We could receive more clarity this week on the college football season. SEC presidents and athletic directors are set to hold a series of virtual meetings to discuss fall sports plans. College football insider Brett McMurphy says because so many states are struggling to contain the coronavirus, it’s unlikely the college football season will kick off Labor Day weekend.
“Certainly they are not going to start on time, hopefully, if so they will get started in mid-to-late September or early October,” said McMurphy.
Voluntary workouts for college football teams began in June and some teams were hit with an initial cluster of cases, while other schools have reported very few cases among their student-athletes. But McMurphy says there’s a concern for community spread when students return to campus.
“The big question for the commissioners and the athletic directors is once school starts and you have students back on campus, the student-athletes can not live in a bubble,” said McMurphy.
The PAC-12 and Big 10 have already made the decision to play conference only football schedules this season. The SEC has said they plan to make a decision in late July. McMurphy expects the ACC, Big 12, and SEC to decide on a shorter schedule, filled mostly with conference games.
“Are you going to play eight conference games plus one non-conference, are you going to add an additional conference game and play nine, plus one to get to ten,” said McMurphy.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said earlier this month that the league will make an announcement in late July on whether it can start the season on time.
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