Michigan Wolverines head football coach Jim Harbaugh advocated Wednesday for the return of college football this fall. There’s growing sentiment, however, that there might not be a season, even after the Big Ten announced a conference-only schedule for 2020.
Big Ten Athletic Directors, including Ohio State’s Gene Smith (on a conference call today), expressed serious concern about the pandemic’s consequences.
“I am very concerned," Smith said during the call. "I used to be cautiously optimistic, but I’m not even there now."
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Neither is Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren. He told the Big Ten Network today that all sports, including college football, are in jeopardy because of COVID-19.
“One thing we have to realize that this is not a fait accompli that we’re going to have sports in the fall," Warren said. "We may not have sports in the fall. We may not have a college football season in the Big Ten.
"This [new schedule] allows us to be able to just take another step in this entire process. This is a complicated time, a complicated world that we’re living in with the COVID-19 pandemic, and so what we’re doing is relying on the expert advice of our medical advisors. We have our Big Ten emerging infectious disease committee, and also all of our other Big Ten doctors and trainers.”
The Ivy League was the first conference to announce fall sports would be postponed until spring at the earliest. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh took some heat Wednesday after saying COVID-19 was “a part of life now,” but he didn’t back down Thursday in speaking on the Jalen and Jacoby Show.
“What I meant was that’s a fact. Covid is a part of our society,” he said. “What I meant was I want to be an advocate for student-athletes for football, and I want to advocate my responsibility. I want the responsibility of keeping them safe and educating our guys.
“It’s a lot like Dr. Fauci. He’s made comments recently … we’ve got to get back on track. Our economy, then K through 12 he said, and No. 3 he said sports. I think that was fairly reported. I am an advocate for sports … for football.”
He’s also resigned to the fact that this could be a fall without football, he continued.
“Could, right? That’s a possibility. We all understand that,” he said. “As I said yesterday, too, if it becomes clear, obvious that’s the right thing to do, everybody’s going to be reasonable, including myself. We can’t play. It’s easy to stop. We’ve all seen how easy it is to stop something.
“As far as the Ivy League declaring they’re not going to play football, I don’t see that right now. I don’t understand why that would be a decision now. You still have time to learn things, understand things and determine what’s the right thing to do come fall.”
They’ll keep preparing as though there will be football, Harbaugh added. He spoke again of guys who had been training their whole lives for their opportunity, and he hoped experts would continue to gather information and facts.
If it comes to a point where everyone can see they shouldn’t be playing football or any other sport, that’s not the best interest for the kids, then everybody would be reasonable and understand you can’t do it, he added, noting he loved what he’d seen from his team so far.
"I know I’m always excited and positive for every year, but I feel extra excited and positive and excited right now," he said. "Our team is in great shape. Also, the leadership level, the hunger level for their opportunity this year is at an all-time high.”
Like Harbaugh, Warren vowed he would continue to put the health and safety of students first.
"We felt that this was an appropriate time to make this announcement,” he said. “… Dealing with this pandemic, not understanding how COVID-19 is moving and moving in our society, some days are better than the others, and we just felt by making sure that we kept our scheduling, our games, our competition in the Big Ten family would allow us the flexibility to get us in a better position to possibly play.
“That’s where we want to be.”
The players, meanwhile, just want to be on the field, and that's looking more and more questionable.
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