UNDATED (AP) – The NCAA board of governors has adopted a policy that requires annual sexual violence education for all college athletes, coaches and athletics administrators. The policy also requires campus leaders to declare that athletic departments are knowledgeable and compliant with school policies on sexual violence prevention, adjudication and resolution.

WACO, Texas (AP) – New Baylor coach Matt Rhule is focused on building a program and a new culture for the Bears. Baylor is dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault scandal that includes ongoing lawsuits and possible NCAA sanctions. On the field, Baylor is going into the season with new assistant coaches and new schemes on both sides of the ball. The season opener is Sept. 2 against Liberty.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – TCU is coming off a losing season for only the third time since Gary Patterson became its coach. The Horned Frogs immediately rebounded from those first two sub-.500 records with conference titles the following years. There was a share of the Big 12 title in 2014, a year after they went 4-8. The Frogs return all but one starter on offense and their top three tacklers from last year’s 6-7 team that had two double-overtime losses. TCU opens the season at home Sept. 2 against Jackson State.

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) – Kliff Kingsbury knows that Texas Tech will need to be more defensive in his fifth season. His future coaching at his alma mater could depend on that. The Red Raiders have no problem scoring points. But they also give up a lot of points, and went just 5-7 last year. Kingsbury is 24-26 overall at Tech, a stretch when the Red Raiders have scored more than 38 points a game and allowed nearly 40. Texas Tech opens the season Sept. 2 at home against Eastern Washington.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Bill Snyder is back on the sideline and Jesse Ertz is back under center for Kansas State, and that could be a winning combination. The longtime coach has had plenty of success with veteran quarterbacks, and Ertz led the Wildcats to a nine-win campaign last season. Kansas State opens its season Sept. 2 against Central Arkansas.

UNDATED (AP) – The favored Oklahoma Sooners would have to win a rematch game to claim their third straight Big 12 title. After a six-year hiatus, the Big 12 championship game is back this season. The top two teams in the standings will play again in the title game the first weekend in December. The league hopes renewing the title game will bolster its chances of getting a team in the College Football Playoff.

UNDATED (AP) – The first of six College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Oct. 31, following the ninth full weekend of games. The ranking will continue to be revealed each Tuesday night on ESPN for five weeks during the regular season.

UNDATED (AP) – The NCAA board of governors has adopted a policy that requires annual sexual violence education for all college athletes, coaches and athletics administrators. The policy also requires campus leaders to declare that athletic departments are knowledgeable and compliant with school policies on sexual violence prevention, adjudication and resolution.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – The St. Louis Cardinals are looking for their rally cat.

The feisty feline became an internet sensation Wednesday night, sprinting onto the field at Busch Stadium with the bases loaded for the Cardinals with two outs in the sixth inning. The cat emerged from near the visitors’ dugout on the third-base side and raced into the outfield, the fur on its tail standing on end. Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain stood, smiling, with a hand on his hip as the cat sprinted past him.

Kansas City was leading 5-4 at the time and play was delayed for a couple minutes while the grounds crew collected the cat. On the first pitch after play resumed, Yadier Molina hit a grand slam off Peter Moylan to give the Cardinals an 8-5 lead. The cat was instantly dubbed (hash)RallyCat on Twitter, and St. Louis went on to win – its fifth victory in a row.

The Cardinals said that a fan grabbed the cat after its grounds crew employee put the animal down to receive treatment for scratches and bites. The Cardinals said the fan claimed the cat was hers and abruptly left with the animal after answering some questions from security.

The Cardinals said the team hopes to find the cat to make sure it is properly cared for, and they are developing a stray animal protocol to ensure the safety of grounds crew members in the future.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Dexter Fowler hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night.

St. Louis tied a season-high with its sixth straight win.

Kansas City has lost four in a row and six of seven.

St. Louis climbed within one game of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

Fowler broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning with his 15th homer of the season. He ripped the first pitch from Neftali Feliz 404 feet for his third career slam.

Lorenzo Cain had four hits for the Royals, who lost all four games in the four-game, home-and-home set.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Bill Snyder is back on the sideline and Jesse Ertz is back under center, and those two facts alone are enough to make Kansas State a dangerous contender in a wide-open Big 12 this season.

The 77-year-old coach underwent treatment for throat cancer this past offseason but hardly missed a day in the office, and he long ago pronounced himself ready for another season with the Wildcats.

His quarterback underwent surgery on his throwing shoulder to fix an injury that occurred last season, and Ertz will be ready for the season opener Sept. 2 against Central Arkansas.

It will be the seventh time in 26 seasons that Snyder will have a clear-cut returning starter at quarterback to guide his complex offense. The first five times resulted in 11-win seasons and the last time merely nine wins, the same number that Ertz led the upstart Wildcats to last season.

“We were pretty decent at the end of the season last year,” Snyder acknowledged during a recent interview, “so there is great expectations. There is nothing wrong with that. That is great. The key element is you have to do something about it.”
Indeed, Ertz is only the most visible — and arguably most important — of the returning starters.

The Wildcats have three starters back to protect him on the offensive line, and a trio of running backs in Alex Barnes, Justin Silmon and Dalvin Warmack behind him. Byron Pringle and Dominique Heath give Ertz a pair of veteran wide receivers, while uncommon depth across the board could make Kansas State’s methodical, ground-based offense one of the best in the Big 12.

“We are up there for sure,” said Barnes, a sophomore. “We have a lot of guys coming back and I think the passing game is going to be good. This is going to be a fun year.”

The defense must replace linebackers Mike Moore, Elijah Lee and Will Davis along with conference defensive player of the year Jordan Willis up front. But there is talent in the pipeline, highlighted by JUCO transfer Da’Quan Patton, and plenty of experience elsewhere on defense.

Trey Dishon and Will Geary should lead the way up front, while the secondary returns cornerbacks Duke Shelley and D.J. Reed, veteran safety Kendall Adams and a handful of backups.

“I feel like our secondary can match up with anybody in the Big 12,” Adams said, “and I’ve always felt like the Big 12 has the best offenses, so I don’t see why we can’t match up with anybody in th enation. I have a lot of confidence in those guys.”

As the Wildcats prepare for their opener, here are some of the other key story lines:

ERTZ-WHILE STAR
Even with a shoulder injury much of last season, Ertz threw for 1,755 yards and nine touchdowns while running for 1,012 yards and 12 more scores. The Wildcats would gladly take the same production, and a healthy shoulder could help his 57.6 percent completion rate.

DEEP STABLE
Barnes and Silmon are likely to split most of the carries, while Warmack will try to work his way into the running back mix. When you combine Ertz’s running ability and All-Big 12 fullback Winston Dimel, the Wildcats may have the most depth at the position in the nation.

“A lot of people say that we are run-heavy,” Dimel said, “but we like to consider ourselves a balanced team. It helps us in this league. Most defenses do not match us each week.”

DEFENSIVE LEADERSHIP
Expect former walk-on Trent Tanking to earn one of the starting linebacker jobs, and with it a healthy dose of the leadership load. Willis and departed safety Dante Barnett were the unquestioned leaders last season, and there’s a big void for someone to step up.

Reed and Shelley are also good bets to lead vocally and by example.

MEDICAL BILL
Snyder admitted feeling weaker while undergoing cancer treatment, but his strength has slowly returned. The question now is whether Snyder will make it through a grueling season without any problems — and whether this will be his last in charge.

SCHEDULE SETUP
After their opener against Central Arkansas, the Wildcats play Charlotte and then visit Vanderbilt, giving them a good chance to build their confidence. They begin Big 12 play against Baylor, visit Texas and play TCU before a potentially pivotal showdown with Oklahoma on Oct. 21.

“My caution to our players and to anybody that would listen would be not to take anything for granted,” Snyder said. “You still have to do it. The old adage, ‘You still have to play the game.'”

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) – The Kansas City Royals will play the Omaha Storm Chasers in an exhibition next March to kick off the 50th year of the Royals having their top farm club in the Omaha area.

The Storm Chasers announced on Thursday that the game is March 26 at Werner Park. It will be the first time the Royals have visited their Triple-A affiliate since 2000.

The Storm Chasers franchise has been Kansas City’s top farm club since 1969. No other major-league team has had its Triple-A affiliate in the same location as long.

Tickets for the exhibition go on sale Sept. 1.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Dexter Fowler hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night. St. Louis tied a season-high with its sixth straight win. Kansas City has lost four in a row and six of seven.

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) – The Kansas City Royals will play the Omaha Storm Chasers in an exhibition next March to kick off the 50th year of the Royals having their top farm club in the Omaha area. The Storm Chasers announced Thursday that the game is March 26 at Werner Park.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Barry Odom was as prepared as a rookie head coach could be when he took over the Missouri football team following the 2015 season. Odom and the Tigers hit a lot of potholes on their way to a 4-8 record last season. There are higher hopes this year. Missouri opens the season Sept. 2 against Missouri State.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Bill Snyder is back on the sideline and Jesse Ertz is back under center for Kansas State, and that could be a winning combination. The longtime coach has had plenty of success with veteran quarterbacks, and Ertz led the Wildcats to a nine-win campaign last season. Kansas State opens its season Sept. 2 against Central Arkansas.