Cliffs....If kids aren't in school, there isn't football. This isn't professional sports
“We were appreciative of the Vice President really wanting to understand our principles and the considerations we all have in relation to college football coming back,” Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told The Athletic. “Until our universities feel it’s safe for students to come back to campus and participate in activities, there won’t be an opportunity for sports. That’s the fundamental difference (versus professional sports).”
“Our players are students,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told CBS Sports after the call. “If we’re not in college, we’re not having contests.”
Many universities — including football powers like Ohio State, Clemson, Florida and Auburn — have already extended online-only classes through summer sessions ending in early August. Which means the fate of those Week 0 games on Aug. 29 will not be decided by the commissioners on that call but the university presidents who will decide whether students can return to classes for fall semester, most of which begin around the same time.
Though many in the industry had already reached that conclusion privately, or in interviews with reporters, the call with the Vice President reinforced it.
“We reminded (Pence) that we can’t quarantine (athletes) in the way pros can,” said CFP executive director Bill Hancock, a participant on the call. “People in the industry (already) know that, ADs know it, coaches know it. I think a lot of fans didn’t know that, or maybe think of that, until today.”
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said he appreciated the chance to share information with the Vice President as national leaders try to assess what must happen to return to a way of life that ground to a halt last month. “It was an opportunity to hear from him, what’s happening in his leadership role,” Sankey told The Athletic. “But it was also an opportunity for us to share perspectives on how we’ve adjusted — the stoppage in March and where we are currently — and to really think about how we have opportunities to get back to what we know as normal. Whatever that is in the future.”
The issue for Sankey, Hancock, Bowlsby and the rest is that while they keep getting peppered with questions about when college sports — and especially college football — will come back, there isn’t yet enough information to provide a definitive answer.
“We were appreciative of the Vice President really wanting to understand our principles and the considerations we all have in relation to college football coming back,” Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told The Athletic. “Until our universities feel it’s safe for students to come back to campus and participate in activities, there won’t be an opportunity for sports. That’s the fundamental difference (versus professional sports).”
“Our players are students,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told CBS Sports after the call. “If we’re not in college, we’re not having contests.”
Many universities — including football powers like Ohio State, Clemson, Florida and Auburn — have already extended online-only classes through summer sessions ending in early August. Which means the fate of those Week 0 games on Aug. 29 will not be decided by the commissioners on that call but the university presidents who will decide whether students can return to classes for fall semester, most of which begin around the same time.
Though many in the industry had already reached that conclusion privately, or in interviews with reporters, the call with the Vice President reinforced it.
“We reminded (Pence) that we can’t quarantine (athletes) in the way pros can,” said CFP executive director Bill Hancock, a participant on the call. “People in the industry (already) know that, ADs know it, coaches know it. I think a lot of fans didn’t know that, or maybe think of that, until today.”
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said he appreciated the chance to share information with the Vice President as national leaders try to assess what must happen to return to a way of life that ground to a halt last month. “It was an opportunity to hear from him, what’s happening in his leadership role,” Sankey told The Athletic. “But it was also an opportunity for us to share perspectives on how we’ve adjusted — the stoppage in March and where we are currently — and to really think about how we have opportunities to get back to what we know as normal. Whatever that is in the future.”
The issue for Sankey, Hancock, Bowlsby and the rest is that while they keep getting peppered with questions about when college sports — and especially college football — will come back, there isn’t yet enough information to provide a definitive answer.
