By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
Pollard Pens Letter, Details Grim News with Iowa State:
Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard outlined the financial impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the department in a letter released over the weekend.
Pollard said Iowa State faces a $30 million deficit.
Because of that, the university is preparing for layoffs and payroll reductions, cutting sports and closing the C.Y. Stephens Auditorium.
Last week, the university announced fans would not be able to attend the season opener on Sept. 12 against Louisiana because of concerns about the rising spread of coronavirus cases in Story County and other hot spots in Iowa.
Iowa State, however, has not yet ruled out the possibility of hosting fans at future games.
The Cyclones offer 18 varsity sports, 11 for women and seven for men — there was no direct confirmation of which sports are currently being discussed to be cut.
UNI Leads FCS With Six on Preseason All-American List:
Six UNI Panther football players were named to the Stats Perform Preseason All-American team released Wednesday, the most of any team in the nation.
The list is headlined by Elerson G. Smith, a first-team defensive line selection. Isaiah Weston, Spencer Brown, Jared Brinkman and Omar Brown were second-team All-FCS selections, while Bryce Flatter was named to the Third Team,
North Dakota State, Montana and Weber State all placed five players on the team.
Smith finished last season as an AFCA First-Team All-American and finished in the top-10 of the Buck Buchanan voting. He was named the FCS Preseason Player of the Year by Phil Steele in August.
Weston became the first Panther receiver to hit the 1,000-yard receiving mark in over a decade and was named a finalist for the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year.
Spencer Brown was named second-team All-MVFC last season and national sportswriter Bruce Feldman named him to his preseason College Football Freaks list.
Brinkman was also second-team All-MVFC last year and earned Phil Steele Preseason Second-Team All-American honors.
Omar Brown was named the Phil Steele Defensive Freshman of the Year last season and earned First-Team All-MVFC honors after leading the league in interceptions.
Flater was a second-team All-MVFC honoree and a Phil Steele First-Team All-American.
UNI’s season was moved to the spring and a schedule has yet to be announced.
MLB Scoreboard (9/6):
Cleveland 4, Milwaukee 1
Baltimore 5, New York Yankees 1
Atlanta 10, Washington 3
New York Mets 14, Philadelphia 1
Tampa Bay 5, Miami 4 — 10 innings
Toronto 10, Boston 8
Pittsburgh 3, Cincinnati 2
Chicago White Sox 8, Kansas City 2
Detroit 10, Minnesota 8
San Francisco 4, Arizona 2
Los Angeles Angels 9,Houston 5
San Diego 5, Oakland 3
Seattle 4, Texas 3
St. Louis 7, Chicago Cubs 3
Colorado 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 6