Ten Thoughts for Monday Morning
1) I know none of us want to think about it but a lot of people are worried about the football season. Last week, Kirk Herbstreit said he'd be "shocked" if there was a football season in 2020. Most people I've talked to aren't that negative about it...but they're very concerned about whether games are going to be played. The reaction from people I've talked to (this ranges from coaches to people who cover the sport who have talked to people) is somewhere between "If we play, I think we're going to play without fans at least to start" to "I don't think we're going to have a season." What I'm not really hearing anyone say right now is "I'm optimistic everything can go off on time." I think it's too early to start canceling the season. I do not think it's too early to start having discussions behind the scenes about possible modifications or things you can do to give the sport the best chance to have a season. That's what I'm sure every administrator, coach, conference and athletic department in the country is doing right now.
2) Here's why some people are so concerned about it. Let's say you come back, everything is good, everyone is in camp, etc. Then let's say midway through fall camp, a player at Iowa State tests positive. Right then, you have to test and quarantine everyone in that program. And you have 12 teams they play who are now not sure they can play them. So that's a schedule change for 10% of the teams in the country BASED ON JUST ONE POSITIVE TEST. I know some will say "it's March 30, we're five months away please shut the hell up and stop spreading panic." I want to be clear, none of this stuff is my opinion. As of today, I still think they'll find some way to have at least part of a football season. But if the sport isn't planning for all this and at least thinking about the worst case scenarios, they're not doing their jobs.
3) Let's also be clear, in the grand scheme of things, obviously football isn't hugely important. Except to these colleges, it is. Athletic departments don't exist without football. It literally allows everything else to happen. If you shutter the sport for a year, how many other teams get cut and how many other athletes don't get scholarships and opportunities? The ripple effect is scary.
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