LSU, College Football Leaders Facing a New Challenge With the Hopes of 2020 Season Slipping Away

This weekend, the outlooks of a college football season swung dramatically with the news that the MAC would be cancelling all fall sports in 2020. It was the first FBS conference to make that decision based on the advice of medical personnel.

According to MAC commissioner John Steinbrecher, the plan is to make every effort to hold fall sports such as football in the spring, acknowledging that Saturday's decision wasn't an easy one to make.

"There are simply too many unknowns to put our student-athletes into situations that are not clearly understood," Steinbrecher said in a media interview. "It's not the easy decision, but it was the right decision."

That news was quickly followed by the Big Ten's decision to halt padded practices for the foreseeable future in a unanimous decision by the conference presidents.

"We understand there are many questions regarding how this impacts schedules, as well as the feasibility of proceeding forward with the season at all," the Big Ten statement read. "As we have consistently stated, we will continue to evaluate daily, while relying on our medical experts, to make the best decisions possible for the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes."

It's also been reported that Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren favors a spring season. While no official decisions have been made by any of the Power 5 conferences, it's expected that the Big Ten will ultimately decide to cancel the football season to the spring with other conferences like the Pac-12 will follow.

So the question now becomes, after conferences spent the last week releasing schedules and offering hope that a 2020 season would still occur, what went into such a dramatic change in direction?

Prominent industry source: "I think by the end of the week the fall sports will be postponed in all conferences."
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) August 8, 2020

There's a threat that medical professionals told Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger that conference commissioners and school presidents are just now starting to understand. It doesn't have to do with the spike in cases or the decrease in death numbers, but rather how COVID-19 is affecting the heart.

While the percentage is small, the virus is starting to impact the hearts of patients young and old which has added yet another layer of information for conference decision makers to take under advisement.

COVID-19 leaves behind troubling scars in the throbbing muscle within their chests, known as myocarditis. The virus directly invades the heart muscle, weakening and damaging its cells, through blood clots and inflammatory responses to viral infection.

Dellenger spoke with Dr. Matthew Martinez, a cardiologist that has studied well over 500,000 hearts during his career.

"This virus seems to have an affinity for causing damage to the heart,” Martinez told Dellenger. "The last month or two, even asymptomatic young people are developing myocardial injury."

The heart disease, known as myocarditis, is a concern that has now shaken the conference commissioners. Myocarditis can affect your heart muscle and your heart's electrical system, reducing your heart's ability to pump and causing rapid or abnormal heart rhythms.

“That’s what has been the final straw,” one team doctor said in the SI piece. “The commissioners are finally figuring it all out. The commissioners are going, ‘Oh my gosh!’ And the doctors are like, ‘Yeah...’”

Again the sample size is small as Martinez, who is also the MLS league cardiologist, acknowledged he's come across a dozen or so athletes whose hearts have been affected as a result of COVID-19. Indiana offensive lineman Brady Feeney, who's always been an elite athlete, is battling through heart issues after his battle with the virus.

Houston defensive lineman Sedrick Williams also revealed Saturday that he’s had complications with his heart after contracting the virus.

In a Facebook post, Houston defensive lineman Sedrick Williams said he’s had complications with his heart after testing positive for COVID-19 in early July. “I really don’t know the outcome or what’s in store for me in the future.”
— Joseph Duarte (@Joseph_Duarte) August 9, 2020

Over 30 Power 5 conference athletes have announced they will not be participating in the upcoming 2020 season. In fact, LSU had its first player, defensive end Neil Farrell, announce his intentions to sit out the upcoming season due to COVID-19 concerns.

🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/OT8wGOqdEr
— Neil Farrell (@realspillneil) August 8, 2020

Pass rusher Travez Moore has also talked about his struggles in the aftermath of when he contracted the virus.

"Bro coronavirus is real 👎🏿.. i was 256 now I’m 229 because i lost my appetite and it’s hard to eat plus you can barley breath. You can’t smell food you can’t taste food or taste any liquids.. stay y’all ass in the house," Moore wrote.

It's also important to note that most athletes want to carry on with the 2020 season. LSU receiver Ja'Marr Chase plans on carrying out the season with the Tigers, his father Jimmy told 247Sports. Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, probably the most visible face in all of college sports this year, also has expressed his desires to play the season.

I don’t know about y’all, but we want to play.
— Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) August 8, 2020

LSU coach Ed Orgeron has been one of the biggest advocates for the season being carried out this fall.

"I don't think we can take this away from these players, take this away from our state and our country," Orgeron said in a recent meeting with Vice President Mike Pence. "We need football. Football is a lifeblood of our country, our football. It gets everything going, the economy going, the economy of Baton Rouge, the economy of the state of Louisiana. These young men need this chance now."

Martinez is advising that all conferences require an EKG, an echocardiogram and a troponin blood test for every athlete that tests positive for the virus.

It's expected to be a monumental week in the world of college athletics. Conferences are expected to gather and make decisions on what to do moving forward. Those decisions could change the landscape of college athletics for years to come.