Penn State coach James Franklin, like many others this spring, is holding onto hope of the return of college football this fall in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, that stopped spring sports in their tracks due to public health concerns in March. He's not pretending epidemiologists and other medical experts dictate when the sport comes back, however.
"We're not in control," Franklin said during a radio appearance this week, via Audrey Snyder of The Athletic. "The virus is in control and hopefully we're listening to scientists and not politicians and everybody else. ... At some point the leaders on our campuses and the leaders in our states will tell us when it's safe to come back."
Most coaches who have spoken publicly on college football's 2020 season this month have said players would need at least six to 10 weeks of conditioning before starting fall practice, which would essentially mean a target date of July 1 returning to campus. With social distancing orders still in place through the end of April, perhaps we're getting closer to a re-opening of sorts across the country.
With reports of the coronavirus peaking and the curve flattening across the country, a return to the games we love could be happening sooner, rather than later, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the central figure of President Donald Trump's front-facing coronavirus task force team. Fauci believes professional sports can return this summer — specifically the NBA and MLB — if strict parameters are put in place for players and coaches.
"There's a way of doing that," Fauci told Snapchat's Peter Hamby this week, via ESPN. "Nobody comes to the stadium. Put [the players] in big hotels, wherever you want to play, keep them very well surveilled. ... Have them tested every single week and make sure they don't wind up infecting each other or their family, and just let them play the season out."
It remains to be seen whether those same restrictions could aid in the return to collegiate athletics. Most decision makers and university personnel have publicly stated that unless students are allowed to return to campus, the likelihood football is played this fall weakens.
Last week, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum blasted the idea of college football being played without fans.
"That would be a pure professional sellout," Finebaum said on ESPN's First Take. "I think it would cheapen the sport, it would devalue everything college presidents and administrators stand up for at orientation and graduation. I don't think we'd ever recover from that."
Booger McFarland argued rushing players back to the field this summer and allowing them to suit up without fans would be detrimental to their health. If fans aren't safe sitting next to each other, he says, what about the guys going to war on the field in the face of opposing players?
"To hell with player safety, let's just call it what it is — this is all about the money," McFarland said. "At some point, can we put the money aside and say this, are we about safety or not?"
Finebaum says college football's decision makers are doing all they can to ensure a season, of some sort, is played.
"I agree with you, but the athletic directors are going to argue if we don't have football, we're getting wiped out and there's a lot of validity to that argument," he said.
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April 19, 2020 at 06:18PM
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James Franklin on likelihood of 2020 college football season - 247Sports
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