Opinion: College Football in the Spring, Not the Best Idea
The topic of spring football in college has become a hot topic, with one league considering it to the point of making an official decision this week.
The Ivy League is currently discussing two options. One is a 7-game Ivy League-only schedule this season, while option two involves moving the season to spring.
According to Mark Blaudschun of TMG Sports, the second option is growing.
The second plan, which is gaining momentum because of the increasing number of positive Covid-19 cases in the country, would shut down football until next spring, with a start up (for practice) in March and another 7-game (conference opponents only) beginning in April and concluding in mid-May.
While the Ivy League's situation is somewhat different, such a move could give way for other conferences to follow them into spring.
However, there's one fact that can not be ignored, and makes a move to spring impractical.
Should college play spring football in 2021, what would happen in late August when the next season would be scheduled to begin?
Would those teams be ready to strap up and go back to the field in a matter of months rather than the usual time frame between the completion of one season and the beginning of the next?
One of the significant issues in college football has been the safety of players. While there is no definitive information to say that playing two seasons in one calendar year would be detrimental to players heath, one could easily assume, with relative certainty, that there would be an impact.
Indeed, spring football would be better than none at all for an entire year, but this scenario seems unrealistic, at least to one person writing here.
Of the two options currently being considered by the Ivy League, option one for a shortened conference-only season seems the best option.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has previously mentioned that his conference could look to a conference-only schedule should others opt not to play. However, that has not been said since his initial comment.
The SEC could also decide to cancel their season too, should the pandemic continue to worsen to the point where they feel it is unsafe, and unwise to attempt to play.
Noting is for sure, and it likely won't be for some time to come, even though plans are moving forward for a season, we should all hold our collective breaths and hope for the best.
A decision from the Ivy League will be announced on Wednesday, but a source on Monday indicates that it is expected that the league will decide to forgo the season at this point.
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