COLLEGES
New Jersey Institute of Technology is switching conferences, joining America East and leaving the Atlantic Sun.
America East announced its board of presidents has unanimously voted to give NJIT full membership, effective July 1.
NJIT will become America East’s 10th member and move into a league that is a more natural geographic fit, with schools ranging from Maine to Maryland-Baltimore County. The Newark-based school has been competing in NCAA Division I since 2006. It sponsors 16 varsity sports.
The Highlanders have been in the Atlantic Sun since 2015. The northernmost member other than NJIT is Liberty in Virginia.
• The University of Houston is suspending all voluntary workouts for its athletes after six tested positive for COVID-19 with symptoms.
The school said the athletes, who were not identified, have been placed in isolation, and medical staff is conducting contact-tracing procedures.
SOCCER
ITALY: Soccer finally resumed in Italy in a surreal atmosphere as Juventus played to a scoreless draw against 10-man AC Milan but reached the Italian Cup final on the away goals rule.
The first leg finished 1-1 in Milan before the coronavirus forced the season to be suspended on March 9.
Napoli hosts Inter Milan in the other semifinal second leg on Saturday.
The final will be on Wednesday in Rome.
Juventus dominated, but Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty and quality was clearly lacking in both teams following the lengthy hiatus.
HORSE RACING
CALIFORNIA: Jockeys competing in California won’t be allowed to strike a horse more than six times during a race, and then only in an underhanded position, according to a new rule approved by the California Horse Racing Board.
The rule would allow no more than two strikes in succession using whips that must meet new board standards to soften the blows.
The board voted 4-2 on Thursday in a meeting that lasted nearly seven hours to approve the rule that was first proposed in March 2019. Commissioners Alex Solis, a retired Hall of Fame jockey, and Dennis Alfieri represented the no votes.
Representatives from the Jockeys’ Guild, along with riders Mike Smith and Aaron Gryder, had urged the board to wait at least a month before voting to allow more time for a proposed national rule on whip standards to be implemented.
However, board Chairman Gregory Ferraro disagreed, saying California should set the tone in reforming how racehorses are treated rather than wait for a national standard.
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