Want encouraging COVID-19 football news? Arizona offered it

This is a real ray of hope

We hasten to say — before laying out the details of this next story — that what seems like good news for college football could be problematic for students. The contentious, confusing, and always-shifting politics of COVID-19 will create a fierce debate on virtually every topic or individual theater of drama.

We do have an obligation to note that this next story could reasonably be viewed as an irresponsible act by a Pac-12 university president. That piece of context can’t be ignored or swept under the rug. We are mindful of that.

However:

We also need to point out that as a college sports site whose school, USC, treasures college football, there is a considerable desire to see college football played this fall. We want it to happen safely. We DON’T want it to happen at any cost, because even one life is too much of a price to pay for college football. We can acknowledge that… and yet still say that if college football can happen this fall without any lives being damaged in the process, that would be a great thing.

Thursday afternoon, something happened which increased the odds that college football might be able to occur this fall:

If a state school from a Power Five conference — in Arizona, a state which has been a recent COVID-19 hotspot — is willing to have some in-person instruction for the fall semester, that is significant news.

If that same state school in an area which has been noticeably affected by COVID-19 is able to begin its fall semester on time, that also rates as a notable statement of confidence by Arizona President Robert C. Robbins, a man who is a doctor.

Robbins — from 2012 through 2017 — was also the president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center in Houston. 

If he is starting the fall semester on time with some in-person classroom instruction, that shows how intent Robbins is on wanting to play football.

We can debate how responsible the decision is, but we can’t debate that it shows a considerable willingness to play college football.

Keep in mind: This is the University of Arizona, a basketball school with a meager football history. The Wildcats are the one original Pacific-10 Conference member (the Pac-10 began in 1978) which has still not made the Rose Bowl.

If the Wildcats are this desperate to play college football, it certainly offers some reason to believe that college football will happen. It’s hardly a guarantee — schools and states need to get COVID-19 under control, which is anything but a given. Yet, it certainly moves the needle in the direction of playing.

For anyone who wants to see college football in September, that’s encouraging news.