As of now, Michigan football will travel to Seattle, Wash. for the Sept. 5 season opener against the Washington Huskies.
While many believe the game could be rescheduled or canceled, there's still hope that the Wolverines start the season on the west coast.
Contingency plans are being worked on, when it comes to college football scheduling, but the original plans are still very much on the table.
In an interview with The Seattle Times, University of Washington athletic director Jen Cohen expressed some optimism for the opener at Husky Stadium, saying they're working to make it happen if possible.
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The collaboration process has been underway for some time now, with athletic departments communicating and working to make plans. However, so many unknowns in the world make every plan fluid and subject to change.
“I really don’t know. I don’t,” Cohen said about the chances that the game is played. “I’m working towards a plan that we’re still playing that football game. I was actually just sending messages with Warde [Manuel], their athletic director, this morning.
"They’re of that same time frame and plan, too. So I think the question to me is as much, ‘What will it look like in the venue?’ as it is whether or not we’re going to play it.
“I just don’t know yet, but I’m hopeful, and our energy and effort are being put into being able to safely bring our kids back to campus so that we can eventually get to a point to have competition.”
While Manuel said recently he doesn't envision a way that U-M competes in athletics if the campus is not open to other students, Cohen is open to the unlikely possibility of playing even if campus isn't fully open, acknowledging how unprecedented the entire pandemic already is.
"Do I think it makes sense or feels right to have a university that’s completely shut down for student services and everything’s online and there’s no students on campus at all, but there’s athletic programs?" Cohen asked. "That seems really foreign to me. I can’t picture that. But this is such an unusual time.”
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