A new week is once again upon us as we dig deeper into the month of August, with the latest news from the college athletics realm bringing a great deal of disappointment to fanbases around the country.
According to reports, fall sports are on the brink of postponement until 2021 — including college football — due to the novel coronavirus outbreak in the United States. As one Power Five conference commissioner put it: “It’s gotten to a critical stage.”
The Big Ten appears to be leading the way, with its school presidents meeting on Sunday to discuss the fate of the football season and emerging without an answer just yet. But there is still a sense of impending doom in the air.
Source: Big Ten Presidents remain on the cusp of cancelling the season, but the league isn’t ready to announce. The decision is close, but not final. Big Ten programs have been instructed by Commissioner Kevin Warren to essentially go light in practice tomorrow.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 10, 2020
USA TODAY Sports columnist Dan Wolken weighed in with his opinion on how college football is finally coming to terms with the reality of the risks involved when it comes to conducting a fall season amidst a pandemic. In his words, he offered the following.
No matter how else administrators have tried to rationalize the push forward toward a fall season for months and months, the chill of trepidation that has settled over college sports in recent days bears a distinct resemblance to the consciousness of guilt.
Needless to say, the decisions made these next few days will set the course for college sports for the rest of the calendar year… if not longer.
Around the Swamp
- Power Five AD believes cancelation of fall football is ‘inevitable’: On Saturday, the Mid-American Conference became the first Football Bowl Subdivision league to cancel its season, a decision that came on the heels of the Power Five conferences’ decision to adopt a conference-only schedule.
- Florida Gators add five-star CB Jason Marshall to 2021 football class: While the news regarding the 2020 college football season has been bleak in recent days, the Florida Gators made an impactful splash on August 9, adding five-star Miami cornerback Jason Marshall to their 2021 class.
It’s great to be a Florida Gator!
This is why we stick together. #GoGators@GatorsFB @DannyWuerffel @ChrisDoering pic.twitter.com/bPWkiD0cc1
— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) August 8, 2020
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