Everyone heard from ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit this week. Herbstreit opined that he'd be "shocked" if either the NFL or college football play out their seasons this year. Some dismissed it as mere speculation (and obviously, there's a speculative element to much of the discussion these days).
But there's growing and more ominous evidence that the season is in serious danger of going away. The NCAA and its individual schools (including one wearing winged helmets) are pondering all the what-if scenarios. There's a buzz that decisions locally involve a June 1 deadline, because of freshmen reporting, summer workouts beginning and enrollment for classes taking place.
There is also a strong sense, not surprisingly, that the safety of players, staff, fans, etc. is more important than any football game. One source reiterated one of Herbstreit's main points: there's not an athletic director in America that wants to be responsible for an outbreak of COVID-19 among athletes and those who gather in large numbers to watch them.
Schools will absolutely look for the NCAA for direction. That governing body has already demonstrated its willingness to cancel one of its most popular and lucrative events — the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament — amid the current crisis. Some locally feel that the precedent is already set.
As one football player recently noted of his sport: "You're on each other every play." That isn't lost on the NCAA and major television networks. Those groups also don't sound as if they're looking to present games in front of 110,000 empty seats. According to this source, there's no desire on the part of the NCAA and the networks to produce games with restricted or eliminated attendance. They figure, if it's not safe for attendees, it's not safe for those on the field.
UPDATE
Here are some comments from Penn State head coach James Franklin, regarding the season's uncertainty. He's prepping his staff for the possibility of not getting the usual July time off, according to Blue White Illustrated.
“We had already worked on about six different models," Franklin said. "So if we were able to get back in a month, if we're able to get back in six weeks, if we were able to get back in two months, if we're able to get back... whatever the time period was, we started kind of breaking it out. What's this gonna look like for us a football perspective?
“I talked to the staff about it this morning. We usually get vacation time in the summer, I told the staff, I had a conversation with my wife, you probably need to have a conversation with your wife and start to prepare your family. There's a chance that we won't get any vacation time this summer because everything is just gonna be bumped back.”
Franklin added: “Right now, it's hard to even tell because we don't know how long we're going to be in this scenario, So it's challenging.
“There's a lot of things to work through and I wish I had a specific answer for you, but we're literally just starting to really dig deep on that one.”
But there's growing and more ominous evidence that the season is in serious danger of going away. The NCAA and its individual schools (including one wearing winged helmets) are pondering all the what-if scenarios. There's a buzz that decisions locally involve a June 1 deadline, because of freshmen reporting, summer workouts beginning and enrollment for classes taking place.
There is also a strong sense, not surprisingly, that the safety of players, staff, fans, etc. is more important than any football game. One source reiterated one of Herbstreit's main points: there's not an athletic director in America that wants to be responsible for an outbreak of COVID-19 among athletes and those who gather in large numbers to watch them.
Schools will absolutely look for the NCAA for direction. That governing body has already demonstrated its willingness to cancel one of its most popular and lucrative events — the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament — amid the current crisis. Some locally feel that the precedent is already set.
As one football player recently noted of his sport: "You're on each other every play." That isn't lost on the NCAA and major television networks. Those groups also don't sound as if they're looking to present games in front of 110,000 empty seats. According to this source, there's no desire on the part of the NCAA and the networks to produce games with restricted or eliminated attendance. They figure, if it's not safe for attendees, it's not safe for those on the field.
UPDATE
Here are some comments from Penn State head coach James Franklin, regarding the season's uncertainty. He's prepping his staff for the possibility of not getting the usual July time off, according to Blue White Illustrated.
“We had already worked on about six different models," Franklin said. "So if we were able to get back in a month, if we're able to get back in six weeks, if we were able to get back in two months, if we're able to get back... whatever the time period was, we started kind of breaking it out. What's this gonna look like for us a football perspective?
“I talked to the staff about it this morning. We usually get vacation time in the summer, I told the staff, I had a conversation with my wife, you probably need to have a conversation with your wife and start to prepare your family. There's a chance that we won't get any vacation time this summer because everything is just gonna be bumped back.”
Franklin added: “Right now, it's hard to even tell because we don't know how long we're going to be in this scenario, So it's challenging.
“There's a lot of things to work through and I wish I had a specific answer for you, but we're literally just starting to really dig deep on that one.”
Last edited:
