Bevo’s Daily Roundup: Spring sport athletes will be eligible for one more year, NCAA says

For the Texas Longhorns’ spring sport athletes, including the baseball, softball, tennis and golf teams, among others, their season was cut short due to the coronavirus outbreak.

But for some, it might not be over. According to the NCAA, plans are in the making to extend the eligibility of those athletes by one year to make up for their lost season. It remains unclear how, exactly, this would work. The NCAA is still figuring that part out.

From the Associated Press: “All three NCAA divisions would potentially allow another year for athletes in the 14 spring sports ... . The decision comes after the NCAA announced Thursday that its winter and spring championships would be canceled as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus. Some, but not all, conferences have announced that their spring sports teams would not continue their regular seasons. ... The NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee sent an email Friday notifying schools of its intention. The proposal is expected to pass. ... The NCAA needs to figure out logistics including scholarship limits, roster size and a few other nuances. The [NCAA] is trying to determine what ... it could do for winter-sport athletes. In basketball, many of the top players will have headed to the pros already, so granting another year wouldn’t do much for them.”

WHAT THE WISE MEN ARE SAYING ABOUT THE LONGHORNS

Austin American-Statesman: Bohls: When it came to baseball, Texas Hall of Honor’s Travis Eckert a true ‘natural’

Austin American-Statesman: The Dotted Line: Examining the 2021 Fabulous 55, starting with Nos. 55-51

Dallas Morning News: With prestige and contract bonuses on the line, why did the NCAA choose to not create March Madness brackets?

Sports Illustrated: Cancelled season leaves Shaka Smart’s future up in the air

Sports Illustrated: Massive cancellations leave more questions than answers

247Sports: The Stampede: Resetting the 2021 offensive board

247Sports: Examining the recruiting ramifications of COVID-19 shutdown

247Sports: The potential letdown game for every preseason top-25 team

USA Today: Texas basketball’s seeding history in the NCAA Tournament

NEWS FROM ELSEWHERE IN LONGHORN LAND AND THE BIG 12

• Texas softball senior pitcher Miranda Elish will be among the players to benefit from the NCAA’s temporary rule change following the coronavirus outbreak. On Sunday, Elish said on her personal Instagram page that she plans to return for a repeat senior season in 2021.

• Here’s what former Longhorn Sam Acho thinks about the NFL’s new CBA deal, which includes an extra regular season game and eases the league’s marijuana drug testing policy. The CBA also increases teams’ rosters from 53 to 55 players, with an option of 14 practice squad players.

• According to Foxbet, the Longhorns are currently 6.5 point underdogs in their game against the LSU Tigers later this year. From Sports Illustrated: “Texas gave the Tigers all they wanted a year ago in Austin before eventually falling to the 2019 National Champions in a 45-38 shootout and the Longhorns are hoping to even the series with a win in Death Valley. The Longhorns bring back [senior quarterback] Sam Ehlinger, three offensive linemen and the bulk of last year’s defense while LSU must replace Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, receiver Justin Jefferson, tight end Taddeus Moss, linebackers Jacob Phils and K’Lavon Chaisson and a ton of other talent that will have their name called in the upcoming NFL Draft. While there will always be talent to step in and take the place of departing juniors and seniors at a place like LSU, it would seem the Longhorns will have the advantage in experience going into the two teams’ rematch.”

• It’s not looking good for Texas football’s Orange-White spring game. From 247Sports: “The City of Austin announced Saturday a new order — set to go into effect at 2 a.m., Sunday, March 15 — placing restrictions on gatherings of more than 250 people up until May 1, at the earliest, amid the on-going concern over COVID-19, commonly known as Coronavirus. The city’s ban could make an impact on Texas football’s Orange-White spring game, which has been scheduled to kickoff on April 25, though the situation remains fluid. The Big 12 Conference and the University of Texas have indicated plans to re-evaluate the current postponement of spring practice and activities on March 29, however, this new information from the city could play a role in the discussions for the Longhorns. Head coach Tom Herman and the Longhorns were originally scheduled to return for spring practice March 24, but with the increased level of concern over the spread of the Coronavirus stemming from the last several days, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte made the decision to postpone spring practices and competition through March 29 Thursday evening. The following day, the Big 12 Conference announced it too would postpone all spring sports activities through March 29, and delivered the disappointing — though somewhat expected — news to spring student-athletes when it canceled the remainder of spring competition.”