dazzled in his first game with the 76ers, his third straight debut with 25+ points and 12+ assists (76ers, Nets, Rockets). No other player in NBA history has done that even once. - Wild stat: Harden already has the same number of made three-pointers as a 76er (five) as Ben Simmons had in 275 career games.
Photo: Shaun Clark/Getty Images LOS ANGELES — Carlos Vela scored three goals in 50 minutes to lift LAFC past Colorado, 3-0, on opening weekend. Quite the start for the 2019 MVP, whose coming off an injury-plagued 2021. | | | | | | | | 6. 🌍 Photos around the world | | Photo: Jon Super/AFP via Getty Images LEEDS, England — Tottenham duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min combined for their 37th Premier League goal on Saturday, breaking the previous record of 36 set by Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard. Photo: Octavio Passos/Getty Images NAZARÉ, Portugal — Powerful storms made for extra-large swells over the weekend at Praia do Norte, the world-famous surfing hotspot that's home to some of the biggest waves on Earth. Photo: Hector Vivas/Getty Images ACAPULCO, Mexico — The Pacific coast provided quite the backdrop for the Mexican Open, where No. 4 Rafael Nadal emerged victorious for his third straight title of 2022. | | | | | | | | 7. 🎓 Event recap: Future of college sports |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | What if college athletes were employees? That was the question at the center of the "Future of College Sports" event we co-hosted with the Aspen Institute on Friday, Jeff writes. The backdrop: Multiple labor complaints against the NCAA have been filed in recent months. One asserts that all FBS football players and D-I men's and basketball players should be deemed employees. What they're saying: Funding such a reality would put "stress on the system," said Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who thinks the fallout would include smaller rosters and fewer sports. He does have an idea of where more money could be found, though: - "I would be the first to admit that the salaries among coaches, administrators and commissioners have gotten to absurd amounts," said Bowlsby. "If we had a good way to limit it, I think all of us would vote for it."
- Maddie Salamone, an athletes' rights attorney, conceded that the goal of athletes-as-employees is just the beginning: "We could call college athletes employees tomorrow, and all of the issues that exist in college sports [wouldn't] go away," she said.
- "Let's make sure that we give student athletes the freedoms that every other American gets by being an employee," said athlete advocate Michael Hsu, who filed one of those labor complaints.
The big picture: Michael McCann, a law professor and sports reporter, provided the helpful reminder that because NLRB charges take multiple years to resolve, there's still a long road ahead. ICYMI: Watch the event. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Women's college golf |  | | | Courtesy: Long Cove Club | | | | The Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, a 17-team women's college golf championship staged annually by the University of South Carolina, begins today (2:30pm ET, Golf Channel). - Details: Long Cove Club (Hilton Head Island) is hosting the 10th edition of the event, which features nine teams ranked in Golfstat's Top 25, and eight of the top 15 individuals.
- Why it matters: This will be the first all-women's regular-season college golf tournament ever aired live on Golf Channel.
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. 🏀 College hoops trivia |  | | | Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski ahead of Saturday's game, which Duke won, 97-72. Courtesy: Duke Basketball | | | | The two winningest D-I men's basketball coaches — Mike Krzyzewski (1,195 wins) and Jim Boeheim (1,098) — competed for the final time Saturday. - Question: Name the other two active coaches in the top 10.
- Hint: Just one national title between them.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🎥 Top plays: Weekend edition | | Source: Giphy There were many highlight-reel plays across sports this weekend that we had to go 20 deep. - 🏀 A+ buzzer-beater
- 🥇 Suni makes history
- 🏀 Curry magic
- ⚽️ Goal of the year
- 🏒 Sliding goal
- ⚽️ Standing on his head!
- ⛳️ Perfect shot
- ⚽️ Wonder strike
- 🏀 Great defense
- 🥍 What a shot
- 🏀 Windmill alert
- 🏀 Morant 360
- 🏒 Point for Point
- 🏀 Thunderous jam
- 🎾 Spin-o-rama
- ⚽️ Romeu rocket
- ⚾️ Harvard wins it
- 🏀 Kelly calls game
- ⚽️ Chicharito!
- 🏀 Trae Young's filthy
Watch all 20. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Recruit top talent with Axios Local | | | | | | | | Axios Local now has job boards in the fastest growing cities in America. Reach smart professionals that visit Axios Local daily to make decisions about where to work, what to do and where to live. Post your job opening on Axios Local. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Come on, baseball..." Baker Trivia answer: No. 8 Bob Huggins (842 wins) and No. 10 John Calipari (807) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter (@kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy) and tell friends to sign up here. |  | Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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