Tag: Cancelled

Another Cancellation Coming? Pac-12 Sets Afternoon News Conference

With the announcement of an afternoon news conference today will the Pac-12 be the next conference to cancel football this fall?

The Big Ten did what pretty much everyone expected them to do on Tuesday afternoon, officially cancelling their football season this fall with no guarantee or promise that it’ll be played in the spring.

Over the last few weeks most have expected the Big Ten to act first in cancelling their season and that the Pac-12 would quickly follow, just like they did when announcing conference-only schedules last month.

Related:  Big Ten Cancels Football this Fall

Now we may be getting that second domino in the Power Five to fall as the Pac-12 has scheduled a news conference for later this afternoon, at 4:30 p.m. ET to be specific.

They’re either announcing they’re cancelling their fall sports schedule as well or will be announcing a plan to move their schedule back further into the fall.  Either way this certainly has to do with the colleges athletic schedules and if you’re really hoping for teams to be playing, I’d say there is nothing that will come from this that you’ll see as “good”.

Stay tuned to Fighting Irish Wire as we’ll continue to keep you updated on all things regarding college football as they happen.

Report: Second Group of Five Conference Cancels Football

The MAC is no longer the only conference to have cancelled football this fall as another Group of Five conference joined them in doing so.

As we went back and forth with the Big Ten cancelling and then not actually cancelling football for the fall earlier today, we do now have word that another FBS conference has pulled the plug on their football season.

The Moutntain West Conference has canceled their 2020 football season in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and over fear of player health and safety concerns.  Brett McMurphy of Stadium was first with the report.

McMurphy’s report adds that the conference will consider playing football in the spring but makes no guarantee to it happening.

The Mountain West Conference is home to Air Force, Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, Nevada, UNLV, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, Utah State and Wyoming in football.

The Mountain West Conference joins the Mid-American Conference as the first two to officially cancel the 2020 season.  The addition of Connecticut cancelling football last week brings the total to 26 FBS programs that won’t play football this fall.

LOOK: Alabama football players tweet ‘#WeWantToPlay’

Alabama football players tweet about the #WeWantToPlay movement in support of playing in the 2020 college football season.

The #WeWantToPlay movement has gone viral among college football players, as the threat of a cancelled 2020 season lingers throughout tweets and headlines of high profile journalists, media personalities and news outlets.

Alabama players are now taking a stand on social media by using the hashtag. While there has not been any news surrounding the SEC’s 2020 plans, the athletes stand united.

Here’s what members of the Crimson Tide had to say:

Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, who is not often on social media, tweeted the hashtag.

Najee, who was involved in the creation of the movement, also included a picture with a list of demands by the student athletes.

Tight end Miller Forristall argues that the Alabama football facility will be the safest place for the players when the school year begins.

Offensive lineman Landon Dickerson is in his final year of eligibility and decides to point out potential hypocrisy in the decision-making process.

Alabama’s sophomore kicker Will Reichard suffered a hip injury that hindered his freshman year, after nursing it back to health and training in the offseason, he fears it may all go to waste.

Defensive back Brandon Turnage makes sure his voice is heard.

These are just a few players at Alabama that made their voices heard on social media.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on the state of the 2020 college football season and what plans are made by the SEC or the University of Alabama.

Najee Harris helped orchestrate ‘#WeWantToPlay’ movement

Alabama senior running back Najee Harris was a part of a 15 player group call the help in the creation of the ‘#WeWantToPlay’ movement.

The No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in the United States last night was ‘#WeWantToPlay,’ a movement led by college football players from various programs, conferences and divisions.

The movement is driven by recent rumors that claim Power 5 conferences may look to cancel the 2020 college football season, and all fall sports, due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

The hashtag was spearheaded by Clemson’s star quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, a player who is likely set to be an early draftee in 2021, but still wants to play.

In a report by The State, Lawrence got the ball rolling, but it took 14 other players to put together a short list of demands and begin spreading the hashtag like wildfire. The list is asking for conferences and the NCAA to protect the players on various levels and ensure the players’ voices continue to be heard through a players association.

The report names some players that were involved on the call, one of which being Alabama’s senior running back, Najee Harris.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on the movement and the state of the 2020 college football season as more information becomes available.

College football’s 2020 bleakness continues to grow

The bleakness surrounding college football taking place in 2020 is swelling at an incredible rate this Saturday afternoon.

I hate having to type this as the news and reports that have come out in the last 24 hours paint a very somber picture for the chances of college football actually being played this fall.

NCAA President Mark Emmert gave a grim outlook on college football Friday night.

On Saturday morning the MAC announced they were cancelling all fall sports, including football for the fall.

And now we’ve got countless different college football and athletic reporters passing information along from their unique sources just how bleak the season starting in just a month appears to be.

This from Brett McMurphy of Stadium, who has broken several big-time college football stories before:

Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated has heard similar things as McMurphy:

Ross Dellinger of Sports Illustrated has followed up with his sources in regards to the information Forde provided and he’s hearing more of the same:

I could put tweets up here all day but I’m not sure that would do anybody any good.

College football seems to be hanging by it’s last strand of having even the most remote of chances of being played this fall.

By no means are any of these reports official yet, but it’s certainly starting to feel like a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ they are.

MAC cancels football, Notre Dame out an opponent

Just days after Notre Dame announced their revised 2020 football schedule amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ll have to reschedule yet again. That’s because the Mid American Conference (MAC) has become the first FBS conference to cancel their 2020 …

Just days after Notre Dame announced their revised 2020 football schedule amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ll have to reschedule yet again.

That’s because the Mid American Conference (MAC) has become the first FBS conference to cancel their 2020 fall football season, doing so on Saturday morning. There was no announcement as to whether the conference would make spring football an option.

That leaves Notre Dame without an opponent on September 19 when they were supposed to play host to Western Michigan, a MAC member.

Related: Predicting Notre Dame’s schedule game by game

Power Five conferences like the Big Ten canceling all out of conference games this year did a huge number on the MAC. For example, Central Michigan was to play road games at both Nebraska and Northwestern that would net the athletic department over two-million dollars in revenue but lost out on both opportunities.

Bowling Green loses out on $2.2 million they were set to receive for games at Ohio State and Illinois.

As Nicole Auerbach of The Atheltic points out, the MAC isn’t going to be the only conference that goes this route.

How many conferences will follow suit? The MAC was the final conference to announce their revised plans that were ultimately a cancelation, but that doesn’t mean several other can’t revise theirs and do the same thing.

Stay tuned as the fallout from this will impact a lot more than just the 2020 college football season.

Good News from Iowa in Regards to College Football in 2020?

The Univ. of Iowa president spoke about Hawkeyes football starting up on June 1 today. Is that good news or is just words spoken too soon?

We’re 121 days until the 2020 College Football season is to kickoff with the newly formed Week Zero.  As Notre Dame fans know the Fighting Irish are scheduled to play Navy that day, August 29 in Dublin, Ireland.

Much has been made of if this game will or won’t be played.  It makes very little sense to me that a sporting event is alright to play but other mass-gatherings in Ireland are not alright to have.  We can discuss that for literally hours but instead let’s focus on the potential good news that came from Iowa today for college football fans.

University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld said Thursday that the plan at his university for now is for athletics practices, football included, to start on June 1.

So get excited, right?  Iowa is setting the trend and the rest of the Big Ten will follow and then the rest of college football quickly after.

The good news comes from the state of Iowa being in a position that coronavirus hasn’t been as severe and that talks of this are even a possibility.  However, turn on the news and you’ll quickly see that for every Iowa, there is a New York, Michigan or Florida where you’re still seeing over 1000 new cases of COVID-19 per day.

I think Harreld comes off perhaps a bit optimistic but he also gave some reason as to why, right now on April 30, he sees June 1 as a possible starting point for football and other team activities.

I hope like all getup that Harreld is right.  That would mean the worst of this pandemic would be behind us sooner rather than later and that college football gets started as regularly scheduled, something I have not been optimistic about for quite some time.  It was Miami (FL) head coach Manny Diaz who put everything in perspective as well as anyone I’ve seen so far when he spoke to ESPN this week.

“We all know what we want, but we’ve encountered something that’s unprecedented,” Diaz said. “We have to play it out and see what we can get. That’s the difference. Let’s see how good we can get it. I believe we’ll all be appreciative for whatever we get.”

As much as I hope Harreld is correct it’s simply way too soon for us to know if things will start on June 1 like he says.  Think back how different you may have viewed this pandemic just two weeks ago.  Now think back a whole month ago.

Everything news-wise changes so quickly with this it’s almost impossible to be able to predict things getting started like Harreld suggests just a month from now.  I’m not sold his beliefs or hopes will play out this way but I’d be beyond ecstatic to be wrong and for what should be a fun 2020 season to get started after the strangest springs of almost all of our lives.

Lack of Logic Surrounding Notre Dame/Navy in Ireland

Notre Dame and Navy are to play in late August in Dublin. A recent Ireland ban however makes no sense and leaves us w/o game resolution yet.

As you’re aware Notre Dame is scheduled to start the 2020 college football season in Dublin, Ireland in what is now known as Week Zero in the sport. The last Saturday in August is currently set to see Notre Dame take on Navy at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Last week news came out that Dublin was banning gatherings of 5000 people or more through August.  We covered that and told you the news that will be coming at some point because of that.

Now we sit here with you almost an entire week later and we have no news.  Still.

In fact Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk is insisting that the game is still on:

“it is way too early to speculate on what happens in the season opener.  Let’s just wait and see what happens. We’re in no hurry to make a final decision.” – Navy AD Chet Gladchuk to Annapolis Gazette

Uhh, Chet.  This isn’t all that complicated.

We sit here on the evening of April 27 with no real end in sight to the stoppage of sports aside from golf being played anytime soon.  Some colleges are already planning on having their fall classes be conducted all online and not at their campuses but there is still plenty of time?

I didn’t understand in the article that the Ireland government told Gladchuk that the Ireland ban on 5000 or more in a gathering doesn’t currently apply to sporting events.  So you mean to tell me that coronavirus is a big sports fan and is willing to keep to itself and not spread at a sporting event?

Logic would tell you that ruling or way of thinking will change before long.  Then would you send both teams across the Atlantic Ocean to play a football game in front of a minimal amount of fans?

I’m guessing not.

Incredibly dumb logic here for Ireland to have a different set of rules for mass gatherings for sporting events compared to non-sporting events.

I wish I was wrong but it’s just a matter of time until this game is unfortunately moved to the states.  Now let’s just hope that’s all it is and not cancelled or pushed back significantly.

Just a Matter of Time Until Notre Dame/Navy in Ireland is Called Off

It appears to be just a matter of time until Notre Dame and Navy’s season-opener in Dublin gets officially called off

It was supposed to be a season opener like very few before it.  Notre Dame and Navy were (and technically still are) scheduled to start the 2020 college football season in Dublin, Ireland with ESPN’s College Gameday on location.  The game technically still could happen we suppose but news it out Tuesday says that at best, fans likely won’t be included.  At least not very many of them.

Per Irish Times:

Ireland is set to announce the banning of all events with 5000 or more people with authorities being told not to grant licenses for large events in this period due to the coronavirus crisis.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure the rest of this out.

Notre Dame and Navy aren’t going to be flying across the pond to play a football game in front of fewer than 5000 fans, especially with the fears of flying and doing unnecessary travel right now.  You can go to a local high school and play in front of a crowd that size, why in the world would you fly teams and staffs to Ireland to play a game that pretty much nobody is allowed to attend as fans?

There may not have been a statement made by the Naval Academy yet, it is their home game after all, or Notre Dame’s but that’s just the period at the end of the sentence at this point.  With this news out today it tells us what we all expected but hoped against for a while, that is that there will be no season opener in Ireland this year.

Now we hope for the best case scenario, however unlikely, to be that the game can be played on the same date in the United States.  Brian Kelly and Jack Swarbrick have been open about alternate plans already being discussed about that, now will come the next steps which will include the official cancellation of the Ireland game which could come in days, if not hours.  Also to come is the decided location of the game and date, which could already be known but is being withheld in event it’s never necessary to actually announce.

Let’s hope against that and instead the game gets moved to the mainland and is actually played the last weekend in August.  I think we’d all be thrilled at this point if football at all is played the last week of August whether it be in Indianapolis, Washington D.C., Orlando or at a high school field.

Kirby Smart talks 2020 CFB season, possibility of empty stadiums due to coronavirus

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart talks the 2020 college football season and the possibility of playing in empty stadiums due to coronavirus.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, whether or not we will have a 2020 college football season is a mystery right now.

Different coaches and analysts have given their opinions on the matter.

Kirk Herbstreit said he’d be shocked if we had a season. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney seems completely unbothered by what’s going on and is fully preparing to play in 2020.

South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp has a different outlook on things.

On SiriusXM with Peter Burns and Chris Doering, Muschamp pointed to July 13th as an ideal date to get these players back to campus and into shape.

Here’s Muschamp’s full quote:

“I looked last night, coach (Ray) Tanner and I were just talking – if we are able to come back, which is a huge if – July 13 would probably be a decent date,” Muschamp said. “You’ve got four weeks and you’re into August and you don’t open until September 5 and you’ve got four weeks of practice, so I think those are just some things we just threw around, just trying to figure out.

“When it’s safe to do those things, great. If it’s not, then we’ll continue to do what they’re doing right now.”

As for Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart, he’s been asked the same question on a number of occasions. However, when answering the questions from beat writers and Paul Finebaum, he gave a classic Kirby answer — not too much info, but also not much info.

Then again, how much can Kirby really tell us? He does not know when this thing is ending, nor will he know how long it’ll take for people to be comfortable leaving their homes again. There’s only so much he can say.

He opened up a little bit more about it when remotely interviewed by the SEC Network’s Laura Rutledge the other day. Rutledge asked Smart what his thoughts were on Muschamp’s comment.

Remember, Smart and Muschamp go way back and have been friends for 20 years.

“I would argue that’s speculative,” Smart said of Muschamp’s comments. “I understand Will and I have shared and talked ideas as well as most of the SEC coaches. We’re kind of in that same fraternity together and we all talk.”

“Everybody has their opinions, but ultimately I don’t know as coaches if our opinion will ever come near outweighing our athletic trainers and the medical staff and safety and well-being of the players. I certainly think that our players are young, they’re very resilient, they can get ready in a quick turnaround.”

“A lot of us as coaches got to be smart about what that turnaround may be. Whether that’s July 13, whether that’s in August, there’s a lot of football season’s been played where guys didn’t get time leading in to prepare maybe as much as they have. As long as it’s equal then we’re all going to be on the same footing. We’ve got to get by with what they give us.”

Recently on the Finebaum Show, Smart said that in the meantime, we need to practice social distancing and follow the guidelines from the CDC. If we do that, Smart said everything else will take care of itself.

There’s also the possibility of playing the 2020 college football season in empty stadiums.

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We’ve voiced our opinions on that matter, and Smart seemed to have a similar stance. It’s just not college football without the fans.

“I think that’s tough,” Smart said. “I think it’s really tough. If it happened as a one-off or as a one-time special scenario, which we saw happen a little bit early on in basketball and we thought it might be that way. But to look at that as a long-term or even season answer, I just think that’s tough. Not that we play just for the fans, but we certainly are there to entertain. It certainly affects the kids and the performance. Like you mention, if the safety of the fans is at risk, we’re going to feel the same way about the players.”