Will There Be a 2020 Football Season?

Chances of a 2020 season?

  • Full 12 Game Schedule

    Votes: 20 36.4%
  • Shortened Season

    Votes: 13 23.6%
  • No Games Played

    Votes: 22 40.0%

  • Total voters
    55
  • Poll closed .
For those who like to discuss game contracts and some legal jargon, here is an interesting article. This article also has some interesting info on red-shirting an entire team.

https://www.si.com/college/2020/07/27/college-football-season-status-decisions-acc

Aside from the difficulties the Power 5 programs will face in dealing with the deficiencies in their contracts, they’ll also have to convince a court that ‘we decided not to play’ means the same thing as ‘we can’t play.’ Much like football, that kind of ‘Hail Mary’ legal argument is rarely successful.”

 
I enjoyed watching the opening night of MLB, and even with the cutouts and the piped in crowd noise it felt welcome and surprisingly normal.

We had been warned that they'd be playing with some new rules: no high fives, no chatting on first base, masks and social distancing in the dugouts. But from what you could see on national TV, there were lots of bare-handed high fives, all kinds of chatter on first base, and selective or non existent social distancing/mask wearing by the players in the dugouts (coaches seemed to be toeing the line).

I guess that's what helped it feel normal, but apparently the whole not-taking-this-seriously vibe is going to end up making it more serious. 

 
I really think the Power 5 teams and Big Ten should really look at quarantining/separating players on campus from the larger student populations. This would include separate dorms and fall sport athletes going to online/virtual classes. It seems Nebraska is moving this way in the dorm/living situation. That is really the only way I see a potential of a season that isn't interrupted by outbreaks on a couple teams like we are seeing in the MLB. 

 
I really think the Power 5 teams and Big Ten should really look at quarantining/separating players on campus from the larger student populations. This would include separate dorms and fall sport athletes going to online/virtual classes. It seems Nebraska is moving this way in the dorm/living situation. That is really the only way I see a potential of a season that isn't interrupted by outbreaks on a couple teams like we are seeing in the MLB. 
Man, can they do that though?  For one, they are supposed to be treated the same as Joe Student, like, they are not supposed to have their own athletic dorms and crap like that.  (unless that has changed)

Two, can you make them "more important" than Joe Student?

 
For those who like to discuss game contracts and some legal jargon, here is an interesting article. This article also has some interesting info on red-shirting an entire team.

https://www.si.com/college/2020/07/27/college-football-season-status-decisions-acc

Aside from the difficulties the Power 5 programs will face in dealing with the deficiencies in their contracts, they’ll also have to convince a court that ‘we decided not to play’ means the same thing as ‘we can’t play.’ Much like football, that kind of ‘Hail Mary’ legal argument is rarely successful.”
Good article. Raises plenty of good points regarding the whole season and the giant legal mess it is going to be.   

Schools who cancel will very likely owe the cancellation $.  All this schedule shuffling shows most of it is financially motivated not safety related really.  In part because there really are not any obvious safety protocols to blame - it is unprecedented.  

Schools just better pay up as future contracts will be even harder to get or negotiate if breach is attempted.   

I really think cancelling was stupid in the first place and very expensive.  SCHEDULING will be the biggest mistake made in the entire fiasco.  The conferences and schools are all facing financial ruin / bankruptcy most likely.  The smart ones have already cut the big ticket costs (salaries mainly) - i suspect a few have not publicized things yet.    High dollar coaches and admin people are on the chopping block certainly.   Hope is not a plan.  lol. 

 
I really think the Power 5 teams and Big Ten should really look at quarantining/separating players on campus from the larger student populations. This would include separate dorms and fall sport athletes going to online/virtual classes. It seems Nebraska is moving this way in the dorm/living situation. That is really the only way I see a potential of a season that isn't interrupted by outbreaks on a couple teams like we are seeing in the MLB.


Will be impossible to do. Let's take this point by point.

1. I really think the Power 5 teams and Big Ten should really look at quarantining/separating players on campus from the larger student populations. It will be impossible due to the fact that you have a number of students who are either student-trainers, student equipment managers, work-study students in the athletic department, you still have maintenance and janitorial staff coming in to clean, you have coaches who will go home and be with spouses and children. You would have to quarantine the entire enterprise. You simply cannot just quarantine the student-athletes. And what about those student-athletes who need tutoring in an online class? Quarantine the tutors as well? 

2. This would include separate dorms and fall sport athletes going to online/virtual classes. The athletic department does set up class schedules for student-athletes; but what of the upper level courses that students take that are not available online or the faculty member or department or even the college that the courses are in does not elect to go fully online and their is only one section of the class? You would essentially have an athletic department dictating the academics and this is a no-no. We know it is done but in this day and age, there are probably a lot of faculty members that want to be contrarian to the whims of the athletic department. Trust me, they are there.

Here is another problem: you simply do not have "just the football" team to consider; you have the entire student-athlete population to consider as well. As well, you have different travel schedules for the other student-athletes and their sport; plus, can you imagine simply just quarantining and being in isolation and just being around the same people 24/7 without seeing any other signs of civilization? And really, what are you going to do? Put armed guards at the dorm entrance and secure all the exits so the football players do not go out? What is this? East Berlin? 

 
Man, can they do that though?  For one, they are supposed to be treated the same as Joe Student, like, they are not supposed to have their own athletic dorms and crap like that.  (unless that has changed)

Two, can you make them "more important" than Joe Student?
They already get access to free shoes, clothes, food, academic help, trainers, facilities, etc. over Joe Student, all of which are higher quality than what Joe Student will pay for, so why not?

 
They already get access to free shoes, clothes, food, academic help, trainers, facilities, etc. over Joe Student, all of which are higher quality than what Joe Student will pay for, so why not?


Sure, but Joe Athlete doesn't have access to the advanced technology that some students in a scientific field have access to. Everyone has different access to different things based on their major. 

 
Sure, but Joe Athlete doesn't have access to the advanced technology that some students in a scientific field have access to. Everyone has different access to different things based on their major. 
True. My point though is if they're already giving them this stuff, why not give them a little more if it complies with title IX and all that

 
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