Optimism abounds for college football fans
Many signs are emerging that the 2020 college football season will be played, the most significant ones coming in the last several days.
The NCAA Division I Council voted Wednesday to allow voluntary workouts by football and basketball players to resume June 1 on campus. The SEC then announced Friday that athletes in all sports can begin using facilities on campus June 8 for voluntary workouts under strict supervision
Several college presidents, including those from Notre Dame, Miami (Fla.) and Auburn, have said they expect the football season to be played. And it looks like it won’t be pushed back to the spring.
Several others in several states are beginning to announce that classes for the fall semester will be held on campus, beginning in early August and ending the week of Thanksgiving.
But what might college football look like this coming season? That’s uncertain because presidents and athletic directors are discussing many variables.
How many games will each team play? Penn State and the rest of Division I planned to start a 12-game schedule the weekend of
Sept. 4-7 before COVID-19 spread across the country. That start date is in jeopardy.
Some have suggested that teams begin the season later, perhaps late September or early October, and play a conference-only schedule, which would leave independents like Notre Dame and Brigham Young out in the cold. Don’t expect that to happen.
Others have proposed that teams play opponents that are logistically closer to reduce the amount of travel and time on airplanes. Others have suggested eliminating conference title games or even bowl games, which also is unlikely because of the revenue they produce.
“I think we will be very, very lucky to start on Labor Day weekend and get through a football season without disruptions,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told ESPN. “And we will be very lucky to get through the postseason and the basketball season without disruptions.”
Will fans be permitted to attend games and, if so, how many? Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said seven weeks ago that she did not endorse the Nittany Lions playing home games in an empty Beaver Stadium.
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith also said last month that he’d be opposed to playing without fans. Smith, though, said Wednesday that he’s more open to that possibility.
“I’m open and flexible to doing whatever we possibly can to make it work,” Penn State coach James Franklin said two weeks ago, “because I think if we don’t make it work, there’s going to be major impacts across the board.”
Don’t expect to see Beaver Stadium or any other venue to be filled with
100,000-plus for a football game this year. Smith said Ohio State can safely stage home games with between
20,000 and 30,000 fans. Limiting attendance seems a realistic approach in protecting the safety of the fans, but how do schools determine who gets those tickets?
At Ohio State, Smith said it would likely be based on a point system, much like the Nittany Lion Club at Penn State. Those who don’t get Penn State tickets, especially for the home game against Ohio State, will not be happy.
How many fans will be in a hurry to attend a game in person if there’s no vaccine available to fight the coronavirus? No matter how many fans are inside a stadium, they’re probably going to be required to wear masks.
What if a majority of teams in a conference can return to campus and a minority can’t? Do they start practice at the same time? Do they start the season at the same time?
What if SEC teams start their season Labor Day weekend and other conferences don’t? What if the SEC plays 12 regular season games and others don’t? Leveling the playing field for everyone will be paramount.
What about coronavirus testing for athletes and quarantining them for a week or two when they first return to campus?
Big Ten presidents and chancellors are scheduled to meet June 7. Decisions about their conference probably will be made then. Most college officials who have spoken publicly expect decisions to be made by July 1 in order to have a football season in the fall.
It seems like students will need to be on campus for in-person classes before any games happen, at least in most places.
If there is no football season, many more sports will be dropped, in addition to the 16 that have been cut at nine Division I schools.
“We’re going to have a new normal,” Bowlsby said, “and we’re going to have to have an idea of how we’re going to deal with these things.”