COLUMN: How COVID-19 will change college football forever

[CloneJD]

Man, I don't know about 5-10 years. There are a LOT of smart people working on this. Hell, Bill Gates directed all of his foundation funds toward it. They'll have something in a year at most. Now whether the virus mutates and they need a different vaccine a year from now is the question.

I don't think we have any vaccines for any of the known coronaviruses. We still don't have an HIV vaccine. The WHO just warned earlier this week Covid-19 might be endemic. We should be hopeful but it's possible it's many, many years if we ever get a vaccine.

 

[WhoISthis]

I don't think we have any vaccines for any of the known coronaviruses. We still don't have an HIV vaccine. The WHO just warned earlier this week Covid-19 might be endemic. We should be hopeful but it's possible it's many, many years if we ever get a vaccine.

Agree on the endemic part. If we protested the delay in building out our testing capabilities like we did wearing PPE and social distancing, we’d likely already be well on the road to economic recovery

 

[Psyclone]

The technology is available, but not everyone has an internet connection or a smart phone. Hard to require online learning when the poor kids don't have access. That's why things aren't mandatory.

Parents may be home working. Families may have three or four kids competing with their parents for the computer resources or even the computer desk or private room.

 

[Cyclad]

Agree on the endemic part. If we protested the delay in building out our testing capabilities like we did wearing PPE and social distancing, we’d likely already be well on the road to economic recovery

Agree.
The state of Iowa (3 M people) now has more cases than South Korea (52M people) and its not even close.

 

[cyatheart]

I was on a call with some athletic directors the other day. The message is pretty clear. The southern schools are playing come hell or high water, and if some others don’t or can’t play, that’s their problem. West Virginia president said they were playing if he himself had to suit up. It’s going to be very hard politically for Michigan to say we aren’t playing, when Tennessee is, for example. another example, If Fresno can’t or won’t play penn state this year, penn state will play someone else I think.

 

[clonedude]

I don't know if this has been asked in this thread or not yet, but let's say they say you can play football, but there can't be any fans.

Will they even play if that's the case?? Would the $ from just TV be enough to keep athletic departments afloat?

 

[ArgentCy]

I don't know if this has been asked in this thread or not yet, but let's say they say you can play football, but there can't be any fans.

Will they even play if that's the case?? Would the $ from just TV be enough to keep athletic departments afloat?

Ticket revenue is still a big chunk, throw in parking and concessions. No way they could continue as they have on just TV revenue.

 

[helechopper]

In before SEC players contract the Coronavirus and cover it up so the football still happens down there.

 

[agrabes]

I don't know if this has been asked in this thread or not yet, but let's say they say you can play football, but there can't be any fans.

Will they even play if that's the case?? Would the $ from just TV be enough to keep athletic departments afloat?

I think the answer is yes. There is an article in the USA today quoting Steve Malchow from the ISU AD talking about plans they are making for how to create a good experience without fans or tailgating. My guess is they are assuming this is a 2020 only measure. I agree that if it stretches out into 2021 or longer then it gets really scary.

“We’re looking at creating content so that people can get a feel for the game,” said Steve Malchow, Iowa State senior associate athletic director for communications. “Do we do a live look-in at the equipment staff putting out helmets in the locker room? Do we do a live look-in at the team getting on the bus at the team hotel? We want to get (fans) revved up for when TV does kick off.”

Knowing fans tailgate in the same places year after year, Malchow said Iowa State is thinking about trying to encourage fans to take photos of themselves tailgating in the backyard and then putting the pictures on Instagram or Facebook with identifiers of what would normally be their parking areas.

“We’re just looking at things we’ve never even contemplated,” Malchow said. “But it’s engagement.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-ideas-how-keep-players-fans-safe/5183824002/

 

[Cyclad]

Yeah, I agree that there are a lot of people and industries which should be prioritized above football. That's why I don't really like the idea of using public health capacity for football players. 5% of the state's public health testing capacity should not be taken up by 0.03% of the state's population. The only way I would feel it's acceptable is if major donors/boosters (or team owners for pro teams) provided funding for the additional capacity needed for athletics. The only reason I discussed it at all is to help people understand that it's not an insane increase in capacity necessary to do these tests relative to what is being done now.

I think it's reasonable that teams would have their own private testing infrastructure, just like they have their own team doctors, physical therapists, etc. As long as the materials are available and the money works out, I think that is how they will do it. Then, we don't have to take tests out of the public health system.

As for public policy I agree we should continue to increase testing capacity and the ability to contact trace, etc. I just see that as a separate issue. No problem about the mixup on testing numbers, I just wanted to make sure you had all the info.

The private testing scenario is sound, if there are sufficient supplies and technicians and analysis equipment to meet all needs.

 

[Frak]

Ticket revenue is still a big chunk, throw in parking and concessions. No way they could continue as they have on just TV revenue.

I would guess that most programs could handle a one year deal with only TV revenue and no ticket sales. They would go into debt and it may take a few years to climb out of it, but it's doable. If their budget is zero for the year, that's going to be a problem, because they are going to have to pay for scholarships and salaries no matter what.

 

[GrappleCy]

If we do try to play I wonder how they'll deal with game week forfeits due to outbreaks. With hundreds of people involved with the running of an FBS team there's no way there won't be a couple of teams impacted at least some weeks of the season. Will they have to cancel games or will some FCS or mid major teams be ready to step in for teams that can't play?

 

[Cyclonefan2022]

I just hope this doesn’t cause schools to drop their football program. I feel like the lower level schools will struggle the most.

 

[Cycsk]

I think the answer is yes. There is an article in the USA today quoting Steve Malchow from the ISU AD talking about plans they are making for how to create a good experience without fans or tailgating. My guess is they are assuming this is a 2020 only measure. I agree that if it stretches out into 2021 or longer then it gets really scary.



https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-ideas-how-keep-players-fans-safe/5183824002/

It is fascinating to see how much ISU is in USA Today recently.

 

[cygrads]

I think the answer is yes. There is an article in the USA today quoting Steve Malchow from the ISU AD talking about plans they are making for how to create a good experience without fans or tailgating. My guess is they are assuming this is a 2020 only measure. I agree that if it stretches out into 2021 or longer then it gets really scary.



https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-ideas-how-keep-players-fans-safe/5183824002/

I know they have to plan for all scenarios but this is somewhat a bummer because it makes it seem even more likely.

 

[aeroclone]

I don't think we have any vaccines for any of the known coronaviruses. We still don't have an HIV vaccine. The WHO just warned earlier this week Covid-19 might be endemic. We should be hopeful but it's possible it's many, many years if we ever get a vaccine.

There have been successful vaccines for choronaviruses in the veterinary world for years, so there is at least some precedent of viruses of this type being controlled with a vaccine. There have also been reports that good progress had been made on human vaccines for MERS and SARS. Those efforts just stalled out when the diseases themselves burned out. With no market there was no reason to continue with those, it isn't because they ran into technical hurdles that couldn't be overcome. As it stands today, the economic incentives for covid vaccines are huge and growing. I think we will get a vaccine, the only question is when.

 

[madguy30]

There have been successful vaccines for choronaviruses in the veterinary world for years, so there is at least some precedent of viruses of this type being controlled with a vaccine. There have also been reports that good progress had been made on human vaccines for MERS and SARS. Those efforts just stalled out when the diseases themselves burned out. With no market there was no reason to continue with those, it isn't because they ran into technical hurdles that couldn't be overcome. As it stands today, the economic incentives for covid vaccines are huge and growing. I think we will get a vaccine, the only question is when.

The recentish stuff about the T-cells is encouraging too. Just need to get to a point where it's showing long-term.

 

[CyTwins]

Pollard has made it very apparent the plan for this year is 50% capacity. Obviously a fluid situation but he keeps saying 30k fans in the stands

 

[awd4cy]

 

[awd4cy]

Thought this was interesting too seeing how another school is planning for.