Quote Originally Posted by budwom View Post
I liked johnb's post, but I think (just my opinion) that he underestimates the extent to which colleges are addicted to television revenue to keep their athletic budgets afloat. As such I'm pretty sure you'll see Fall sports because the football TV money is too great for them to ignore...fans in the seats is quite another matter, you might have to wander down to SEC/Big 12 country to find packed stadiums... I'm not saying this is a good idea, just noting the current trade winds.

Check out the Notre Dame president's comments, pretty clear he wants games and the revenue that just happens to come with it. If nothing else, colleges are money vacuums.
I agree with you—schools and athletic departments have come to rely on the money (even when athletic depts lose money, it’s often still an overall PR/donation win for the college, and certainly a win for the football coach with the 7 figure salary—and athletic P&L’s are probably as straightforward as those related to big Hollywood movies, where the amount of “profit” is probably related to whose income is based on a percentage of profit).

Anyway, I was talking about whether Duke should play football in the fall.

The decision has become largely a political one for many big state universities. Hard to imagine the politicians and trustees involved in a land grant state university in a red state (eg, all the Big 12 or SEC schools) widely speaking out against playing football. It’d be akin to telling folks not go to church, which is most effectively/safely said from the pulpit.

Lincoln Riley from OU is the first coach I’ve seen who’s said the early practices are crazy, but I think more will speak out, especially when players get sick or, more likely, infect their grandmothers or coaches.

All the initial workout plans seems fine—distancing, packaged snacks, no showers, gloves, etc etc. but when the pedal hits the metal, both basketball and football involve a lot of respiratory interchange. I guess athletes can try to stay sequestered on campus, but many athletes come from inner cities where social distancing is a fantasy, and they’ll inevitably be socializing with students who can’t all be sequestered. Since some schools have already announced that their screening will consist of temp checks and testing only of the symptomatic (which is like saying that you’re screening for pregnancy by watching abdomens and ice cream consumption) there will inevitably be players who get sick.

This is exactly the time when I’d like to see Duke tread water with its athletes for as long as possible, and, unless things get dramatically better, opt not to be reckless—regardless of what their peers decide.