Just two weeks ago the college football world was brimming with optimism and anticipation of a likely college football season. Players were trickling back to campuses nationwide to voluntarily workout. The NCAA had just instated a workout and practice schedule to compensate for a 3-month shutdown that cancelled almost all spring practice sessions and left players unable to access campus facilities. College football, it seemed, was full steam ahead.
But it didn’t take long before we were all dealt a harsh reminder….the coronavirus is still very much with us, and it will continue to dictate the terms of nearly every aspect of our lives until we can effectively vaccinate against it. No sooner did players begin to return then we learned that significant numbers of them had tested positive for COVID-19. The programs affected encompass a wide range of the Division 1 spectrum; from FCS powerhouse North Dakota State, to the rank-and-file among the FBS Group of Five, to the blue bloods of the sport.
The response by the schools has been as you would expect: no specific player is mentioned by name, but those who have tested positive, and anyone else in the program who may have had contact with them, are being sequestered and monitored. Other than that, it appears things have continued to move forward as laid out two weeks ago. Only one scheduled FBS game has been impacted so far, that being the Navy-Notre Dame game that was to be played in Dublin, Ireland on August 29th. That game will now be played on the Navy campus September 5th (the first time in the 94-game history in the series it will be played in Annapolis).
Some among the media appear to be sounding the alarm over the recent development. Even the nation’s top infectious disease professional sounds less-than-confident football this fall is a good idea. Dr. Anthony Fauci recently stated, “Unless players are essentially in a bubble — insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day — it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall. If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year.” The context of that piece was more geared towards the NFL than college football. The logistics of keeping 32 NFL teams in a “bubble” throughout a season — which includes not just players, but coaches, trainers, medical professionals, game officials, etc. — would seem a rather monumental task. Now consider the logistics of 130 FBS programs doing the same, with nearly twice as many players per team, and in the case of most schools a fraction of the financial resources available. Now you see the reason for the pessimism.
One thing that hasn’t changed over the past two weeks….college sports desperately needs the money it brings in from playing football to sustain itself. That alone means it’s still likely they will find some way to hold some sort of season, even if the public may not like some aspects of it. (To that end, two US Senators have written a letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert calling for some schools to end forcing players to sign COVID-19 liability waivers, or else lose their scholarships) For its part, the NCAA has yet to waver on the season….at least officially. Emmert says he is optimistic the season will go forward. (paywall) Though one person “high-up” in the college sports chain who wanted to remain nameless recently said it’s more “50-50 — at best” that there is a season this fall.
College Football Analyst
Mike is a Baltimore native living in Portland, OR since 2007. He currently runs his own business specializing in video production and online marketing. Prior to that he was a legal technology consultant, worked for 9 years at Johns Hopkins University and served 6 years in the Air Force. He also enjoys travel, food, beer, and is a volunteer at the Oregon Humane Society.