Jul 11, 2020 - Sports

Charge of "money grab" by college football

Mike Allen

Clemson football players lead a "March for Change" protest past Tillman Hall on June 13. Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

In the past two days, 73 college football games were scrapped because of the virus, from marquee matchups like Oregon-Ohio State to storied rivalries like USC-Notre Dame. The Pac-12 joined the Big 10 in announcing they'll play only in-conference this fall, AP reports.

Why it matters: A conference-only schedule lets schools cut down on travel and other expenses at a time when athletic departments are facing massive budget constraints.

The big picture: All eyes are now on the ACC, SEC and Big 12 — the rest of the Power Five conferences— to see if more games will be shelved.

Hundreds of games have already been canceled, suspended or pushed to the spring semester at lower tiers of college football.

Between the lines: Most of the canceled football games in the Pac-12 and Big Ten are unglamorous matchups against small schools counting on big payouts to keep their athletic budgets afloat when they are already facing ugly bottom lines.

Go deeper: College sports stare down a coronavirus-driven disaster in the fall

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Charge of "money grab" by college football

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