The Coronavirus pandemic cut the 2019-2020 college basketball postseason short, cancelling all of ‘March Madness,’ it also ended all 2020 Spring collegiate sports. Now, as the 2020 college football season approaches, questions are arising as to how, or if, it will be played.
The Ivy League is reportedly considering to move their football season to the Spring of 2021. This change in season would allow more time to pass in hopes that the pandemic subsides or a vaccine is created.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum spoke with Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer and shared his own opinion on what the NCAA should do.
Finebaum spoke about what the ‘best case scenario’ is for college football in the Fall of 2020.
“I think probably the best case is to put off any important decisions for three to four weeks,” said Finebaum. “… I think they’ll keep pushing, keep moving the invisible deadline to where, if the country is still in a freefall in a couple of weeks, then I don’t think they’ll have much choice but to then say, ‘We can’t do it at all’ or ‘We’re going to pause here and give it a few more weeks and maybe start in mid-September or late September.’
If you’re the SEC, ACC, Big Ten — maybe you just play conference games. I think the non-conference games are in serious jeopardy.”
The “invisible date” Finebaum references is crucial. The refusal to set a date for a decision allows the NCAA more time to evaluate the current state of the pandemic, as well as potentially prepare for preventive measures if they decide to go through with the season.
2020 SEC Media Days has also been cancelled and set for rescheduling, but an official date has not been announced.
He was also asked about the likelihood of games being played in the Fall.
“I think the likelihood of college football is slipping away by the day. … It’s remarkable to think from holiday to holiday — Memorial Day to the Fourth of July — what has happened. I would say on Memorial Day it was a slam dunk. It was going to happen,” says Finebaum. “There could be some complications. As we hit the next big holiday of the year, which is the last holiday before Labor Day, it seems like everything has gone the wrong way.
And when I say that, it’s not even the complications within the sport, which are massive … It’s just the (COVID-19) spikes around the country are happening at probably the worst possible time to safely execute college football.”
Finebaum stated there there is a “less than 50 percent chance” football is played in 2020.
Roll Tide Wire will continue to keep you updated as more information becomes available regarding college football being played in the Fall of 2020.