“It’s athletic directors, coaches and players vs. presidents, trustees and lawyers in the most intriguing battle in NCAA history.”
- Anonymous TV executive, in an article from Sports Illustrated
The news hit early morning on August 11th across all media outlets, ending lengthy speculations from reporters, players, and fans alike. After attempting to play a conference-only schedule in the fall, the Big 10 has instead opted to cancel its Fall sports season and will attempt to play in the spring instead due to lingering concerns regarding COVID-19 and its safety for all individuals participating in contests.
Later in the day at 1:16 pm, the Pac-12 dropped another shocker on the collegiate sports world via press release; they would not only postpone Fall sports activity, but all other athletic activities (basketball, volleyball, soccer, etc.) until the end of 2020.
“The health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports has been our number one priority since the start of this current crisis.”
- Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott
A strong opposition to these closures has arisen down East as many players and coaches argue that it is safer for students involved to continue on with a season, emphasizing low mortality rates among youth. In addition, practices and games that would usually take up most of a player’s free time are now gone, which could lead to more students as a whole spending time roaming around campuses or in public places such as restaurants.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban stated in an interview with ESPN:
"Look, players are a lot safer with us than they are running around at home...We have around a 2 percent positive ratio on our team since the Fourth of July. It's a lot higher than that in society. We act like these guys can't get this unless they play football. They can get it anywhere, whether they're in a bar or just hanging out."
Despite the concern for the health of players and coaches involved, many believe that a Fall season can be done safely with the correct protocols. The other three Power 5 conferences are still finding ways to continue sports to fulfill the wishes of the players, and to make up for the projected losses in revenue if the season is canceled. The Big 12, SEC, and ACC are all aiming to play their Fall 2020 seasons as planned with their adjusted conference-only schedules.
Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence is one of the main faces of the #WeWantToPlay movement across social media. People like Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Spencer Rattler, Fox Sports analyst Joey Klatt, and even NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal have tweeted about the topic. Thousands of collegiate players have rallied together to advocate for basic players incentives and to ultimately create the first players association for College Football players.
Many fear that a year without collegiate sports could prove detrimental to the players, coaches, and most importantly, the school running the athletic programs, who are at risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue during this down time. The money generated through ticket, merchandise, and concession sales are crucial factors in funding school programs, employee salary, and athletic funding. Stanford University has already cut 11 major varsity sports, with many other universities looking to follow in program cuts.
As the players begin to unionize and continue to rally for a season, it will be interesting to see how everything is going to turn out.
Information courtesty of Big Ten, Sports Illustrated, and 247 Sports