ASU Football: Uncertainty of the Season Lingers Over Players and Coaches
It feels like it was yesterday when all of the power-five conferences announced they were moving to an all-conference schedule for the 2020 football season. That gave everyone hope that college football was in fact going to be played in the fall. Now fast forward to today.
Reports are surfacing that presidents of the BIG 10 have voted against playing football this fall, with the other four conferences setting up meetings to discuss if they will move in the same direction. This morning, the Dan Patrick Show mentioned that the PAC-12 is expected to join the BIG 10 in announcing the cancellation of their seasons. So what does this mean for the players and teams who are in these conferences?
With the news swirling around social media, notable college football players took to Twitter to discuss their desire to be on the football field this fall. The “We Want To Play” movement was then created, with Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State QB Justin Fields and ASU QB Jayden Daniels tweeting out the hashtag over the last couple of days. Student-athletes throughout have been making their case to keep the season, citing all of the hard work they’ve put in as well as explaining how the football environment can be safer than being off-the-field.
Other conferences have already canceled their season with the Mountain West and Mid-American Conferences announcing the cancellation of their seasons in the last couple of days. While the PAC-12 and Big Ten have reportedly all-but officially made their decision, the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12 have meetings scheduled to discuss the manner this week.
Certain schools in conferences that cancel the season, such as Nebraska in the BIG Ten, have expressed its desire to play, even if it means playing teams from other conferences. “Our University is committed to playing no matter what, no matter what that looks like and how that looks. We want to play no matter who it is or where it is,” Nebraska head coach Scott Frost said in Monday’s press conference.
Each program has a vote in determining if football will happen within the conference. So there will be universities who voted against the cancellation of the season. If the program is adamant about playing, there may be different options for them to do so, but it has yet to be discussed. So many factors will have to be discussed in regards to scheduling, safety protocols and whether or not any conferences will actually play in 2020.
Same goes for players whose season is in danger of being canceled. Will they have an extra year of eligibility? Will they be allowed to transfer if other leagues decide to play? The answer is still unknown about how the NCAA will go about all the chaos that is destined to occur in the following days. Especially with the players expressing their concerns about a lack of their voices being heard and desires to be on the gridiron.
There is still plenty of uncertainty surrounding how the NCAA will handle the 2020 football season amongst backlash from players, coaches and teams who are urging to play. Will certain conferences play, and others miss out? There’s still a lot to be determined. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show that is the discussion of the 2020 college football season.