The ACC will delay the start of competition for all fall sports until at least Sept. 1

[Southpawmac]

I don't want it to get pushed to spring but I can't help but think we would have a much easier schedule if it was pushed to spring. No way Trevor Lawrence plays as the potential top pick in the draft and uGA would also have loads of talent skip out. We still probably wouldn't win those games but we would have a much better chance.

 

[FredJacket]

Impossible to know... but would be interesting to find out. Once you have these athletes on-campus (the case now) and 'contained' (relatively) and in a strict routine/schedule where (I assume) all measures are taken to keep the players isolated from the outside world... fed, housed, etc. ...you have to believe that group (a college football team) is well-protected from catching the virus. By extension, you could say the same about the general student population. The difference there is the general student population would have less of their schedule/lives controlled. However...they'd most likely still be interacting nearly exclusively with other students. So... let's say the decision is made to not have a football season and all classes remote/on-line. What you've done for THIS group (college SA and students in general) is send them back "out" into a less structured / isolated situation and I'd have to assume MORE of that group will ultimately contract COVID. I know it is impossible to know.... but seems logical to me.

I have 3 college age kids and I am HOPING their respective schools have some form of in-person class with adequate distancing measures in place. I'm pretty sure that scenario will have my college age kids inter-mingling with other college age kids (mostly) and frankly with a smaller circle. I bet it would be different for others... but not my kids.

My point here is limited because I'm not factoring in many other important things like faculty/coach interaction (older, more at risk folks)... but if you did factor in all that stuff, it is not clear (to me) whether being on-campus (minimum) isn't BETTER for all than dispersing to wherever kids go for remote/on-line only.

 

[GTFLETCH]

On Tuesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made it official that there would be no crowds at games: Cuomo’s budget director Robert Mujica said no fans for college sports within the state this season.


Link

No fans at college games in New York State, per Gov. Andrew Cuomo

There shouldn’t have been any doubts about this, but just in case you were still wondering...

www.nunesmagician.com

 

[MidtownJacket]

The challenge for me in all of this comes down to risk mitigation. It is natural for any of us regular joes to presume a set of variables that skew positive (making the assumption that things work out and allow us to 'open back up' and have sports).

The people planning the season and the responses don't have the luxury of ungrounded optimism. We have seen people literally shooting and stabbing others for being asked to mask up. That prevents me from being able to presume positive intent or outcomes from everyone.

What we have also seen over the last few months, is that a majority of the cases happen based off super spreader type infections. Good news is that it reduces the likelihood of you coming into contact with a spreader but if you do, then it increases the likelihood of you contracting the disease.

At this point I think delaying for more data is an appropriate response from leadership. There isn't enough information to let us know how this will play out, and there isn't harm by pushing the decision date down the road while we wait to see if people will wake up and wear masks / social distance / do the necessary to slow and stop the virus.

 

[Milwaukee]

Our company officially opted out of our Lambeau tix for this season yesterday. I got the call last night.

 

[GTFLETCH]

The challenge for me in all of this comes down to risk mitigation. It is natural for any of us regular joes to presume a set of variables that skew positive (making the assumption that things work out and allow us to 'open back up' and have sports).

The people planning the season and the responses don't have the luxury of ungrounded optimism. We have seen people literally shooting and stabbing others for being asked to mask up. That prevents me from being able to presume positive intent or outcomes from everyone.

What we have also seen over the last few months, is that a majority of the cases happen based off super spreader type infections. Good news is that it reduces the likelihood of you coming into contact with a spreader but if you do, then it increases the likelihood of you contracting the disease.

At this point I think delaying for more data is an appropriate response from leadership. There isn't enough information to let us know how this will play out, and there isn't harm by pushing the decision date down the road while we wait to see if people will wake up and wear masks / social distance / do the necessary to slow and stop the virus.

Whats wrong with watching the games on TV?

 

[MidtownJacket]

Whats wrong with watching the games on TV?

Nothing, for the fans at home.

But there are huge numbers of support staff that would be involved in playing in a stadium and the daily workouts / walk throughs / prep for games. ND AD's is calling for a shortened season 8-10 games to delay the decision further. At some point you miss the window to make a call and have to act with what info you have, I am just saying we aren't there yet. so no harm in waiting to see what changes.

 

[RamblinRed]

Morning notes
ND AD doesn't believe their will be a 12 game schedule, he's hoping for 8-10 games.
he is also suggesting delaying the start. One issue is right now no one knows when you might be able to start the season.

Notre Dame AD wants delayed start, 8-10 game season amid COVID-19 pandemic

“It's only after you decide when we're comfortable starting, that sets your practice timeline, it sets how many games you can likely try and get into the season.”

sports.yahoo.com

NM's Governor has sent a letter to New Mexico and New Mexico St asking them to suspend all fall sports

Governor pens letter requesting both New Mexico, New Mexico State suspend fall sports

Michelle Lujan Grisham pushes for "difficult and unprecedented" decision from university leaders

www.cbssports.com

This article talks about how the NFL and college football have the most difficult tasks in terms of starting up their sports seasons and that the NFL has a number of advantages that college football does not. (money, player union). Basically the NFL has the money to invest in a very expensive and extensive testing program and a players union to make sure the players are safe which allows them to have a protocol that doesn't require their players to sit out nearly as long as college football. NFL is looking to do daily testing for at least the 1st 2 weeks and then if the positive test rate is less than 5% dropping to every other day. College football is looking at 1 test a week. That allows the NFL to be in a place where they can potentially get some players back as quickly as 24-48 hours. For college football it is 10-14 days.

'How do you play?' Here's college football’s biggest obstacle to having a season this fall

According to college coaches and officials attempting to navigate the season, a main reason the prospect of college football looks so dim is how different the sport's contact tracing rules are when compared to that of the NFL.

sports.yahoo.com

I'm sort of expecting since decisions have to be made in the next 10 days for college football that the most likely decision right now is to announce a delay to the start of the season and then play a waiting game to see if a window opens where they can get started. But we are not that far from finding out.

 

[orientalnc]

In NC we're still in Phase 2 until at least Aug 7. Yesterday our cases,hospitalizations, and positive test rates were near record levels. I will be shocked if Cooper doesn't extend our current order another three weeks. If he does, I don't see how any NC football team can begin normal fall camp. He is in a very heated political fight with the Lt Governor who wants to open up completely.

 

[JacketRacket]

In NC we're still in Phase 2 until at least Aug 7. Yesterday our cases,hospitalizations, and positive test rates were near record levels. I will be shocked if Cooper doesn't extend our current order another three weeks. If he does, I don't see how any NC football team can begin normal fall camp. He is in a very heated political fight with the Lt Governor who wants to open up completely.

This is why I don't see a college season happening this fall.

Every state will have different restrictions on practice and playing and schools being open, that will make scheduling and logistics a nightmare. Especially if you can't have people on campus.

It's not like pro sports where you can have everybody pack up and move to Orlando or Canada or something like that for 3 months.

 

[RamblinRed]

In NC we're still in Phase 2 until at least Aug 7. Yesterday our cases,hospitalizations, and positive test rates were near record levels. I will be shocked if Cooper doesn't extend our current order another three weeks. If he does, I don't see how any NC football team can begin normal fall camp. He is in a very heated political fight with the Lt Governor who wants to open up completely.

Louisiana made this same decision this week extending their Phase II for at least a couple more weeks.

 

[Milwaukee]

 

[orientalnc]

The linked article in the News&Observer may be behind a paywall. Since I am a subscriber, I do not know what they allow to everyone. If it is, I will follow with a brief summary.

Basically, the big three colleges in NC are saying anytime a regular student tests positive they are not notifying everyone. Each school has different policies, but you can bet this is chaos hovering just above RTP waiting for the right moment to strike. Since there is no way to isolate football players, it seems to me the coaches are going to have to depend on the honor system to protect their teams. I can see this getting out of hand quickly.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article244384207.html

 

[MidtownJacket]

The linked article in the News&Observer may be behind a paywall. Since I am a subscriber, I do not know what they allow to everyone. If it is, I will follow with a brief summary.

Basically, the big three colleges in NC are saying anytime a regular student tests positive they are not notifying everyone. Each school has different policies, but you can bet this is chaos hovering just above RTP waiting for the right moment to strike. Since there is no way to isolate football players, it seems to me the coaches are going to have to depend on the honor system to protect their teams. I can see this getting out of hand quickly.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article244384207.html

wasn't paywalled for me, yeah agree this is a system built for failure relying on hope.

 

[RonJohn]

The linked article in the News&Observer may be behind a paywall. Since I am a subscriber, I do not know what they allow to everyone. If it is, I will follow with a brief summary.

Basically, the big three colleges in NC are saying anytime a regular student tests positive they are not notifying everyone. Each school has different policies, but you can bet this is chaos hovering just above RTP waiting for the right moment to strike. Since there is no way to isolate football players, it seems to me the coaches are going to have to depend on the honor system to protect their teams. I can see this getting out of hand quickly.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article244384207.html

That is interesting since Duke was the first team to pull out of the conference tournament.

I understand that HIPPA is a law. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced long ago that they were not going to enforce some provisions of HIPPA so as not to impede health care organizations form fighting the pandemic. There was part of the stimulus that provided paid sick leave if you contracted COVID-19 even though it isn't legal for your employer to ask about your health conditions. There are many companies that require notification if someone from a vendor company was at their site and tests positive, even though it isn't legal for the vendor to ask health questions of their employees and it isn't legal for the vendor to release their employees' health information to third parties. There are many HIPPA violations that are occurring daily related to COVID-19, but in my opinion it is understandable. The choices without identifying infected people would be to either not notify people who were in the same area, or notify everyone who was in the same general area and frighten people who would know they weren't affected if they knew the name. If the schools and/or students aren't willing to notify potentially affected people without unduly scaring people at extremely low risk then they shouldn't open at all.

 

[orientalnc]

Clemson will begin Fall semester with all classes online.

Clemson University announces online-only start to Fall semester

The fall semester will begin August 19 as originally planned, but instruction will be virtual until late September due to concerns over the coronavirus.

www.greenvilleonline.com

 

[RamblinRed]

I feel like a crack addict, getting up every day, looking at sports sites for new news on college football.
I know i'm not going to get a full season (ND AD's comments seem fairly realistic), but how much might I get and will any fans be allowed?

Here's one question I have. If ACC, SEC, B12 announce a conference +1 schedule, given the ACC is committed to helping ND, would GT have to choose between ND and UGA and would they have a choice?

FWIW, both the Big South and Southland have announced that they plan for now to start in September.

Big South To Begin Fall Sport Competition September 3

Big South To Begin Fall Sport Competition September 3

bigsouthsports.com

This is a really good article

SEC, ACC, Big 12 considering 'plus one' scheduling model with shortened 2020 season becoming an inevitability

Each would play their normal league schedules while adding or retaining a nonconference game

www.cbssports.com

One thing I did not know is that the NCAA Board of Governors have a meeting this Friday and they could vote to cancel all fall championships.

"There is an NCAA Board of Directors meeting Friday during which, CBS Sports has learned, the association could cancel all fall championships. That would include the FCS, Division II and Division III playoffs. Some FBS sources are lobbying the board to hold off. "

"Whatever happens, the process is being played out in stages. The commissioners are trying to buy as much time as they can before canceling the season or moving it to next year.
The conference-only season, then, may be a "placeholder" for the public to digest before the next decision must be made. The commissioners have already indicated the start of the season could be delayed. It could also be played over two semesters or perhaps moved completely to 2021."

interesting question by the B12 Commissioner.
"The question I haven't had answered is, how do you drop one set of games and then add games back in without finding yourself in breach of agreement?" Bowlsby said

And of course, something I think we all know
Assuming a shortened season, adding a ninth or 10th game would provide more inventory for the TV rights holders who were already dealt a blow by the Big Ten and Pac-12 decisions.
"The games have got to get in for television more than anything," a Power Five AD said. "If we can get those games in, we would not lose that money. The thing we've got to be careful is to not put our student-athletes at risk just to get games in."


That last comment is the one that makes me think the fans in the stands is something the power players aren't worrying about too much. i suspect they would gladly have empty stands if they thought it gives them a better chance to play more games.

 

[RonJohn]

Clemson will begin Fall semester with all classes online.

Clemson University announces online-only start to Fall semester

The fall semester will begin August 19 as originally planned, but instruction will be virtual until late September due to concerns over the coronavirus.

www.greenvilleonline.com

Mark Emmert back in May:

“All of the Division I commissioners and every president that I’ve talked to is in clear agreement: If you don’t have students on campus, you don’t have student-athletes on campus,” Emmert said on May 9. “That doesn’t mean it has to be up and running in the full normal model, but you’ve got to treat the health and well-being of the athletes at least as much as the regular students. So if a school doesn’t reopen, then they’re not going to be playing sports. It’s really that simple.”

Makes it hard to play football on Spetember 3rd if students aren't even planned to be allowed on campus until September 13th at the earliest.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Two more weeks.....

 

[LibertyTurns]

FHSAA is meeting tomorrow because half to 2/3 of state wants to play and the rest don’t. There’s 5 Saturdays in October & 4 in November for a 9 game season. There’s 3 more Saturdays before Christmas. Conference Championships can be on the 19th or 26th with an 11 or 12 game season. Jan 2nd can be the 1st round of playoffs and Championship game on the 9th. New Year’s and New Year’s Eve can still have their bowl games. BS bowls can start on the 28th and go to the 8th.

If they get creative there’s 8 conference games, seed 4 knockout rounds of playoffs with byes for top seeds. Then roll into bowls & playoffs. Everybody gets a chance to win.