What Crucial NCAA D-I Council Vote Could Mean for Florida Gators

The NCAA D-I council will be meeting on Wednesday to vote on a potential lift of the on-going nation-wide moratorium for on-campus activities.

According to Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger, the NCAA Division-I council will convene on Wednesday to conduct a 40-man vote regarding the on-going moratorium placed on college campuses which currently restricts on-campus activities.

The initial ban began in March and will last until May 31st, marking June 1st as a potential date for the partial re-opening of college campuses. According to Dellenger, the council will be voting on a variety of options, including an extension on the ban, however that is unlikely.

Instead, the NCAA will be presented with two other scenarios, the first being an opening of campuses for voluntary training without any coaching interaction, and another option for granting required training with staff supervision. The latter option would include "normal summer activity" with a maximum of eight hours per week, six with the strength staff, and two with on-field coaches.

"In that scenario," Dellenger writes, "players would work out at team facilities while strength staff members provide supervision and other school officials administer safety precautions, such as screening athletes, sanitizing equipment and creating small-group training schedules."

The NCAA vote will prelude the SEC-wide vote set to take place on Friday, with both votes having a major impact on whether or not schools will reopen, at least partially.

Due to potential competitive disadvantages, the latter option for the NCAA is unlikely to happen simply because of the lack of nation-wide lifts on mandatory lockdowns. Some states have already re-opened, at least partially, while others are still in a full-lockdown, not allowing groups to congregate.

This would apply to football along with men's and women's basketball players.

However, for the Florida Gators, the potential of conducting on-field workouts or any sort of physical activity would be big for the program. The Gators have found recent success do the strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage's offseason workout programs.

Gaining more continuity within the program would make for an easier transition into the season if it were to be played on time, especially for the incoming-freshmen student-athletes who have yet to set foot on the Florida campus.

Due to the Gators being located in Florida, there will not be as stringent restrictions on the university, and it does appear the program would do as much as possible to not only provide a safe environment for the students, due to state of the art health facilities but also allow the student-athletes to get the most out of any form of offseason training provided.

All of these situations are fluid, primarily due to the on-going pandemic caused by the coronavirus, however, there still remains "optimism" that college football begins on time, granted there are a limited number of fans.

If the vote does not include an extension on the on-going ban, this would be the first step into opening up athletics for the first time since the ban began in March, a major stepping stone.