Schools around the country–primarily in the SEC–have announced upwards of 25 percent fan capacity at home games this football season while, as everybody knows at this point, two of the Power Five conferences will not be playing (as things stand today).
For those SEC schools the numbers stand as follows:
25 percent capacity: Texas A&M, South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Ole Miss, Mississippi State
20-25 percent: Georgia
21-23 percent: Arkansas
20 percent: Alabama, Auburn
No plan yet: Vanderbilt, LSU, Kentucky, Florida
So, news came out that Notre Dame–a member of the ACC this season–will plan for upwards of 20 percent capacity at home games this season.
Notre Dame will have 20% capacity or less for home football games w/priority to students, assuring every student who wants to attend games will be able to do so. Once student demand has been met, remaining tickets will be made available to Notre Dame Faculty & Staff
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 31, 2020
Yes, Notre Dame is in the same state as Big Ten schools Purdue and Indiana.
Notice the disconnect in the sport yet?
Even Iowa State from the Big 12, obviously in the same state as Iowa, is planning for 25,000 fans.
25,000 vs not playing. Conferences and schools can’t be so separated on such an important issue.
Iowa State announces it will allow around 25,000 fans for its football season opener against Louisiana on Sept. 12.
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) August 31, 2020
I talked about it on the 3rdAndRun Podcast last week. Long story short: the conferences need to somehow get on the same page or the future of the sport will not be a bright one.
The cross-conference disconnect is expected given how the sport is structured–a problem I gave a solution two a few weeks ago. But now it’s even within states.
Leadership and unity matter during a time like this, and I can only hope for the future of the sport to trend in a good direction after a season occurs with two conferences siting at home while three play with thousands of fans in the stands.