College Football Season and Possible Changes
To play of not to play, that's the million-dollar question that hangs over college football, but it's not the only one remaining to be answered.
If there are games, which states will allow their teams to participate? If some do not participate, how will their conferences deal with replacing them, and what happens if a season begins and teams and their staffs are hit by a recurrence of the virus forcing them to abandon play?
Also, what happens if the surrounding community of a university sees a flare-up. Would the team be allowed to proceed or be forced to stop?
While the NCAA, SEC, and other conferences have agreed on the timetable for student-athletes to return to campuses and begin voluntary workouts in preparation for their coming sports season, these questions and others still abound with little in terms of definitive answers surrounding them.
College football is the engine that drives all college athletics and provides a majority of the revenues needed to support them. It also produces coaches who earn upwards of $5 million annually while top assistants score in the millions as well. The games also provide income for ushers, vendors, and others who had suffered from the cancellations and are now hopeful of regaining some payment when the seasons began.
But what happens to all of it if games are played to empty stadiums?
The SEC and Big-10 seem poised to move forward regardless, though late last week, officials in Michigan said publicly that if students aren't on campus, the Wolverines football team will not play.
The waters are still deep and muddy, and the more questions churn in them, the darker the mud becomes. That's the reality of where things stand at this point.
Despite the excitement created late last week, it should be tempered with the realities that exist that could still derail a season in many places, if not entirely.
College football is an integral part of our society and would be a welcome step toward a needed return to normalcy for everyone, but how normal will it even be when, and if players take the field?
That and many other questions will remain even after the game's kickoff.
A 29 year veteran of radio in the Middle Tennessee area and 16 years in digital and internet media having covered the Tennessee Titans for Scout Media and TitanInsider.com before joining the Sports Illustrated family of networks.