ESPN Get Up: Football in One or Two Regions, Not in Others?
STILLWATER -- Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy held an hour long teleconference with selected members of the media on Tuesday, maybe the selected part of it was a big problem. Either way, Gundy sometimes has a way of saying things that polarizes the listeners. I don't know if that was the case or the selected crew of media on the call was numb. It was the later selective choices of Gundy quotes that were put on social media that caused more dramatic reaction or objection to the Cowboy coach's viewpoints.
ESPN's Heather Dinich was on the call and wrote about it. She later wrote a follow-up after Oklahoma State University issued a statement on Gundy's comments in the teleconference. Both stories, like the ones here were more fact based and not opinion piece. The social media came out later and writers like Dan Wolken of USA Today and Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated were highly critical of Gundy's comments about his players believing he was okay with endangering them. The truth is Gundy said his thought was to test them and then keep them isolated and only with the group that had been tested including all coaches and support personnel.
His May 1 date he threw out was flawed for any players. The Power Five conferences have all set May 31, as has the NCAA with any in-person recruiting activity, as the date before any gatherings such as practices, in-person meetings, workouts, or group use of facilities. Nothing will happen until June 1.
While Gundy's comments may have been polarizing. Dabo Swinney of Clemson has discussed getting back to football this summer. Lincoln Riley of Oklahoma has said he things there will be football in September and the nation will need football.
ESPN's morning show "Get Up" was really pushing the envelope with football and football preparations. On top of a timetable, the show and the segment discussion between host Mike Greenberg in Bristol, Ct. on the ESPN set, co-host and college football sideline reporter Laura Rutledge from home, football analyst Bobby Carpenter from home, and football analyst Marcus Spears from home went so far as discussing how part of the college nation could be playing football with others not playing.
Hosts Mike Greenberg and Laura Rutledge on the normal set of "Get Up."
ESPN Press Room
Greenberg let Rutledge launch the topic with a brief introduction.
"These conferences are based in different regions of the country," started Rutledge. "You think about it, and this is so far down the road right now, but this is a possibility. The ACC, for instance, looks at their schools and says, 'You know it is safe and we can play football right now. It is safe for us to play and we can play each other.' Even though there are other parts of the country that can't play right now and may not be able to play even later. Each conference could make their own decision here and say, 'you know what, we're going to have a season.'"
Rutledge added that it is crazy to think about and it does open a hefty size can of worms.
Rutledge said she believes every league (conference) will do everything it can to keep it's players and coaches safe, but also do everything they can to play football.
You have to remember while the NCAA does decide the calendar and many rules, but the NCAA grip on Division I FBS football is really loose. The College Football Playoff and the major Power Five and Group of Five conferences hold the majority of the power in the sport. So, if anyone is asking is it possible for a conference to break off and play football when not all of them are, the answer would be yes.
Greenberg turned to Bobby Carpenter, the former Ohio State University linebacker and Dallas Cowboys linebacker in the NFL, and said he saw Carpenter's pre-show notes and that he had the same topic mentioned.
Bobby Carpenter on set at "Get Up."
ESPN Press Room
"If you look at it and the people that I've talked to at the Ohio State University they believe by June things will start to change and then by the time we get to mid-June people will be very comfortable with everything that is going on and the fact that Ohio is ahead of some other areas," explained Carpenter talking about football. "This is something that may be highly regional as far as exactly what is going to happen."
Then Greenberg brought in Marcus Spears, a former LSU defensive line All-American under then Tigers head coach Nick Saban. Spears also played nine seasons in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens.
"Could you see a scenario where they are playing in the SEC and the Big Ten and not playing in the Pac-12 because things are so dramatically different," Greenberg asked Spears.
Marcus Spears has become a multi-show and multi-network personality for ESPN.
ESPN Press Room
"Absolutely G," Spears answered. "To your point, and what Bobby said as well and Laura mentioned it, regional. The SEC, if they can play conference games they are going to play. We are at a point and the thing that everyone has to understand is that this is, obviously, unchartered territory and people are going to make adjustments based on what they have as a collective group. If the SEC figures out that this (virus) is under control in the southeast then they are going to play games and put them on TV. ESPN will be there to cover them."
Spears said the players want to play.
"They are football players, and they want to play some type of football," Spears added. "If they can, they are going to make that happen."
Then Greenberg added the monetary statement, that was part of what Gundy seemed to get ripped over.
"There is an enormous amount of money at stake and no one should consider that isn't a consideration," Greenberg said. "There is nothing wrong with it being a consideration."
ESPN seems to be leaking information on college football going to happen.
No confusion here. People want college football and people in college athletics want the money it brings in.
The ESPN discussion was interesting stuff.
