The biggest question surrounding the financial and emotional crisis the NCAA is in due to the coronavirus pandemic remains if football season will be played this school year.
Well, make that a when, I guess.
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley met with members of the Oklahoma media on a conference call on Thursday. He’s been confident since the beginning that football will be played this year.
Riley’s confidence reached a new height in regards to the football season. Here is his quote in its entirety:
“I definitely think we’ll play,” he told members of the media. “When we play, I just think everybody whether it’s our decision-makers, our coaches, our players, fans, I think everybody’s got to have a very open mind about this. We’re not the NFL. There are some huge, huge differences in us being able to put on a successful season versus a professional league. We’re not the NBA. We don’t just have 15 players. This is a totally different deal. I do believe if we do it right and if we’re patient enough on some key areas like when we bring our players back on campus… I mean, all this talk about these schools wanting to bring players back on June 1st is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. And so we’ve got to be patient.
“We’ll get one good shot at it, to bring them back at the right time when we’re prepared and know as much about this as we possibly can. But I do believe if we do it right and don’t get ahead of ourselves that we will be able to play a season. Whether that’s this fall, whether it’s in the spring, whether it’s a combination, whether it’s a short schedule, a full schedule, I don’t know. I know all those options are on the table and we’re going to have to have an open mind and we’re probably going to have to make some adjustments along the way. But I have a high, high confidence that we are going to play football this year.”
Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione reiterated a little bit of that confidence on Thursday, mentioning that he isn’t altering plans for non-conference games.
The Sooners are scheduled to begin the season against Missouri State on Sept. 5 in Norman, Oklahoma.
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