Tag: coronavirus college football

Ohio State QB Justin Fields creates a petition to save the Big Ten season

The Heisman finalist is doing everything he can to try and play in the fall

 

Despite the Big Ten’s decision to cancel fall sports, the #WeWantToPlay movement has not stopped fighting for the conference to reconsider. Earlier this morning, Ohio State QB Justin Fields, the biggest star in the conference, tweeted out a petition to “request that the Big Ten Conference immediately reinstate the 2020 football season.”

The petition reads as follows:

“We, the football players of the Big Ten, together with the fans and supporters of college football, request that the Big Ten Conference immediately reinstate the 2020 football season. Allow Big Ten players/teams to make their own choice as to whether they wish to play or opt out this fall season. Allow Big Ten players/teams who choose to opt out of playing a fall season to do so without penalty or repercussion.”

“Why is this important?

We want to play. We believe that safety protocols have been established and can be maintained to mitigate concerns of exposure to Covid 19. We believe that we should have the right to make decisions about what is best for our health and our future. Don’t let our hard work and sacrifice be in vain. #LetUsPlay!”

The petition is addressed to the Big Ten Conference, Commissioner Kevin Warren, and the Presidents of the Big Ten schools who ultimately voted on the decision.

As of 11:30 AM central, the petition has over 23,000 signatures in just over one hour of being up. The Heisman finalist and Big Ten Player of the Year has been extremely vocal about wanting a season reinstated in the fall so that he can compete in likely his final college season before heading to the NFL.

Anybody who feels inclined can sign the petition here to be a part of the #WeWantToPlay movement.

Opinion: The current disheartening state of college football could lead to a long overdue voice for the athletes

Will the disastrous state of college football leadership lead to athletes organizing and being recognized?

There was a mixture of confusion, anger, and overwhelming sadness swirling in the college football universe as we woke up on this Monday morning preparing for the worst. Last night, the thoughts in everyones mind revolved around a matter of when, not if, the college football season would be officially cancelled.

Over the past few days, as we have neared the official cancellation of Big Ten football this fall, athletes from major conferences have joined together for a Twitter takeover, similar to the MLB and NFL player blitz that occurred recently during their battle over playing a season. Their message on Twitter is simple: We want to play. Clemson’s star QB Trevor Lawrence, who ironically would be a top pick in the draft with or without playing this season, was among those leading the charge as were many Badgers.

This piece is not about whether or not they should play, but instead a part of the #WeWantToPlay message that would shift college football in the direction of the athletes.

One piece of the statements released on Twitter by many of college football’s biggest stars sticks out above the rest: “Use our voice to establish open communication and trust between players and officials; ultimately create a college football players association.”

That sentence strikes fear in every single collegiate athletic department, and most notably within the heart of the NCAA. According to statista.com, NCAA revenue in 2019 was over 867 million dollars. As we know, not a penny of that makes its way back to players pockets. The most absurd part of it is not the fact that players do not receive paychecks, but that players cannot profit on their own success and hard work while in college by using their name and likeness.

The lack of player representation has taken a new turn on a road that has never been traveled by college football or by the nation as a whole. Now, the players have had no say in the conditions with which college football will be played this fall, or if in fact they can drive towards a safe way to play with medical professionals sitting in the front seat instead of outright cancellation.

There is a good that could outweigh the bad, however, within the mess that is college football at the moment. That good is that the organizing of college players — something that has been long overdue — looks to be speeding up.

While sitting in a Madison, Wisconsin classroom this past winter alongside twenty other seniors, I had the privilege of learning from a legendary UW graduate, former MLB commissioner Bud Selig. It was in that setting with the commissioner’s insight, that I first learned the history of player unions in professional sports, which largely started with the MLB and Marvin Miller, an economist and labor leader who was the first executive director of the players union that in professional baseball.

With Miller and the MLBPA, baseball and the sporting landscape changed forever. Players had previously been held to their clubs through the reserve clause. Free agency? A completely foreign concept in 1960. Wages and benefits were extremely low, and there was no platform for the players to voice their concerns over their conditions at work.

The 1968 MLB collective bargaining agreement, organized by Miller and the new players union, raised baseball’s minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000, but in reality changed the way trillions of dollars in professional sports revenue were handled from then on.

College athletics is not professional sports, as the NCAA tirelessly tries to remind us on a daily basis. Despite that fact, it sure feels as though colleges operate as one of the more cutthroat businesses in America, with football providing needed revenue to keep athletic departments running. The fact is that the hard work of the athletes is what keeps those departments running, and no, they are not normal students as much as the “optics” need them to be. They are essentially working a physical, full-time job — while going to class — where they have no say in massive decisions surrounding that workplace.

The pandemic could be the catalyst for representation. Power Five players now are focusing their energy on organizing for their rights as employees in a billion dollar business, instead of getting ready for the season to start as normal. We know that college athletics is going to change after all of this is over, and the silver lining of this unprecedented disaster may be that those changes come with players demanding their voices to be heard. A short-term disaster could lead to a long-term movement that finally puts power into the hands of the players.

2020 College Football Season. This Might Be Really, Really Awesome

If it happens, it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be weird, and it’s going to be awesome … if they actually play college football in 2020

If it happens, it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be weird, and it’s going to be awesome … if they actually play college football in 2020.

@PeteFiutak

Do you realize what we might be in for if this college football season gets played?

No, really. Are you able to fully grasp what it might mean if this thing set in motion by the Big Ten actually works?

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I’m a world-half-sucks sort of person who believes the beautiful music I’m hearing is coming from the piano about to fall on my head, but I’m allowing myself this one shining moment – I’m taking that phrase back from the dopiest lyrics of any song this side of “We Built This City” – to believe that maybe, potentially, possibly, we’re in for something incredible.

Of course I’m well aware that 1) sports don’t matter and 2) I’m about to get fired up about Christmas presents under the tree that might never be opened, but …

Enough non-stop news – at least for a bit.

Enough 30 for 30s that remind me that I had a lot of fun in the 1990s.

Enough Netflix. Enough HBO Max. Enough whatever the Peacock thing is going to be with all those shows on regular TV that I wouldn’t watch on a dare.

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We all need sports. Good sports, and not the I’m-watching-because-it’s-on sort of thing.

Start with what a baseball season should be – a perfectly-sized 60 games.

Once the whining stops about the food and hotels, the NBA season is going to be non-stop fantastic.

The PGA Championship will get August going, and the Indy 500 and tennis version of the US Open will end the month.

The golf US Open will be in September, The Masters will be played in November, and NFL training camps are right around the corner.

And college football is coming.

Again, understand what’s about to happen.

Maybe this will signal a shift in the business model, and maybe this is when the conferences ditch the NCAA and live life on their own for good – that’s all for another day.

If what the Big Ten is proposing is a go, we’re going to get ten games per team of Big Ten on Big Ten action with no FCS, no cupcakes, no waste.

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Bring that to the rest of the Power Five, too.

Once the other conferences kick it in, a ten-game all-SEC schedule? No mid-November games against Wofford, or UT Martin, or Alabama A&M, or Vanderbilt? Oh, wait … but to borrow the league’s phrase, it really will mean more.

The Big 12 already plays a full nine-game all-conference schedule, but the ACC keeping things in house with Notre Dame playing even more games within its friends-with-benefits structure? Absolutely.

Back in May, the Pac-12 threw around the idea of playing an 11-game all conference slate. Cool. Keep it out of the dark.

This all goes for the Group of Five conferences, too.

If you’re an investor, you want MAC football every Tuesday, and maybe Friday night Mountain West, and an all-American Athletic Conference schedule with shootout after shootout. It’s not an ideal situation for the other leagues – to be way understated – but for one year the on-field product would be a whole lot of fun.

The College Football Playoff types have already said it’s business as usual, but this time around the committee would have to work at it to come up with the true four best teams. It can’t just pick the four brand name Power Five champions, lather, rinse, and repeat – it’s probably going to have to dive into game after game along the way.

It’s not going to be for forever.

The 2020 college football season is almost certainly going to be a one-off to buy time to get to 2021. But if this works, and if the powers-that-be – if for their own self-interest, if nothing else – can really and truly make sure everyone is safe, this is about to be the most fun season ever, and …

Yeah, I know.

I’m well aware that we’re all probably going back to binging Cornhole tournaments again.

Aw crap. I looked up. It’s a Steinway.

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Will There Be A College Football Season In 2020? Where Is The Plan?

Will there be a college football season in 2020? How can it be safety played? What are the major issues?

Will there be a college football season in 2020? How can it be safety played? What are the major issues?

@PeteFiutak

College presidents, athletic directors, commissioners, and all those in charge of the very, very weird world of sports at major American universities have had almost four months to figure out how to get college football going in the age of a global pandemic.

And they’re on the verge of totally blowing it.

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I honestly thought that raw greed – combined with the economic survival of various athletic departments – would’ve been enough motivation to generate a more innovative plan than hoping the bad virus thingy would just go away.

But there’s still time. There’s not a lot, but there’s some.

Yes, there still might be a college football season like normal, and if that doesn’t happen, there’s still a shot at playing in some way. However, reality is starting rain down on ADs and conference commissioners like an anvil, and they’re borrowing an umbrella from Wile E. Coyote.

So to sum up every radio appearance I’ve been on over the last four months, and just about every other conversation I’ve had with the outside world, let’s do this …

Will there be a college football season?

Short answer, yes, but it won’t be anything like normal. There’s no way the schedule will go off without several hitches and changes along the way.

It might be a season of eight or so games, it might start a little later, and there will definitely be a twists and turns along the way. No matter what, the athletic directors will have to fight every instinct that made them major college athletic directors and be flexible on the fly.

But yes, I actually do think that at least some teams will be playing college football in the fall. I’ll get into this more at the end.

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But how? How can college football be safely played?

It’s the same thing I’ve been saying since mid-March. It can be done, but you’re not going to like the answer.

All players and coaches have to be tested, quarantined, and isolated from the rest of humankind for the entirety of the college football season.

That’s it. That’s the deal, and at this late stage of the game, it’s non-negotiable.

Start August 1, get practices up and rolling, and go on through the first week of December. It’s only four months, and it’s going to go by in a snap.

Also, remember, it’s not for forever. It’s just to get through this 2020 season and then everyone can reassess.

To buy into what has to be done, though, everyone has to get rid of the notion that the game of football can be changed to protect players from the virus.

This can’t be played without gatherings on the field, on the sidelines, and in the locker room. This can’t be played without collisions, and without sweat and spit flying all over the place. This can’t be tweaked to adapt to the normal guidelines that everyone else is supposed to adhere to.

No, the only way this flies is if all the players and coaches on the field are as clean as can be reasonably asked for from the tests currently available. That means no going out, no going to bars or parties, and no going out into the world.

It stinks. It all stinks. It’s all bad. But if you want to play college football this season, this is how it has to work. Any other way will guarantee a shutdown or a disruption of some sort, and …

Whatever. They’re not going to lock down and quarantine everyone. So now what?

There doesn’t appear to be any other practical plan in place.

Say it’s the night before Georgia vs. Alabama and three Crimson Tide players test positive. Yes, they get isolated, and yes, they’ll probably be okay, but Georgia isn’t going to want to play unless it knows that everyone on the other side tested negative and hasn’t come directly in contact with the affected players.

That’s going to be logistically tougher than it might seem.

Then, you have to trace back to Georgia State – who Alabama will have played the week before – and then back to USC from the opening weekend, and anyone those two teams came into contact with.

And then what happens to the Kent State game for Bama a week later, and the date at Ole Miss after that if everyone has to quarantine for 14 days?

Again, better to lock down everyone from the get-go then shut it all down in the middle of the season.

And I know exactly what’s coming next from an all-too-sizable portion of the public.

These are 18-to-22-year-olds in peak condition. If they get it, they’re almost certainly going to be fine, and …

Yeah, but there’s something different about college football in a that’s-someone’s-son sort of way.

Are you 1000% certain that every player who gets this won’t have any lingering, life-altering effects?

Are you 1000% certain that some NFL talent won’t see his lung capacity decrease by just enough to keep him from being at the elite level he needs to play at?

Are you 1000% certain that no player will die from COVID-19 if a season is played like normal?

Even if you believe this is all overblown and the media is pedaling fear porn, the reality is that when people get this, things shut down. You might not agree, and you might think it’s an overreaction, but that’s the deal.

Also, remember, there’s one gaping difference here between college football and the pro sports. The college football players don’t have any representation.

Pro athletes have a union, agents, and people getting paid a whole lot of money to look out for their best interests. If there’s a collectively bargained agreement, then the players have to trust that the people in charge are trying to keep them safe.

College football players don’t have that, so there’s a massive moral problem when unpaid – we can get into the whole compensation side another time – athletes are taking a health risk for the love of the game.

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How can there be college football if there aren’t students on campus as normal?

No students on campus is a positive.

If players aren’t locked down for the season in an athletic dorm, the fewer people on campus, the less chance of an outbreak.

If everyone is taking classes remotely, then so can college football players – they can just do it in a dorm on campus. In this case, this really might be the one time when college football players really will be like every other student.

There will be grad students at most places – mainly because that’s where the schools make their real money – and many colleges will still have lab classes that have to be done in person. It’s not different for college football, which …

Yeah, but wouldn’t playing college football when most of the students aren’t on campus be a really, really bad look?

I’ve never quite understood this argument.

Is it a bad look when college basketball teams on a run to the Final Four have almost a whole month of normal college life disrupted and changed? People would get past this in a hurry.

If you haven’t figured out that major college football players are different than normal students, and if you haven’t realized how insane the entire system is, then please don’t get all weird now about the hypocrisies across the board when it comes to major college athletics.

To be cynical, once the ball is kicked off, no one will really care about the optics. To be even more ugly – because presidents at most schools will have to justify not cutting tuition costs for online schooling – football might be forced to be played in an attempt to keep up morale.

What about just waiting until the spring?

Why is the spring going to be any better?

Forgetting that you lose all the NFL talents who won’t be able to leave the college scene fast enough, what’s going to change?

It’s still a long shot that a vaccine will be ready. More directly, if the powers-that-be haven’t figured out how to do this over the last four months, what light bulb is going to turn on in February?

With that said – and PLEASE keep your dopey political opinions in your pocket – the one game-changer could be the election. There might be a very, very different set of rules, guidelines and national protocols to follow in 2021 depending on who wins.

While we’re on this, it’ll be fascinating to see how college football is about get politicized.

Don’t underestimate what a gigantic PR win it would be for the current administration and elected officials in football-mad states if there’s football being played in late October and early November, and don’t dismiss what a colossal political disaster it will be if there isn’t.

So why haven’t athletic directors been sharper about coming up with a plan?

1) There’s no Roger Goodell-type at the top to centralize everything, because 2) the NCAA has zero interest in getting into the liability game and is punting to the conferences, which means 3) the conferences have to deal with various schools and various states with various governors with various sets of rules.

You want to try figuring out college football at the immediate moment in Texas, or Arizona, or in several of the SEC states?

Ten FBS conferences, ten conference commissioners – that doesn’t include Notre Dame – and they’re all looking to not make a mistake.

And then there’s harsh reality of the biggest killer for the schools …

No fans in the stands.

There’s a thought that if there’s not enough money being made off of playing football, then there’s no real point in moving heaven and earth to get a season going.

The NFL makes most of its money off of TV revenue, marketing and licensing. Most college athletic departments sink or swim depending on the football attendance.

That’s why coaches are only truly on a hot seat if there’s a dip in the ticket sales – or in donations. A coach can keep losing, but as long as the butts are in the seats, he’s got a shot at sticking around.

Of course there’s TV revenue for the colleges if football is played, but it’s not nearly as big a deal as it is for the NFL.

Okay, so make the call. What’s really going to happen?

To end on a positive note, I really do think there will be college football, and I really do want to believe it can be done responsibly.

Once it’s really on, and everyone realizes what’s at stake, they’ll lock things down on their own.

However, first get ready for the real gut-punch – few, if any, colleges will have undergraduate students back like normal.

What’s the worst possible idea on the planet right now? Take a smallish-to-midsized American town with limited hospital resources and bring in tens of thousands of people from all over the world to jam into confined spaces.

What do college kids do when they get away from home with a chance at freedom? One house party later, and uh oh.

Relating all of that to college football, conference commissioners can say there won’t be fall sports if the students aren’t back on campus, but not all schools are going have the same issues.

Indiana recently tested all the athletes on campus and didn’t get one positive result. Michigan retested everyone and had just the two positives from a few weeks before.

A college football season might have to be dealt with on a school-by-school, moment-by-moment basis, even within conferences.

Once we get to the 11th hour on the decision on whether it’s go or no-go on a launch – total guess here – watch out for one conference to go rogue and decide to keep things in-house with a league-only schedule – each conference will create its own set of protocols, rules and guidelines – and then everyone else will quickly follow, or not.

Bu it’ll happen. There’s going to be college football in some way.

It’s college. Everyone is cramming at the last moment for the exam.

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NCAA Votes To Allow Voluntary College Football Activities To Resume: What Does It Mean?

The NCAA voted to allow some sports to resume their voluntary offseason activities. What does this all mean?

The NCAA voted to allow some sports to resume their voluntary offseason activities. What does this all mean, and will there be a college football season?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, the NCAA’s Division I Council voted to allow players to return to campus to resume activities for college football – men’s and women’s basketball can resume, too – starting back up on June 1st.

The activities outlined are the voluntary kind – workouts, player meetings, training – but more than that, it allows certain sports to get the pieces in place to make it all potentially go this fall.

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Does this mean that college football is on for the 2020 season? Not yet, but it means it’s not off.

Had the NCAA come out and emphatically stated that there was no way do to this, and if it advised against any athletic activities for the rest of 2020, that would’ve likely been it. Various schools and conferences might have looked into trying to go forward no matter what, but it wouldn’t have worked.

Instead, the NCAA – to go cliché here – punted to the states, schools and conferences so they could try to figure out what to do next.

By making this vote, the NCAA is keeping open all the options and all of the possibilities. Some states, schools and/or conferences might still choose to shut it all down if they don’t find any safe way to play sports this season – especially if the campuses aren’t open to the rest of the student population – but for now, the NCAA is pushing forward.

At least there’s hope for some sort of a 2020 college football season.

Now it’s up to the various conference commissioners to come up with a set plan for how to safely and effectively do all of this, and it’s up to them to create various contingency plans in case any player or coach tests positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Coming up with a standard protocol to test the players and coaches on a regular basis the first step – that’s a daily discussion among all the powers-that-be. Everyone on the field has to know that they can do what they do without having to worry about getting sick.

Remember, these are mostly 18-to-22-year-old college kids out there, and they have parents who aren’t going to be too hot on the idea of their sons taking any risks with the virus.

The other sticking point will be how schools and conferences will handle a positive case.

Will it require a full team shutdown? Will it affect the other school’s team? Will it be just the affected player that’s quarantined? A standard set of rules and guidelines will have to be in place, and the various conference commissioners and athletic directors are on regular calls to discuss all of the options.

And then there’s the biggest sticking point – fans. Playing college football is all well and good, but the schools have to monetize it to fund all the other aspects of the respective athletic departments. The colleges need the ticket revenue far more than the pros do, but that’s a part of the puzzle for later.

At the very least, for now, a step was taken to potentially get college football for this season.

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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.”

CFN Podcast: Will There Be A 2020 College Football Season? How Can This Happen?

Will there be a 2020 college football season? In this global pandemic, is it even possible, and what are the main barriers?

Will there be a 2020 college football season? In this global pandemic, is it even possible, and what are the barriers to putting some sort of a product on the field?

CFN Podcast: Will There Be A 2020 College Football Season?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

With the hopefully obvious caveat that there are FAR more important issues and concerns to figure out than whether or not a sport can be played …

Will there be a 2020 college football season?

It’s the only question in college athletics right now, because the life of athletic departments depends on whether or not there are football games and if there are fans in the stands.

How can this possibly happen? What are the big barriers unique to college football compared to other sports?

Before diving into the fun and silly stuff around a college football season in future podcasts, check out the latest CFN Podcast as I dive into the basic questions and issues about the one big thing that matters in the college football world.

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For any ideas on what you’d like to hear on future podcasts, hit me up @PeteFiutak.

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Kirk Herbstreit anticipating no college football, NFL in 2020

ESPN College Football analyst Kirk Herbtreit isn’t optimistic about the 2020 college football and NFL seasons due to the coronavirus

ESPN College Football analyst Kirk Herbtreit isn’t optimistic about the 2020 college football and NFL seasons. In fact, Herbstreit is projecting there to be no football for the upcoming season.

Due to concerns over the timeline of the coronavirus vaccine, which is projected to take several more months, Herbstreit thinks the 2020 season will not be played. The coronavirus is not slowing down at this point in time for the United States.

Additionally, there’s concern surrounding the massive amount of social interaction in football games themselves and throughout the stadium. Sporting events throughout the world have been cancelled for the time being, but how long will this last? That’s an unanswerable question at the moment.

For now, Herbstreit is doubtful about the upcoming football season. “I’ll be shocked if we have NFL football this fall, if we have college football. I’ll be so surprised if that happens,” Kirk Herbstreit said on ESPN Radio.

College football fans throughout the country would miss College Gameday if the 2020 season should be cancelled. Georgia Bulldog and college football fans need to sit tight and take care of themselves. That’s arguably the best hope for college football and NFL football in 2020.

ESPN Gameday host Lee Corso puts on a Brutus Buckeye head on while sitting between former Buckeyes Eddie George and Kirk Herbstreit before the game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

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Daily Cavalcade: Can There Be A 2020 College Football Season? You Have 4 Months, Athletic Directors

Athletic directors have little time to waste if there’s going to be 2020 college football season. Everything is on the table.

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Athletic directors have little time to waste if there’s going to be 2020 college football season. Everything has to be on the table to make this happen.

Daily Cavalcade: Can There Be A 2020 College Football Season?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

1. I’m built for this quarantine and staying at home thing. I could do six months standing on my head.

2. If you’re angry at any aspect of this, remember, no one wants or needs a full 2020 college football season more than I do.

Really, there will be sports again. For now … just stay safe, and hope for ESPN to put out The Last Dance 30 or 30 on the Bulls as soon as humanly possible.

You have four months, college athletic directors.

Obviously, everything around the coronavirus nightmare is more important than whether or not a dumb college football game is played in late August, and of course the horrors and issues that so many are experiencing and dealing with are truly all that matter.

Our temporary reality is just getting started, but as we speak, college athletic directors are trying to do their jobs for their respective schools.

They’re trying to figure out whether or not there can, will, and should be a college football season in 2020, and they have just four months to get there.

It’s late March, and to have any sort of a working college football season to keep with the schedule as it’s currently created – supposedly kicking off on Saturday, August 29th – there has to be at least a full month for the machine to get going.

I know, I know, you’re thinking, “chill … that’s four FREAKING months away,” but considering the Tokyo Olympics have about as much chance of starting on July 24th as Jamal Murray has of reversing time and not hitting POST on his Instagram account, the sports world is already knee-deep into planning ahead for late-July and early August.

By August 1st – at the latest – college football training camps, practices, and facilities have to be up and going, especially considering there’s not going to be spring ball. However, it’s delusional for athletic directors to not at least prepare their budgets and plans just in case things don’t go off like normal this fall.

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So for now, let’s just ignore the potential that it all gets shut down for the 2020 season.

What do all the athletic directors have to be figuring out, and what possibilities are out there to give us college football again?

First things first, there is no football of any sort this year without …

1. Testing, testing, testing.

Let’s all hope and pray that the cure is coming tomorrow – and hopefully it’s some easy and awesome combination of crispy bacon and watching Blue Chips four times in a row – but even the most optimistic experts are saying it’ll be at least 12-to-18 months before one might be available, much less for mass distribution.

It’s out of the hands of the athletic directors, but until there’s a cure, by mid-July there has to be a way for every player and coach to be tested – and with quick results – to even think about starting up practices, much less getting the season going on time.

If just one player in a collision sport like this is infected, the results could be disastrous.

That’s just for the guys on the field. Athletic directors, you’re not going to like this – none of us will – but …

2. Plan on the likelihood of a season with no fans in the stands. 



If we’re not all completely and totally out of the woods by this summer, liability-wise, how can schools allow fans into the stadiums without testing every one of them before they enter?

Again, we’re almost certainly not going to have a vaccine for everyone by late August – if there is one – so even if the curve is flattened, thousands of people cramming together in stadiums all across the nation six months from now might still be a no-go.

That’s how a small-bump curve turns into Kilimanjaro in a hiccup.

And even if college football is going again and fans are allowed to attend, 1) attendance was already an issue before this, 2) have fun trying to get thousands of people to want to be around thousands of other people, and 3) good luck finding enough fans with any disposable income left.

Throw in the need for all the resources to gear up a major college football game – especially if our medical system is battling in any way after what’s predicted to come over the next few months – and the logistics of having fans show up are going to be tough.

Considering how financially disastrous it might be for most athletic departments to have no fans in the stands …

3. In case of emergency, maybe break or push off the deals for the non-conference games.

Let’s start exploring the nuclear options.

If needed, buy yourself some time, athletic directors.

Some schools cancelled non-conference games over the years because of hurricane and weather issues – same thing here.

The whole point of the cupcake games against the FCSers – and for most Power Five vs. Group of Five matchups – is to make the home team a lot of money off of the attendance in an easy win. If those fans aren’t there, the dynamic changes.

The TV revenue is still a part of the puzzle, but if schools are trying to figure out some way to have a 2020 season, limiting it to conference play gives everyone more room – like maybe starting the season in October with an eight-or-nine game slate.

And if it’s not okay in August, maybe it’ll be all clear for fans to show up again deeper into the fall.

Or, if the season really has to be pushed back …

4. If absolutely needed, blow off the bowl season outside of the New Year’s Six and College Football Playoff.

At absolute best, athletic departments break even going to bowls, and they usually lose money.

Again, it might be all about buying time and exploring every option.

If it’s not possible to have a season start up as normal in late August, what about starting several weeks later and extending the season through mid-to-late December?

It’s not ideal, and no one wants that – especially ESPN – but depending on what happens over the next few months, some season would be better than no season.

And if everything else fails and things get brutally ugly for the bottom line …

5. Have a plan in place for postponing most non-revenue sports this fall and for Spring 2021.

It would be devastating if it comes to this, and it would be an impossible sell for most athletic directors, but they have to be ready for everything.

Use the tired hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst cliché that’s on the motivational poster next to “Hang In There,” with the picture of a cat in a tree.

Most non-revenue sports cost pennies compared to the monster revenue-generators, and the Title IX aspect will come into play, but athletic departments will be crushed if they’re crossing their fingers and banking on a revenue stream that doesn’t come from packed football stadiums.

And now, to take this thing totally off the rails …

6. Ice Cube?

I’ve had an idea for the NBA from the moment the season hit the pause button.

Why can’t a multi-billion dollar company like the NBA – with its multi-billionaire owners – figure out how to test and then quarantine the 20 or so necessary parts of a team, keep them away from other humans for a few months – in the name of the league and the morale of a nation – and then televise their games in an empty and sanitized-as-possible gym?

Of course, the players wouldn’t go for it, the isolation aspect wouldn’t fly, and they’d all have to be tested every other day. There are still way too many logistical issues to work through to make it all happen on a major scale.

However, Ice Cube is trying to do all of it for his BIG3 League.

Okay, college athletic directors. Is there any way to apply any of this for college football?

The overall model has no shot – there are WAY too many players, coaches, and trainers who’d have to be quarantined – but if you really want a college football season, there are parts that might work.

It’s the dream of every coach to have their players on lockdown for a few months, but if there are quick and easy tests, that might not be as much of an issue.

The travel and hotel aspect would also be a concern, along with remembering that these guys are all college students, too. Taking all the classes on-line – unless you have to – isn’t the college experience, but it’s possible.

Athletic directors, put everything on the table.

Don’t get caught flat-footed like the NCAA did with its big basketball tournament, and don’t be like the NBA and pull players off the floor at the last minute.

As long as it’s safe, and as long as we’re in a good enough position overall that it’s okay, we all want a college football season. Now it’s up to you to come up with Plans A, B, C and Q, and contingency plan after contingency plan, to try making it happen.

You have four months.

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