Upcoming Season - Plans Being Considered

[Xudash]

Yet Justin Fields, quarterback for Ohio State, is leading a charge, rather a petition, that already has 130,000+ signatures, arguing for the right play football this year. The flipside of “what is this going to do to me“ is “what will this do to my career“.

Some of these kids have NFL aspirations and they need to be seen on the field of competition. I am not arguing either way. My point is that there is a group of student-athletes who want to play and who do not want to be stopped due to this issue.

[DudeAnon]

Yet Justin Fields, quarterback for Ohio State, is leading a charge, rather a petition, that already has 130,000+ signatures, arguing for the right play football this year. The flipside of “what is this going to do to me“ is “what will this do to my career“.

Some of these kids have NFL aspirations and they need to be seen on the field of competition. I am not arguing either way. My point is that there is a group of student-athletes who want to play and who do not want to be stopped due to this issue.

I am totally open to being proven wrong, but I believe the possibility of permanent side effects from this disease makes it irresponsible to run amateur athletics right now.

I only have anecdotal evidence, but I have read multiple reports about the possibility of these permanent side effects. Combined with my friend's experience and a friends dad (doctor, lungs I believe) that said post-covid patients had their lungs aged by 30 years. I honestly hope these are just rumors and people picturing the worst, but its got me spooked.

[Xudash]

Yet Justin Fields, quarterback for Ohio State, is leading a charge, rather a petition, that already has 130,000+ signatures, arguing for the right play football this year. The flipside of “what is this going to do to me“ is “what will this do to my career“.

Some of these kids have NFL aspirations and they need to be seen on the field of competition. I am not arguing either way. My point is that there is a group of student-athletes who want to play and who do not want to be stopped due to this issue.

I am totally open to being proven wrong, but I believe the possibility of permanent side effects from this disease makes it irresponsible to run amateur athletics right now.

I only have anecdotal evidence, but I have read multiple reports about the possibility of these permanent side effects. Combined with my friend's experience and a friends dad (doctor, lungs I believe) that said post-covid patients had their lungs aged by 30 years. I honestly hope these are just rumors and people picturing the worst, but its got me spooked.

.

I am not trying to prove you wrong. I’m not sure anyone knows where this is headed with respect to long-term consequences. I’m just trying to point out the complexity of the issue (the idea that there are kids out there who do you want to play sports, regardless of the situation).

Crazy times.

[hortle]

a vaccine in February is still well within the realm of possibility. fda has never sent an unsafe vaccine to the market. i'd trust our immunologists, techs, and lawyers to get this thing done as soon as humanly possible.

Things will look grim if the Moderna or Oxford vaccine suffers a setback.

[n00b]

Yet Justin Fields, quarterback for Ohio State, is leading a charge, rather a petition, that already has 130,000+ signatures, arguing for the right play football this year. The flipside of “what is this going to do to me“ is “what will this do to my career“.

Some of these kids have NFL aspirations and they need to be seen on the field of competition. I am not arguing either way. My point is that there is a group of student-athletes who want to play and who do not want to be stopped due to this issue.

I am totally open to being proven wrong, but I believe the possibility of permanent side effects from this disease makes it irresponsible to run amateur athletics right now.

I only have anecdotal evidence, but I have read multiple reports about the possibility of these permanent side effects. Combined with my friend's experience and a friends dad (doctor, lungs I believe) that said post-covid patients had their lungs aged by 30 years. I honestly hope these are just rumors and people picturing the worst, but its got me spooked.

I definitely agree that those are all real concerns, but I think the argument to pause amateur athletics underestimates the risk of those not playing sports. I've been around college athletes and I've been around college non-athletes. The one of the very few ways that you can get 18-22 year olds to not party and go to bars as often is to make them an in-season student athlete. We've seen this at North Carolina, NC State and Notre Dame now. Athletes were on campus for a couple months with low amounts of COVID transmission. Then non-athletes came to campus and it spread like wildfire.

[billyjack]

Yesterday, a Georgia State QB announced he's sitting out this season due to a Covid-caused heart condition.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-footb ... ll-season/

[ArmyVet]

Yesterday, a Georgia State QB announced he's sitting out this season due to a Covid-caused heart condition.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-footb ... ll-season/

Meanwhile, Georgia and the rest of the SEC plows ahead.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

The following ESPN article addresses many of the same issues discussed above on this thread:

Can college basketball avoid a repeat of college football's calamity? - Multiple Contributors, ESPN – August 13, 2020

As college football heads toward an uncertain fate due to safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic, the issues surrounding a 2020-21 college basketball season have also begun knocking on the door. Two conferences -- the Ivy League and the Pac-12 -- have suspended competition until at least January 1st., meaning the nonconference portion of the schedule has already been altered.

Are we heading for a conference-only season in men's and women's college basketball? Can college basketball work in a bubble format? What must be done to save the 2021 NCAA tournaments? Underpinning all of these questions is another fundamental one: Will the sport show the foresight, the leadership and the spirit of cooperation that has been notably lacking in college football's response to the crisis? ESPN college basketball writers considered these questions and others:

Which of the hurdles that derailed the 2020 college football season will have to be solved for men's and women's college basketball to be played in 2020-21?

What is the current likelihood of the 2020-21 college basketball season starting on time in November?

What's the latest date a college basketball season could start in time to complete championships during the 2020-21 academic year?

What are the obstacles in a conference-only format? Are commissioners and other college basketball stakeholders considering that option?

What are the scheduling options other than eliminating the nonconference portion of the schedule?

Can college basketball really play its season(s) in a bubble like several pro leagues have?

What is the NCAA saying about its cash-cow men's basketball tournament in March? Should we expect major changes to format schedule/other details?

Are college basketball stakeholders concerned about the NCAA tournaments overlapping with a spring college football season? What are the implications of that possibility?

How might players who are eligible for NBA/WNBA drafts be affected if college basketball's season starts and ends late?

Will players skip a shortened season?

Is there any chance fans are allowed in the stands for basketball in 2020-21?

I was sufficiently impressed with the article that I referred it in another post I made this morning on the ATTENDANCE 2019-20 thread.

This very lengthy ESPN Feature Article, by multiple 'big name' contributors, should be considered mandatory reading for all college basketball fans. The excerpt below is only part of one section of the article:

Can college basketball avoid a repeat of college football's calamity? - Multiple Contributors, ESPN – August 13, 2020

What are the obstacles in a conference-only format? Are commissioners and other college basketball stakeholders considering that option?

It's a legitimate -- and arguably the most likely -- option, yes. The aforementioned variations in testing protocols among different conferences has contributed to it growing as an option, as has the idea of keeping the season more regional, instead of schools traveling around the country for two months during the nonconference season.

One potential obstacle unique to a conference-only format would be how it affects the NCAA tournament selection process. A season without nonconference games would make the NET worthless, without any comparison points among different leagues. While that might help dominant mid-major teams that have a better raw efficiency margin against their conference foes, it would also eliminate chances at "Quadrant 1" wins for smaller leagues. While Big Ten teams would play 16 of 20 games against Quadrant 1 opponents, the Colonial Athletic Association would likely feature zero Quad 1 games. But as one conference official pointed out, differentiating among potential NCAA tournament teams is why there's a selection committee. -- Jeff Borzello

It seems most are counting on a conference-only format, although some coaches of powerhouse programs have discussed the idea of holding big nonconference matchups in a central location prior to conference play. The Power 5 schools would be more equipped to move forward and possibly play more games in that scenario, which might offer an even greater advantage when the tourney field is announced. Still, the automatic qualifier matters here. The leagues can decide how they distribute those tickets to the NCAA tournament, and that ensures the low majors and mid-majors will still get an invite to the party.

And the selection committee seems to be open to the idea of tossing out traditional criteria. It has even taken the step of contacting Google, which helped the NCAA create the NET, to consider the potential impact of a nontraditional 2020-2021 season. -- Myron Medcalf

Further down the same post, I made the following observations:

5. Observations

5.1 Concerning the 2020-21 Regular Season, there are three possibilities:

… 5.1(a) The 2020-21 Regular Season is cancelled in its entirety.
… 5.1(b) The 2020-21 Regular Season is played, but with a reduced number of games – likely no more than 20 games per team.
… 5.1(c) The 2020-21 Regular Season is played in its entirety with about 30 games per team.

Recent media reports strongly suggest that the schools and media have already given up hope for 5.1(c), and current hopes lie with 5.1(b).

Outcome 5.1(a) is the safest outcome for the players, officials, and fans, but also the least desirable for the schools (who need the revenue), the TV Rights owners (who need content) and fans (who just want to watch college basketball games). With the medical uncertainties associated with the upcoming colder temperatures in the autumn and winter, its effect on the coronavirus pandemic, and the normal winter flu season, it is still too early to dismiss outcome 5.1(a). The early indications are not encouraging.

5.2 Concerning 2020-21 Regular Season Attendance, there are three possibilities:

… 5.2(a) The games are played with no fans present at any games.
… 5.2(b) The games are played with a reduced number of fans permitted to attend each game.
… 5.2(c) The games are played with no restriction on the number of fans permitted to attend each game.

Recent media reports strongly suggest that the schools and media have already given up hope for 5.2(c), and current hopes lie with 5.2(b). Outcome 5.2(a) is the safest outcome for the players, officials, and fans, but also the least desirable for the schools (who need the revenue) and fans (who just want to watch college basketball games).

5.3 Concerning outcome 5.2(b): The games are played with a reduced number of fans permitted to attend each game, it should be noted that the NCAA will very likely impose social-distancing requirements and specify the Maximum Allowable Percentage of the capacity of a college basketball venue which is permitted for fan attendance.

5.4 Also concerning outcome 5.2(b), each of the 50 individual State Legislatures will very likely impose social-distancing requirements and specify the Maximum Allowable Percentage of the capacity of a college basketball venue which is permitted for fan attendance. These requirements may be different for all 50 States.

==> As COVID-19 spreads, most states have laws that address how schools should respond to pandemics - Brissa Nuñez, Victoria Stuart-Cassel, and Deborah Temkin - March 20, 2020

5.5 Concerning the different Health & Safety requirements imposed by each of the 50 States: it is likely that there will be pressure brought to bear on the President and U.S. Congress to impose uniform Health & Safety requirements across all 50 States regarding college basketball games.

5.6 Concerning States’ Rights, it is worth noting that the 1861 disagreement over the rights of States’ Legislatures vs. the rights of the U.S. Congress to impose certain types of law was the direct cause of the American Civil War. We certainly don’t want another one of those, but attempting to play the 2021 college basketball season with 50 different sets of state laws will bring its own challenges, with the possibility of some of those challenges ending up in federal court. Things could get tricky if judges start issuing injunctions.

5.7 Concerning Table 4.3 and Table 4.4: note that the information is inaccurate for teams that play their home games at more than one venue,

5.8 Concerning the 2021 Conference Tournaments, no one has yet addressed this topic as far as I’m aware. The conferences will want them (because they need the revenue) and fans will want them (because they are fans), but if the 2021 Regular Season and 2021 NCAA Tournament are played, the players and coaches may not want the extra three or four games after an intense Conference schedule. Fan attendance at tournament conference games will become another issue with more headaches to deal with.

5.9 Concerning the Coronavirus Pandemic, it is highly likely that one or more college basketball teams will cancel scheduled games, due to one or more of their players and/or basketball staff testing positive for the virus, or even becoming ill. Entire teams may be required to be quarantined. If teams play only conference games in 2021, and the incubation period of the virus is 2 to 14 days, all of the teams in the entire conference may be required to quarantined. The recovery time for a person who becomes ill with the virus is weeks or months, and will quietly likely be the end of the season for any players who become ill with it. (Boris Johnson had a bad dose back in march, and he is still struggling with his recovery some five months later.)

5.10 Concerning a Hypothetical Situation, it is not difficult to envisage some Ohio State basketball player attending a student party in January, unknowingly getting exposed to the virus, and testing positive a week later. Further suppose that OSU’s basketball team played two other Big Ten opponents during the week, exposing them to the virus, and those two teams played two other Big Ten teams during the same week. That’s five Big Ten teams wiped out because of one student party in Columbus. The worst-case scenario for the Big Ten is if most or all of their basketball teams are in quarantine when the 2021 NCAA Tournament begins. Should any conference that cannot send a team to the NCAA Tournament get any of the money generated by it? There are many difficult questions and decisions on the road ahead.

5.11 Concerning the 2021 NCAA Tournament, there are already too many unknowns to ponder.

5.12 Concerning the 2020-21 college basketball season, if it is played at all, it will certainly be the Year of the Anomalies.

I’ll leave it at that.

[DeltaV]

Yet Justin Fields, quarterback for Ohio State, is leading a charge, rather a petition, that already has 130,000+ signatures, arguing for the right play football this year. The flipside of “what is this going to do to me“ is “what will this do to my career“.

Some of these kids have NFL aspirations and they need to be seen on the field of competition. I am not arguing either way. My point is that there is a group of student-athletes who want to play and who do not want to be stopped due to this issue.

I am totally open to being proven wrong, but I believe the possibility of permanent side effects from this disease makes it irresponsible to run amateur athletics right now.

I only have anecdotal evidence, but I have read multiple reports about the possibility of these permanent side effects. Combined with my friend's experience and a friends dad (doctor, lungs I believe) that said post-covid patients had their lungs aged by 30 years. I honestly hope these are just rumors and people picturing the worst, but its got me spooked.

I definitely agree that those are all real concerns, but I think the argument to pause amateur athletics underestimates the risk of those not playing sports. I've been around college athletes and I've been around college non-athletes. The one of the very few ways that you can get 18-22 year olds to not party and go to bars as often is to make them an in-season student athlete. We've seen this at North Carolina, NC State and Notre Dame now. Athletes were on campus for a couple months with low amounts of COVID transmission. Then non-athletes came to campus and it spread like wildfire.

Haha....that's a good laugh. Hell, I'd say athletes party as hard or harder than non-athletes. Our coach told us they could tell who partied hardest Friday Night at Saturday morning practice because the ones who were still drunk did better than those who were just hungover. Those who were still drunk couldn't feel the pain

Now yeah, before competitions or on taper, yeah, we pulled it back. But early season training? That's game on.

[sju88grad]

Hey guys....was just curious to see where each of our schools stood with the fall semester....SJU opens up this week with in-person classes and some online classes as well.....the dorms are open and hopefully they can make it through the whole semester......I have friends with kids at Providence and Villanova and I think they are open as well but someone correct me if I’m wrong.....