With the professional sports leagues making their attempts to restart and complete their season, the amateur ranks are still trying to figure out the proper way to bring sports back to the campuses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NCAA has allowed the Power 5 conferences to manage how they will conduct their fall sports this season. Of course, this means college football, the NCAA biggest cash cow, will have significant changes.
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
The Big Ten was the first to adopt a conference-only schedule, eliminating two powerhouse nonconference matchups, Michigan season opener at Washington on September 5th and Ohio State on the road at Oregon.
Non-conference rivalry games like Iowa-Iowa State will not happen this season, and Notre Dame won’t play Wisconsin or Michigan.
The Pac-12 is in the same boat as the Big Ten because, without those big-time non-conference battles, it puts them at a disadvantage in the race for a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Pac-12 will have a 10-game schedule, likely killing the conference’s chances at ending their playoff drought.
The SEC season will begin September 26th, three weeks after the college football season’s original start date. Unlike the Pac-12, the SEC conference-only schedule will benefit their teams. The conference only plan works against the ACC format, which allows their schools to have one non-conference game, canceling ACC-SEC rivalry games like Florida State-Florida, Georgia Tech-Georgia, and Clemson-South Carolina.
ACC schools will have to depend on the mid-major FBS schools and top FCS Subdivision schools for that one non-conference slot, but they will likely look for the best opponent to strengthen their schedules.
Notre Dame will join the ACC, giving the conference a complete 10-game schedule. They will split some of their NBC television revenue with the other 15 schools in the conference and will be eligible to compete in the ACC Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, mid-December.
The Big 12 also allows their schools to host one non-conference opponent, which could lead to some intriguing ACC-Big 12 matchups.
FBS will still carry championship games for Power 5 conferences, but post-season play is uncertain for the other sports. The Power 5 conferences are considering combining forces to host their championships if the NCAA decides to cancel them. If this does happen, the NCAA will lose a considerable amount of power to their biggest cash cow.
If the NCAA Board votes to cancel the postseason play, a significant power shift could be coming to college sports.
BSL Analyst
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