Ready or not, momentum is building toward a 2020 college football season
There was a time during this coronavirus pandemic when I thought there was no way we’d see college football in 2020.
I don’t think that anymore.
The ball is rolling. Like it or not. Wise or not. There is too much at stake — too much money at stake — for the powers that be in college athletics not to at least try to produce some sort of football season in 2020. So in that direction they head.
Wednesday, the NCAA reportedly voted to lift its moratorium and allow voluntary athletic activities in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, starting June 1.
Perhaps as soon as Friday, the chancellors/presidents of the 14 SEC schools are expected to vote on when student-athletes can return to campus for voluntary workouts. Some want doors to reopen June 1. Others believe June 15 is a better date.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame announced this week it will bring students back to campus on Aug. 10, two weeks ahead of its normal schedule. The school will not have a fall break in October and finish the semester before Thanksgiving. The thinking is that school could be wrapped up before a potential second wave of the coronavirus strikes. South Carolina announced a similar plan last week.
That timing would also line up with the college football season. The Irish are scheduled to open the season Aug. 29 against Navy. It finishes the season Nov. 28 in Los Angeles against Southern Cal. This year’s Governor’s Cup between Kentucky and Louisville is scheduled for Nov. 28 at Cardinal Stadium. The SEC championship game is scheduled for the next Saturday.
Most administrators have voiced the belief that student-athletes have to be back on campus before you can ask student-athletes to play football. How could it be unsafe for students to mingle, but safe for football players to pull on pads and smash into each other?
As for fans, UK Coach Mark Stoops is on record as saying he’s not in favor of playing games without spectators in the stands. Louisville Athletics Director Vince Tyra is on the same page. And while there is hope that by September we could have fans in stands, college football might have no choice but to least at accept limited to no capacity.
Horse racing is back without fans. Auto racing is back without fans. Golf is back without fans. Major League Baseball may be on the verge of starting without fans. And we may not be that far away from the return of the NBA, as well.
California appeared resistant to the idea of sports competition until Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that pro sports could start June 1 without fans. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also gave the go-ahed to a June 1 spectator-less start to professional sports.
On CBS’s “60 Minutes” last Sunday, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said, ”Sporting events and theaters will be doing more online performances and things like that. But it’ll be quite challenging for them.”
There are risks. Without a vaccine, big risks. Schools and conferences are already preparing plans to mitigate those risks. Masks. Plenty of disinfectant. Testing and more testing. Social distancing. Travel accommodations. And the clock is ticking.
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Monday his league is targeting a mid-June return to campus for workouts. He said things need to be “up and running” by mid-July for the college football season to be played.
“There are going to be outbreaks on campus,” Bowlsby said. “The virus is going to be with us for the foreseeable future.”
Meanwhile, the SEC has appointed a Medical Task Force — UK executive associate athletics director Jim Madaleno is one member — to help move forward on such matters.
And make no mistake, college football is moving forward. No one knows for sure if the powers-that-be will get there, if the season will begin on time, if there will be a delayed start, if spikes might bring their efforts to a grinding halt. But there’s too much for them to lose not to try.
