Will it be conference chaos or conformity? SEC ponders revolt to Big Ten-led closure
It is incredibly tempting during this pivotal time in American history to type out the three letters that normally are the perfect answer to everything. SEC. SEC. SEC.
And maybe that’s finally what the great debate of 2020 will come down to.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 wither away.
The SEC — the greatest conference in college football and a literal talent pipeline that fuels the multibillion monolith that is the NFL — becomes the calm port in the chaos of the storm, finding a way for the college game to stay alive during the coronavirus pandemic. Maybe.
Or maybe this column will be outdated by Wednesday, with the NFL controlling our football Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays during this truly
crazy year.
“Best advice I’ve received since COVID-19: ‘Be patient. Take time when making decisions. This is all new & you’ll gain better information each day,’ ” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey tweeted Monday. “SEC has been deliberate at each step since March ... slowed return to practice ... delayed (first) game to respect start of fall semester. (Developed) testing protocols ...We know concerns remain. We have never had a (football) season in a COVID-19 environment. Can we play? I don’t know. We haven’t stopped trying.”
College football was placed on life support while also receiving a Vitamin C infusion Monday, with the present and future constantly clashing on social media.
President Donald Trump, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State QB Justin Fields, Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and Nebraska coach Scott Frost publicly agreed on the same thing at the same time for the first time in history: Let them play.
Trump: “The studentathletes have been working too hard for their season to be canceled. #WeWantToPlay.”
Lawrence: “People are at just as much, if not more risk, if we don’t play. Players will all be sent home to their own communities where social distancing is highly unlikely and medical care and expenses will be placed on the families if they were to contract covid19.”
Bjork: “Love the work ethic of AggieFootball. Despite some uncertainty, they continue to stay focused on their craft and passion for the game of football. We are supporting them at the highest level in all facets of their health and safety. #WeWantToPlay.”
Trump’s tweet was pinned to the top of his Twitter account, which has 84.9 million followers (and counting).
Big Tenuous
All while the Big Ten — which houses Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska — threatened to wreck a season that has increasingly become a monumental challenge.
I wrote on July 11 that conference-only college football wasn’t the answer to saving this season. Almost a month later, the conference-only Big Ten is another sport-altering decision away from shutting down everything, locking its windows and doors, and hoping that the world is a much safer and healthier place in 2021.
“We have developed a great prototype for how we can make this work and provide the opportunity for players to play,” Harbaugh said in a statement. “If you are transparent and follow the rules, this is how it can be done.”
America has spent five months failing to understand and contain the coronavirus. Confusion, uncertainty and selfish bickering still reign. Your national government and local elected leaders, in many ways, have failed you.
You must stay at home. If you don’t wear a mask, you will be fined. But not really.
The NCAA has appeared even more absentee and clueless, turning the 2020 college football season into a survival-of-thefittest version of chicken. Which conference is going to blink first?
Mark Emmert has made Rob Manfred look good. And that’s the PG version.
Others finding a way
The NBA’s all-inclusive protective bubble obviously can’t be applied across the complex college football landscape. But if MLB, MLS, MMA, the NFL, the PGA, the WNBA, NASCAR, IndyCar and The Association can all hold national events around the same time, college football should be smart enough not to follow the Big Ten’s selfserving lead for the second time.
“The only reason we would look at any other options is if for some reason the Big Ten wasn’t playing and only a handful of teams from the Big Ten wanted to continue playing,” Frost told reporters. “If that’s the case, I think we’re prepared to look at any and all options.”
What are the Big 12 and ACC going to do?
Will the SEC go its own way or form a new Big Three?
Coaches are publicly campaigning against their own conferences. America’s president is proudly campaigning for the survival of college football.
After five months of failing to contain, explain and understand the coronavirus, our Saturday religion is in the national crosshairs.
Maybe you want them to play.
Maybe you believe it’s far too much risk and too little reward for 19- and 20-year-old men.
Maybe we’re about to be forced to give up something else we love and college football is just the next thing on the endless 2020 list.