The commissioners of the major college football conferences today held a 30-minute conference call with Vice President Pence and “stressed that college sports cannot return from the coronavirus shutdown until campuses have re-opened.” Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said the commissioners, as well as Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick and CFP Exec Dir Bill Hancock, “made the point we were concerned and wanted to get back to having kids attending college." Bowlsby: "Until that happened we weren't going to be having any sports.” He indicated that another call with Pence “was probable in about a month” (AP, 4/15).
Pence “didn’t have any specific news for them, nor did he want anything more than general information." There were “no dates or declarations on the call, which was characterized as generally positive and information gathering in nature.” Hancock said, “I am grateful to the vice president for taking the time to talk to us. It shows that the White House understands how significant college athletics is to folks in this country” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/15).
