2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
Although there had been concerns that the outbreak would affect the FA Cup tie against Chorley, it was reported Derby would not have to forfeit the tie in the case that they could not fulfil the fixture, with each case to be assessed by the FA on its individual circumstances, though as FA Cup rules stated that clubs are expected to fulfil their fixtures as long as they have 14 eligible players, including the under-23 and under-18 squads, they would be expected to play.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
As a result, manager Wayne Rooney and the entirety of the first team squad would not travel for the game, and the team would be managed by Senior Professional Development Phase Coach Pat Lyons and Professional Development Phase Coach Gary Bowyer. Testing of the available players the day before the game ruled out a further six players leaving Lyons to admit that Derby were now "underdogs."


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
Derby, for whom fourteen players made their debuts, fielded a team with an average age of 19 and lost 2–0 to exit at the third round stage for only the third time in ten years; it was the first time a sixth tier side had beaten a second-tier team since 1991. In the days following the Chorley game the whole of the first team squad tested negative for COVID-19 and were able to return to training.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
On 15 January, Wayne Rooney was appointed manager on a permanent basis, signing a two-and-a-half year deal and officially announcing his retirement as a player. Liam Rosenior took up the role of assistant manager and Shay Given moved to first-team coach, with Jason Pearcey stepping up from Academy goalkeeping coach to replace Given as first-team goalkeeping coach. Steve McClaren also stayed on as technical director and advisor to the board of directors. Rooney's first game as permanent manager was a 1–0 home defeat to Rotherham United.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
The defeat, the first time Derby had failed to beat Rotherham in a home fixture since 1985 and Rotherham's first victory at Derby in 55 years, was described as "sloppy" by Rooney and continued an alarming record against the teams around Derby in the bottom eight positions of the table, with just one win in seven and six points from a possible 21.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
In contrast, a 1–0 home win over AFC Bournemouth in the next fixture continued their strong string of results against teams in the top six, with only one defeat in seven fixtures, and took Derby out of the relegation zone. The win was followed with more 1–0 victories, this time away to relegation rivals Q.P.R. and at home to play-off chasing Bristol City, as Derby achieved back-to-back wins for the first time in the 2020–21 season and pulled five points clear of the relegation zone, albeit having played two more games than Rotherham in 22nd.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
With takeover talks with Derventio Holdings still in progress, it was revealed on 9 January that payment of December wages were outstanding, with some players being described as "frustrated". It was later revealed that 50% of player wages had already been paid and the rest was dependent on the completion of the takeover. In the week following the FA Cup defeat at Chorley, it was announced that the takeover was finally to be completed and the delayed wages to players and senior executives would be paid.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
Despite claims that the takeover was now "legally binding" this was, once again, not the case; with players wages remaining unpaid, it was reported that CEO Stephen Pearce had called the players and management together at the training ground to apologise for the ongoing problems, and promised to keep them informed of developments; some reports suggested Derby has alerted clubs to the availability of players such as Jason Knight and Louie Sibley as they needed to raise money quickly to avoid possible administration and a points deduction.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
The failure to pay player wages also resulted in a transfer embargo being placed on the club. With uncertainty brewing amongst the fanbase, CEO Stephen Pearce reassured the support that the takeover was "absolutely going ahead" and that any player sales would be within the range of their business model rather than in a fire sale. It was suggested that, rather than first team players, Derby would look to sell members of its academy in order to raise additional money. The continued delays in the takeover led to the club drawing up contingency plans to find funds from alternate sources. The players wages for December were fully paid on 25 January.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
With the reopening of the transfer window and Derby looking to strengthen, Rooney reiterated his desire to improve the club's attacking options, as well as add a centre back, during the upcoming month.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
The press linked Derby with moves for Tom Ince, who had had a successful spell at the club between 2015 and 2017, SV Darmstadt striker Serdar Dursun, though the player would not qualify under the new points-based system agreed by the FA, Premier League and EFL in conjunction with the Home Office following the UK's exit from the European Union, Peterborough United's Siriki Dembele, former Blackpool forward Armand Gnanduillet, Doncaster Rovers Ben Whiteman, (who eventually joined Preston North End), AFC Wimbledon's Joe Piggott, and free-agents Ravel Morrison and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
There were also links with loan deals for Leeds striker Tyler Roberts, Aston Villa's Keinan Davis,Cardiff City winger Josh Murphy, Sheffield United's Billy Sharp. and Rangers' George Edmundson. An apparent interest in Standard Liège's Montenegrin winger Aleksandar Boljević cooled when Derby, who initially believed the player was available on a free transfer, were informed he would cost £2 million.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
In regards of outgoings, Isaac Hutchinson was the first departure of the window, as he moved on loan to League Two Forest Green Rovers for the rest of the season. Out-of-favour defender Mike te Wierik was the first permanent outgoing as he agreed a deal to return to FC Groningen; when discussing his time at Derby he said "It has not turned out what I had hoped for, it is that simple. In the beginning I didn't play well enough, but we didn't really play well as a team either."


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
Duane Holmes, with whom the club had opened contract talks, but failed to agree terms was heavily linked with a £1m move to Huddersfield Town. after having  displayed displeasure at being played out-wide rather than in his preferred position of down the middle. Holmes eventually joined Huddersfield on 25 January with the deal quoted as being predominantly incentive based. Manchester City were supposedly "angered" after an attempt to sign loanee Scott Carson was rebuffed by the club, due to them wanting the £500k loan free due them. A £500k bid from Millwall for George Evans was rejected by the club, before accepting a bid of £750k as Rooney told Evans he could not guarantee him game time. A £700k bid from Swansea City for Morgan Whittaker was also accepted.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
A rumoured outgoing was Jason Knight, who was linked with moves to Premier League clubs Burnley, West Ham United and Crystal Palace; Leeds United were also linked with Knight, as well as Louie Sibley. However, Rooney was unequivocal in saying that Knight would not be leaving. Kaide Gordon, an academy product who made his first-team debut in the 4–0 win at Birmingham City, was linked with a move to Liverpool or Manchester United with Derby valuing Gordon at £2m having already turned down offers for him. Although not an imminent departure, Manchester City scout Jakub Bokiej revealed in an interview that he had Kamil Jóźwiak "high" on a list of players he monitored and believed Jóźwiak would be playing in the Premier League within 18-months.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, January
In addition to transfers, the club also had to start considering whether or not to extend the contracts of a number of first-team players whose deals were coming to end. Whilst it was believed that Scott Carson, Florian Jozefzoon, Curtis Davies and Scott Malone would not be offered new deals, and, as previously stated, Duane Holmes had failed to agree terms, it was understood talks were expected to open with Martyn Waghorn and Andre Wisdom.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
With the transfer window closing at 11pm on 1 February, the Rams conducted the majority of their transfer business in the final 24 hours. Manchester United defender Teden Mengi, Rangers defender George Edmundson, Everton midfielder Beni Baningime, Manchester City winger Patrick Roberts and Stoke City forward Lee Gregory all joined on loan deals until the end of the campaign. George Evans left the club for Millwall in a £750k deal and Morgan Whittaker joined Swansea City for £700k. The club's final business was to let Jahmal Hector-Ingram join Stevenage on loan until the end of the season.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
Youngster Kaide Gordon left the club to join Liverpool a few days following the closure of the window, with Derby reported to be receiving a fee in the region of £1 million, rising to £3 million with add-ons. Derby also bought in Arsenal youngster Bayo Fapetu and handed trials to Chelsea youth Filip Lissah and former-West Ham youth Courtney Clarke, with an eye on integrating them into the club's under-18 setup, whilst Manchester United displayed an interest in an unnamed trio of Derby's U-18 players to the tune of a combined £750,000.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
Roberts, Baningime and Gregory made their debuts as substitutes as Derby finally played their away fixture against Rotherham United at the third time of asking, following postponements firstly due to the COVID-19 and then a waterlogged pitch, but were on the wrong end of a 3–0 defeat which saw the gap between Derby and the relegation zone reduced to just two points, with Rotherham, in 22nd, having two games in hand. It was the first time Rotherham has completed a league double over the Rams since the 1965/66 season.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
The defeat was compounded by the fact that Krystian Bielik, who had suffered injury in the 1–0 win over Bristol City, would miss the remainder of the season due to an anterior cruciate ligament; the second time he has suffered the injury in his spell at the club. A second postponement of the month followed when 6 February trip to Barnsley was called off due to a waterlogged pitch and Derby dropped back into the bottom three on goal difference following a win for Rotherham on 6 February and then Sheffield Wednesday the following Tuesday.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
However, the following Saturday saw Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday in the reverse position, as frozen pitches led to postponements of both club's home matches, allowing Derby to leapfrog both of them (as well as Coventry City) in the table after a 2–1 home win over Middlesbrough; Lee Gregory scoring one and creating the other on his home debut.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
Three days later Derby reached a season high of 16th in the table when Andre Wisdom scored his first career league goal in the 94th-minute to secure a 2–1 win away at bottom of the table Wycombe Wanderers in Derby's first every visit to Adams Park.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
A Friday night 2–1 defeat away to 3rd-placed Watford was followed by a 2–0 victory at home to fellow strugglers Huddersfield Town with George Edmundson's first goal for the club giving Derby the lead before Martyn Waghorn, who came on for Edmundson at half-time, became the first substitute of the season to score for the Rams to make the game safe in the second half.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
Ahead of the second East Midlands Derby of the season, Wayne Rooney found himself under the spotlight as national media attention centred on arguably the highest profile match of his nascent management career.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
Having accrued 31 points from a possible 54 in his 18 days in sole charge, and taking the club from bottom of the table and six points from safety to 18th in the league and eight points clear of the relegation zone, and being feted by the press for "convincing the doubters" Rooney even found himself as 25/1 outsider for the Celtic job following the resignation of Neil Lennon.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
In the event of the match, Colin Kazim-Richards celebrated signing a one-year extension to his contract with an 84th-minute equalizer in a 1–1 draw (the third consecutive East Midlands Derby to end in that scoreline) as Derby gave what Rooney described as a mixed performance, saying "30-35 minutes we were excellent (but in the) second half we weren't good."


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
In mid-February, club-owner Mel Morris gave an interview discussing the situation surrounding the takeover of the club. He stated that the deal was "still live" as there was "a contractual obligation to sell and a contractual obligation to buy" though he couldn't talk about it due to "a very strict  Non-disclosure agreement." He also revealed that his decision to sell the club came after a year of significant personal and health problems, some of which were related to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, February
An article in The Guardian commented that Derby County no longer owned their own stadium (land registry documents suggested it had been sold to "Rams Investment Limited" a company with links to the Swiss-Turkish businessman Henry Gabay, though the club denied this) and had taken two loans totalling over £30m-loan from MSD Holdings (one of which was secured against Moor Farm).


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, March
March began with three consecutive away games; a 4–0 defeat away to Cardiff City, the joint biggest defeat of the season, a 1–0 away loss at relegation rivals Coventry City and a 0–0 draw at in-form Barnsley, which ended the home side's seven-match winning streak.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, March
Two home games also failed to yield any wins - a 1–0 defeat to Millwall, a first home reverse in two months, was followed by a 2–2 draw with Brentford, which saw Derby come from 2–0 down at half time to claim a point thanks to Louie Sibley's 86th-minute equalizer, his first goal of the season. In the final game of the month, Derby lost 1–0 away to Stoke City, resulting in March yielding no wins, two points from a possible 18 and only two goals scored.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, March
Now winless in seven, Derby went into the international break only five points clear of relegation, with 22nd-placed Rotherham having four games in hand. When discussing recent form, Rooney admitted "We look at ourselves, that's all we can do... but obviously the run of form over the last few weeks has not been good enough. We know, if we did not know beforehand, we are in a relegation battle."


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, March
With the takeover dealings with Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan entered into a fifth month and increasing cynicism over whether it would ever be completed, the deal was officially called off on 17 March 2021 after his company, Dervention Holdings, failed to come up with the necessary funds by a deadline set by Derby Chairman Mel Morris. It was revealed that Derby were in "advanced talks" with Spanish businessman Erik Alonso, as well an other, unnamed, investors - one of whom was described as a "dream suitor" by The Daily Telegraph's John Percy. The "broken promises" surrounding the collapse of the takeover was reported to have "soured" the relationship between Morris and Rooney, though Rooney strongly denied this.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, March
With the departure of under-23s manager Gary Bowyer to League Two Salford City, former-defender Jake Buxton was linked with a return to the club to fill the position until the end of the season. There were also rumours that Nicky Butt, who has just quit his position as Head of First Team Development Coach at Manchester United, would be joining the club in an undisclosed position.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, March
With the end of the season approaching, links with potential new signings for the upcoming 2021-22 season, with Luton Town forward James Collins amongst the first names mentioned.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
Derby resumed the Championship campaign on Good Friday with a 2–0 home victory over Luton Town and a 3–1 defeat to play-off chasing Reading on Easter Monday which saw then end the Easter programme eight points clear of the relegation zone with six games remaining, though every team below them bar bottom-placed Wycombe Wanderers had games in hand. The squad was also beginning to pick up injuries; during the Luton victory Lee Gregory picked up a season-ending hamstring injury, whilst Martyn Waghorn (hamstring) and Matt Clarke (compacted groin) were both ruled out for a number of weeks.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
Following this, the Reading defeat saw Nathan Byrne suffer a concussion, ruling him out for seven days under EFL concussion rules, and Jack Stretton, fresh from a successful loan spell at Stockport County, went off with an ankle injury less than twenty minutes after coming on as substitute. Coupled with the long-term absences of Jordan Ibe, Krystian Bielik, George Edmundson and Curtis Davies this left Derby short of nine of their first team squad for the visit of league leaders Norwich City and 11/2 sixth favourites for relegation.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
Former-Derby loanee Kieran Dowell's 21st-minute free-kick was the difference as Norwich edged past The Rams 1–0 at Pride Park and saw Derby drop to 20th in the table and seven points clear of the relegation zone after Rotherham United gained a point on them following a 0–0 draw with Huddersfield Town.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
In the week prior to Derby's trip to Blackburn (which was rearranged to Friday 16 April from Saturday 17 April to avoid clashing with the funeral of Prince Philip) Rotherham played two of their four games in hand - a 3–1 victory over Queens Park Rangers and a 1–0 defeat to Coventry City- which reduced the gap between them and Derby to just four points, with Rotheram in 22nd on 39 points from 39 games and Derby in 21st with 43 points from 41 games.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
Despite the precarity of the situation, Rooney implored fans not to panic as he believed "100% in this group of players and... 100% we'll stay in this division." Despite Rooney's confidence, and taking the lead through Tom Lawrence's second goal of the season, Derby crashed to a 2–1 defeat at Blackburn (Blackburn's first home win since January) to remain in trouble; Rooney was particularly aggrieved at being denied an injury-time penalty, the failure to award of which he described as "unacceptable".


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
Rotherham's 1–0 defeat at home to Birmingham City, which reduced their games in hand to two, and the news that Martyn Waghorn would be available for selection for the next match, against Preston North End, after recovering from a hamstring injury was tempered by the news loanee Teden Mengi would return to parent-club Manchester United due to a season-ending injury.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
A 3–0 loss at Preston, in which Andre Wisdom limped off in the 34th-minute with what proved to be a season-ending groin injury was Derby's fourth reversal on the trot and left them just four points clear of relegation whilst handing Rotherham a further game in hand with which to catch them (though Rotherham lost this, 2–1 at home to Middlesbrough), with Rooney stating "Do I believe we can win the last three games? Yes, but we have to rely on Rotherham losing games. It is out of our hands."


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
Rooney's belief proved misguided as, despite taking the lead through Colin Kazim-Richards first goal in two months, Derby crashed to a fifth consecutive defeat in their next game, 2–1 at home to Birmingham City, ending a nine-match undefeated streak against Blues; this result meant that Derby ended the month having taken just three points from a possible eighteen. Luckily for Derby, all the other members of the bottom five, Wycombe, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham and Huddersfield, also fell to defeat, meaning that they remained four points clear of relegation.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
This cushion remained after Rotherham lost one of their two remaining games in hand 1–0 away to Brentford on 27 April; this result was significant as it meant that Derby would be guaranteed safety, regardless of the results of the teams around them, if they won their two remaining games against Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
Away from on the field results, it was revealed that Derby were one of ten Championship clubs placed under a transfer embargo by the EFL for using the option of a three-month extension to file company accounts, with the embargo due to be lifted when the accounts were received by Companies House.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
Derby chose not to comment on the situation, though Dave Boddy, chief executive of one of the affected clubs, Coventry City, stated "It's ridiculous that the EFL's regulations on this do not replicate this approach that the government has taken, especially when they have amended other rules of theirs during the pandemic."


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
In regards of ownership of the club, it was suggested that potential American bidders were keen on the club, but were awaiting the results of the club's relegation battle. However, it was the previously mooted Erik Alonson who emerged as the front runner after an agreement between Alonso's No Limits Sport Limited and Derby owner Mel Morris was announced on 7 April with Alonso stating he had the ultimate target of getting Derby into the Champion's League. It was suggested, however, that Alonso was actually just a frontman rather than the main financial backer.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, April
With the summer transfer window fast approaching, left-back Lee Buchanan, who had had a breakthrough campaign, was linked with a move to the Premier League with West Ham. Derby themselves were linked with a move for Cheltenham Town midfielder Felix Miles.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, May
Derby entered May four points behind 20th-place Huddersfield Town and four points clear of 22nd-place Rotherham United and 23rd-place Sheffield Wednesday, with bottom of the table Wycombe Wanderers all-but-relegated baring an extremely unlikely set of results. Derby made the trip to a Swansea side who had guaranteed their place in the playoffs the previous week, with Swansea manager Steve Cooper suggesting that he may rotate the Swans squad, though Derby still faced a challenge due to the unavailability of Andre Wisdom, Beni Baningime, Teden Mengi, Jack Stretton, Krystian Bielik, Jordan Ibe, Lee Gregory and Curtis Davies.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, May
For the third time in four games, Derby lost despite taking the lead (2-1); it was the first time in 37 years they had lost six consecutive fixtures at second tier level. As Sheffield Wednesday had earned a point in a 0–0 draw with Nottingham Forest and Rotherham United scored a late equalizer to draw 1–1 with Blackburn Rovers, Derby found themselves relying on Rotherham not earning a maximum return from their two remaining games and they themselves getting a result in their final game, at home to Wednesday. Rotherham played their final game in hand, away to Luton Town, the following Wednesday and drew 0-0 leaving Derby two points clear of relegation with one game left to play.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, May
Away from Derby's on-field battles, rumours emerged that the takeover by No Limits Sports Limited was in doubt as Erik Alonso was planning to refinance Pride Park to complete the purchase of the club leaving "alarm bells... ringing inside the club and... a realisation that the buyout is unlikely to go through"; Alonso, however, refuted this, saying "(I will put) the debt in my name, what I want to do it put stadium warranty under my name, that's all. Because I can use the money to buy players."


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, May
With an eye on the next season, Martyn Waghorn was linked with a move back to former-club Ipswich Town on the expiration of his contract and Derby were linked with a move with defender Shane Duffy.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, May, Survival Saturday
With both automatic promotion spots (Norwich, Watford) and playoff places (Barnsley, Brentford, Bournemouth, Swansea) decided before the last round of fixtures, the media focused on the relegation battle at the foot of the Championship, which was dubbed "survival Saturday". Derby went into the match against Sheffield Wednesday knowing defeat would relegate them (as Wednesday would join them on 43 points but with a guaranteed superior goal-difference), victory would guarantee them survival and a draw would be enough as long as Rotherham United were unable to achieve a victory away to Cardiff City. Going into the final round of games, all five of the UK's major bookmakers had Derby as favourites to stay up, with Sheffield Wednesday second favourites and Rotherham third.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, May, Survival Saturday
On the day itself, Rotherham took an 8th-minute lead at Cardiff through Lewis Wing which saw them leapfrog both Derby and Sheffield Wednesday early on. Colin Kazim-Richard had a goal disallowed for Derby before Sam Hutchinson scored in the fourth-minute of first half injury time to give Wednesday a 1–0 lead. Derby ended the first half 23rd in the league and level on points with Wycombe Wanderers (who were winning 2–0 at Middlesbrough) but with a superior goal-difference.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, May, Survival Saturday
Due to an injury to Martyn Waghorn causing the first half to finish late, Derby kicked the second half off nine minutes behind Cardiff v Rotherham. Derby started the second half quickly and scored two goals in four minutes through Waghorn (49 mins) and Patrick Roberts first for the club (52 mins) seeing Derby leapfrog back out of the relegation zone for 10 minutes before Callum Paterson equalized on 62 minutes to see Derby drop back to 22nd, and things got even worse for the Rams when Julian Börner gave Sheffield Wednesday a 3–2 lead in the 69th minute.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, May, Survival Saturday
With 15 minutes left to play at Derby, and 5 minutes remaining at Rotherham, Derby were 23rd in the table, with Wednesday also in the relegation zone (22nd) and Rotherham safe in 21st. However, in the space of ninety seconds Derby were awarded a penalty, Marlon Pack scored an 88th-minute equalizer for Cardiff against Rotherham to make the score 1-1, and then Martyn Waghorn converted Derby's penalty (79 mins) to make the score 3–3 at Pride Park. This meant that 21st place was held by all three sides battling the drop in the space of 90 seconds, with Wednesday safe for all of twenty seconds before Derby leapfrogged them.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, May, Survival Saturday
With Rotherham finishing 1-1, Derby knew that holding on for the final 10 minutes would see them stay up, which they were successfully able to do and stayed up in 21st, one point ahead of Wycombe in 22nd, who won 3–0 at Middlesbrough.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, Post-season
The day after the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign, Derby issued a formal apology to supporters for the previous campaign, finishing by stating "We know that your dedication and love for the club is deserving of so much more and we will endeavour to restore your pride."


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, Post-season
However, there was still a threat of potential relegation hanging over the club as there remained fears of a potential points deduction with rumours that an independent disciplinary appeal came down in favour of the EFL in the ongoing dispute over the club's amortisation policy after Derby has won the initial ruling in September 2020, with Wycombe Wanderers owner Rob Couhig ready to go to court over the matter.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, Post-season
In a statement, the EFL said that Derby's "policy was not in accordance with accounting standard FRS102 because it failed to accurately reflect the manner in which the Club takes the benefit of player registrations over the lifetime of a player's contract." Derby stated they were disappointed by, but respected, the verdict.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, Post-season
Derby were handed a fine of £100,000 over their accounting policies, though the EFL retained their right to appeal and were considering pushing for a retroactive points deduction, which would see the club relegated; the EFL stated they had prepared interchangeable fixture list for the following season for Derby and Wycombe. Wycombe owner Rob Couhig accused Derby of "systemic cheating" and stated his intention to sue Derby for "£10m-£15m of potential losses" should Wycombe be playing in League one in the coming campaign.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, Post-season
The Rams lost their second court case in 24-hours when it was announced that former-captain Richard Keogh, who had been sacked in 2019 following his involvement in a highly publicised drink-driving incident, had won a settlement against the club and would be paid £2.4m in wages owed to him as he was found to have not committed "gross misconduct".


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, Post-season
As the inquisition into Derby's poor season started, one report by The Athletic suggested that former-boss Phillip Cocu, who had been highly impressed by the high pressing style played by Leeds United and Brentford in their victories at Pride Park toward the end of the previous season, had attempted to emulate the style at the club and had, as a result, ‘exhausted’ the players in pre-season.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, Post-season
With the Erik Alonso takeover going into a second month, numerous reports suggested that his "right hand man" Tajinder Sumal had quit No Limits Sports Ltd. Alonso deleted his Twitter account after being accused of reposting a property seen on TikTok to suggest it was his own house and being unable to provide proof of funds to the EFL, with many now seeing the takeover as being unlikely to proceed, with an unnamed American consortium the new favourites to assume ownership of the club, with more than one party interested in buying the club. It was suggested that, should the takeover be completed quickly and Morris no longer involved with the club, then any potential points deduction to the club would be reduced from "double figures".


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, Post-season
Against this background of uncertainty, various Derby supporter's groups came together to publish an open letter to the club, asking for clarification on, amongst other things, the situation regarding any potential takeover, the possibility of supporter representation on the board, and the club's ability to satisfy any EFL criteria to remove the transfer embargo the club was running under. The club's official response stated that Mel Morris had been in discussions with "numerous parties", the deal with No Limits Sports Limited was dead, and that supporter representation would be considered. It also reiterated the desire to keep "supporters and stakeholders as informed as possible (though) this may not always be possible due to confidentiality obligations."


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, Post-season
It was announced on 29 May that Graeme Shinnie had won the club's Player of the Season and Lee Buchanan the club's Young Player of the Season.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Review, Post-season
The club announced its retained list on 14 June 2021. Of the first-team Emmanuel Idem, Scott Carson, Scott Malone, Jonathan Mitchell and Florian Jozefzoon were all confirmed to be leaving the club, whereas Andre Wisdom, Martyn Waghorn, Jack Marriott, Curtis Davies and Henrich Ravas were in talks about new deals. The inclusion of Marriott, who it had been announced had signed a contract extension earlier in the season, was explained by the fact that the deal had had approval withdrawn by the EFL due to the ongoing appeal over amortisation.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Players, Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Competitions, FA Cup
The draw for the Third Round proper of the FA Cup was made on 30 November 2020, live on BBC Sport, by Robbie Savage. Derby were handed a potential banana-skin tie, as they were drawn away to Chorley of the National League North (sixth tier), the lowest ranked side they had played in club history.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Competitions, FA Cup
After a COVID-19 outbreak at Derby's training ground the Monday prior to the game, it was announced that Derby's first-team players and management would have to miss the game due to going into self-isolation, with the fixture instead being fulfilled by players and staff from the club's under-18 and under-23 sides. Testing of the available players the day before the game ruled out a further four players. In the event of a 2–0 defeat, development coach Pat Lyons said "We're disappointed not to get the result and the fairytale we wanted."


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Competitions, EFL Cup
The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports, by Paul Merson. Derby drew League Two side Barrow, whom they had not played competitively since 1957, at home; Merson described the match as "one of the ties of the round". Derby progressed on penalties to reach the second round, which was drawn at the same time as the third round, on 6 September, live on Sky Sports by Phil Babb.


2020–21 Derby County F.C. season, Competitions, EFL Cup
Derby were handed two more potential home ties, as they were first drawn against fellow-Championship side Preston, with a potential third-round tie against the winners of the tie between Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion and EFL League One Portsmouth. In the event of the Preston game, however, Derby let slip a one-goal lead to lose 2–1 and exit the competition at the second round stage for the second time in three seasons.


2020–21 Derde Divisie
The 2020–21 Derde Divisie season was the fifth edition of the Dutch fourth tier, formerly called Topklasse, since the restructuring of the league system in the summer of 2016.


2020–21 Derde Divisie, Effects of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic
In the previous season, on 31 March 2020, the KNVB decided to cancel all competitions at amateur level. They also decided, for those competitions involved, there would be no final standings, and therefore no champions, no promotions and no relegations. As a result this season starts with most of the same teams as the previous season.


2020–21 Derde Divisie, Effects of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic
On 7 April 2020, FC Lienden announced the withdrawal of its Sunday team. The club had ran into financial problems for some time after Lienden indicated that it would no longer sponsor the team and it was not possible to find a new main sponsor. On 26 May, ONS Sneek was granted a voluntary demotion to the Hoofdklasse for financial reasons. Also, the two remaining reserve teams, Jong ADO and Jong Almere City, or any other reserves, could no longer play in the Derde Divisie from this season on. In accordance with the decision from KNVB's meeting on 16 December 2019, these two teams are playing in the new under-21 competition.


2020–21 Derde Divisie, Effects of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic
Later on 12 June, the KNVB officially announced that the Derde Divisie would again consist of 36 teams from next season. This was one wish of CVTD, the interest group of football clubs from the Tweede and Derde Divisies. To fill vacancies and accommodate all teams that led their groups in the Hoofdklasse after the cancellation, the KNVB decided to make each Derde Divisie group have 18 teams. The Hoofdklasse group leaders, namely Sportlust '46, Staphorst, Unitas and Hollandia, therefore moved up to the Derde Divisie. The best runners-up of the Saturday and Sunday Hoofdklasse, Asser Christelijke Voetbalvereniging (ACV) and JOS Watergraafsmeer, were also promoted.


2020–21 Derde Divisie, Effects of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic
On 24 February 2021, the KNVB eventually discontinued category A senior competitions in this season, including Derde Divisie, again without promotion or relegation.


2020–21 Derde Divisie, Saturday league, Teams
>> Competition cancelled, what's listed below is the situation on 10 October 2020, the date the last matches were played.<<


2020–21 Derde Divisie, Sunday league, Teams
>> Competition cancelled, what's listed below is the situation on 11 October 2020, the date the last matches were played.<<


2020–21 Detroit City FC season
The 2020–21 season was Detroit City FC's second professional season since the club was established in 2012 and their first full season in the National Independent Soccer Association.


2020–21 Detroit City FC season, Overview
After the cancellation of the 2020 NISA Spring season the association confirmed that the 2020–21 season would take place as normal, under local guidelines for social distancing and restrictions for fan attendance.


2020–21 Detroit City FC season, Club, Equipment
The club wore different kits for the 2020 and 2021 portions of the season. Adidas was the supplier and Metro-Detroit Chevy Dealers was the sponsor through both halves of the season.


2020–21 Detroit City FC season, Competitions, 2020 NISA Independent Cup
The NISA Independent Cup was originally unveiled on April 27, 2020, following the 2020 Spring Season's cancellation, as a competition between NISA members and high level amateur clubs. On July 1, the regional tournament was officially announced as a 'pre-season event' with Detroit City taking part alongside three other association members.


2020–21 Detroit City FC season, Competitions, 2020 NISA Independent Cup
Competing within the Great Lakes Region, The team was reunited with Rust Belt Derby rival FC Buffalo and Cleveland SC, against whom Detroit City had lost the 2019 NPSL Midwest Region Finals to in PKs.


2020–21 Detroit City FC season, Competitions, 2020 NISA Fall Season
The schedule for the 2020 NISA Fall Season was released on 31 July, 2020. The format consisted of a regionalized East/West divisional competition beginning 8 August, with Detroit playing in the Eastern Conference, and a single-location tournament to be held 21 September through 2 October, resulting in a single Fall champion.


2020–21 Detroit City FC season, Competitions, Fall Playoffs
Detroit City FC hosted the entirety of the 2020-21 NISA Fall Playoffs at Keyworth Stadium.


2020–21 Detroit City FC season, Competitions, Fall Playoffs, Knock-Out Stage
Bold = winner* = after extra time, ( ) = penalty shootout scoreSource:


2020–21 Detroit City FC season, Competitions, Spring Season
The Spring season began on April 13th, 2021, with a bubble tournament named Legends Cup and hosted by Chattanooga FC, with the winner gaining entry into the Spring 2021 Final. Phase 2, which is scheduled to begin on May 1st, 2021, will be a traditional regular season hosted in each team's markets, the winner of which will face the winner of Phase 1 in the Spring 2021 Final, to determine the Spring champion.


2020–21 Detroit City FC season, Competitions, Spring Season
Detroit City was assigned to the second group of three of three. The best team at the end of the group stage qualifies directly to the Legends Cup final, while the second and third seeds will play a semifinal game to determine the second finalist.


2020–21 Detroit City FC season, Competitions, Spring Season, Legends Cup Standings
Bold = winner* = after extra time, ( ) = penalty shootout scoreSource:


2020–21 Detroit Mercy Titans men's basketball team
The 2020–21 Detroit Mercy Titans men's basketball team represented the University of Detroit Mercy in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Titans, led by third-year head coach Mike Davis, played their home games at Calihan Hall in Detroit, Michigan as members of the Horizon League.


2020–21 Detroit Mercy Titans men's basketball team, Previous season
The Titans finished the 2019–20 season 8–23, 6–12 in Horizon League play to finish in ninth place. Due to low APR Scores, the Titans were ineligible for postseason play.


2020–21 Detroit Pistons season
The 2020–21 Detroit Pistons season was the 80th season of the franchise, the 73rd in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the fourth in Midtown Detroit. This was the third season under head coach Dwane Casey. On June 18, 2020, the Pistons hired Troy Weaver as their new general manager. The Pistons finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season.


2020–21 Detroit Pistons season, Draft picks
The Pistons held one first-round pick entering the draft. They acquired the draft rights to the 16th overall pick from the Houston Rockets, the 19th overall pick from the Brooklyn Nets, and the 38th overall pick from the Utah Jazz.


2020–21 Detroit Red Wings season
The 2020–21 Detroit Red Wings season was the 95th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. It was the Red Wings' fourth season at Little Caesars Arena.


2020–21 Detroit Red Wings season
On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada–United States border. As a result of this realignment the Red Wings returned to the Central Division for the first time since 2012–13 and only played games against the other teams in their new division during the regular season.


2020–21 Detroit Red Wings season
On April 26, the Red Wings were eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth consecutive season, after the Nashville Predators defeated the Florida Panthers


2020–21 Detroit Red Wings season, Schedule and results, Regular season
Legend:  Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)


2020–21 Detroit Red Wings season, Transactions
The Red Wings have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.


2020–21 Detroit Red Wings season, Draft picks
Below are the Detroit Red Wings' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on October 6 and 7, 2020, via video conference call due to the COVID-19 pandemic


2020–21 Dhivehi Premier League
The 2020–21 Dhivehi Premier League is the 6th season of the Premier League, the top Maldivian professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 2015. Maziya are the defending champions, having won their third league title the previous season, their second in the Premier League era, having last won in 2016. The season was initially scheduled to start in June, but this was delayed until December as a consequence of the delay of the 2020 AFC Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in Asia and in the Maldives.


2020–21 Dhivehi Premier League, Teams
Initially, ten teams were set to compete in the league – the top eight teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the Second Division. The promoted teams are Club Valencia and Super United Sports. On 22 July 2020, Football Association of Maldives announced that this season will be held with eight teams.


2020–21 Dhivehi Premier League, Teams
This is due to temporarily holding off the Premier League slots for the teams promoting from the Jazeera Championship as the 2020 edition was called off due to COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives, meaning Foakaidhoo FC and Nilandhoo Sports Club are forced to play in the 2021 Jazeera Championship even though they survived relegation.


2020–21 Dhivehi Premier League, Teams
Valencia is returning after a season's absence in the first division (three seasons in Premier League). This is the first season in the Premier League for Super United Sports. They replaced Victory Sports Club and New Radiant (both teams relegated after suspension due to financial reasons).


2020–21 Dhivehi Premier League, Teams, Personnel
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020–21 Dijon FCO season
The 2020–21 season was the 23rd season in the existence of Dijon FCO and the club's fifth consecutive season in the top flight of French football. In addition to the domestic league, Dijon participated in this season's edition of the Coupe de France. The season covered the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.


2020–21 Dijon FCO season
The head coach Stéphane Jobard was relieved of his duties after an eight-game winless run. He was replaced by David Linarès.


2020–21 Dijon FCO season, Players, First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020–21 Dijon FCO season, Players, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020–21 Dinamo Sassari season
The 2020–21 season is Dinamo Sassari's 61st in existence and the club's 11th consecutive season in the top tier Italian basketball.


2020–21 Dinamo Sassari season, Players, Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.


2020–21 Dinamo Sassari season, Players, Depth chart
6+6 format (colours: Italian or homegrown players; foreign players; young players)


2020–21 Dinamo Sassari season, Competitions, Italian Cup
Sassari qualified to the 2021 Italian Basketball Cup by ending the first half of the LBA season in the 3rd position. They played the quarterfinal against the 6th ranking Carpegna Prosciutto Basket Pesaro.


2020–21 Division 1 Féminine
The 2020–21 Division 1 Féminine season, also known as D1 Arkema for sponsorship reasons, is the 47th edition of Division 1 Féminine since its establishment in 1974. The season began on 5 September 2020 and ended on 5 June 2021. Lyon were the defending champions, having won the title for last fourteen consecutive seasons. Paris Saint-Germain won their first league title in history after securing a 3–0 win against Dijon on the final day of the season.


2020–21 Division 1 Féminine, Teams
A total of 12 teams compete in the league. Champions and runners-up of previous season's Division 2 Féminine (Issy and Le Havre) replaced two relegated teams from last season's Division 1 Féminine (Metz and Marseille).


2020–21 Division 1 Féminine, Results, Positions by round
The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.


2020–21 Division 1 Féminine, Awards, UNFP Awards
Nominations for Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year were announced on 11 May 2021. Winners along with Team of the Year were announced on 21, 22 and 23 May.


2020–21 Division 1 Féminine, Awards, FFF D1 Arkema Awards
Nominations for Goal of the Season were announced on 26 May 2021. Nominations for Best Player, Best Young Player, Best Manager and Best Goalkeeper were announced on 1 June. Winners along with Team of the Season were published in FFF's official website on 5 June.


2020–21 División de Honor de Hockey Hierba
The 2020–21 División de Honor de Hockey Hierba was the 55th season of the División de Honor de Hockey Hierba, the highest men's field hockey league in Spain. The regular season began on 19 September 2020 and is scheduled to finish on 25 April 2021. The play-off semi-finals and final were played on 1 and 2 May 2021 on Atlètic Terrassa.


2020–21 División de Honor de Hockey Hierba
After last season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, this season was played with twelve instead of the regular ten teams. There were no quarter-finals but instead the top four teams qualified directly for the final four.


2020–21 División de Honor de Hockey Hierba
Club de Campo won their first ever national title by defeating the regular season winners and record champions Atlètic Terrassa 6–3 in the final.


2020–21 División de Honor de Hockey Hierba, Final 4
The Final 4 was held at the Estadi de Hockey Josep Marquès from Atlètic Terrassa in Terrassa, Catalonia on 1 and 2 May 2021.


2020–21 División de Honor de Hockey Hierba, Play-outs
Jolaseta won series 2–1 and both teams remain in their respective division.


2020–21 División de Honor de Rugby
The 2020–21 División de Honor is the 54th season of the División de Honor, the top flight of  Spanish domestic rugby union.


2020–21 División de Honor de Rugby
Valladolid won its fifth consecutive title, its eleventh overall, defeating Alcobendas in the final.


2020–21 División de Honor de Rugby, Competition format
The División de Honor de Rugby season takes place between October and May. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed and affected the competition. Bathco withdrew from the competition due to financial issues, and were replaced with Les Abelles, who beat Hernani, the team which had finished in 12th place in the 2019-20 season, in a playoff.


2020–21 División de Honor de Rugby, Competition format
The pandemic also meant the format for the 2020-21 tournament was altered:


2020–21 División de Honor de Rugby, Competition format, Promotion and relegation
The second-tier División de Honor B is made up of three regional groups. The top eight teams across the three groups play off; the champion is promoted to División de Honor, at the expense of the team which finishes last in the División de Honor.


2020–21 División de Honor de Rugby, Competition format, Promotion and relegation
The runner-up plays a further play-off against the team which finishes 11th in the top flight.


2020–21 División de Honor de Rugby, Relegation playoff
The relegation playoff was played by Independiente, the team finishing 11th in División de Honor, and Gernika, who lost the División de Honor B promotion playoff final 26-22 to La Vila.


2020–21 División de Honor de Rugby, Relegation playoff
Gernika won 34–21 and gained promotion to the División de Honor for the 2021–22 season.


2020–21 Dixie State Trailblazers men's basketball team
The 2020–21 Dixie State Trailblazers men's basketball team represented Dixie State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Trailblazers, led by 16th-year head coach Jon Judkins, played their home games at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).


2020–21 Dixie State Trailblazers men's basketball team
The season marked Dixie State's first year of a four-year transition period from Division II to Division I. As a result, the Trailblazers were not eligible for NCAA postseason play and could not participate in the WAC Tournament. They were eligible to play in the CIT or CBI, but were not invited.


2020–21 Dixie State Trailblazers men's basketball team, Previous season
The Trailblazers finished the 2019–20 season 23–7 overall, 17–5 in RMAC play to win the conference regular season championship. As the 1st seed in the 2020 RMAC Tournament, they were defeated by the No. 4 seeded Colorado Mesa in the semifinals 79–86. They received the No. 3 seed in the South Central Region of the NCAA DII Tournament. But, like many sporting events, the tournament was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.


2020–21 Dixie State Trailblazers men's basketball team, Schedule and results
Dixie State was scheduled to begin their season on November 28 at home against Weber State, but due to COVID-19, this game was canceled. Chicago State announced on December 23rd, 2020 that they would suspend all further men's basketball operations, canceling all conference games in the process.


2020–21 Diósgyőri VTK season
The 2020–21 season will be Diósgyőri VTK's 55th competitive season, 10th consecutive season in the OTP Bank Liga and 110th year in existence as a football club.


2020–21 Diósgyőri VTK season, First team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020–21 Diósgyőri VTK season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020–21 Diósgyőri VTK season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020–21 Diósgyőri VTK season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020–21 Diósgyőri VTK season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020–21 Diósgyőri VTK season, Statistics, Top scorers
Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.


2020–21 Diósgyőri VTK season, Statistics, Disciplinary record
Includes all competitive matches. Players with 1 card or more included only.


2020–21 Donar (basketball club) season
The 2020–21 Donar season was the 49th season in the existence of the club. The club will play in the Dutch Basketball League (DBL) and Basketball Cup. It was the first season under head coach Ivan Rudež who was fired in April 2021 after disappointing results. He was replaced by Pete Miller. The season ended in more disappointment for Donar, as the team was eliminated early in the 2021 DBL Cup by Yoast United, and later in the playoffs semifinals by Heroes Den Bosch. This season was the first time since 2013 that Donar did not play in the DBL Finals.


2020–21 Donar (basketball club) season, Summary
The 2019–20 season was abandoned early in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Donar had qualified for the Cup Final and was second in the DBL standings at the time. The DBL announced that the final against Aris Leeuwarden will be played later in the year 2020.


2020–21 Donar (basketball club) season, Summary
On 14 April 2020, Donar announced head coach Erik Braal's contract would not be extended in mutual consent. Braal won the most trophies in club history, with seven in total. On 17 April 2020, Ivan Rudež signed a three-year contract with Donar in the Netherlands.


2020–21 Donar (basketball club) season, Players, Squad information
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.


2020–21 Doncaster Rovers F.C. season
The 2020–21 Doncaster Rovers F.C. season is the club's 142nd season in their history and the fourth consecutive season in EFL League One, Along with League One, the club also participated in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy.


2020–21 Doncaster Rovers F.C. season
The season covers the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.


2020–21 Doncaster Rovers F.C. season, Pre-season
Donny announced 6 pre-season friendlies against Manchester United U23s, Bradford City, and Scunthorpe United, plus a home and away tie against a Championship club yet to be announced, and a non league game.


2020–21 Doncaster Rovers F.C. season, Competitions, FA Cup
The draw for the first round was made on Monday 26, October. The second round draw was revealed on Monday, 9 November by Danny Cowley. The third round draw was made on 30 November, with Premier League and EFL Championship clubs all entering the competition. The draw for the fourth and fifth round were made on 11 January, conducted by Peter Crouch.


2020–21 Doncaster Rovers F.C. season, Competitions, EFL Cup
The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports, by Paul Merson.


2020–21 Doncaster Rovers F.C. season, Competitions, EFL Trophy
The regional group stage draw was confirmed on 18 August.


2020–21 Doncaster Rovers F.C. season, Squad, Statistics
This includes any players featured in a match day squad in any competition.


2020–21 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team
The 2020–21 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs are led by third-year head coach Darian DeVries. They played their home games at Knapp Center on campus in Des Moines, Iowa, as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, theBulldogs finished the season 26–5, 15–3 in MVC play to finish in second place. In the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament, they advanced to the semifinals after Northern Iowa was forced to forfeit due to COVID-19 issues. They defeated Missouri State in the semifinals before losing to Loyola in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed in the First Four. They defeated Wichita State to advance to the First Round where they were eliminated by USC.


2020–21 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team, Previous season
The Bulldogs finished the season 20–14, 8–10 in MVC play to finish in eighth place. They defeated Illinois State and Northern Iowa to advance to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament where they lost to Bradley. All postseason tournaments were thereafter canceled due to the onging COVID-19 pandemic.


2020–21 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team, Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.


2020–21 Drexel Dragons men's basketball team
The 2020–21 Drexel Dragons men's basketball team represented Drexel University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Dragons, led by fifth-year head coach Zach Spiker, played their home games at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as members of the Colonial Athletic Association.


2020–21 Drexel Dragons men's basketball team
In the 2020–21 season, the Dragons had many games postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and did not have fans in attendance for all home games.


2020–21 Drexel Dragons men's basketball team
The Dragons won the 2021 CAA Men's Basketball Tournament, defeating Elon in the finals, and earned an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.


2020–21 Drexel Dragons men's basketball team, Previous season
The Dragons finished the 2019–20 season 14–19,  6–12 in CAA play to finish in 8th place. They lost to Hofstra in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals.


2020–21 Drexel Dragons men's basketball team, Offseason
On 14 July, 2020, Drexel announced the addition of Michael-Hakim Jordan as an assistant coach.


2020–21 Drexel Dragons men's basketball team, Preseason
In a poll of the league coaches, media relations directors, and media members at the CAA's media day, Drexel was picked to finish in third place in the CAA. Redshirt senior James Butler and Junior guard Camren Wynter were selected to the Preseason CAA All-Conference First Team.


2020–21 Drexel Dragons women's basketball team
The 2020–21 Drexel Dragons women's basketball team will represent Drexel University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Dragons, led by first-year head coach Amy Mallon, will play their home games at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as members of the Colonial Athletic Association.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team
The 2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represented Duke University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by 41st-year head coach, Mike Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils played their home games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team
Known for consistent high-level performance under Krzyzewski's tenure, the Blue Devils struggled to match their norm this season. Duke fell out of the AP and Coaches Poll rankings within the first few weeks and struggled to maintain a winning record. The Blue Devils finished the 2020–21 season 13–11, and 9–9 to finish in tenth place in ACC play. Duke spent much of the late season on the bubble, according to bracketologists, and ultimately their season ended when a positive COVID-19 test forced them to drop out of the ACC tournament ahead of the quarterfinals. Duke missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, Previous season
The Blue Devils finished the 2019–20 season 25–6, and 15–5 to finish in a tie for second place in ACC play. The team was scheduled to play NC State in the  quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament before the tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA Tournament was also canceled due to the pandemic.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, Offseason, 2020 recruiting class
The 2020 recruiting class was ranked third in the nation by 247 Sports' Composite Ranking.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, Schedule and results
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the start of the season was pushed back from the scheduled start of November 10. On September 16, 2020, the NCAA announced that November 25 would be the new start date. Matchups for ACC–Big Ten Challenge were released on October 30. The Champions Classic, which was originally to be held on November 10, was later moved to December 1 and was to be held in Orlando. However, due to disagreements between ESPN, who was staging the event (and others), over health and safety protocols related to COVID-19, the event was canceled. It was hoped that the event could be still held elsewhere. It was later reported that the Blue Devils would play their Champions Classic game at Duke while Kentucky and Kansas will play in Indianapolis due to conflicting COVID-19 protocols by the respective schools.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, Schedule and results
Prior to the start of the season, it was announced that Duke would not play its scheduled season opener against Gardner–Webb, which had a positive coronavirus test within its team. On December 10, 2020, the school announced that it would cancel the remaining non-conference games, meaning games already postponed would not be made up.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, Rankings
On January 18, 2021, Duke fell out of the AP Top 25 ranking for the first time since February 8, 2016. This marked the first time since December 25, 1961 that Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina were all out of the Top 25 ranking.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team
The 2020–21 Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team represented Duke University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Blue Devils were led by first year head coach Kara Lawson and played their home games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team
During the off-season, Duke announced that head coach Joanne McCallie had retired after thirteen years as head coach. On July 11, 2020, Kara Lawson was announced as the new head coach.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team
On December 25, 2020, it was announced that the team would end their season due to COVID-19 concerns.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team
The Blue Devils finished the season 3–1, and 0–1 in ACC play. Due to their season cancellation they did not participate in the ACC Tournament, NCAA Tournament or WNIT.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team, Previous season
The 2019-20 Blue Devils finished the season 18–12, 12–6 in ACC play to finish in third place for the regular season. As the third seed in the ACC tournament, they lost to Boston College in the Quarterfinals. The NCAA Tournament and WNIT were cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.


2020–21 Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team, Rankings
Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll and AP does not release a final poll.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season
The 2020–21 season will be Dumbarton Football Club's third in Scottish League One, the third tier of Scottish football, having finished sixth in the division in 2019–20. Dumbarton also competed in the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, July
After the premature end to the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, preparations for the new campaign began in July with manager Jim Duffy signing a one-year contract extension. He was followed by defenders Morgyn Neill, Ryan McGeever and forward Stefan McCluskey in committing to the club for the new season. Young Player of the Year Rico Quitongo was next to sign a new deal, and he was joined by midfielder Ruaridh Langan. Striker Denny Johnstone then became the club's first new signing of the summer - joining after leaving Falkirk.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, July
Striker Robert Jones and captain Stuart Carswell were next to sign new deals. A day later PJ Crossan agreed a new deal, becoming the 10th player to sign up for the new campaign after six goals in his first season with the club. Later that week nine players left the club at the expiry of the contract, with player of the year Kyle Hutton, top scorer Isaac Layne, leading assister Joe McKee and number one goalkeeper Conor Brennan joined by Lewis Crawford, Jordan Pettigrew, Callum Wilson, Jai Quitongo and Ryan Tierney in leaving the club.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, August
Sam Wardrop was the club's second new signing of the window, joining from Dundee United after two successful loan spells. The Sons were drawn against Kilmarnock, Dunfermline Athletic, Clyde and Falkirk in the Scottish League Cup, which was scheduled the start the season in early October. On 25 August the club started pre-season training following a change in the Scottish Government guidelines implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. Two days later Jim Paton became the club's new groundsman, replacing Alan Brown.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, September
On 1 September midfielder Nat Wedderburn became the club's third new season of the summer, joining on a one-year deal after leaving Airdrieonians. Goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski was next to join, signing on a season long loan from Hibernian. The Sons played their first game in over six months on 15 September, defeating local rivals Clydebank 4-0 in a closed doors friendly with trialist Jaime Wilson and new signing Denny Johnstone both scoring twice.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, September
Johnstone was again on the scoresheet in a friendly defeat to Greenock Morton before a 3-2 victory against Albion Rovers with Robert Jones scoring twice and Ross Forbes finding the net from long range. The Sons then drew 1-1 with BSC Glasgow with a trialist on the scoresheet. Defender Chris Hamilton became the club's fifth new signing of the summer, joining on-loan from Heart of Midlothian.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, October
On 2 October long-serving goalkeeper coach Jamie Ewings left the club after nine seasons with the club as a player and a coach. He was replaced by former Ayr United and Annan Athletic goalkeeper coach Robert Glen in the role. The same day C&G Systems were announced as the club's new shirt sponsors for the upcoming season. Goalkeeper Chris Smith became the club's sixth new signing of the summer. Returning to the club on a permanent deal after a loan spell from East Kilbride in 2018–19.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, October
The Sons season started with a 1-0 Scottish League Cup defeat to Dunfermline Athletic, before a 3-2 defeat to Clyde with Chris Hamilton scoring his first goal for the club - and being sent off. Forward Jaime Wilson became the club's seventh new signing of the summer on 12 October, joining from National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 side Northcote City. Donald Morrison became the club's next new addition, joining from Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 16 October. The Sons' league season began with a 0-0 draw against Forfar Athletic, with winger Matthew Reilly playing as a trialist.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, October
He went on to sign permanently for the club on 23 October before the club's first home league game against Clyde was called off due to a waterlogged pitch. The following week Adam Frizzell became the club's 10th new addition of the summer on 30 October, joining on a permanent basis after a successful loan spell. The same day it was announced that the Sons next home match, against Airdrieonians, would be switched to the Excelsior Stadium due to forecast poor weather. Despite the change of venue Sons still recorded their first victory of the season in the match, with Jaime Wilson and a Leon McCann own goal securing a 2-0 win.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, November
The Sons continued their good start to the season with a 1-0 victory against Clyde on 3 November. Adam Frizzell got the only goal on his second debut for the club. The same day goalkeeper Chris Calder joined the club on an emergency loan from West of Scotland Football League side St Roch's. The unbeaten start to the season ended on 7 November against East Fife in a game where Dumbarton had three goals disallowed.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, November
Three days later Sons lost again, 4-0 at home to Falkirk, in the Scottish League Cup - in a tie where they were only able to name one outfield substitute. Three days later the Sons strengthened their squad again, with the addition of defender Daniel Church from Celtic. Church made his debut the next day, as the Sons dismal Scottish League Cup form continued with a 2-0 defeat to Kilmarnock. Back on league duty, Dumbarton recorded a fourth consecutive defeat - losing 1-0 to Peterhead. A miserable month ended with Sons suffering a fifth straight defeat, 3-0 at home to Falkirk on 24 November.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, December
The Sons barren run in front of goal stretched into December, as the month opened with a 0-0 draw against Partick Thistle - with Kevin Dabrowski saving a first-half Brian Graham penalty. In that game 16-year-old goalkeeper Michael Carr was named on the bench, becoming the youngest ever play to be involved in a Sons matchday squad. A week later Nat Wedderburn then got the only goal as Sons ended their winless streak with a 1-0 home victory against Cove Rangers. They failed to build on that however, suffering a heavy defeat to Montrose the following week. The club's final game of 2020 against East Fife on Boxing Day was then called off because of a waterlogged pitch.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, January
Another postponement followed, as the Sons' tie with Airdrieonians on 2 January was called off because of a frozen pitch. The decision meant that five of the club's first six home matches of the league season had been rearranged - with four failing pitch inspections and one moved due to Falkirk advancing in the Scottish League Cup. Days later goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski, who had been a key figure, was recalled by Hibernian after an injury to Ofir Marciano. He was followed out by fellow loanee Chris Hamilton who was recalled by Heart of Midlothian and loaned to Stirling Albion.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, January
On January 9 goalkeeper Joshua Bradley-Hurst became the club's first signing of the winter window, joining from Birmingham City however the same day the Sons Scottish Cup tie with Highland Football League side Huntly became the club's sixth game of the season to be called off. The following day defender Daniel Church and midfielder Adam Frizzell extended their deals until the end of the season, whilst defender Donald Morrison left the club at the end of his short-term deal. On January 11 the Sons season was put on hold, with a three week suspension of lower league football introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. The season postponement was then extended further - until at least mid-February.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, February
The suspension of lower league football was extended into March in early February - despite clubs offering to test their players weekly. This led to calls from Stefan McCluskey for the Scottish Government to rethink their decision whilst a PFA Scotland survey showed that players were overwhelmingly in favour of a return to the pitch.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, March
On March 2 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave clubs the green-light to return to action with the resumption of the league season scheduled for Saturday March 20. The club's outstanding 2020–21 Scottish Cup tie with Huntly was also rescheduled - for March 23. After returning to training on March 6, Jim Duffy started to reshape his squad - with winger Matthew Reilly and striker Denny Johnstone both departing. Midfielder Tomas Brindley became the club's first arrival of the month, joining on loan from Kilmarnock on March 11.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, March
On March 13 the Sons finally returned to the pitch after almost three months, losing 2-1 in a friendly to Scottish League Two side Stranraer. Goalkeeper Sam Ramsbottom was the club's third new face of the winter window, joining after Joshua Bradley-Hurst suffered an injury. He was followed in arriving before the first game of 2021 by defender Nicholas McAllister, who joined on loan from St Mirren. The Sons season resumed with defeat to Forfar Athletic on March 20 - courtesy of an unfortunate Ryan McGeever own goal.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, March
Two days later winger Stefan McCluskey who was ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury left the club whilst Conner Duthie - who had featured as a trialist again Forfar - signed a deal until the end of the season. Winger Rabin Omar and striker James Wallace were next to arrive, joining on-loan from Greenock Morton. Following a 1-0 defeat to Peterhead striker Isaac Layne rejoined the club on-loan from the Blue Toon. He made his debut as a late substitute on March 30, in a 1-1 draw with Falkirk where Rabin Omar scored his first goal for the Sons.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, April
April began with another 1-0 home loss, this time against Airdrieonians. Another 1-0 home loss - the Sons' fourth in five games - followed, this time to Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup. Goalkeeper Chris Smith left the club on April 6 due to work commitments with Jamie Barclay signed on an emergency loan deal from Kilwinning Rangers as his replacement. On April 8 the Sons finally secured their first league win of 2020, with Ryan McGeever and Adam Frizzell on target in a 2-1 victory against East Fife.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, April
A controversial defeat to Cove Rangers followed, before a second victory of the year against Clyde thanks to a Nat Wedderburn header. That victory was followed by back-to-back defeats to Partick Thistle and East Fife. The run was halted on April 27, with a 1-0 success against Forfar Athletic courtesy of Conner Duthie's late strike. The month ended with private equity firm Cognitive Capital Ltd buying out Brabco 736, to become the club's majority shareholder.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, May
May began with a 2-0 defeat to Clyde that left the Sons a point adrift of safety with just one game remaining. The regular season ended on May 4, with a dramatic 3-2 victory against Peterhead thanks to an injury time header from Jaime Wilson. Two days later however Clyde defeated East Fife to send the Sons into the playoffs, with the semi-final seeing Jim Duffy's side defeat Stranraer over two legs thanks to Jaime Wilson's goal. The Sons secured their place in Scottish League One with a 3-2 final victory against Edinburgh City.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Story of the season, May
Goals from Ryan McGeever, Tomas Brindley and Morgyn Neill saw Dumbarton win the first-leg 3-1, before losing the second 1-0 with Ouzy See getting the only goal. The home leg was played in front of a sell-out crowd of 398 - the first time in 15 months fans had been able to attend a game due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.


2020–21 Dumbarton F.C. season, Player statistics, Captains
Last updated: As of match played 23:53, 20 May 2021 (UTC)Source: Competitive match reports. Competitive matches onlyMatches started as captain onlyCountry: FIFA nationality; No. : Squad number; P: Position; Name: Player name; No. Games: Number of games started as captain.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season
The 2020–21 season was Dundee's second season in the second tier of Scottish football since their relegation at the end of the 2018–19 season.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season
Due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the teams in the Scottish Championship agreed to shorten the season to 27 games rather than the regular 36, with a start date on 17 October 2020. Dundee will also compete in the League Cup and the Scottish Cup. The club was also set to compete in the Challenge Cup, but the tournament was cancelled due to the financial strain of the ongoing pandemic.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season
Dundee would earn promotion after winning the Premiership play-offs, defeating both Raith Rovers and Kilmarnock over two legs to return to the Scottish Premiership after a two-year absence.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, Pre-season
In the wake of the uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dundee would furlough its players and staff, but ensure they would receive their usual salaries. The financial strain caused by the pandemic led to the club needing to cut costs, initially confirming the departure of assistant manager Jimmy Nicholl and asking the players to take wage cuts of up to 30 per cent in June 2020. After discussions lasting several weeks, 12 of the 13 players asked to take cuts agreed, with striker Kane Hemmings the only one to hold out longer.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, Pre-season
Despite initially agreeing to the wage cut as well, Hemmings decided to renege and leave the club in August. Later that month, Dundee would make cuts to their Youth Academy coaching staff, though the majority of coaches would continue their roles in a voluntary capacity. The club would also appoint former player and first-team coach Dave Mackay as assistant manager.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, Pre-season
Dundee would bring in several new players, most notably Dundee-born and ex-Premier League player Charlie Adam, who supported the club as a boy and described signing for the club as a "dream".


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, October
Dundee were set to play their first competitive game of the season in the League Cup at home to Forfar Athletic, but the game was called off and Dundee were awarded a 3–0 win by the SPFL following a Forfar player testing positive for COVID-19. They would begin their competitive campaign four days later, in an away win to Highland League champions Brora Rangers.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, October
The following week, Dundee would play their first league game of the season away to the recently relegated Heart of Midlothian in a highly anticipated opening game, described by the media as a 'grudge match' after the voting fiasco which marred the end of the previous season, in which a controversial Dundee vote ended the season in March and would lead to Hearts' relegation. In a turbulent game, Dundee would be completely outmatched in a 6–2 thrashing at Tynecastle.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, October
After this evisceration, Dundee would pick themselves up and get a much-needed win the following week at home to Greenock Morton, with loanee Jonathan Afolabi scoring his first competitive goal for the club in the 1–0 win. The Dark Blues looked set to repeat this result the following week against newly-promoted Raith Rovers through Charlie Adam's strike, but a late equaliser denied them from taking another 3 points.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, November
Dundee would again struggle away from home, needing inspiration from Adam to score two late goals against part-time Alloa Athletic in order to escape Recreation Park with a point in a wild 3–3 draw. Two days later, midfielder Graham Dorrans would leave the side and move to Australia to play with Western Sydney Wanderers. Returning to League Cup action, Dundee would win comfortably against Scottish League One side Cove Rangers.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, November
Despite equalling high-flying Premiership side Hibernian for most of their final group stage game, a late flurry from the Hibees would result in a heavy 4–1 defeat, though Dundee would still qualify for the following round of the cup. Dundee would coincidentally have to play Hibs away once again after drawing them in the next round. Before that, Dundee would return to league action, but would severely disappoint with an awful start in a defeat at Somerset Park against Ayr United. In their League Cup rematch against Hibs at Easter Road, Dundee would fall to their third consecutive defeat in a close 1–0 loss that would knock them out.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, December
In their first home league game in over a month, Dundee would return to winning ways with another tight 1–0 victory against Arbroath through a Paul McGowan solo goal. In a back-and-forth affair at Caledonian Stadium the following week, they would earn a point through a late Jordan McGhee equaliser. Dundee looked to have swept past high-flying league rivals Dunfermline Athletic with a dominant 3–0 lead late on, but a quick collapse allowed the Pars to snatch an unlikely point at Dens Park.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, December
Despite the prior week's disappointment, the side put it aside and would record a comfortable Boxing Day win away to Queen of the South through an Osman Sow hat-trick. The Dee would record another three goals and a win three days later at home to Alloa, with Sow scoring a brace to make it 6 goals for him in 3 games and bringing them up to third place in the league.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, January
Dundee would gain a measure of revenge over their opening day humiliation against Hearts with a commanding 3–1 win at Dens, scoring 3 goals in 4 consecutive games for the first time in 43 years. They would follow up this impressive performance with a much less impressive one, needing a last-minute equaliser and another comeback in extra time to defeat Lowland League side Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic in the Scottish Cup. After a couple of postponed games, Dundee made their return to league action at Gayfield Park against Arbroath.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, January
Despite an early lead, Dundee could not hold on or take their chances and had to settle for a point. The club's 8-game unbeaten run would end the following week away to Raith, with an early goal nullified in a 1–3 loss. The month was mired with pitch difficulties at Dens, with games being postponed twice.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, February
A combination of Dens Park's pitch issues and heavy snow brought on by Storm Darcy worked to postpone several games for Dundee throughout February. In their first game in three weeks, Dundee would again suffer a bad defeat, losing at home for the first time in over a year to Queen of the South. The following week, Dundee would come back from behind twice against Morton to take a point at Cappielow.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, March
Dundee would begin March by earning their first league win in 2 months at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle. They would fall to Hearts at Tynecastle Park the following Saturday. They would fire back to life next week, getting their first clean sheet since December with a 2–0 win at home to Arbroath. Once again however, any hope of consistency was dashed in a thoroughly unimpressive 1–3 defeat at home to Ayr United.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, March
They would be able to redeem that performance after just 3 days, getting their second away league win of the season at Recreation Park with a very comfortable win over bottom side Alloa Athletic. Dundee would get consecutive wins in dramatic fashion the following week, coming back from an early 0–2 deficit to defeat play-off rivals Dunfermline Athletic.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, April
The side would start the month with a defeat to St Johnstone that would knock them out of the Scottish Cup. They would quickly shake this off and get some revenge against Ayr United with a strong 0–3 win at Somerset Park. Their positive momentum stalled once again however, with a very late equaliser being needed to take a point at home against Morton. The stalling of momentum continued the following Tuesday with their first goalless draw in 13 months away at East End Park.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, April
The side could not take advantage of two Inverness CT players being sent off, with a late goal chopped off and a later one needed to scrape a draw. The Dees would however get an important victory at Dens against Raith Rovers to ensure their place in the Premiership play-offs and give them one last chance at finishing in 2nd. In the final game of the league campaign, a comfortable win courtesy of a Jason Cummings brace and a defeat for Raith allowed Dundee to sneak into 2nd place.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Season summary, May
In the first leg in the Premiership play-off semi-finals, Dundee enjoyed a strong victory at Stark's Park against Raith, taking a 0–3 lead into the second leg. In a nervy affair, Dundee would lose the second leg but were able to go through to the play-off final on aggregate. In the first leg of the final, Dundee would take a lead in the fixture with a 2–1 win over Kilmarnock at Dens, in front of home fans for the first time in 14 months. They would have a similarly exceptional performance at Rugby Park, relegating Kilmarnock and confirming their return to the Scottish Premiership after two years.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Competitions, Scottish Championship
Dundee will compete against Alloa Athletic, Arbroath, Ayr United, Dunfermline Athletic, Greenock Morton, Heart of Midlothian, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Queen of the South, and Raith Rovers in the 2020–21 Championship campaign. They will play each team three times, playing five teams once at home and twice away, and the other four twice at home and once away.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Competitions, Premiership play-offs
As they finished 2nd place in the league, Dundee would enter the Premiership play-offs in the semi-final stages.


2020–21 Dundee F.C. season, Competitions, Scottish Cup
Dundee entered the competition in the 2nd round. The tournament was suspended on 11 January 2021 due to the lockdown restrictions. After being allowed to continue, updated fixture dates were announced on 3 March.


2020–21 Dundee United F.C. season
The 2020–21 season was Dundee United's 112th season. It was their first season back in the Scottish Premiership, having been promoted from the Scottish Championship at the end of the 2019–20 season. United also competed in the League Cup and Scottish Cup.


2020–21 Dundee United F.C. season, Season summary
Dundee United were promoted back to the Premiership after the premature season ending due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland and spent majority of summer months fighting their case in the SPFL and ended up in court with Raith Rovers and Cove Rangers fighting their promotions against relegated teams Heart of Midlothian and Partick Thistle. Also in the off-season, manager Robbie Neilson left for Hearts so Micky Mellon was hired as the new manager for United.


2020–21 Dunfermline Athletic F.C. season
The 2020–21 season was Dunfermline Athletic's fifth season in the Scottish Championship, having finished 6th in the 2019–20 season.


2020–21 Dunfermline Athletic F.C. season, Squad statistics, Appearances and goals
During the 2020–21 season, Dunfermline used twenty-six different players in competitive matches. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player. Forward Declan McManus made the most appearances, playing thirty-six out of a possible 36 games. Kevin O'Hara scored the most goals, with eleven in all competitions.


2020–21 Dunfermline Athletic F.C. season, Squad statistics, Goalscorers
During the 2020–21 season, twelve Dunfermline players scored 51 goals in all competitions.


2020–21 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball team
The 2020–21 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball team represented Duquesne University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Keith Dambrot, and played their home games at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Kerr Fitness Center in McCandless, Pennsylvania as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.


2020–21 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball team, Previous season
The Dukes finished the 2019–20 season 21–9, 11–7 in A-10 play to finish in sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the A-10 Tournament, they were scheduled to face No. 14 Fordham in the second round, but the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League
The 2020–21 Dutch Basketball League (DBL) was the 61st season of the Dutch Basketball League, the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands. The season started on 3 October 2020 and ended on 27 May 2021.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League
It was the first season after the 2019–20 season was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league expanded to 12 teams with the addition of Yoast United, Almere Sailors and The Hague Royals. This marked the highest number of teams since the 2007–08 season. ZZ Leiden won its fourth national title after defeating Heroes Den Bosch in the Finals.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League
On 15 October 2020, the season was suspended for at least four weeks due to government regulations regarding the pandemic. On 19 December 2020, it was announced the competition would restart in January 2021 with a new format.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League, Teams
After falling sponsorship revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DBL lowered the minimum budget for teams from 300,000 € to 150,000 €.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League, Teams
On 1 May 2020, Apollo Amsterdam announced it will not play in the DBL season because of uncertainty due to the pandemic. The DBL announced the remaining eight teams will return for the 2020–21 season. On 5 August, it was announced Basketball Community Gelderland has obtained a licence. On 20 August, it was announced Apollo Amsterdam has obtained a license. On 27 August, the DBL announced the entrance of The Hague Royals and Almere Sailors. BC Gelderland later revealed Yoast United as their new club name.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League, Teams, Sponsored club names
As is common practice in European basketball, the following clubs carried the name of their sponsor this season:


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League, Elite A, Table and Results
Teams carry the results from the regular season with them and play each other twice. All six teams are already qualified for the play-offs.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League, Elite B, Table and Results
Teams carry the results from the regular season with them and play each other twice. The two highest ranked teams qualify for the playoffs as seventh and eight seed.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League, Playoffs
The format of the playoffs was changed due to the compressed schedule. Quarterfinals were played as two-legged series, the semifinals as a best-of-three series and the finals as a best-of-five series.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League, Playoffs, Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals were played in a two-legged format and were played on 8 May and 11 May 2021.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League, Playoffs, Semifinals
The semifinals were played in a best of three series and were played on 15 May, 18 May and 20 May.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League, Playoffs, Finals
ZZ Leiden reached the finals for the first time since 3 years, Heroes Den Bosch for the first time since 6 years. It is the sixth time the teams meat each other in the finals, the last time being in 2012.


2020–21 Dutch Basketball League, Final standings
BAL, winners of the DBL Cup, refused to apply for the FIBA Europe Cup.


2020–21 Dynamo Dresden season
The 2020–21 season is the 71st season of competitive association football played by Dynamo Dresden, a professional football club who play their home matches at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. Their 18th-place finish in the 2019–20 season meant that it would be the clubs first season in the third-tier of German football, the 3. Liga, since the 2015–16 season.


2020–21 Dynamo Dresden season, Background
The 2019–20 season saw Dynamo Dresden finish bottom of the 2. Bundesliga on 32 points and were thus relegated to the 3. Liga. Markus Kauczinski retains his role from the previous season despite relegation, having been appointed in December 2019. It was originally planned for the 3. Liga season to begin on 24 July 2020, though as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the beginning of the 2020–21 season was delayed until 18 September 2020.


2020–21 Dynamo Dresden season, Season summary
After mixed results in pre-season friendlies, Dynamo saw a strong start to their season with wins against first round DFB-Pokal opponent Hamburger SV, a 2. Bundesliga side, and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, but subsequently struggled, losing four of the following eight games. Results improved after a 2–1 home victory over TSV 1860 Munich in round 10, however, with Dynamo going on an eight-game-long lossless streak. A goalless draw against KFC Uerdingen 05 in round 14 made them league leaders, and Dynamo would go on to lose only two more league games until March 2021, although they dropped out of the DFB-Pokal after a 0–3 second round loss against SV Darmstadt 98 on 22 December 2020.


2020–21 Dynamo Dresden season, Season summary
Having now spent much of the season as the league's comfortable leader, things took a sudden turn for the worse when, in late March and April 2021, Dynamo lost three out of four league games in a row, culminating in a 0–3 home loss against Hallescher FC, at the time a team located firmly in the second half of the table. The situation was further complicated by the occurrence of several COVID-19 cases in the team, leading to quarantine periods and the rescheduling of several league games; round 34 was played before rounds 32 and 33.


2020–21 Dynamo Dresden season, Season summary
Following the loss against Halle and a sudden drop from the league's top position, head coach Markus Kauczinski was sacked and replaced by Alexander Schmidt on 25 April. Schmidt was able to reverse the team's fortunes immediately, winning five of the remaining six games without conceding a single goal, thus regaining the top position soon after his installation. Dynamo ultimately won the league four points ahead of FC Hansa Rostock and was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.


2020–21 Dynamo Dresden season, Players, First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2020–21 Dzüko Valley wildfires
The 2020–21 Dzüko Valley wildfires occurred in the states of Nagaland and Manipur in North-east India, beginning on 29 December 2020. The wildfire resulted in widespread environmental damage in the ecologically sensitive region of the Dzüko Valley, destroying 200 acres of old-growth forest. On 9 January 2021, Nagaland government officers stated that the fire had been brought under control and it was confirmed to have been doused by 11 January 2021.


2020–21 Dzüko Valley wildfires, Overview, Environmental factors
The Dzüko Valley is an environmentally sensitive zone located in the north-eastern state of Nagaland, and bordering the state of Manipur, in India. It is located at 2452 meters above sea level, and hosts a large variety of flora and fauna, including the Dzüko lily, which is indigenous to the valley and not found elsewhere. The valley is also home to the endangered Blyth's tragopan, the state bird of Nagaland. It is popular for tourism and trekking.


2020–21 Dzüko Valley wildfires, Overview, Environmental factors
The valley borders Mount Tempü, in Manipur, which is covered in a large area of old-growth forest. The valley has experienced several wildfires before. In 2006, a wildfire damaged an area of 20 kilometers in the southern part of the valley. In 2018, a previous wildfire believed to have been caused by some tourists damaged part of the valley. The valley is disputed territory, with both states of Nagaland and Manipur claiming it as part of their land.


2020–21 Dzüko Valley wildfires, Cause
The fire is believed to have begun on 28 or 29 December 2020. After unsuccessful attempts to control the fire on the ground, it spread southwards and to the west, across the valley towards the neighboring state of Manipur, and engulfed Mount Tempü in Manipur. On 2 January, the wildfire spread to the state of Manipur and the Manipur State Government began firefighting efforts as well. The presence of dry grass and climatic factors, including strong winds, encouraged the spread of the wildfire.