The Latest: South Carolina ends academic year with deficit

The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:

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The South Carolina athletic department said it will end its academic year with a $27 million deficit due to fewer people at football games last season and the increased costs of testing and quarantining athletes and staffers due to COVID-19.

The department announced Friday that the university will assume paying for the lost revenue cost until athletics can return to self-supporting status in 2022-23. South Carolina had only about 20,000 people at football games last fall because of the coronavirus.

Athletics will begin paying back the university in 2024-25. The department projected another shortfall for 2021-22 as it slowly returns to pre-pandemic status.

The athletic department was helped by a supplement of $23 million from the Southeastern Conference.

South Carolina has plans for full capacity of 77,559 at Williams-Brice Stadium for football games this fall.

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