UD football

league decided to cancel the season was the travel difficulties it faced. The PFL has teams in Ohio (Dayton), North Carolina (Davidson), Kentucky (Morehead State), Indiana (Butler and Valparaiso), California (San Diego), New York (Marist), Iowa (Drake) and Florida (Stetson).

“The presidents and athletic directors of our respective universities made this very difficult decision after extensive deliberations and consideration of many factors,” said James M. Danko, president of Butler University and chair of the PFL, in a statement. “We recognize that our student-athletes will be disappointed, but our highest priority is the health and safety of all those involved in our athletic programs. Ultimately, the risks of proceeding are simply too high especially to ensure the safety of our students.”

The decision was no surprise for Dayton coach Rick Chamberlin. Everyone saw this decision coming as many other Football Championship Subdivision conferences made the same announcement in recent days.

“It’s the right decision,” Chamberlin said. “We hate it, but we understand it. Our presidents and athletic directors didn’t take this decision lightly. They wanted to make sure they covered all the bases to see if there was any way possible to play. It just didn’t add up, especially with our conference and the travel.”

UD wants to give the players some sort of football experience this fall, but that will depend on what the NCAA allows it to do and what is medically safe during the pandemic. Chamberlin said he will look at it as a modified spring practice season.

The big question now is: Will the conference try to play in the spring?

Dayton Athletic Director Neil Sullivan has spoken to the football team several times this summer, Chamberlin said, and told them spring football was a possible option. It might not be something every player wants.

Running back Jake Chisolm spoke up in one meeting, Chamberlin said, and said he will be studying for the MCAT (medical college admission test) in the spring. He didn’t know whether he wanted to be playing games while getting ready for such an important test.

The big issue would be playing a season in the spring of 2021 and playing another season in the fall.

“I think it would be tough,” Chamberlin said. “I really do. That was one of the points the players brought up. You finish in mid-May, let’s say, and then you turn around and one month later you’ve got to train for the next one.”