Exclusive Q&A (Part 1): MSU athletic director John Cohen talks chances for football this fall

MSU athletic director John Cohen is preparing for a regular football season, but knows there are no guarantees

(NOTE: This is the first part in a series as MSU athletic director John Cohen spoke exclusively with SI's Cowbell Corner on a number of topics related to the athletic department's handling of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and what the future holds. It is slightly edited in spots for clarity. Stay tuned to Cowbell Corner in the coming days for the remainder of the series.)

Cowbell Corner: In general, given all the uncertainty, how is the athletic department handling things right now?

Cohen: Well I credit (Mississippi State President Mark Keenum's) leadership. He has really been a tremendous leader. His staff has done a great job. Certainly that's where it starts. Our student-athletes at Mississippi State are students first and they are going to be under many if not most of the guidelines for all students at Mississippi State. So we're certainly going to be in lockstep with the university for the most part. It's cliche to say this, but I'll say it anyway, I think there is a lot of predictive, anticipatory opinions out there. We are preparing to start our football seasons and all of our sports on time, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen. To be highly predictive or anticipatory at this point in time, in my opinion, just isn't the course of action we need to take. The action we do need to take is to be prepared for everything to start in the fall as scheduled. That's what we're preparing to do until health professionals in the state of Mississippi and with the leadership of our campus tells us that's not going to be possible, along with the Southeastern Conference.

Cowbell Corner: Do you anticipate any kind of announcement any time soon on whether or not students will be back in the fall or is that still kind of a wait-and-see issue too?

Cohen: Certainly all of us are preparing for a fall semester, both academically and athletically. That's what we're spending the majority of our time on at this point. That's what we want to have happen. But that doesn't mean that's what is going to happen. We're going to be prepared for it if it does happen. There are just so many opinions and so many predictions. We're just putting our heads down and doing what we want our student-athletes to do. We're putting our heads down. We're grinding and we're preparing for almost every eventuality that could happen.

Cowbell Corner: Is it a certainty that to play football this fall, students have to be actually on campus in classes? Does one go along with the other, or is there a scenario where online classes could continue, but football gets played?

Cohen: I will tell you that everything has been discussed. Everything has been discussed. To answer the question, I'll just say blanketly, I don't know. No one can answer that question at this point in time. I'm not trying to be repetitive here, but I think it's our job right now to prepare for all sports to happen in the fall. So that's what we're working on. Again, this will be a collaborative effort. Certainly Dr. Keenum will collaborate with our state and local government, the IHL and the Southeastern Conference. I don't think this is a one-man decision. It's collaborative effort at every level.