With COVID-19 having an impact on practically everything it’s no surprise it’s impacting college sports seasons. From conferences like the WAC to the BIG 10 they are canceling their seasons due to the virus. With professional sports teams either canceling their seasons or having a “bubble”, not all colleges have the resources to have quarantine with the same luxuries. In the beginning, players were able to opt-out of playing if they wanted and still receive their eligibility, now seasons have been canceled with the hopes of them being played in the spring. Many players are upset with this decision because they want to play, and they aren’t staying quiet about it. Many have taken to social media to express their thoughts on the situation using the hashtag #WeWantToPLay in hopes the conferences will reverse their decision. This not only makes them wish they could play, for some this drastically affects them. Some are seniors, unable to stay for another year if the spring season doesn’t happen. Some are walk-on’s, unable to afford to pay for another semester just to play their sport.

The Coaches’ Position

Coaches' opinions are all over the board. Many want to play and get back in the gym or on the field but only when its safe for their players but many also just want to play. Some coaches have even gone as far as to say they will go outside of their conference and play teams that didn’t cancel their seasons, but this has caused major backlash. The Nebraska football coach made a statement saying his team would be playing teams in other conferences if that was necessary, and this led to a response from many people not pleased with his comments. Nebraska isn’t the only football program eyeing other conferences, many other programs have sparked an interest in doing the same.

A Typical Football Season

With COVID-19 being such a shock, everyone is reminiscing on what sports were like before the virus struck. College football seasons begin by training in the summers and hosting camps, they are followed by non-conference games than with their usual schedules of conference play. If teams have a consistent winning schedule along with a tough conference play they will either make it into the College Football National Championship or one of the many bowl games. This is just the competition part of their season, this isn’t including the daily practices, weight lifting sessions, positional training, and much more.

The Impacts On The Players

Many of us just think of the impact this is having on the schedule and the games that won't be played this year, but we need to broaden our horizon and look at everything that’s being affected. Some college programs are still practicing or at a limited amount but for others, there is no practice at all. Think of how this is affecting players that play team sports and aren’t able to connect with their teammates and continue to build chemistry. For some sports that are crucial for having a connection on the court or field and being able to make or run plays, this puts a dent in that. Along with sports possibly changing to different seasons this makes things incredibly hard for seniors that are looking to graduate early but still want to be apart of their team, what do they do now? If they have a job lined up for the spring but their season is now postponed to the spring. Or for the student-athlete not on scholarship that can’t afford to go for an extra semester, what do they do now? Unfortunately, many of these athletes are being faced with these difficult decisions.

TREVOR LAWRENCE

Trevor Lawrence the star quarterback for Clemson has made his opinion very clear on social media but not only using a hashtag, but he has also listed reasons why it is the safest option for athletes to go back and what it will do for them and why they should not be at home any longer. He is adamant that this is the best option and many student-athletes have agreed with it. him urging the NCAA committee and conferences to rethink their decisions. Although, Trevor Lawrence seems to have made an impact because the ACC and SEC have yet to cancel their seasons, could his statement have contributed to this? Unlike all majority of all the other college football programs, SEC football teams and ACC football teams have opted for a minimal college football schedule while still having one.

Fall Sports This Is Affecting Other Than Football…

•          Women’s Volleyball

•          Men’s Soccer

•          Women’s Soccer

•          Field Hockey

•          Women’s Golf

•          Men’s Golf

Going Back…Could It Really Be That Bad?

We start to think if they want to play, why don’t they? What is the worst that happens, one of them contracts the virus and is quarantined then returns to play? If you think about it, if even one player on the football team were to get sick, they are all touching the footballs, tackling each other, touching the water bottles, For volleyball, they are all directly across the net from each other, diving on the same floor, touching the same volleyballs and those aren’t even all of the ways they could be in contact. We are having to remind ourselves that if one person gets sick it’s a high possibility that, their teammates will or that at least half the team will be in quarantine, what will you do if it’s the middle of the season and they test positive on a game day? Thinking about it, its nearly impossible to limit their exposure from each other and maintain all the necessary health standards to keep them all safe from contracting it from a teammate. Committees and conferences must begin to think now that they have pushed almost all sports back to the spring season, how will they be able to play all collegiate sports in one season? How will they have enough gym time, personnel, and not to mention the higher risk of all the athletes being together more often and possibly contracting the virus from other sports? So although pushing the seasons back does solve many problems it does also bring up many other unknowns and complications that have yet to be dealt with.

THINGS ATHLETES COULD POSSIBLY DO TO PROMOTE A SAFE RETURN…

•          Limit exposure to only other teammates

•          Not practice as a whole team if possible and only do positional work

•          Sanitize equipment before and after each practice

•          Wear masks during practice

•          Clean team locker rooms, and lounge areas every night and enforce social distancing

•          No high fives

Look at these bullet points… these aren’t even close to all of the rules that could be enforced just a ballpark of some of them now think of how different that will make the season.

WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE FOR FANS?

This season isn’t only different for the players, its drastically different for the sports fans too. The thrill of game-days, tailgating, and cheering on your favorite team sporting the team colors seems like a century ago with the sports seasons being so up in the air. Many conferences and teams are not even allowing fans to come to games and think, when you are allowed to return, the possible crowds you’ll be faced with because everyone will be so excited to be back. For you and anyone, you’re traveling with this means busier hotels making it harder to distance yourself from others and stay safe during this time, which is why in the season of return we have the perfect solution for you. College Weekends is a short term renting company that can find you somewhere to stay all across the country, so whether you’re traveling for a college football game or a college soccer game and you want to stay on or near campus, they’ve got you covered with plenty of options that can be found at https://collegeweekends.com/#/ .