A day after the Ivy League canceled its fall sports season, Power 5 conferences started scaling back theirs. The Big Ten Conference and Pac-12 both announced a conference-only schedule for all fall sports.

The ACC is considering a conference-only fall season and said it would help accommodate Notre Dame. In 2014, the ACC and Notre Dame signed an agreement that sees the Fighting Irish play an average of five ACC schools a year. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said it is becoming less likely the season starts on time.

If Power 5 conferences all reduced their schedules, it would take away several marquee cross-conference games, but the full economic value lost would depend on how many fans are allowed at games – if they’re held at all.

The lack of non-conference games could also be a further death knell for small conference schools. The Group of Five conferences don’t garner the same TV revenue the Power 5 conferences do. Mid-America Conference schools, for example, make $833,000 from the conference’s TV deal. However, those smaller programs often are paid $1 million or more per game to play larger conference schools. The Big Ten was slated to pay at least $22.2 million to non-conference opponents this season, with MAC schools receiving $10.5 million.

The conference-only schedules will allow college football to start a month later, but with coronavirus cases rising, time will tell if that’s enough. A recent survey by Stadium found 7% of athletic directors don’t expect a season to be played in 2020-21, and 31% believe a full or conference-only schedule in the spring is most likely.

As schools and conferences make their decisions in regards to fall competition, the NCAA released its own statement: “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact college sports nationally, the NCAA supports its members as they make important decisions based on their specific circumstances and in the best interest of college athletes’ health and well-being.”

In Other College News:

— Dartmouth announced it is cutting five varsity sports: men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s golf, and rowing. Those cuts, along with closing Hanover Country Club and staff restructuring, is expected to save the college $2 million.

— The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, made up of mostly Historically Black Colleges and Universities, has suspended its fall sports seasons and championship events. The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association also suspended its fall competition.

Bids to buy the New York Mets were due yesterday. Billionaire Steve Cohen, who is currently a minority shareholder in the team, is expected to be a “legit force” in the process. Cohen had a previous offer to buy the team fall apart earlier this year when he objected to current owner Jeff Wilpon’s request to remain in control for five years. 

There are several other groups reported to be interested in the team, including Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who own the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. A group led by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez, which would also include Vitaminwater co-founder Mike Repole and Florida Panthers owner Vinnie Viola, is also interested. The latest Forbes valuation has the Mets worth approximately $2.4 billion.

As the organization awaits a new owner, it will get a documentary. Jimmy Kimmel is among the producers of a multi-part 30 for 30 documentary on the 1986 World Champion Mets, expected to air next year.

Sony has invested $250 million into Fortnite developer Epic Games. The deal expands on an existing relationship between the two companies and also comes as Epic is looking to broaden Fortnite into a form of social entertainment.

Fortnite, which had 350 million registered users in May, drew 12 million players to a virtual Travis Scott concert in April. To date, Epic has raised $1.83 billion, and Sony’s investment, which gives it a 1.4% stake, values the company at $17.86 billion.

It’s unclear exactly what led to Sony’s investment. In a statement, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said the company “will explore opportunities for further collaboration with Epic to delight and bring value to consumers and the industry at large, not only in games but also across the rapidly evolving digital entertainment landscape.” While Epic is now best known for Fortnite, it also is the developer of the Unreal game engine software, which is used by several of the top-selling video games. The company also has its own online video games store.

However, the move does come as Sony looks to release its next Playstation console later this year. Microsoft, its chief rival in video game hardware, is also planning on releasing its newest next-gen console later this year and is reportedly interested in buying the gaming division of Warner Bros.

Nashville SC becomes the second team to drop out of the MLS is Back Tournament because of the coronavirus. Nine players from the team tested positive since arriving in Orlando. FC Dallas was the first team to bow out last week. The tournament started Wednesday night as Orlando City beat Inter Miami.

NFL Coronavirus Precautions

As the NFL season moves closer, more decisions are being made around how to keep players safe. New proposed protocols from the NFL and NFL Players Association would forbid post-game interactions within six feet and eliminate the post-game jersey swap.

Some players have spoken out against the protocols, including San Francisco 49er Richard Sherman, who tweeted: “This is a perfect example of NFL thinking in a nutshell. Players can go engage in a full-contact game and do it safely. However, it is deemed unsafe for them to exchange jerseys after said game.”