Momentum around a Winter B10 Football Season
Lots of smoke going around about a Winter Big 10 Football season.
"The Smoke" Summary: Games would start in early January, and they'd play anywhere from 6-10 games. End in March. Games would be played indoors at a range of different facilities in the Big Ten footprint. Multiple coaches, including Ryan Day and James Franklin, have said a winter season is preferred to spring. We are also hearing this from all levels: Penn State's AD has brought up a Winter season, and a Chancellor at Nebraska has stated that there is momentum amongst University Presidents around a winter season. Also, if you "read between the lines" from statements from Gene Smith and Kevin Warren, they emphasized it was a postponement (and not a cancellation), and that they will be forming a committee to return to competition as soon as possible.
Articles:
https://www.si.com/college/ohiostate/football/big-ten-considering-january-start-for-football
My Opinion: I would much prefer a Winter season to a Spring Season. One, it's better for the players, as they get more rest between seasons. Two: its closer than spring! I'm sure we all want to see Michigan play as soon as possible.
My hope would be that the college football playoff would delay playing until Mid March, to make our season and everyone else's season as legitimate as possible. This would allow us to crown a true college football champion.
(My apologies for the double diary/mgoboard post...the diary post was unintended. Mods feel free to delete the diary duplicate post).
August 20th, 2020 at 2:39 PM ^
So far, the only people clamoring for a winter/spring season is the coaches; no players (as far as I've seen). They've all been focused on the fall, rightfully so. It's almost assured that anyone with 2021 draft prospects will sit out a winter or spring, no matter when the draft is. It's just not worth the injury risk. What's going to incentivize the rest of the players to want to play? There's no way they're going to welcome a winter/spring season with open arms. They've already touched a nerve with their demands going into the fall. They're not going to back off when it comes to trying to be forced into a winter/spring season. There will be demands on the part of the players, and I doubt it will end up being worth it for the schools/conferences to meet them. The only leverage being held against them would be the loss of their scholarship and there's no way the NCAA/conferences/schools would risk that PR move.
August 20th, 2020 at 2:44 PM ^
How many indoor stadiums are there in Big Ten country? I'm counting 3: Detroit, Minnesota, & Indianapolis. Would each site just host multiple games every Saturday?
August 20th, 2020 at 3:15 PM ^
No in-person classes-the days for scheduling are wide open. Play a game on Friday if needed and 2 on Saturday. First game at 11AM and the second game kicks off 4 hours after the first game is completed.
August 20th, 2020 at 3:06 PM ^
Winter is coming.
August 20th, 2020 at 3:46 PM ^
FORD FIELD will be available. No playoffs whatsoever there!
August 20th, 2020 at 5:55 PM ^
August 20th, 2020 at 3:55 PM ^
Play 6 games against everyone in your division. Then take the top 2 teams in each division and do a small 4 team playoff. Boom, a short and exciting season.
August 21st, 2020 at 10:15 AM ^
I am ready to just be done with the 2020 football season and try again next year. All these threads of hope for winter or spring seasons are ultimately just going to be another let down.