BOSTON (AP) — Fanatics founder Michael Rubin says his company is being unfairly blamed for new Major League Baseball uniforms that have see-through pants and other fit and design problems.

“This is a little bit of a difficult position,” he said on Friday at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. “We’re purely doing exactly as we’ve been told, and we’ve been told we’re doing everything exactly right. And we’re getting the (expletive) kicked out of us. So that’s not fun.”

Since reporting to spring training this month, some players have complained about the fit of new uniforms. The white pants worn by some teams are also see-through enough to clearly show tucked-in jersey tops.

“I know everyone hates them,” Phillies shortstop Trea Turner said. “We all liked what we had. We understand business, but I think everyone wanted to keep it the same way, for the most part, with some tweaks here or there.”

Rubin said uniforms were made to the specifications set by MLB and Nike. Fanatics has been making the baseball uniform since 2017, he said; Fanatics bought the company that has been making the uniforms since 2005, so there has been no real change in the manufacturer in almost two decades.

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

Rubin said Nike made changes “for all the right reasons” after getting feedback from players who wanted material more breathable and stretchable.

“Nike designs everything. Hands us a spec and says, ‘Make this,’” he said. “We have made everything exactly to the spec. And Nike and baseball would say, ‘Yes, you’ve done everything we’ve asked you do to.’”

Rubin said part of the problem is players needing to get used to the changes, saying a similar issue dissipated after NFL and NBA uniforms changed. But in the future he said he would try to involve more people in the decisions.

“They got certain players on board, not all players on board. When you change something so old and so nostalgic you need everybody to be on board with it,” Rubin said. “I believe Nike will be proved right.”

MLB did not respond to a request for comment.

Players’ association head Tony Clark said Thursday his members had voiced their objections.

‘The commentary that’s being offered suggests that the powers that be are paying attention to the concerns that are there and are engaging how best to address them moving forward,” Clark said.

Davidson canceled the remainder of its women’s basketball season on Friday because of a ‘significant number of injuries” that reduced its roster to just a few available players.

The Wildcats (18-8) had one game left in the regular season, against Saint Louis on Saturday, which they forfeited. The Atlantic 10 school in Davidson, North Carolina, won’t play in any postseason tournaments.

“We are incredibly saddened that we cannot finish out the season strong but feel this is the best decision for our scholar-athletes,” athletic director Chris Clunie said in a statement.

Davidson said it made the decision because of the “physical, mental and emotional toll” of what has been an “unfortunate and injury-riddled season.”

The forfeited games don’t count toward the Wildcats’ record. They finished with a .692 winning percentage, their best since 2006-07.

“This decision is not one that we are taking lightly, as no one wanted it to end this way,” coach Gayle Fulks said. “Our team of young women is the strongest, most caring, and most competitive team I have ever been a part of. They have been an absolute joy to coach, every single day.”

Davidson forfeited games against Dayton and Fordham before hosting George Washington on Wednesday for senior night. The Wildcats lost 45-40 and had only seven players available.

They aren’t the only team to have injury issues this year. TCU and Arizona ran into similar situations in January and held open tryouts to fill out their rosters.

The Horned Frogs canceled games against Kansas State and Iowa State before adding players.

Davidson won 12 of its first 13 games, including a victory at Duke.

“Despite the challenging nature of the way this season has unfolded, our team never wavered and competed to the very end,” Fulks said. “I am confident there is no team in the country that would have handled the hardship we faced with as much grace, strength and adaptability as our young women did. I am so proud of them.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Brock Bowers is well positioned to make a living outrunning attention on the football field. However he was reminded Thursday morning at the NFL’s annual scouting combine that avoiding it during his professional evaluation journey is a wholly different challenge, and one that’s doubtless going to persist as the pre-draft hype builds over the next two months.

Facing a scrum of reporters packed a half-dozen rows deep at his podium, the type of audience generally reserved for top quarterback prospects, the former University of Georgia tight end fielded nearly 20 minutes’ worth of questions – no easy task for a guy who admittedly gets anxious while speaking in public.

“It’s not my favorite thing, but it’s part of it,” Bowers said. “I feel like I’ve gotten better at it since I started my freshman year at Georgia.”

He couldn’t have done much better with his primary responsibility for the Bulldogs.

The only player ever to win the John Mackey Award (given to the best tight end in college football) twice, the three-time All-SEC selection was probably the most dangerous offensive weapon for a UGA squad that won the national championship in 2021 and 2022. Bowers’ 2023 campaign was temporarily derailed by tightrope surgery for a high-ankle sprain suffered last October, but he still finished the season with 56 catches for 714 yards and six touchdowns.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

“We had to put a lot of emphasis on him, but not too much as a tight end – our defense looked at him more as a wide receiver,” former Kentucky cornerback Dru Phillips told USA TODAY Sports, the Wildcats burned for 100-yard games in two of three matchups against Bowers, who totaled three TDs against UK.

“You don’t expect a guy with that size to run the way he does.”

And that’s another part of the intrigue surrounding Bowers, the 6-4, 235-pounder regularly utilized in the ground game – even sprinting for a 75-yard touchdown against Kent State in 2022. Such production and versatility help explain why he’s routinely graded as one of the 2024 draft’s top prospects – and maybe the best who doesn’t play quarterback or wide receiver.

“I mean, when you watch him, he’s super easy to grade. He is one of the best ten players in the draft,” said NFL Network chief draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. “Plays with just tenacity, especially with the ball in his hands. That’s where he is at his best.

“He can climb the ladder and go and get the ball, and really the run-after-catch stuff is what makes him special.”

Or, as former Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter succinctly said: “Brock’s one of a kind.”

Yet despite a unique combination of size, speed and mismatch issues he invites – Bowers opted not to showcase his skills Friday during the combine’s on-field workouts – the shy pass catcher is already stirring quite a bit of debate ahead of the draft. On one hand, he’s an unquestioned game breaker at a time when having a quality tight end seems to translate well to NFL team success – the Kansas City Chiefs (Travis Kelce), San Francisco 49ers (George Kittle), Baltimore Ravens (Mark Andrews) and Detroit Lions (Sam LaPorta) the final four squads in last season’s playoffs.

“Tight end is a prime position to be in right now. I’m just glad it’s now,” said Bowers, an avowed fan of Rob Gronkowski, but also a player sufficiently self-aware to know he doesn’t block like Gronk or Kittle despite other signature attributes.

“I feel like I’m yards after the catch and just being able to make people miss. Just turn good plays into great plays,” said Bowers.

“I like catching the ball in the flat and making things happen, that’s fun to me.”

On the other hand, Bowers is jockeying for draft position with Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., Washington’s Rome Odunze and LSU’s Malik Nabers – all elite wide receivers, a position the professional salary scale suggests is far more valued by NFL talent evaluators.

“You just have to take positional value into the equation, just because there’s been past examples of where we’ve seen tight ends not work out,” ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reed told USA TODAY Sports. “But I think the thing that makes Brock a little different is just the receiving ability – he’s a true wide receiver. He’s not like a George Kittle or T.J. Hockenson or anything like that.

“He’s taking jet sweeps, he’s taking reverses, and he’s taking them 60, 70 yards for touchdowns. That’s why I say he’s a tight end in a wide receiver’s body for the most part.”

To Reed’s point, it’s been three years since the Atlanta Falcons selected Kyle Pitts fourth overall – the highest a tight end has ever been drafted. They bypassed wideouts Ja’Marr Chase and Jaylen Waddle, among others. Two years earlier, tight ends Hockenson and Noah Fant were picked ahead of receivers Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown and DK Metcalf. Oops.

So while several teams slotted in the top 10 this year need a pass catcher, recent history could work against Bowers given the likely wideout alternatives.

“(I) think when you look around the league, and you see most of these top tight ends that have come on Day 2 (of the draft) or even beyond that, teams are now saying, ‘OK, we can find that other tight end. Maybe we don’t get the top guy, but we can get a really, really good player who might end up being the top guy without having to pay that premium,” said Jeremiah.

“Kyle Pitts is as talented as any tight end that I have ever evaluated. You’re still dependent on the position of the quarterback. … That, coupled with the money difference – the savings you get by taking a premiere position in the top ten – it’s tough to place (Bowers) to know how high he is going to go.”

Bowers said Thursday his ankle is “100%” healed, and that he’d already met with approximately 15 clubs – effectively confirming widespread interest in him. He also served up a reminder that his discomfort with the limelight can be spun as a positive.

‘I feel like I’m kind of one of those no-issue dudes,’ he said. ‘I’m not going to cause any off-field issues. I’m just a competitor. I love to compete, and I just want to do it at the highest level.’

He’ll be doing that soon enough, almost surely with far fewer public-speaking obligations.

Possible 2024 NFL draft team fits for Georgia TE Brock Bowers

Los Angeles Chargers (5th overall pick): Once the free agency dust settles, QB Justin Herbert is likely to need more weapons given TE Gerald Everett is unsigned and WRs Keenan Allen and/or Mike Williams could be cap casualties. Bowers said Thursday he’d already talked to new Bolts coach Jim Harbaugh, who tried to recruit him to Michigan before Bowers scalded the Wolverines in the College Football Playoff two years ago.

Tennessee Titans (7th): A rebooting franchise could use another top-tier target for second-year QB Will Levis. Bowers reiterated Thursday how much he enjoys playing in the South while specifically citing Nashville as somewhere he’d like to live.

New York Jets (10th): QB Aaron Rodgers will doubtless be lobbying for pass-catching help, especially now that it seems former Green Bay Packers teammate Davante Adams won’t be leaving Las Vegas. Bowers would be one heckuva complement to third-year WR Garrett Wilson and said playing with Rodgers ‘would be pretty sweet.’

Las Vegas Raiders (13th): They took Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer in Round 2 last year. But at a time when teams tend to favor two-tight alignments, Bowers – who’s more comfortable in the slot – would beautifully supplement Mayer, who’s more likely to be deployed in-line where he can leverage his talents as a blocker.

Cincinnati Bengals (18th): While a bit hard to fathom Bowers dropping here, he has already met with the Bengals – and they currently don’t have a tight end under contract for 2024, nor veteran WR Tyler Boyd. And the notion of teaming Bowers with QB Joe Burrow, Chase and WR Tee Higgins could be enough to induce them to move up the board just enough to get him.

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter @ByNateDavis.

Nearly two years ago, Congress commissioned a group of experts to dig into the Olympic and Paralympic movement in the United States − including what, if anything, is broken and how it can be fixed.

On Friday, the group returned with its findings and a sweeping list of recommendations for Congress, most notably involving the U.S. Center for SafeSport and youth sports.

In a 277-page report, the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics recommended that Congress effectively overhaul the funding model behind SafeSport, which was created in 2017 and is tasked with investigating allegations of abuse in Olympic and Paralympic sports. The commission is urging lawmakers to both increase the funding for SafeSport and fund the center directly, making it financially independent from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, similar to the current funding model for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

‘If athletes’ safety is as much of a public value as fair competition, SafeSport needs to have public support,’ the commission wrote in its report.

As part of its findings, the commission noted that SafeSport not only receives $20 million annually from the USOPC, as required by law, but that it also receives funding from national governing bodies that is tied directly to the reports of abuse filed within their individual sports − including $3,000 for ‘high cost’ cases. The commission stressed that such a funding model could disincentivize sports bodies to report allegations of abuse.

‘If governing bodies have problems with abuse, the answer is not to impose a tax on reporting abuse,’ the commission said.

Friday’s report also highlighted some of the flaws and issues in SafeSport’s current processes, which have been a source of simmering frustration among Olympic sports leaders in recent years. It cited, among other things, SafeSport’s ability to accept jurisdiction of a case and then administratively close it − leaving leaders in that individual sport in the dark about the specific nature and scope of the allegations, and what could or should be done to address them.

SafeSport chief executive officer Ju’Riese Colón said in a statement that the center welcomed the commission’s recognition of ‘progress we’ve made in standing up a model that has never existed before’ and agrees with its recommendations on funding.

‘Regardless of whether the additional funding continues to come through the USOPC as required by federal law, or directly from Congressional appropriations, it needs to increase substantially to allow the Center to better fulfill our mission of keeping America’s athletes safe,’ Colón said.

The changes to SafeSport were among 12 recommendations put forth by the commission, which was led by University of Baltimore professor Dionne Koller and Han Xiao, the former chairman of the USOPC’s Athletes’ Advisory Council.

The commission also recommended sweeping changes to the youth sports infrastructure in the U.S., starting with the creation of a dedicated office to oversee youth sports under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Changes to USOPC governance and improved, more equitable access for para athletes were among the commission’s other key findings.

‘We need a better long-term vision for how we organize Olympic- and Paralympic-movement sports in America: one that ensures participants’ safety, promotes equitable access, and holds governing systems accountable through transparency and a commitment to due process,’ the commission concluded.

Sarah Hirshland, the CEO of the USOPC, said in part of a statement that the organization has ‘undergone a profound transformation’ since Congress established the commission.

‘We look forward to reviewing the Commission’s findings and recommendations and being a constructive participant in making our organization and the Olympic and Paralympic movements stronger,’ she said.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.

The record, and the numbers behind it, really don’t matter.

How many points Caitlin Clark has when she finishes this season, how many more that is than Pete Maravich had — they’ll all eventually become footnotes. Future answers to trivia questions.

What does matter is how Clark’s assault on the record books captivated the country, reflecting a seismic shift in how women’s sports, and the athletes who play them, are viewed.

Think about it. Before the last few months, did you know who college basketball’s all-time scoring leader was? Without Googling it? Or that Kelsey Plum held the women’s record? But only because the dim-witted NCAA counts AIAW wins for coaches but not points for players?

The very good odds are, unless you’re a diehard fan or a family member, no, you did not. Or if you did, you’d have been hard-pressed to come up with numbers for Maravich or Plum or Lynette Woodard.

While there are a few records in sports that live in our active consciousness — most Super Bowls won, perhaps, or home runs hit — most are eventually tucked in the recesses of our minds, tidbits of history we need help to recall.

But no one will ever forget this remarkable season, in which Clark dwarfed everyone else, in pretty much every sport.

Interest in women’s sports is skyrocketing, but the intensity of the spotlight on Clark and her quest was something altogether different. Clark played to sold-out gyms everywhere she and Iowa went. People were so eager to be witness to history they lined up hours before tipoff, often braving cold, snow and sometimes both. Little girls and boys were sporting her jersey and imitating her signature logo 3.

There was a scoring tracker — sponsored, no less — during broadcasts as she closed in on each of the records. Ratings were bonkers, regardless of who was broadcasting the game.

It wasn’t just women or women’s basketball fans who were enthralled, either. Men whose eyes used to glaze over at the sight of a women’s game were now crowding around TVs at sports bars to watch Clark and checking her stats. Sports talk show hosts who’d never bothered with women’s sports before — or, if they did, it was to diminish or demean them — were now devoting significant airtime to Clark and the evolvement of the women’s game.

And aside from a few Neanderthals who, regardless of what they claim, couldn’t beat her in a game of H-O-R-S-E even if she spotted them the first four shots, no one was arguing Clark’s worth or patronizing her game. They were simply marveling at her and appreciating what she was doing. What debates there were about Clark passing Maravich centered around the advent of the 3-point shot and the rule that once prohibited freshmen from playing, not suggestions the women’s game is subpar.

We were transfixed by Clark as an athlete, no modifier needed or asterisk added. That is what matters, and what will be remembered more than the record itself or how many points Clark scored. She has authored a historical shift rather than a historical moment, the tone of the cultural conversation changed for good.

This isn’t to diminish Clark’s accomplishment. Or those of Maravich, Woodard and Plum. But records in sports are made to be broken, athletes come and go, and memories fade. What sticks with us is what these milestones represent, and the emotions that surrounded them when they happened.

We might not remember the exact number of home runs Mark McGwire hit (70) in 1998, but we remember the celebratory feel of the race between him and Sammy Sosa that summer. We might not recall off the tops of our heads how many Grand Slam titles Serena Williams has (23) or whether that’s a record (it’s not), but we know to our core she’s the greatest tennis player there’s ever been.

When Clark breaks Maravich’s record Sunday — she needs only 18 points, and is capable of getting that in a quarter — it will be a historic event. But long after she’s finished playing and the recollection of both the record and her numbers have grown fuzzy, people will remember the winter she dominated both the basketball court and the public consciousness.

That is Clark’s real legacy.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

INDIANAPOLIS – Brock Bowers is well positioned to make a living outrunning attention on the football field. However he was reminded Thursday morning at the NFL’s annual scouting combine that avoiding it during his professional evaluation journey is a wholly different challenge, and one that’s doubtless going to persist as the pre-draft hype builds over the next two months.

Facing a scrum of reporters packed a half-dozen rows deep at his podium, the type of audience generally reserved for top quarterback prospects, the former University of Georgia tight end fielded nearly 20 minutes’ worth of questions – no easy task for a guy who admittedly gets anxious while speaking in public.

“It’s not my favorite thing, but it’s part of it,” Bowers said. “I feel like I’ve gotten better at it since I started my freshman year at Georgia.”

He couldn’t have done much better with his primary responsibility for the Bulldogs.

The only player ever to win the John Mackey Award (given to the best tight end in college football) twice, the three-time All-SEC selection was probably the most dangerous offensive weapon for a UGA squad that won the national championship in 2021 and 2022. Bowers’ 2023 campaign was temporarily derailed by tightrope surgery for a high-ankle sprain suffered last October, but he still finished the season with 56 catches for 714 yards and six touchdowns.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

“We had to put a lot of emphasis on him, but not too much as a tight end – our defense looked at him more as a wide receiver,” former Kentucky cornerback Dru Phillips told USA TODAY Sports, the Wildcats burned for 100-yard games in two of three matchups against Bowers, who totaled three TDs against UK.

“You don’t expect a guy with that size to run the way he does.”

And that’s another part of the intrigue surrounding Bowers, the 6-4, 235-pounder regularly utilized in the ground game – even sprinting for a 75-yard touchdown against Kent State in 2022. Such production and versatility help explain why he’s routinely graded as one of the 2024 draft’s top prospects – and maybe the best who doesn’t play quarterback or wide receiver.

“I mean, when you watch him, he’s super easy to grade. He is one of the best ten players in the draft,” said NFL Network chief draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. “Plays with just tenacity, especially with the ball in his hands. That’s where he is at his best.

“He can climb the ladder and go and get the ball, and really the run-after-catch stuff is what makes him special.”

Or, as former Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter succinctly said: “Brock’s one of a kind.”

Yet despite a unique combination of size, speed and mismatch issues he invites – Bowers opted not to showcase his skills Friday during the combine’s on-field workouts – the shy pass catcher is already stirring quite a bit of debate ahead of the draft. On one hand, he’s an unquestioned game breaker at a time when having a quality tight end seems to translate well to NFL team success – the Kansas City Chiefs (Travis Kelce), San Francisco 49ers (George Kittle), Baltimore Ravens (Mark Andrews) and Detroit Lions (Sam LaPorta) the final four squads in last season’s playoffs.

“Tight end is a prime position to be in right now. I’m just glad it’s now,” said Bowers, an avowed fan of Rob Gronkowski, but also a player sufficiently self-aware to know he doesn’t block like Gronk or Kittle despite other signature attributes.

“I feel like I’m yards after the catch and just being able to make people miss. Just turn good plays into great plays,” said Bowers.

“I like catching the ball in the flat and making things happen, that’s fun to me.”

On the other hand, Bowers is jockeying for draft position with Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., Washington’s Rome Odunze and LSU’s Malik Nabers – all elite wide receivers, a position the professional salary scale suggests is far more valued by NFL talent evaluators.

“You just have to take positional value into the equation, just because there’s been past examples of where we’ve seen tight ends not work out,” ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reed told USA TODAY Sports. “But I think the thing that makes Brock a little different is just the receiving ability – he’s a true wide receiver. He’s not like a George Kittle or T.J. Hockenson or anything like that.

“He’s taking jet sweeps, he’s taking reverses, and he’s taking them 60, 70 yards for touchdowns. That’s why I say he’s a tight end in a wide receiver’s body for the most part.”

To Reed’s point, it’s been three years since the Atlanta Falcons selected Kyle Pitts fourth overall – the highest a tight end has ever been drafted. They bypassed wideouts Ja’Marr Chase and Jaylen Waddle, among others. Two years earlier, tight ends Hockenson and Noah Fant were picked ahead of receivers Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown and DK Metcalf. Oops.

So while several teams slotted in the top 10 this year need a pass catcher, recent history could work against Bowers given the likely wideout alternatives.

“(I) think when you look around the league, and you see most of these top tight ends that have come on Day 2 (of the draft) or even beyond that, teams are now saying, ‘OK, we can find that other tight end. Maybe we don’t get the top guy, but we can get a really, really good player who might end up being the top guy without having to pay that premium,” said Jeremiah.

“Kyle Pitts is as talented as any tight end that I have ever evaluated. You’re still dependent on the position of the quarterback. … That, coupled with the money difference – the savings you get by taking a premiere position in the top ten – it’s tough to place (Bowers) to know how high he is going to go.”

Bowers said Thursday his ankle is “100%” healed, and that he’d already met with approximately 15 clubs – effectively confirming widespread interest in him. He also served up a reminder that his discomfort with the limelight can be spun as a positive.

‘I feel like I’m kind of one of those no-issue dudes,’ he said. ‘I’m not going to cause any off-field issues. I’m just a competitor. I love to compete, and I just want to do it at the highest level.’

He’ll be doing that soon enough, almost surely with far fewer public-speaking obligations.

Possible 2024 NFL draft team fits for Georgia TE Brock Bowers

Los Angeles Chargers (5th overall pick): Once the free agency dust settles, QB Justin Herbert is likely to need more weapons given TE Gerald Everett is unsigned and WRs Keenan Allen and/or Mike Williams could be cap casualties. Bowers said Thursday he’d already talked to new Bolts coach Jim Harbaugh, who tried to recruit him to Michigan before Bowers scalded the Wolverines in the College Football Playoff two years ago.

Tennessee Titans (7th): A rebooting franchise could use another top-tier target for second-year QB Will Levis. Bowers reiterated Thursday how much he enjoys playing in the South while specifically citing Nashville as somewhere he’d like to live.

New York Jets (10th): QB Aaron Rodgers will doubtless be lobbying for pass-catching help, especially now that it seems former Green Bay Packers teammate Davante Adams won’t be leaving Las Vegas. Bowers would be one heckuva complement to third-year WR Garrett Wilson and said playing with Rodgers ‘would be pretty sweet.’

Las Vegas Raiders (13th): They took Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer in Round 2 last year. But at a time when teams tend to favor two-tight alignments, Bowers – who’s more comfortable in the slot – would beautifully supplement Mayer, who’s more likely to be deployed in-line where he can leverage his talents as a blocker.

Cincinnati Bengals (18th): While a bit hard to fathom Bowers dropping here, he has already met with the Bengals – and they currently don’t have a tight end under contract for 2024, nor veteran WR Tyler Boyd. And the notion of teaming Bowers with QB Joe Burrow, Chase and WR Tee Higgins could be enough to induce them to move up the board just enough to get him.

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter @ByNateDavis.

Davidson canceled the remainder of its women’s basketball season on Friday because of a ‘significant number of injuries” that reduced its roster to just a few available players.

The Wildcats (18-8) had one game left in the regular season, against Saint Louis on Saturday, which they forfeited. The Atlantic 10 school in Davidson, North Carolina, won’t play in any postseason tournaments.

“We are incredibly saddened that we cannot finish out the season strong but feel this is the best decision for our scholar-athletes,” athletic director Chris Clunie said in a statement.

Davidson said it made the decision because of the “physical, mental and emotional toll” of what has been an “unfortunate and injury-riddled season.”

The forfeited games don’t count toward the Wildcats’ record. They finished with a .692 winning percentage, their best since 2006-07.

“This decision is not one that we are taking lightly, as no one wanted it to end this way,” coach Gayle Fulks said. “Our team of young women is the strongest, most caring, and most competitive team I have ever been a part of. They have been an absolute joy to coach, every single day.”

Davidson forfeited games against Dayton and Fordham before hosting George Washington on Wednesday for senior night. The Wildcats lost 45-40 and had only seven players available.

They aren’t the only team to have injury issues this year. TCU and Arizona ran into similar situations in January and held open tryouts to fill out their rosters.

The Horned Frogs canceled games against Kansas State and Iowa State before adding players.

Davidson won 12 of its first 13 games, including a victory at Duke.

“Despite the challenging nature of the way this season has unfolded, our team never wavered and competed to the very end,” Fulks said. “I am confident there is no team in the country that would have handled the hardship we faced with as much grace, strength and adaptability as our young women did. I am so proud of them.”

Davidson canceled the remainder of its women’s basketball season on Friday because of a ‘significant number of injuries” that reduced its roster to just a few available players.

The Wildcats (18-8) had one game left in the regular season, against Saint Louis on Saturday, which they forfeited. The Atlantic 10 school in Davidson, North Carolina, won’t play in any postseason tournaments.

“We are incredibly saddened that we cannot finish out the season strong but feel this is the best decision for our scholar-athletes,” athletic director Chris Clunie said in a statement.

Davidson said it made the decision because of the “physical, mental and emotional toll” of what has been an “unfortunate and injury-riddled season.”

The forfeited games don’t count toward the Wildcats’ record. They finished with a .692 winning percentage, their best since 2006-07.

“This decision is not one that we are taking lightly, as no one wanted it to end this way,” coach Gayle Fulks said. “Our team of young women is the strongest, most caring, and most competitive team I have ever been a part of. They have been an absolute joy to coach, every single day.”

Davidson forfeited games against Dayton and Fordham before hosting George Washington on Wednesday for senior night. The Wildcats lost 45-40 and had only seven players available.

They aren’t the only team to have injury issues this year. TCU and Arizona ran into similar situations in January and held open tryouts to fill out their rosters.

The Horned Frogs canceled games against Kansas State and Iowa State before adding players.

Davidson won 12 of its first 13 games, including a victory at Duke.

“Despite the challenging nature of the way this season has unfolded, our team never wavered and competed to the very end,” Fulks said. “I am confident there is no team in the country that would have handled the hardship we faced with as much grace, strength and adaptability as our young women did. I am so proud of them.”

The record, and the numbers behind it, really don’t matter.

How many points Caitlin Clark has when she finishes this season, how many more that is than Pete Maravich had — they’ll all eventually become footnotes. Future answers to trivia questions.

What does matter is how Clark’s assault on the record books captivated the country, reflecting a seismic shift in how women’s sports, and the athletes who play them, are viewed.

Think about it. Before the last few months, did you know who college basketball’s all-time scoring leader was? Without Googling it? Or that Kelsey Plum held the women’s record? But only because the dim-witted NCAA counts AIAW wins for coaches but not points for players?

The very good odds are, unless you’re a diehard fan or a family member, no, you did not. Or if you did, you’d have been hard-pressed to come up with numbers for Maravich or Plum or Lynette Woodard.

While there are a few records in sports that live in our active consciousness — most Super Bowls won, perhaps, or home runs hit — most are eventually tucked in the recesses of our minds, tidbits of history we need help to recall.

But no one will ever forget this remarkable season, in which Clark dwarfed everyone else, in pretty much every sport.

Interest in women’s sports is skyrocketing, but the intensity of the spotlight on Clark and her quest was something altogether different. Clark played to sold-out gyms everywhere she and Iowa went. People were so eager to be witness to history they lined up hours before tipoff, often braving cold, snow and sometimes both. Little girls and boys were sporting her jersey and imitating her signature logo 3.

There was a scoring tracker — sponsored, no less — during broadcasts as she closed in on each of the records. Ratings were bonkers, regardless of who was broadcasting the game.

It wasn’t just women or women’s basketball fans who were enthralled, either. Men whose eyes used to glaze over at the sight of a women’s game were now crowding around TVs at sports bars to watch Clark and checking her stats. Sports talk show hosts who’d never bothered with women’s sports before — or, if they did, it was to diminish or demean them — were now devoting significant airtime to Clark and the evolvement of the women’s game.

And aside from a few Neanderthals who, regardless of what they claim, couldn’t beat her in a game of H-O-R-S-E even if she spotted them the first four shots, no one was arguing Clark’s worth or patronizing her game. They were simply marveling at her and appreciating what she was doing. What debates there were about Clark passing Maravich centered around the advent of the 3-point shot and the rule that once prohibited freshmen from playing, not suggestions the women’s game is subpar.

We were transfixed by Clark as an athlete, no modifier needed or asterisk added. That is what matters, and what will be remembered more than the record itself or how many points Clark scored. She has authored a historical shift rather than a historical moment, the tone of the cultural conversation changed for good.

This isn’t to diminish Clark’s accomplishment. Or those of Maravich, Woodard and Plum. But records in sports are made to be broken, athletes come and go, and memories fade. What sticks with us is what these milestones represent, and the emotions that surrounded them when they happened.

We might not remember the exact number of home runs Mark McGwire hit (70) in 1998, but we remember the celebratory feel of the race between him and Sammy Sosa that summer. We might not recall off the tops of our heads how many Grand Slam titles Serena Williams has (23) or whether that’s a record (it’s not), but we know to our core she’s the greatest tennis player there’s ever been.

When Clark breaks Maravich’s record Sunday — she needs only 18 points, and is capable of getting that in a quarter — it will be a historic event. But long after she’s finished playing and the recollection of both the record and her numbers have grown fuzzy, people will remember the winter she dominated both the basketball court and the public consciousness.

That is Clark’s real legacy.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

The record, and the numbers behind it, really don’t matter.

How many points Caitlin Clark has when she finishes this season, how many more that is than Pete Maravich had — they’ll all eventually become footnotes. Future answers to trivia questions.

What does matter is how Clark’s assault on the record books captivated the country, reflecting a seismic shift in how women’s sports, and the athletes who play them, are viewed.

Think about it. Before the last few months, did you know who college basketball’s all-time scoring leader was? Without Googling it? Or that Kelsey Plum held the women’s record? But only because the dim-witted NCAA counts AIAW wins for coaches but not points for players?

The very good odds are, unless you’re a diehard fan or a family member, no, you did not. Or if you did, you’d have been hard-pressed to come up with numbers for Maravich or Plum or Lynette Woodard.

While there are a few records in sports that live in our active consciousness — most Super Bowls won, perhaps, or home runs hit — most are eventually tucked in the recesses of our minds, tidbits of history we need help to recall.

But no one will ever forget this remarkable season, in which Clark dwarfed everyone else, in pretty much every sport.

Interest in women’s sports is skyrocketing, but the intensity of the spotlight on Clark and her quest was something altogether different. Clark played to sold-out gyms everywhere she and Iowa went. People were so eager to be witness to history they lined up hours before tipoff, often braving cold, snow and sometimes both. Little girls and boys were sporting her jersey and imitating her signature logo 3.

There was a scoring tracker — sponsored, no less — during broadcasts as she closed in on each of the records. Ratings were bonkers, regardless of who was broadcasting the game.

It wasn’t just women or women’s basketball fans who were enthralled, either. Men whose eyes used to glaze over at the sight of a women’s game were now crowding around TVs at sports bars to watch Clark and checking her stats. Sports talk show hosts who’d never bothered with women’s sports before — or, if they did, it was to diminish or demean them — were now devoting significant airtime to Clark and the evolvement of the women’s game.

And aside from a few Neanderthals who, regardless of what they claim, couldn’t beat her in a game of H-O-R-S-E even if she spotted them the first four shots, no one was arguing Clark’s worth or patronizing her game. They were simply marveling at her and appreciating what she was doing. What debates there were about Clark passing Maravich centered around the advent of the 3-point shot and the rule that once prohibited freshmen from playing, not suggestions the women’s game is subpar.

We were transfixed by Clark as an athlete, no modifier needed or asterisk added. That is what matters, and what will be remembered more than the record itself or how many points Clark scored. She has authored a historical shift rather than a historical moment, the tone of the cultural conversation changed for good.

This isn’t to diminish Clark’s accomplishment. Or those of Maravich, Woodard and Plum. But records in sports are made to be broken, athletes come and go, and memories fade. What sticks with us is what these milestones represent, and the emotions that surrounded them when they happened.

We might not remember the exact number of home runs Mark McGwire hit (70) in 1998, but we remember the celebratory feel of the race between him and Sammy Sosa that summer. We might not recall off the tops of our heads how many Grand Slam titles Serena Williams has (23) or whether that’s a record (it’s not), but we know to our core she’s the greatest tennis player there’s ever been.

When Clark breaks Maravich’s record Sunday — she needs only 18 points, and is capable of getting that in a quarter — it will be a historic event. But long after she’s finished playing and the recollection of both the record and her numbers have grown fuzzy, people will remember the winter she dominated both the basketball court and the public consciousness.

That is Clark’s real legacy.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.