As I write this, the SEC athletic directors are meeting to discuss the future of college football this fall. Whatever they discuss will be rendered meaningless by the end of the month.
We need to rip off the band-aid. It will not be safe for college football to be played this fall. The current direction of only playing conference games would make sense in a world where coronavirus is under control yet still lingering in a depleted state.
Instead, we live in a country where coronavirus is out of control in multiple states, particularly across the South. This is not something that will be cleared up September, or October, or even the rest of the year.
I work in PR and one of my clients told its employees they will be working from home through the rest of 2020. If it’s not safe for employees to be in the offices of a billion-dollar public company, how is it safe for unpaid college kids to play sports and travel? It’s not.
So instead of trying to salvage a season that is almost certain to be interrupted or outright canceled when the expected second wave hits in the fall with flu season, it’s time to start thinking for the long-term.
As in March with college basketball, the Ivy League has provided the blueprint. It’s spring football and it’s time to start planning now.
10 games. Everyone plays at least 9 conference games.
The first step is to set up parameters that work for every team in every conference and independents. So we reduce the number of games from 12 to 10, and every team plays 9 conference games. The 10th game can be a regional non-conference game or, when needed, teams can play a 10th conference game.
The impetus for the non-conference game is to keep regional rivalries that are arguably safer than most conference games from a travel perspective. Florida/Florida State is safer than Florida State/Boston College and Iowa/Iowa State makes more sense than Iowa/Rutgers. Also, the Big 12 only has 9 conference games possible, so they will all need one game to get to 10.
I also think 10 works from a ranking/champion perspective where enough games are played to crown conference champions and identify a playoff field. Independent teams can also fill in the schedules for teams within close proximity. Notre Dame, for example, is rumored to play only ACC conference games but it would make more sense for them to play some Big Ten or MAC teams instead.
Every game played on a Saturday for protocols
While there is hope that we’ll be in a better place with coronavirus come next year, especially if Trump loses, we will almost certainly not have a vaccine or even a great therapy. So testing and quarantines will be necessary.
If every game across the country is played on a Saturday, then testing protocols can be uniform across the country and should provide ample time to identify and isolate any positive cases in a timely manner without interrupting games.
Start weekend before Super Bowl: 10 straight weeks, ends April 3
The spring season should start on January 30, currently the NFL’s open week before the Super Bowl. I find it hard to believe that the NFL will stray from its schedule due to coronavirus because of all the money at stake. Even if they move the schedule back a week, that Saturday would still be available.
If the NFL needs to move its full season back by a month or two, that Saturday would still be free. It’s the best time for college football to start its season and they need to lock in these dates now before the NFL can take them over.
Everyone plays 10 straight weeks to get the season completed in a timely manner, though April 10 will be reserved for a day of games if needed. The playoffs will tentatively be announced on Sunday, April 4, but may be delayed if necessary.
How about the Army/Navy game on April 10?
This isn’t that integral to the season, I just think it’d be amazing. The Army/Navy game is one of college football’s greatest draws. It deserves its own spotlight. By setting aside April 10 as a potential game date, there will be one game scheduled already and it’ll be Army/Navy on CBS.
That second weekend of April is Masters weekend, which makes it perfect. Imagine an 8pm Army/Navy game after the 3rd round of the Masters? Close your eyes and think about it for a second. Wouldn’t that be something else?
On-campus playoff semifinals on April 24
The semifinals for the playoffs would take place three weeks after the scheduled end of the regular season and two weeks after the extended end date if needed. The semifinals would be the only two games played that day and they would be played on-campus to further reduce exposure to the virus.
Reduced number of bowl games played around May 1
In between the semifinals and the finals, college football would move forward with a limited number of bowl games as its postseason. All the New Year’s Six bowls would take place, as well as an additional 8-10 games to ensure all ranked teams and conference champions would get a bowl game.
If fans are not allowed yet at this point, then it may make sense to move these bowl games to on-campus locations, like how the Rose Bowl was played in North Carolina during World War 2.
If we’re at reduced capacity, the games could be played at neutral sites but with only local fans in lieu of traveling parties from each school. Thankfully, the vast majority of bowl games rely on TV money instead of ticket money in 2020, so these options should not affect the bottom lines too much.
Title game played on May 8
A week after the Kentucky Derby, college football can crown its national champion on Saturday night, May 8, in Miami.
FIngers crossed, we finish that title game and start preparing for a proper 2021 college football season in the fall. Let's all hope that we’d be so lucky.
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Instead, we live in a country where coronavirus is out of control in multiple states, particularly across the South. This is not something that will be cleared up September, or October, or even the rest of the year.
I work in PR and one of my clients told its employees they will be working from home through the rest of 2020. If it’s not safe for employees to be in the offices of a billion-dollar public company, how is it safe for unpaid college kids to play sports and travel? It’s not.
So instead of trying to salvage a season that is almost certain to be interrupted or outright canceled when the expected second wave hits in the fall with flu season, it’s time to start thinking for the long-term.
As in March with college basketball, the Ivy League has provided the blueprint. It’s spring football and it’s time to start planning now.
10 games. Everyone plays at least 9 conference games.
The first step is to set up parameters that work for every team in every conference and independents. So we reduce the number of games from 12 to 10, and every team plays 9 conference games. The 10th game can be a regional non-conference game or, when needed, teams can play a 10th conference game.
The impetus for the non-conference game is to keep regional rivalries that are arguably safer than most conference games from a travel perspective. Florida/Florida State is safer than Florida State/Boston College and Iowa/Iowa State makes more sense than Iowa/Rutgers. Also, the Big 12 only has 9 conference games possible, so they will all need one game to get to 10.
I also think 10 works from a ranking/champion perspective where enough games are played to crown conference champions and identify a playoff field. Independent teams can also fill in the schedules for teams within close proximity. Notre Dame, for example, is rumored to play only ACC conference games but it would make more sense for them to play some Big Ten or MAC teams instead.
Every game played on a Saturday for protocols
While there is hope that we’ll be in a better place with coronavirus come next year, especially if Trump loses, we will almost certainly not have a vaccine or even a great therapy. So testing and quarantines will be necessary.
If every game across the country is played on a Saturday, then testing protocols can be uniform across the country and should provide ample time to identify and isolate any positive cases in a timely manner without interrupting games.
Start weekend before Super Bowl: 10 straight weeks, ends April 3
The spring season should start on January 30, currently the NFL’s open week before the Super Bowl. I find it hard to believe that the NFL will stray from its schedule due to coronavirus because of all the money at stake. Even if they move the schedule back a week, that Saturday would still be available.
If the NFL needs to move its full season back by a month or two, that Saturday would still be free. It’s the best time for college football to start its season and they need to lock in these dates now before the NFL can take them over.
Everyone plays 10 straight weeks to get the season completed in a timely manner, though April 10 will be reserved for a day of games if needed. The playoffs will tentatively be announced on Sunday, April 4, but may be delayed if necessary.
How about the Army/Navy game on April 10?
This isn’t that integral to the season, I just think it’d be amazing. The Army/Navy game is one of college football’s greatest draws. It deserves its own spotlight. By setting aside April 10 as a potential game date, there will be one game scheduled already and it’ll be Army/Navy on CBS.
That second weekend of April is Masters weekend, which makes it perfect. Imagine an 8pm Army/Navy game after the 3rd round of the Masters? Close your eyes and think about it for a second. Wouldn’t that be something else?
On-campus playoff semifinals on April 24
The semifinals for the playoffs would take place three weeks after the scheduled end of the regular season and two weeks after the extended end date if needed. The semifinals would be the only two games played that day and they would be played on-campus to further reduce exposure to the virus.
In between the semifinals and the finals, college football would move forward with a limited number of bowl games as its postseason. All the New Year’s Six bowls would take place, as well as an additional 8-10 games to ensure all ranked teams and conference champions would get a bowl game.
If fans are not allowed yet at this point, then it may make sense to move these bowl games to on-campus locations, like how the Rose Bowl was played in North Carolina during World War 2.
If we’re at reduced capacity, the games could be played at neutral sites but with only local fans in lieu of traveling parties from each school. Thankfully, the vast majority of bowl games rely on TV money instead of ticket money in 2020, so these options should not affect the bottom lines too much.
Title game played on May 8
A week after the Kentucky Derby, college football can crown its national champion on Saturday night, May 8, in Miami.
FIngers crossed, we finish that title game and start preparing for a proper 2021 college football season in the fall. Let's all hope that we’d be so lucky.
Follow me on Twitter
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