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

[chris975d]

Alot of eyes will be on the B12 tonight. I believe they have a meeting tonight and they were reportedly pretty evenly split in terms of what to do. If they decide to cancel now then I think fall is done, if they decide to postpone any decision then the three remaining P5 go on and play the wait and see game.

Bowl system took a huge hit today though. That is now 53 FBS programs out for fall, over 40%, and there are now officially fewer teams than there are bowl slots. That also means a hit for ESPN since they own alot of the bowls and broadcast them.

FWIW, my belief is that B12 won't cancel yet, they have been followers this whole time.
It was almost 3 weeks from when Big10 announced its plan to go to conference only schedule to when the ACC announced its plans and then the SEC announced a day later. Big 12 announced the following week. So I think this goes at least another 3 weeks. The Presidents will likely wait to see if they have outbreaks in their schools and communities.

I do wonder about the CFB. With the B10 and PAC12 announcing they are cancelling fall but looking to play in Spring what happens if you have a split in when teams play. Is it even possible to have a CFB?

Finally, to give a sense of how difficult this might become for the universities, I live in Cherokee Co and it was announced this afternoon that Etowah HS will be closed after today until Aug 31st due to a COVID outbreak. (they already had 1/8 of the school quarantined as of Monday and have had at least 14 more positive tests since then and have 15 outstanding).

i personally think fall football is done, mainly for a lot of the reasons you just stated. Bowl season/bowl sponsors seeing that now we have a good bit of major conference programs opting to “play in the spring”(I’m not sure that actually happens). I think playoffs are done due to that as well. And I also agree that a lot hinges on the BIG12, especially since it sounds like the ACC decision makers are likely to align with them:

 

[Deleted member 2897]

Which is of course a double-edged sword. If they go forward and can play the season and it goes well then it is a huge boost to the schools and programs. If they play the season and there are outbreaks and it falls apart it will be very bad for the Presidents and potentially the schools themselves.

Nah, they’ve already had breakouts. Half of Clemson’s team has tested positive. If they cancel at least they tried.

 

[BuzzDraft]

Which is of course a double-edged sword. If they go forward and can play the season and it goes well then it is a huge boost to the schools and programs.

"If they play the season and there are outbreaks and it falls apart it will be very bad for the Presidents and potentially the schools themselves."
There's the understatement of the summer!

Been following you on multiple sites... all good stuff, RamblinRed. Thanks for the high quality posting.

 

[RamblinRed]

Nah, they’ve already had breakouts. Half of Clemson’s team has tested positive. If they cancel at least they tried.

To me there is a difference between a breakout that happens when no one is watching -which was the case with the early cases, and breakouts that happen when you are trying to play games and have to cancel games. That will create alot of talk imo of 'why are they trying to play' among opinion writers and the general population, and the general population is more important than the football fan population. If the general population turns against you then it is done, Presidents would immediately pull the plug at that point.

I still think the B12 does nothing tonight - no decision to postpone or play and this just continues for weeks longer and they wait and see what happens on the campuses.

 

[orientalnc]

Alot of eyes will be on the B12 tonight. I believe they have a meeting tonight and they were reportedly pretty evenly split in terms of what to do. If they decide to cancel now then I think fall is done, if they decide to postpone any decision then the three remaining P5 go on and play the wait and see game.

Bowl system took a huge hit today though. That is now 53 FBS programs out for fall, over 40%, and there are now officially fewer teams than there are bowl slots. That also means a hit for ESPN since they own alot of the bowls and broadcast them.

FWIW, my belief is that B12 won't cancel yet, they have been followers this whole time.
It was almost 3 weeks from when Big10 announced its plan to go to conference only schedule to when the ACC announced its plans and then the SEC announced a day later. Big 12 announced the following week. So I think this goes at least another 3 weeks. The Presidents will likely wait to see if they have outbreaks in their schools and communities.

I do wonder about the CFB. With the B10 and PAC12 announcing they are cancelling fall but looking to play in Spring what happens if you have a split in when teams play. Is it even possible to have a CFB?

Finally, to give a sense of how difficult this might become for the universities, I live in Cherokee Co and it was announced this afternoon that Etowah HS will be closed after today until Aug 31st due to a COVID outbreak. (they already had 1/8 of the school quarantined as of Monday and have had at least 14 more positive tests since then and have 15 outstanding).

At some point, maybe three weeks is about right, ESPN is going to tell the three conferences that they need an up or down message that has some teeth. By teeth, I mean penalties if the games are canceled at a later date. They are going ratchet up ad rates for the initial games and they want the buys to be solid.

 

[RonJohn]

At some point, maybe three weeks is about right, ESPN is going to tell the three conferences that they need an up or down message that has some teeth. By teeth, I mean penalties if the games are canceled at a later date. They are going ratchet up ad rates for the initial games and they want the buys to be solid.

I don't think they will do that. And if they do, it won't be public. Right now, ESPN needs P5 football a lot more than P5 football needs ESPN. What content does ESPN have at the moment?

 

[LibertyTurns]

The universities can work with their conference and work with each other. It doesn't take a dictator to make decisions for them.

Well you hit the proverbial nail on the head. Side A wants the freedom to make their own choices. Side B wants a dictator to mandate what they should do. It’s about as complicated as that.

To those that want a dictator to **** the season down: freedom of choice does not equal just blindly having a football season, it’s just the freedom to choose. The choice may be we’re not playing anyway.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Just name our stadium Walmart at Grant Field. Guaranteed Covid free.

 

[takethepoints]

Ok, I think it's time we realized that the season won't happen. I don't doubt that the Big 12 will fold its tents as well. Then the AAC and ACC will too. There's no reason to risk the players health by playing football and whoever does it won't profit by it.

One possibility would be a bubble strategy with the conferences playing only in division games. That might work, but setting it up would be horrendously expensive and fan interest (i.e. tv revenues) would be low.

 

[TooTall]

That will create alot of talk imo of 'why are they trying to play' among opinion writers and the general population, and the general population is more important than the football fan population.

But hasn't this whole thing taught you that the general population is pretty dumb and gullible? Remember the toilet paper shortage?

 

[takethepoints]

How does the Big 10 play in the Spring? Pac 12, CU can't play, unless we get an unusually snowless spring. Also who wins in Late February into March on ESPN, Football or Basketball? What happens to the NFL draft, can't be done in April.

The answer to all this is that the conferences will probably decide to can fall/winter sports for this year and tell the NFL to go pound salt. That'll be a really big loss for the programs, but it could lead to a rationalization of coaches salaries and staff reductions that would increase competitiveness.

 

[Techster]

 

[Milwaukee]

Riddick off the top rope. And to listen to Scott this afternoon with a condescending attitude saying they make decisions based off science unlike other conferences. Umm....the science says you’re being a hypocritical idiot and making zero sense, bud.

 

[Milwaukee]

Oh god here we go with this again. This is the new “flatten the curve” bs phrase they’re pushing and some are buying. “Myocarditis, myocarditis, but myocarditis...” Some of you crack me up.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

Riddick off the top rope. And to listen to Scott this afternoon with a condescending attitude saying they make decisions based off science unlike other conferences. Umm....the science says you’re being a hypocritical idiot and making zero sense, bud.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

Oh god here we go with this again. This is the new “flatten the curve” bs phrase they’re pushing and some are buying. “Myocarditis, myocarditis, but myocarditis...” Some of you crack me up.

You have to wonder how hundreds of thousands of people across the country now have myocarditis and nobody’s reporting it.

 

[Techster]

 

[RonJohn]

But hasn't this whole thing taught you that the general population is pretty dumb and gullible? Remember the toilet paper shortage?

We are talking about starting the season and then having COVID issues arise giving the conferences really bad press, correct?

Does the NCAA need the support of Congress at the moment? Have they been lobbying Congress for anything? Would such a PR nightmare increase support for the NCAA getting monopoly exceptions, or would it drastically increase support for hammering the NCAA in support of players?

I don't think COVID lawsuits would actually make it to a jury, but if it did, would it be better for the public in general to believe that the conferences were diligent in their protections of players or would it be better if the public believes that the conferences ignored evidence that every other NCAA conference was looking at?

Having a failure of a season could be much much more damaging to the conferences and teams than not having a season. Not having a season is nowhere near the worst thing that could happen. Even if you ignore health issues. It is possible that a failed season could completely end college athletics. If there is no season, the GT Athletic Association will have a very rough year financially. Luckily it is pretty easy to borrow money at extremely low interest rates at the moment. If the season starts and somebody dies, it is possible that the GT Athletic Association doesn't even exist in two years.

The odds of student athletes dying might be small, but the stakes involved are much higher than most people are contemplating.

 

[Techster]

 

[Milwaukee]

This is really past the point of absurdity. You ban people from the political threads and then you won't allow ANY discussion that involves an inherently political topic like Covid anywhere else. Have the mods totally lost their minds and perspective on reality? Sure sounds like it. SICKENING !!! It is IMPOSSIBLE to talk about Covid without politics coming into the discussion. DEAL WITH IT, DAMMIT !!!

Xanax. 2mg