As COVID-19 turns the sports world upside down, college football is concerned about potential impacts on their 2020 season. To combat the possibility of a delayed or canceled season, unique alternatives are being discussed.
According to Sports Business Journal’s Michael Smith, one idea is starting the college football season in July. There’s hope that warmer temperatures could slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, but there’s also concern about another round of infections when cooler weather returns. Starting college football in July would allow the season to be completed before those colder temperatures come back in the fall.
There are obvious hurdles to climb for such a drastic proposal, starting with would networks and media partners be on board? Will campuses be open and properly staffed? When would training camp begin? Would fans be permitted into stadiums by July and will they want to sit among a crowd while temperatures reach 100 degrees.
Last week, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit expressed concern about the viability of a college football season in 2020. Even to the idea of a condensed schedule Herbstreit said, “You don’t all of the sudden come up with something in July or August and say, ‘OK we’re good to go’ and turn ’em loose!”
If coming up with a condensed schedule for a fall season is difficult to do in July, moving the entire season to the summer months seems even more unlikely. But there are also obvious issues with attempting to keep the season as currently scheduled, which is why everything is begin discussed in hopes of finding a way to have college football this year.