re: CFN - Will there be a college football season in 2020? Where is the Plan?

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What about just waiting until the spring?

Why is the spring going to be any better?

Forgetting that you lose all the NFL talents who won’t be able to leave the college scene fast enough, what’s going to change?

It’s still a long shot that a vaccine will be ready. More directly, if the powers-that-be haven’t figured out how to do this over the last four months, what light bulb is going to turn on in February?

With that said – and PLEASE keep your dopey political opinions in your pocket – the one game-changer could be the election. There might be a very, very different set of rules, guidelines and national protocols to follow in 2021 depending on who wins.

While we’re on this, it’ll be fascinating to see how college football is about get politicized.

Don’t underestimate what a gigantic PR win it would be for the current administration and elected officials in football-mad states if there’s football being played in late October and early November, and don’t dismiss what a colossal political disaster it will be if there isn’t.

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So why haven’t athletic directors been sharper about coming up with a plan?

1) There’s no Roger Goodell-type at the top to centralize everything, because 2) the NCAA has zero interest in getting into the liability game and is punting to the conferences, which means 3) the conferences have to deal with various schools and various states with various governors with various sets of rules.

You want to try figuring out college football at the immediate moment in Texas, or Arizona, or in several of the SEC states?

Ten FBS conferences, ten conference commissioners – that doesn’t include Notre Dame – and they’re all looking to not make a mistake.

And then there’s harsh reality of the biggest killer for the schools …

No fans in the stands.

There’s a thought that if there’s not enough money being made off of playing football, then there’s no real point in moving heaven and earth to get a season going.

The NFL makes most of its money off of TV revenue, marketing and licensing. Most college athletic departments sink or swim depending on the football attendance.

That’s why coaches are only truly on a hot seat if there’s a dip in the ticket sales – or in donations. A coach can keep losing, but as long as the butts are in the seats, he’s got a shot at sticking around.

Of course there’s TV revenue for the colleges if football is played, but it’s not nearly as big a deal as it is for the NFL.

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Okay, so make the call. What’s really going to happen?

To end on a positive note, I really do think there will be college football, and I really do want to believe it can be done responsibly.

Once it’s really on, and everyone realizes what’s at stake, they’ll lock things down on their own.

However, first get ready for the real gut-punch – few, if any, colleges will have undergraduate students back like normal.

What’s the worst possible idea on the planet right now? Take a smallish-to-midsized American town with limited hospital resources and bring in tens of thousands of people from all over the world to jam into confined spaces.

What do college kids do when they get away from home with a chance at freedom? One house party later, and uh oh.

Relating all of that to college football, conference commissioners can say there won’t be fall sports if the students aren’t back on campus, but not all schools are going have the same issues.

Indiana recently tested all the athletes on campus and didn’t get one positive result. Michigan retested everyone and had just the two positives from a few weeks before.

A college football season might have to be dealt with on a school-by-school, moment-by-moment basis, even within conferences.

Once we get to the 11th hour on the decision on whether it’s go or no-go on a launch – total guess here – watch out for one conference to go rogue and decide to keep things in-house with a league-only schedule – each conference will create its own set of protocols, rules and guidelines – and then everyone else will quickly follow, or not.

Bu it’ll happen. There’s going to be college football in some way.

It’s college. Everyone is cramming at the last moment for the exam.

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