What Will College Sports Look Like When They Return?

What Will College Sports Look Like When They Return?

When the coronavirus first affected the U.S., sports were among the first things to go in an effort to social distance. They are proving to be one of the last things to come back as well, including college sports.

College sports have already been under pressure and scrutiny for various reasons, even before this. For example, Colorado Governor Jared Polis recently signed a bill that gives college athletes the right to profit from their names, likenesses, and images starting in 2023.

There are 20 other state legislatures looking at similar laws.

Then came the coronavirus, and that means that the billions in revenue college athletes bring in for schools might be off the table.

As it stands right now, the following are some things we might see if and when college sports make a return.

Will Students Be Back?

Many campuses across the country aren’t clear on whether they will be able to welcome students back in the fall or not. That is something still being widely discussed, but if it’s not deemed safe for students to be back on campuses, it’s unlikely college sports will return.

There are a few different models that schools are exploring right now.

One would be following fairly typical protocols, but ensuring hygiene and physical distancing remain a priority. Another would allow students on campus, but larger lectures would be done online, and a third possible scenario would involve moving everything online.

Most colleges will set their own plans and timetables for reopening, so college sports will have to adjust accordingly.

Dr. Brian Hainline, who serves as the chief medical officer of the NCAA, said that testing and contact tracing would have to be in place before both students and student-athletes can go back to campus and sports can resume.

The University of Michigan’s president has said he’s cautiously optimistic about campus opening in the fall for in-person classes, while Duke University says they won’t have their plans finalized until the end of June.

Is There Growing Optimism?

While some schools and representatives are still pretty cautious, there is also a sense of growing optimism among some presidents.

For example, Auburn president Jay Gogue recently gave a message to incoming freshmen and said the school would have football in the fall. Presidents at Alabama and Georgia also said they expect they’ll have a football season, even if it happens with some modifications.

The NCAA Division I Council lifted its moratorium on on-campus activities for basketball and football, effective as of June 1. However, some have criticized the move. For example, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said the rush to reopen by June 1 was ridiculous.

NCAA Releases the “Core Principles of Resocialization of Collegiate Sport.”

In May the NCAA did release a document called the “Core Principles of Resocialization of Collegiate Sport” intended to guide the NCAA toward a place where they could eventually resume college sports.

For example, there would need to be a plan in place at the state and local level, as well as the school or university level to resume.

There needs to be the ability to assess covid-19 immunity locally and regionally, and rapid diagnostic testing is needed.

There have been phases outlined in this plan, much like what states and cities are currently following with their reopening.

It wouldn’t be until phase three that there would be more of an opening up of places like gyms and common areas that might facilitate a return to collegiate sports.

Hainline spoke in a live interview on an NCAA Twitter site, saying that schools will need to be able to test athletes every one to five days, and the medical community would need enough of an understanding of how the virus works to establish quarantine periods. 

For close contact sports such as football, there may be even more challenges to resuming play.

Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer said that even when there’s a return date for college sports, athletes that are coming back to campus will need to be able to be tested for covid-19 before they start playing and possibly be quarantined as well.

Once players return, there will likely still be a lot of changes. For example, there may not be any spectators at events, and that could seriously impact schools’ revenue. It could be challenging to navigate.

Schools bring in a tremendous amount of money from game-day revenue, but undoubtedly there will be changes.