Athletic Directors feel College Football will be back
Broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit didn't think college football was going to be played weeks ago and neither does UConn President Tom Katsouleas, who spoke to a UConn journalism class on Tuesday. "Current thinking is that likely fall sports will be canceled - with the exception of those that can be played at a safe distance”.
Little did he know that that statement would cause ripple effects in the sports world. So he had to clarify with a statement that basically said that the "current thinking is that it's likely that fall sports will be canceled." But he based it on "speculation" and not "any inside knowledge or decisions on the subject."
It's understandable to feel that way on April 21, when most of the news is grim. But will he feel the same way on May 21 or June 21? By June, decisions will have to be made and hopefully the picture will be a lot more clear.
Now when it comes to college athletics, athletic directors have to plan for the fall. Schedules are out, but how do you sell season tickets not knowing whether fans will be allowed into stadiums in the fall? According to a poll of FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) athletic directors from Stadium (114 of the 130 ADs participated in an anonymous survey), 99% of them believe football will be played. But most don't think the season will start on time (75%). A little over 60% of the ADs surveyed speculate that the season will begin in October or November, while 14% believe the season won't start until January or February. Just one AD from a Power Five conference believes that the season will not be played at all due to the impact of COVID-19. Most athletic directors (68%) felt that a 12-game season will be played.
The most difficult part of this situation for fall sports is that each school is reliant on concrete information from health officials, the federal government and state government officials. If they leave it up to the states, some could have different rules than others. Then you add in the factor that college students may not return to campus in the fall. If that occurs, you probably won't see football played until the second semester, if at all.
Speculation is all we have at this point, but the fact that most athletic directors are confident that college football will be played in some form or fashion is a positive note. Let's face it, if the season is not played, programs will lose millions and millions of dollars. Even if the season is played with no or few fans, these programs will be taking a huge hit, but so will other non-revenue sports that are getting a financial boost from the Power Five programs.
