Not long after the Big Ten revealed it would try spring football to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pac-12 will follow suit. The conference will soon announce it will not play football this fall, Stadium’s Brett McMurphy reports (on Twitter).
The expectation is the Pac-12 will also attempt a spring season, though The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman tweets the conference’s medical experts are not currently optimistic college football will be viable then either. Regardless, Tuesday now serves as one of the most pivotal days in NCAA history.
Two of the Power 5 conferences have declared they are done for 2020, leaving the ACC, Big 12 and SEC left to decide when their seasons will occur (if they are to occur). The Pac-12 had discussed a spring-season scenario for several weeks. Should the latter three leagues decide to go ahead with fall slates — as each did upon releasing schedules just days ago — a historic split season would stand to take place.
Pac-12 draft prospects are set to join their Big Ten brethren, however, with most surely set to skip a spring season in order to avoid risk. In between the Big Ten and Pac-12 season postponements, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo noted the NFL remained on track to hold its draft in late April (video link).
With two Power 5 leagues now on track to try spring football, that will put the NFL to a test. Teams will want as much intel on prospects as possible, so it would behoove the league to postpone the draft until the end of the new spring seasons. The NFL can delay its draft until June 2, per the CBA. Any later and another NFL-NFLPA bargaining session would need to commence.
Are you happy, are you satisfied?
How long can you stand the heat?
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat
just might as well all do Spring now. not to say that this sitiation will be resolved by then but there is a strong chance things are better.
So we will get a little NFL on Saturday’s now?
Yeah, they should plan for the Spring but not bank on the virus being completely eradicated. As you mentioned though, we shouldn’t count out an opportunity until it’s too late.
It would make a ton of sense to move Thursday Night Football to Saturdays. Fewer injuries, less lethargy, and no “short weeks” screwing teams over
I think that’s the best option. Gives more time for the virus to flatten and a vaccine to be made. For anybody against this because of player safety concern’s about playing two season’s in one calendar year, why not postpone the 2021 season for a month/as long as needed? If you can logistically figure out a way to postpone the 2020 season into the spring of next year, there’s no reason it can’t be done the following year for a shorter period of time.
and that’s just what might need to be negotiated with most sports. the NBA and NHL would have to do simmilar things to have full 2020-21 seasons.
Sissy ass college presidents afraid of liability in a litigious society. That’s all this is.
Okay
More like sissy ass president afraid of responsibility in a selfish society.