Coronavirus Has 2020 College Football Season, NCAA's Future Up In Air

The Coronavirus Crisis and Sports: A taste of what's going in sports beyond Alabama, and the best of Sports Illustrated

Said one administrator: "We’re all effed. There’s no other way to look at this, is there?"

As the coronavirus pandemic threatens the college football season, administrators and experts explain the options and why the current NCAA system could hang in the balance

If the coronavirus leads to a major downturn in the college football economy, then what? Sports Illustrated writers Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) and Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) sought answers for the far-reaching implications. They asked two dozen administrators and industry experts to answer four pressing college sports questions.

What they found was that the impact of the novel coronavirus to the NCAA's cash cow, football, could spell sweeping changes to the landscape of college athletics. 

The financial fallout of a shortened or canceled football season could be devastating for college athletics as as whole. 

"Football allows us to have these other sports."

With NCAA canceling all sports for the remaining school year, college football was saved by having its championship in January. However, with schools closed, and state officials still keeping bans on large gatherings, can college football see a push back on its September start date? 

"If they have to start football in a blizzard in January, they’re going to do it."

It's today's cover story on SI.com:

Sports Illustrated

Meanwhile, Coronavirus and Sports podcast tackles the issue as well: Why NCAA Needs College Football Back in Fall

VIDEO DOWNLOAD: https://wave.evolphin.com/iF1MZw PW: NCAA0408

Listen/Subscribe:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1503391421
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5BWP4CkzC9cknBvc8MFSFj
RSS: https://feeds.megaphone.fm/siplussports

Did you notice? 

• If you haven't seen Forde's ultra-sarcastic column ripping  Mike Gundy's approach to the coronavirus, we strongly recommend it.

Tom Brady did a super-long sit-down interview with Howard Stern, durning which he opened up about a lot things including leaving the Patriots, he skipped OTAs the past couple of years because of his wife Gisele, and the quarterback claimed he does not care about his legacy.

• According to a report, 88% of athletic directors support expanding the College Football Playoff.

The lighter side ...

Two-time NBA champion Ray Allen took to social media and shared how he is spending his time during the quarantine period. 

The Hall of Fame player posted a photo of himself balding. 

"! For those of you that don’t know I have cut my own hair my whole life," Allen said in his instagram post. "So it’s been hard not to put the clippers to it but when I look back at these pics I will remember Rona! Lol. " 

Allen went on to challenge LeBron James to post a picture of his current hairline. 


Published
Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.