Gators, SEC Football Momentarily Survive Frenzied Tuesday
Some college football appears to be pressing onward, for now.
There is no clear-cut answer today, there will not be tomorrow, and there may never be until cleats hit the grass in late Sept., but today, for now, there appears to be college football on the horizon.
This comes after one of the most difficult days in collegiate sports history where fans, media, athletes and everyone in between saw the Big Ten and Pac-12 postpone fall sports with the idea of potentially holding seasons in the spring. While playing in the spring is not definitive, what is definitive is there will not be college football in at least two Power 5 conferences.
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What has saved a portion, perhaps the majority, of college football for now comes after an 11th-hour decision was made by the Big 12 to move onward. This, according to SI's Ross Dellenger, came following a 90-minute briefing between the Big 12 presidents and a medical panel to explain the consequences of playing football amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
"The decision among Big 12 leaders came down to ramifications of not playing a season (player mental health, structure, etc.) vs. uncertain risks of playing a season," writes Dellenger. "They settled on the former. According to league sources, the conference also decided to add an extra layer to their COVID-19 protocols, requiring more intensive, mandatory heart imaging tests—a decision rooted in virus-related cardiac issues."
One of the root causes of worry among the many involved in collegiate sports, and specifically football, comes after a report by CBS Sports that 15 athletes in the Big 10 came down with a heart condition, myocarditis, which involves inflammation of the heart and can reduce the heart's ability to pump.
As a result, that can cause a rapid or abnormal heartbeat. The condition is thought to be linked to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. This, ultimately is what caused worry among leaders within the Big 10 and Pac 12 to shut down and reassess for potential fall resumption.
Shortly after the conferences announced their intentions to shut down, the ACC and SEC released nearly simultaneous announcements indicating their plans to press onward, trusting the protocols for safety they have in place.
"I look forward to learning more about the factors that led the Big Ten and Pac-12 leadership to take these actions today," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement yesterday.
"I remain comfortable with the thorough and deliberate approach that the SEC and our 14 members are taking to support a healthy environment for our student-athletes. We will continue to further refine our policies and protocols for a safe return to sports as we monitor developments around COVID-19 in a continued effort to support, educate and care for our student-athletes every day."
With the Big 12 also standing pat, for now, it appears the three conferences will at the very least see the ramifications of students returning to campus, blending in with the athletes already there.
An idea that, if more variables are put on the table, the more information the universities will have to determine the consequences and re-assessing from there to make a more educated decision.
In essence, patience.
While this appears to be a step in the direction of playing football in the fall, it comes with a heavy caveat in which Sankey clearly states in his release, the conference will continue to monitor any developments, and there is still plenty to learn.
For now, the Gators and SEC football will continue their path forward, kicking off fall camp beginning on Aug. 17, paving the way for what could be the only season in years between just three of the five Power 5 conferences to see the gridiron in fall.
It's early, but it's football, for now.
