The ‘wicked problem’ that is playing college football in the spring
Wednesday links:
What a spring football should look like. Bill Connelly of ESPN writes, “In the social sciences, there is a concept called a ‘wicked problem.’ It was coined by University of California, Berkeley professor Horst Rittel and describes, in effect, a unique problem that has no right answers. Whatever you choose to solve a wicked problem is a “one-shot operation” that cannot be undone. You don’t learn everything about the problem until you try (and probably fail) to solve it. Finding the least wrong solution requires creativity and early dialogue.”
How does the Big Ten and Pac-12 affect SEC? Josh Moore of the Herald-Leader writes, “The Big Ten also has nine bowl partnerships in 2020, not counting the CFP games. Three of those — the Citrus Bowl, Music City Bowl and Outback Bowl — are tie-ins whose other participant is supposed to be an SEC team. Another Big Ten bowl — the Quick Lane Bowl — officially has no partner teams available in 2020 due to the MAC’s fall postponement. The Pac-12 has eight bowl tie-ins for 2020, excluding the CFP. One of those — the Las Vegas Bowl — is supposed to be played against an SEC team.”
Is it wise for SEC to go it alone? My column says, “Sankey is obviously smart, well-read, disciplined — Sankey runs at least 3 miles a day — and, most of all, deliberate. Under his leadership, the SEC was not the first to collapse the tent on its men’s basketball tournament when COVID-19 first reared its ugly head back in March, but it ultimately made the right call. Through the summer, the SEC was not the first to roll out health and safety measures, but the league appears the most likely to see them through.”
Big 12 keeps football hopes alive. Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated reports, “The Big 12’s decision Tuesday night to trudge onward with a 2020 fall football season has kept alive the hope, maybe faint, that there will be college pigskin action in autumn. Hours after the Big Ten and Pac-12 called it quits, the Big 12, with a chance to shut down and bring maybe all of college football with it, stood firm. The league’s top decision-makers were determined to continue marching toward a September kickoff. A group split and on the fence entering the day, Big 12 leaders settled on the side of their neighbors to the east and southeast, ACC and SEC, instead of the ones to their north and west.”
ACC staying the course. Eric Crawford of WDRB reports, “Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra, contacted Tuesday by WDRB columnist Rick Bozich, said via text message: ‘I’m surprised at the change of direction with nothing tangibly different from a health and safety standpoint. I would be intrigued to see how they weighed safely playing in the spring and next fall versus playing this fall and next fall.’”
College football splinters and teeters. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports, “When the pandemic halted college sports and the rest of American life in mid-March, administrators viewed the stoppage of college football as a financially catastrophic but unlikely prospect. The country had five months to control the outbreak, and they had ample time to plan contingencies. But as summer seeps into fall, the country remains unable to control the virus, and college sports are lacking both central leadership and options, with football becoming the latest front in the country’s culture war.”
Big Ten and Pac-12 show rare trait. Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post writes, “Don’t let the baying noisemakers and the desperate politickers for college football distract you from a central fact about the novel coronavirus epidemic. Caution works. So far, nothing else has. In the next couple of weeks, millions of undergraduates will start streaming back to campuses amid outbreaks. How about we see the consequences of that before we send players on to the field to make each other’s snot and spit fly?”
Big Ten commissioner shoots down Nebraska. Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reports, “Warren’s concise Nebraska rebuttal is a nice window into the bottom line he used to help guide the decision that may ultimately define his career as Big Ten commissioner. He politely told Nebraska that if it goes rogue, it can pack it where the corn doesn’t husk. And the league would be happy to keep its $50 million cut and share it with those who play nice.”
Texas college towns could be devastated. Texas Tribune reports, “Across Texas, university leaders have supported allowing football to move forward if conference division leaders allow it. Student athletes are already training on many campuses and school officials are laying plans to space out fans in their stadiums. At the same time, many faculty and students have expressed trepidation about returning to campus as Texas remains a hot spot in the nation and hospitalizations and deaths related to the virus remain high.”
Kenny Payne leaving UK. Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader writes, “During Payne’s 10 seasons on the Kentucky staff, the program won 295 games and the 2012 NCAA Tournament championship. That decade also included four Final Four appearances in a five-year period: 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. That was an unprecedented achievement even for a UK program rich in accomplishments. UK went to three straight Final Fours beginning in 1996 and three in a four-year period beginning in 1948.”
