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