Bevo’s Daily Roundup: Texas students will return to campus in fall, university officials say

University of Texas officials announced Wednesday that students will in fact return to campus for the fall semester as scheduled on Aug. 26 and continue through Thanksgiving, when students will then be allowed to stay home and take their final exams remotely.

“With COVID-19 still expected to be active this fall, we hope to avoid the possibility of students becoming infected during the Thanksgiving break and then spreading the virus to classmates upon their return after Thanksgiving,” Texas president Greg Fenves and interim president designate Jay Hartzell wrote a letter. “We are still developing the details for how this new schedule will affect course syllabi, residence hall living and other key campus functions. We will continue to provide additional information as we move forward.”

As it pertains to college football, that’s vaguely good news considering the NCAA voted to lift a ban on voluntary athletic activities in football and basketball from June 1 to June 30.

WHAT THE WISE MEN ARE SAYING ABOUT THE LONGHORNS

Austin American-Statesman: Ex-Sooner Dionnah Jackson-Durrett ready for her new role as the instructor of Texas’ point guards

Austin American-Statesman: The Dotted Line: Ranking, projecting Texas’ six offensive commits in the 2021 recruiting cycle

Dallas Morning News: The NCAA allowing on-campus workout is the first of the many necessary steps for college sports to return in the fall

247Sports: Eyes of Texas: Steps toward football season

247Sports: Where the 10 best uncommitted 2021 prospects are leaning

ICYMI IN BURNT ORANGE NATION

NCAA officials nix ban on on-campus training for football, men’s and women’s basketball

WHAT WE’RE READING

SBNation: Cleveland spent last season hiding Nicolas Cage’s face in lineup graphics

The Ringer: Can Stefon Diggs prove he’s part of the NFL’s elite tier of receivers?

ESPN: Let’s go worst to first on all 32 NFL offseason: The Bucs are No. 1, and Houston is 32

NEWS ACROSS THE LONGHORN REPUBLIC AND BEYOND

• College baseball may have some changes on the horizon, per D1Baseball. From D1Baseball: “A College World Series in mid-July. An NCAA tournament beginning in early July. A college baseball season beginning the third weekend of March. Those are all things that will happen beginning with the 2022 season if a set of recommendations assembled by a five-coach panel of Power Five coaches gets approval from other Division I coaches and passes at the highest levels of the NCAA in the coming months. The panel who put together the proposed ‘New Baseball Model’ includes Michigan head coach Erik Bakich as the headliner and a host of other Power Five head coaches. There also have been Zoom discussions with plenty of other coaches, including Big Ten coaches, Virginia’s Brian O’Connor, Ole Miss’ Mike Bianco, Cal Poly’s Larry Lee, East Carolina’s Cliff Godwin, Oklahoma State’s Josh Holliday, UC Irvine’s Ben Orloff and Sacramento State’s Reggie Christiansen.”

• Power Five conferences are shelling out the big lobbying bucks this year, the Associated Press reports. From the AP: “The Power Five conferences spent $350,000 on lobbying in the first three months of 2020, more than they had previously spent in any full year, as part of a coordinated effort to influence Congress on legislation affecting the ability of college athletes to earn endorsement money. The [SEC] was the biggest spender, hiring three lobbying firms and paying them a total of $140,000, according to lobbying disclosure forms reviewed by [the AP.] Before this year, the SEC did not employ Washington lobbyists, instead leaving the work of influencing Congress to individual universities and the NCAA.”

• Right-handed pitcher Palmer Wenzel is leaving the UTSA Roadrunners to join the Longhorns as a graduate transfer in 2021, the Austin American-Statesman reports. From the Statesman: “Wenzel recorded a 0.87 ERA and three saves this past season. He worked 10 1/3 innings over six appearances but did not pitch in UTSA’s 6-2 loss at Texas on Feb. 18. Wenzel started his collegiate career at McLennan Community College and transferred to UTSA before the 2018 season. After his 2019 season was cut short after three games by an injury, Wenzel was classified as a redshirt senior this year. The NCAA, however, recently ruled that due to the coronavirus pandemic, its spring athletes won’t lose a year of eligibility.”

• Longhorn assistant softball coach Chelsea Spencer is leaving the Forty Acres to lead the California Bears in her home state, the Austin American-Statesman reports. From the Statesman: “The Pac-12 school announced on Wednesday that Spencer will replace Diane Ninemire, who stepped down in March after a 32-season run. A California native, Spencer was the Golden Bears’ starting shortstop when they won the NCAA championship in 2002. This will be the second head-coaching job for Spencer, who turned 37 last week. Spencer also ran the program at Chabot Community College from 2007-10. At Cal, she is set to inherit a team that last reached the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and went 13-11 this past season. Sophomore Chloe Romero spent her freshman year at Texas, but the right-hander led the Golden Bears in wins (seven) and strikeouts (49) in 2020.”