College Football: Just a Little Patience

Shed a tear ‘cause I’m missin’ you

I’m still alright to smile

CFB, I think about you every day now…

If Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses were a college football fan, he would be singing one of his hits, Patience, to the NCAA. The governing body of all college sports has yet to make a decision on fall sports with the threat of the coronavirus in the background.

Last week, the NCAA Board of Governors agreed that it would continue to monitor the health conditions around the country before making any decision about fall sports championships. The NCAA only controls national championship events for each sport. It does not have any authority over a regular season.

The NCAA actually also has no control over the Football Bowl Subdivision’s College Football Playoff. That is controlled completely by the conferences. So far, the Big Ten and Pac-12 have decided that they will play a conference-only schedule in 2020. The ACC is said to be considering a conference-only schedule that would include Notre Dame.

The Big 12 and SEC have yet to make any decisions. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is the epitome of patience. Sankey understands that we learn more each and every day and what we learn can help us make decisions on the 2020 season.

Last Friday marked the first day of enhanced summer access for FBS programs. Schools are permitted eight hours per week for strength training, conditioning, and film review. One hour per day is allowed for meetings and walk-throughs in which a football can be used.

Just last week, two more schools had to halt their summer workouts and practices due to COVID-19. Michigan State became the first program to quarantine its entire team after two staff members and one athlete tested positive for the coronavirus.

Rutgers did the same after the Scarlet Knights program had six players test positive. Since teams were able to start voluntary workouts in June, several teams have had to either quarantine players or stop workouts altogether. Clemson and LSU, the two teams that played for last year’s national title, are two such teams.

Follow NFL’s Lead?

The NFL and its players’ association hammered out a deal to ensure player safety and make sure teams can get into camp to prepare for the upcoming season. Part of the agreement cancelled all preseason games this season.

The league has instituted a number of rules designed to limit players’ exposure to the coronavirus. Players can be fined for going to night clubs, bars, indoor concerts, and even indoor church services if the church allows attendance above 25 percent of capacity.

Can FBS schools do something similar? In Coach Rick’s opinion … not a chance. You have essentially a group of 100 athletes aged anywhere from 18 to roughly 24. No one – not the NCAA, a university, even their parents in some cases – is going to keep these young people from doing something dumb.

Sorry, Coach Rick was in their shoes back in the day and if there is one given truth it is this. Young men, including college football players, do dumb things. We think we are immortal; therefore, we can do anything. Like things that will get us the coronavirus.

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Money Train

There are two realities in the whole college football-coronavirus situation. One is the amount of money that changes hands in a college football season. Schools make money that helps fund the rest of their athletic programs. Television networks make money. The NCAA makes money. There are simply too many greenbacks at stake to simply cancel the 2020 season.

The other reality is health concerns. If a college or university is going to keep its students at home for a semester because of the virus, do you really think the administration – or maybe even a state governor – is going to allow football games to be played?

Players practice daily and sweat, breath, spit, bleed, and who knows what else on each other for up to two hours or more.

Coach Rick is still up in the air on what happens. I’m hopeful that the 2020 season will be played in some capacity. For now though, I’m willing to have a little Patience … yeah … yeah.