Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal reported Friday that colleges have explored the idea of playing college football in July, August and September this year to avoid coronavirus.
Here is an excerpt:
Amid a growing concern that the college football season could be pushed back, or even canceled, an alternative could come into play — moving the season up to July, August and September, writes SBJ’s Michael Smith. Every other scenario has the season starting later in the fall, at a time when the coronavirus could be returning for another round of infections as the cool weather returns and a vaccine most likely unavailable until 2021. But staging an abbreviated college football season in the summer presents an opportunity to play games when the warm weather could help prevent the spread of the virus.
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Such a drastic move would depend on a number of factors, according to sources Smith talked to this week:
Would campuses be open and able to properly staff games?
Would media partners be receptive to such a radical idea? Given the pent-up demand for live events by then, perhaps so?
Would fans turn out for football in the summer, especially with temperatures in the 90s? Would they even be permitted inside the stadium?
Could athletic departments recoup some of the revenue they’ve lost by staging a summer season?
How would a season work? It would almost have to be conference games only. Teams could start with a June mini-camp, July training camp and eight or nine games in August and September with no postseason.
These are questions that take time to answer, but alternative scenarios like summer football will be discussed by commissioners and athletic directors who will be desperate to play this season. There’s no guarantee that a fall season would succeed, and it might be more likely to fail if the virus returns. A summer season could be the only way to play college football in 2020.
Colleges have looked into moving football season up to July, August and September this season, @SmittySBJ reports. An abbreviated summer season is “an opportunity to play games when the warm weather could help prevent the spread of the virus.” https://t.co/azqWg8R4ZF
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) March 28, 2020
Let me go ahead and say that I see no possible way to play football in the summer months (many places in southern states reach 100 degrees frequently during July and August).
That being said, the fact that this idea has even been considered gives a clear indication of how crazy things are right now.
