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Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick: Start Later, Play 8-10 Games

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick wants to start the season later and play a smaller number of games

The 2020 college football season remains a major question mark, and even if its played there is uncertainty regarding the starting date and length of the season. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick knows what he thinks should happen, and he told ESPN he wants to start the 2020 season later and only play 8-10 games, this according to college football writer Heather Dinich.

"I don't anticipate a 12-game schedule," Swarbrick told ESPN. "I'd like to start a little later. The value of starting later is you really get to see how your university has done. You have the benefit of all of that information and knowledge, and so I'd like to start a little later. The number for me is probably somewhere between 8 and 10, but whatever is right for the health and safety of the players."

We are getting closer to the end of July, which is the timeframe that ACC commissioner John Swofford and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey have set for making decisions about their 2020 season.

There have been plenty of rumors about the two leagues working together when it comes to making decisions about the season. There have been just as many rumors that whatever the ACC does there will be a role for Notre Dame to play with the conference this season.

One constant rumor in recent days has been a pushed back start to the season, something Swarbrick told Dinich he supports.

"I think there are a lot of moving parts to those decisions," Swarbrick said. "One is when do we start the competitive season? That's an important first question that has to be answered. It's only after you decide when we're comfortable starting, that sets your practice timeline, it sets how many games you can likely try and get into the season.

"And then you get into the details of the schedule, and try to create room for extra off weeks to manage issues that might arise. What's your approach going to be? I think you'll see the details of the schedules start to emerge, but it begins with saying, when are we going to start?"

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