Huge NCAA Vote Expected on Players' Return to Campus Wednesday
College football fans are anxiously awaiting major news on Wednesday concerning when players could return to campus
The NCAA Division I Council, a decision-making group consisting of representatives from 40 schools across the country, is meeting Wednesday and expected to revise its current ban on players returning to campus. The current moratorium is set to expire on May 31.
Most expect some type of update and a potential path for players to return to campus during the summer months.
Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger - who has been in contact with every FBS conference commissioner and the Notre Dame athletic director - broke down the three most-likely scenarios that could come from the meeting.
Council members have three options. They can keep campuses shutdown completely by extending the ban, an unlikely ruling, according to people knowledgeable about the discussions; they can open campuses for voluntary training (without coaching interaction); or they can grant required training (with staff interaction).
All contact between players and coaches has been conducted online since mid-March with strength and conditioning coaches sending workout and diet plans to players and small team meetings for what the Texas coaching staff has referred to as "mental reps".
We could see different conferences opening at different times through the summer as well as some states are further along in the process. Most agree bringing players back too early could lead to a major setback.
“The numbers in Dallas are continuing to climb,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told SI. “Our [Texas] governor has proclaimed we’re going to start opening up business and society and he even acknowledges that there is a bit of a gamble with it and that they’ll have to watch it carefully. We’re going to have to watch it, too. We go back to practice and all of a sudden we have somebody test positive, we’re going to be out of business.”
Most agree that workouts over the summer will be required followed by a six-week camp to prepare for the season. We won't likely get any of these dates set from the council, but the Wednesday vote should provide at least a workable road map to what to expect for the rest of the summer.
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