Senior seasons were cut short. Athletes missed months of action — and some had to decide whether to return at all. They took precautions to avoid the virus and if they got it, they took more precautions before playing again. There were virtually no sports in spring and almost all of them played at once in summer and fall. Soccer clubs were undeterred. Team travel became more difficult. So did sports betting. Athletes had to get used to having no fans in the stands.
Throughout 2020, COVID-19 scrambled just about everything in the sports world. There are so many stories to tell. That’s why this fall, students in a sports journalism course at Towson University teamed up to produce enterprise stories about sports in the age of COVID-19.
How has COVID-19 changed the sports calendar? Has it worked out for athletes, fans and sports journalists? By Bobby Gay and Ben Murphy.
How did the world’s most popular sport carry on during a pandemic? What changed and what stayed the same? By Charles Whiting & Conor McGinley.
How do teams travel to games during a pandemic? What’s it’s like on the road? By Isaac Donsky and Matt Kells
What’s COVID-19 testing like for athletes? How does the virus affect their bodies? What happens before they can return to action? By Elise Devlin and Matt Hubbard.
What’s it like to have your senior season cut short? Or to have it not start at all? What comes next? By Griffin Bass and Jared Pinder.
What did sports gamblers do when most U.S. sports were paused? How has COVID-19 changed the gambling industry? By Justin White and Jason Hensley.
What’s it like to play without fans? How do athletes stay hyped when the environment around them is stale? By Laura Lydic, Colin Schraudner and Aaron Thomas.