How bad will college football suffer from this?
You already know the spring season probably isn’t gonna happen so you’re talking about nearly two calendar years between B1G conference games being played.
Athletic departments will bleed hard from this season not happening. So much so that you almost can set your watch to the ticket and concessions prices going up more when it does come back.
How many people who are either season ticket holders or single game buyers that may not come back? That decide there are more important things in life to spend time and money on? Will college sports or sports in general see MLB 1994 effects where Fab interest is hurt going so long in between playing?
Or will people double down and spend even more money they’re undoubtedly going to be asking for?
August 12th, 2020 at 1:26 PM ^
I don't understand this point about Big Ten & Pac-12 players "jumping ship" to play in the SEC or ACC if they play this year. Unless the NCAA is going to give *IMMEDIATE* eligibility waivers to these transfers in the next week or two, wouldn't all these kids have to wait out this season?
As a result, all the kids "jumping ship" allegedly because their own team "didn't play in 2020" won't be eligible to play until fall 2021 anyway. Which is basically where they would have been had they just stayed at their original team.
August 12th, 2020 at 1:58 PM ^
I should’ve added the disclaimer of assuming the kids get waivers.
If they do, the Big Ten better get ready to be gutted Over the next few weeks.
August 12th, 2020 at 2:03 PM ^
Why? How many teams have room for a gutting of the B1G and PAC-12 teams? You think the NCAA will magically waive all transfers and all scholarship limits currently in place? And you further think other teams will want all of these players coming in from nowhere?
I think you're making a slippery-slope argument that has no basis in reality.
August 12th, 2020 at 2:23 PM ^
The NCAA won't be granting immediate waivers to these late transfers over the objections of the conferences that cancelled fall football. It's just not going to happen.
There could be a flurry of late grad transfers. I'm a little surprised we haven't heard of anything happening yet.
There could also be a wave of transfers to the schools planning to play in spring. Those teams will have openings since they will be losing players to the NFL. If the SEC, ACC and Big 12 seasons go okay, those transfers will be mostly among the teams playing in the spring. If those conferences have to abort their fall seasons, who knows what might happen. Their players will have more time to make waiver appeals.
August 12th, 2020 at 1:14 PM ^
It’s a complete disaster.
The NFL will occupy Saturdays, that will cause the TV contracts to dry up.
It’s basically over.
August 12th, 2020 at 1:31 PM ^
You can bet your ass the NFL is wanting $aturdays very badly.
August 12th, 2020 at 1:27 PM ^
All the players should organize right now. If they can't play, the NCAA, universities and athletic departments have no power over them. Use the time to negotiate. If the NCAA insists on sticking to this absurd model, then fine, the players can strike and the schools can lose another season of revenue or use walk-ons from the student body population who will not be fun to watch. It sucks that the Big XII (and probably the SEC) is going to go forward with the season, especially since their states are being hit the hardest right now. But the rest of the players across the conferences should band together and demand changes. Hell, maybe if they negotiated some agreement in which they got paid, the players would be more likely to take the risk. But, as of now, we can't tell unpaid "amateurs" that they have to risk their health by playing through a pandemic.
August 12th, 2020 at 1:59 PM ^
Only works for revenue generating sports like football and hoop. If players are so concerned, organize and create something with NFL and NBA, IMG type academies and minor leagues. Earn some $$, train and see how far you can take it. Downside, don't make it there, on your own.
Say for football, create 16 academies across the country. Have 50 - 60 player rosters. Pay each player $40 - 50k per year. You know some network would pick up the games, hell ESPN has top HS games on every week during the season.
August 12th, 2020 at 2:07 PM ^
"Hell, maybe if they negotiated some agreement in which they got paid, the players would be more likely to take the risk. But, as of now, we can't tell unpaid "amateurs" that they have to risk their health by playing through a pandemic."
This is a false argument - the players have overwhelmingly pleaded to be allowed to play the game. They are being told they cannot, for reasons of their own health, by program administrators. They're already willing to play the game! So your last two sentences make no sense...
August 12th, 2020 at 2:20 PM ^
I'm sure there are plenty of players who are relieved to not be playing next month. Hell, we already had a number of players opting out of football in 2020, prior to the cancellation.
The players who want to play are making the most noise because they are upset, but they don't speak for everyone.
August 12th, 2020 at 2:20 PM ^
True, but a number of them are opting out and groups of them have at least been demanding safety/testing protocols before the season goes on. I was thinking of the Pac-12 players' statement more than the recent let them play movement, but yes, you're right.
August 12th, 2020 at 1:50 PM ^
I expect it will be a long time before Michigan Stadium sees another crowd of 110,000+. Lots of factors here: Fear of COVID, ill economy, people simply breaking a long-term attendance habit, people coming to terms with the sport-wide decline of the in-person stadium experience, our poor performance versus OSU.
We are going to have to do a lot of work to earn it back.
August 12th, 2020 at 1:52 PM ^
Horribly! Athletic departments and teams will be destroyed. How much fan interest will go to the wayside? The next big hit has to be hoop. Start practice in mid October, how can you let hoop play if students are remote and other sports cancelled?
August 12th, 2020 at 2:09 PM ^
You can't. Basketball is already cancelled for the B1G and PAC-12, it's just not been thought about yet. Football has decided basketball's future.
August 12th, 2020 at 1:58 PM ^
Well on the plus side the down in front crowd will have plenty of vacation stories to tell in the middle of the third quarter of a 2021 game that's tied at 17
August 12th, 2020 at 2:33 PM ^
I only go to Michigan games when I'm offered free tickets. With three little ones I just don't have the money right now. The OSU losing streak has sapped some of my passion as well.
August 12th, 2020 at 2:54 PM ^
Why would we play next fall either What will have changed?
Maybe a vaccine that is maybe effective and maybe more people have developed immunity to a disease that has maybe mutated to be less lethal? Or maybe not.
August 12th, 2020 at 3:02 PM ^
I bet it won’t have much affect at all.
August 12th, 2020 at 3:55 PM ^
Take a chill pill. One year won't be played...in a pandemic. College sports won't suffer at all except for the Universities pocketbooks.
August 12th, 2020 at 4:07 PM ^
How bad will college football suffer from this?
Not nearly as badly as the 160,000 dead people and their families and friends.
Coaches are still getting paid millions. Players are still getting $100k/year free rides.
My daughter still is fired from her grad assistantship in an actual academic area.
In so many ways, this is so fucked up.
August 12th, 2020 at 8:26 PM ^
Suffer is a liberal word. How about the best minds figure this out. Salary, staffing, and giving all nonrevenue sports a FREE ride is over. A COVID positive. Competition at its best. You see it every day since March. No handouts. You know how to adapt and run a business... you survive. Equal opportunity is beautiful