Chat with the Top Dog (Part 2): MSU athletic director John Cohen talks optimism and worst-case fall scenario

MSU athletic director John Cohen is optimistic, but preparing for all scenarios as pertains to sports this fall.

(Note: This is the second part of a three-part series featuring Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen's exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated's Cowbell Corner. It is slightly edited in spots for clarity. If you missed Part 1 of the Q&A with Cohen, it can be found by CLICKING HERE.)

Cowbell Corner: Given that football is pretty much the engine that runs the athletic department in many ways, are you pretty confident that somehow, someway, a football season will be played in some way even if delayed or altered?

Cohen: I’m very optimistic that there’s going to be football, as well as soccer and volleyball. But I’m not an epidemiologist either. I feel like I’ve gone back to school a little bit learning about these types of things, but I will never be an epidemiologist and there are some really smart, wise people that are going to make a collaborative decision and we are going to be ready, one way or the other, when they make that decision.

Cowbell Corner: At this point, all we can really do is discuss hypotheticals. Have there been discussions about changing the schedule and dropping non-conference games or playing an SEC round-robin this year. Would contracts with non-conference opponents allow that kind of thing? Is there ability there to be flexible?

Cohen: Again, I think we’re preparing for all possible outcomes. Not one thing that you just mentioned hasn’t already been mentioned. Everything has been mentioned. Everything has been on the table. I kind of look at it as a drill. It’s a series of if-then statements. If this happens, then we move this direction. If that happens, then we move that direction. Again I put a lot of stock into the leadership of our university and the Southeastern Conference and the IHL and the state of Mississippi. I put a lot of stock in those things and I think we’re going to make the best decision for the kids, for the student-athletes, for the student body at Mississippi State, for our fans and for our faculty and staff. I think we’re going to make the best decisions that we can to take care of the Mississippi State family.

Cowbell Corner: Have you all even allowed yourselves to think of the possibility of no football and what that might mean for MSU sports or the university or even Starkville as a whole?

Cohen: Certainly that’s something to be considered as well. That’s part of it. If you’re considering every option, that’s one of them. It’s the least popular. It’s the last resort. It’s something we do not want to have to consider, but it’s something we have to consider. But I think everyone involved is optimistic that fall sports are going to happen.