So much in question right now but a big domino fell last night when the NCAA announced they wouldn't mandate a uniform start for college sports. With the California State University system announcing they will not reopen campuses this Fall, this might be opening the door for a spring football season. The CSU system does not have any P5 schools but a spokesperson for the University of California (Cal and UCLA) system said it's likely the follow suit What are your predictions? No games at all? A delayed or staggered start? Conference only play + CFP?
How do you tell kids who aren't allowed to go to class that they can travel and play football on behalf of the university? Judging by proposals I'm seeing from the TEA for public schools in TX, I don't think public schools, including universities, are going to be operating business as usual come August. I think pro sports are way more likely to resume operations...and I'm not sold that all of them will. I don't think the NCAA is going to want to play to empty stadiums...the NFL won't want to, but it can. That these are amateur athletes is the key difference to me.
Believe the CSU system has been the only system to announce online only classes through Fall semester although it sounds like the UC system will likely follow. Right or wrong, think there is going to be too much pressure to open up a majority of campuses in some capacity come the new school year, whether that's in August remains to be seen. For the student athletes, just my opinion but believe most would go play if given the opportunity. I agree that playing in empty stadiums is unlikely. Read that ticket revenue was somewhere around $1B for the P5 schools last year. Think they'd rather push the season back although that would be extremely difficult to near impossible for the Big 10 schools.
Yeah, it's going to be interesting. I don't know how you tell 50 or 60 year old professors to go back into classrooms with hundreds of kids and campuses with thousands of kids if the virus is still doing then what it's doing now. I have a difficult time believing that we're going to be talking about large crowds being ok in October. I think all of that means college football season is hyper vulnerable to missing out on a 2020 season, particularly compared to pro sports.
Is it weird that schools are already announcing closures for the fall? We don't know at all what the world is going to look like in June, let alone September. It's going to be really weird if everything is generally open (either because the virus is manageable or we just gave up) and these schools are closed.
For NCAA sports? A whole lot. But there's so many moving parts: for example the UT System, Cal System, Conferences, private schools, etc...
Ya but believe it’ll be ultimately be up to the board of governors. And like you said, there will be so many moving parts, variables, power plays, and of course money that I’m not sure he can affirmatively make that call, especially this early. Hell the Big 12 commissioner pretty much dismissed it already.
He is but if the SEC and Big 10 jump on board with him, don't see Emmert/NCAA putting a kibosh on it. Will admit I automatically scoff at any rulings made by the NCAA although they seem to be coming around with the new transfer and compensation rules. But even those came after decades of inept decision making IMO.
I think it's because of the gear up for it...kids making plans to move on campus or not...deposits that have to be made...enrollment, etc. The uncertainty clouds the lead time, I think. My older son at UH is convinced he won't have normal classes in the Fall. Judging by the proposals I've seen from the TEA just with regard to public education from elementary through high school, I'm fairly skeptical those will be business as usual in August either.
The virus won't be manageable this fall, which is also traditionally the start of cold and flu season. I don't think you have to be an infectious disease expert to see that. We had a chance, but bumbling responses, lack of federal coordination, and the politicization of just about every aspect of the disease and preventative measures suggest we'll still be in bad shape come fall--which is also when an election takes place, so I see no relief on the politicization or fed coordination front. A lot of schools are waiting until July to make a decision, but the Cal State call was a big signal. I expect many more to follow. Schools owe it to students and faculty to make a decision early. It takes a lot to convert to online classes and the worst thing you can do is have students show up and then send them home after a few weeks because your school becomes a hot spot. That throws way too many kids into limbo. Let folks make plans now. It sucks, because it looks like there may be more than a few schools that go under or scale back significantly. This is going to be a big hit to higher education in our country. It will increase pressure on kids who want to go to college to become even more competitive for fewer spots and we'll also have a bunch of professors, researchers, and support folks adding to the unemployment lines. If a school closes, current students will be screwed as it will be tough to find a transfer spot and if they do, the tuition will probably increase the new school will have them over a barrel. Look for Phoenix and other shady operations to have a field day. I'd love to see college football this fall, but the prospects of that happening are directly tied to how well our society deals with COVID-19. If we're not doing well, college football and bunch of other stuff ain't happening.
This is simply unknown at this point. The virus itself may still be around, but if any of these antiviral cocktails work and make this a managable illness, I suspect the vast majority of campuses will be open (to clarify, I'm not talking about college football - just campuses being open). 3 months is a long time when the entire world is pouring all its resources into fighting this - something that's never happened in modern history. My point is simply that no one knows how this is going to play out. Schools can prepare for both scenarios, but they certainly don't need to be announcing decisions today - as evidenced by the fact that no other school has done it.