Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
White prepared for season, whenever it starts
FAU being one of several universities throughout the country allowing its studentathletes to return to campus — starting with its football players on June 8 — offers hope that the 2020 college football season will be played and begin on time.
But even with things taking a step in the right direction amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, it’s far from guaranteed that the Owls will be playing games in the fall.
“I don’t think any of us can predict the future in this current environment,” said Brian White, FAU’s vice president and director of athletics. “I’m not naive enough to say it’s 100% guaranteed that there will be no changes or alterations, but I do expect for the college football season to be played. For us, we have to be prepared for it to be played on time but we’re also preparing for every other scenario as well.”
The scenarios White said Florida Atlantic is modeling include how it’d affect the university’s and athletic department’s budget if there was an eight-game college football season instead of a 12-game season, the impact of having no or a limited amount of fans in the stadium if the Owls were allowed to host games and/or if the season was played in the spring instead of the fall.
“The last thing you want,” he said, “is to not be prepared for whatever the new reality may be in the fall.”
White said that FAU lost about $1 million just from the cancellation of the NCAA tournament, but added they saved money, too, due to spring sports not traveling. He added that the athletic department is exploring “every” way it can reduce expenditures in a way that is harmless to student-athletes.
As for what he believes needs to happen for the Owls to begin their college football season in September, White said it starts with individuals making responsible decisions on the micro level to ensure safety.
“With our student-athletes getting back on campus, they need to be role models in how they conduct themselves with wearing
mask and making good decisions themselves,” White said. “At the macro level, presidents are going to have to make much bigger decisions than just athletics with what fall classes look like and governor/politicians are going to have decisions about what society looks like.”
When the football players make their phased-in return to campus, it’ll allow coach Willie Taggart — who’s entering his first season with the Owls — the opportunity to finally work with his players in person. White suspended all practices until further notice March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic, just 10 days before the start of football spring practices.
“One of coach Taggart’s favorite sayings is no excuses,” White said. “We’re not using the coronavirus as an excuse. But I will say for him, this situation is probably hardest on new coaches because you’re going to have a new playbook. Whether or not you’re running similar stuff, you’re going to call it differently. It’s absolutely an added wrinkle of complexity when you have a new coach and missed the fact that they’re not allowed to be around because of the pandemic.”