Football and Basketball Recruiting will soon be Impacted by COVID-19

In the wake of the cancellations of college conference basketball tournaments, the impact will soon be felt in recruiting as well.

In the wake of the NCAA banning fans from attending the upcoming basketball tournament, and now the cancelations of all remaining game,  and colleges and universities around the country suspending classes on campus in favor of distance learning because of the spread of COVID-19, it's time for recruits to start accepting scholarship offers.  

While it has not been announced, these same institutions will soon be stopping official visits, player camps and forbidding their coaches to travel or make in-person contact with potential recruits for fear of spreading or contracting the virus by their employees.  

Vanderbilt University announced on Wednesday that all on-campus classes were canceled for the remainder of the semester,  meaning that many students will be returning home and moving away from campus which will likely add other financial consequences to the current situation.    

If I were a recruit or the parent of a recruit I would feel the need to grab the best offer possible at this point to lock in my spot and scholarship before others who might be thinking the same thing make the same move.  

Call it panic buying if you will, but at the rate of acceleration of events we have seen on Wednesday from the NCAA and these universities, it might be wise to play the college stock market and lock in your place before the market drops and you are left with fewer opportunities at the place of your first choice. 

Perhaps things could change in the next few days, as they have so rapidly today, but then players could always de-commit, after all that happens all the time, but buying now seems like a wise decision in these most uncertain of times as the country is in the grips of confusion and fear of the unknown to come from this situation. 

At this point, no one knows what will happen tomorrow or in the coming days, but here's to hoping that the health officials and people by taking necessary precautions will get a handle on things before football season rolls around. 

Should football be impacted as we have seen with college basketball and the now-suspended NBA regular season, there might just be a revolt unlike we have ever seen before? 

Until then, wash your hand frequently, stay away from people who are sick and hopefull you can avoid contracting this yourself.