I didn’t want to have to write about this…and I hope I don’t have to address it again because a big part of the appeal of doing a college football column is writing about what I like and is interesting to me…and getting away from current events quite frankly. Alas, it’s going to be difficult to move onto a “Coaches on Hot Seat” column (and the like) without acknowledging the elephant that’s barged into the room.
The news on college football’s fall schedule and COVID19 is still coming in. The SEC, ACC and Big 12 are discussing collaborating in some way if possible to preserve non-conference matchups but it is looking like all-conference schedules may be the best case scenario for any significant level of football playing in September and into the fall.
The possibility of delaying the season into the late winter and spring of 2021 has been discussed – though that would involve a lot of adjusting and likely take place without some of the best players who would prepare for the NFL Draft. There’s also legitimate concern about what the toll of two seasons in a year – playing again in the autumn of 2021 – would do to young players.
Right now, it seems there’s a pretty good chance (50-50, 60-40?) that there will not be college football this fall or that it will be a dramatically shortened schedule.
To be honest – I’m pretty depressed about this and don’t really feel like talking about all the possible variables, in part because it’s not clear what they are. If infection rates continue to rise in the South and West, even if death rates and hospitalization levels are relatively low and don’t impact younger folks as much, colleges are very concerned about the liability of keeping students on campus and having them get sick to play a sport where they are not compensated. I’m not writing that to start an argument, you can agree or disagree with the thinking, but it’s the reality. Already a number of FCS and lower division conferences have cancelled their fall seasons and are planning hopefully for the spring.
One “silver lining” if you will, about the need to have major college football is the financial hit that losing all that revenue from playing and particularly from television deals would mean for entire athletic departments. If it’s at all possible to play a season, even a shortened one, this Fall or even stretching from late Fall into Winter – the schools, conferences and other interests involved will want to do it.
Another final, positive note is that three professional leagues are about to start their seasons in late July (MLB, NBA and NHL). Their experience gives both college football and the NFL a roadmap for how it could work. Again, however, the NFL is a professional workforce that is well compensated for playing and there are no comparable bad optics to unpaid college students playing and staying on campuses where students may not be.
At this point, we’ll just have to wait, hope and see. Maybe I can talk myself into being excited to have a spring football season…? Not feeling like that right now though.
Next column we’ll get back to breaking down another aspect of the sport we know and love. Hit me up on Twitter @JustinReady with questions, opinions or hawt takes. You can also email questions or takes to JustinReady@yahoo.com.