CFB may have to get pushed back to avoid the financial disaster of having no season in the academic yearGETTY IMAGES
A scenario for the ’20 college football season “that’s gaining momentum” is starting play at “some point in February” and going through May, with the postseason in June, according to ESPN’s Chris Fowler. The idea “on the surface might sound preposterous,” but a lot of “reasonable people feel like it might be the most prudent course of action.” Fowler admits the idea “would be bizarre” and that it would “wreak havoc on some other sports in that time of year.” However, to "avoid the financial disaster of having no football season in the academic year," it may be a "fallback position.” Fowler: “By the end of May, there has to be clarity. If you’re going to have college campuses open, which you have to have if you’re going to bring the players back, that’s about the deadline.” College football is “way more complicated than any pro sport.” While the NFL is “getting heavy political pressure to begin on time,” college football has “so many different layers.” The various municipalities “will decide when to open the valve and let people get back together again.” Those decisions will be made by university chancellors and presidents, not ADs. Fowler: “It seems unlikely, given the fact that the virus is cresting and the peak is at different places at different times, we’re suddenly going to be back to normal to get the crowd back in stadiums everywhere by late August and early September” (INSTAGRAM.com, 4/11).
NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE UNKNOWN: In Dallas, Chuck Carlton noted CFP Exec Dir Bill Hancock "is focused on a season that’s very familiar" despite the uncertainty the coronavirus pandemic is causing. Hancock via email said, "We are knee-deep in planning for this year’s CFP as we always do in the spring. We’re confident about the season." Hancock said that the CFP "hasn’t explored any contingency plans." Hancock: "We’re busy planning for Miami on January 11.” He added it is "way premature to speculate" about plans that drastically shift the college football calendar. Hancock: “The situation in our country seems to change every few days. There’s really no need to speculate in April” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/14).
