noodle this plan to save the season

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Schnauzer

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I can't verify the truth level of the tweet but saw one today that said Chris Fowler's "informed speculation" is that one idea being considered is to start the college football season in Feb 2021 and have it run through June. Not arguing the authenticity of the tweet or the likelihood this would happen. Just looking to get opinions on what this would be like if it did happen.

I would assume camp would start in Feb. Games would start in early March and run through May, with bowls in June.

What would work well and what would be messed up?

NFL combine and drafts? Tricky.

Bowls? Yikes.

Conflicts with other sports? Facility scheduling nightmares?

The season would start in iffy weather and end in beautiful weather - just the opposite of "normal."
 


Interesting concept, would certainly add a new weather dimension to those early season games. Plus that would put the 2020 and 2021 seasons very close together. Not much time for players to rest and recover between the years.
 

Can't see it. If a team had any significant injuries, that would pretty much rule those players out for the 'next' season.

I would rather have no season this year as opposed to doing something that mucks up future seasons.

Having said that, I still think there will be games this fall - but with no fans in the stands and possibly a shortened season with no non-conference games.
 

Funny that this is being brought up because I have a colleague of mine who is a very big booster at an ACC powerhouse stated the exact same thing about 4 weeks ago. I brushed it off as pure speculation but now I am starting to wonder if this has legs at all.
 


If they had the full schedule and it started in March, I can't imagine how few people would be at the NC games at TCF Bank Stadium. It's one thing to get bundled up for a game against Iowa, Wisconsin, tOSU or Nebraska, it's a completely different thing to get bundled up to go see Tennessee Tech. No thanks, I'm busy that weekend...
 

Would the Gophers use US Bank to play some early season indoor games in Feb, if that is when the season starts? I don't think it is a terrible idea if it comes down to having a season or not. It would be easy to add a few scholarships to each team to help with injuries that could extend into next year. I think if it came down to not having a season or doing this, this would be a better option for most colleges.
 

Here's context for the original post:


Go Gophers!!
 
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I feel like compared to the theoretical NOTHING ... ANYTHING looks better.

The real question is how feasible are many of these schedule changes and etc for schools, facilities... bowls, TV contracts ... etc.

There are so many moving parts I don't think anyone can really evaluate them this far out.
 



If some people think pushing the season back 5 months would solve anything they are fooling themselves and the reason is if there is a “zero tolerance” approach to infection risk then nothing will change between now and February. Knowledgable people are close to 100% sure there won’t be a well-tested vaccine by then or at least one widely available to the general public.

The corollary to that is the extent to which the ambulance chasers, rabid media, social media have paralyzed the nation in so many ways.

I fear if there is a prevailing mood of pointing fingers and blaming for (inevitable) infections and deaths not only will there be no sports season, there will be no schools, universities, commerce. Mass testing can be rolled out relatively soon. We as a society have to move forward and accept risk despite what the lawyers, media, and political activists want.

There is an urgent need to minimize risk...but there cannot be an expectation of no risk. Otherwise forget about the spring season idea. I don’t see much changing between August and Feb in that respect.
 

This is certainly an option, but I can see northern schools pushing back on it. It would mean more games in Winter conditions for northern schools with outdoor stadiums, which I don't think anyone wants.

It also messes with Spring practices, so you'd have to figure that out. What does the practice schedule look like in the fall as well? Does 2021's Spring practice become a "Fall practice" with the same restrictions? As others have mentioned, it also interferes greatly with the NFL draft.

While this is one option that gives us a full season, I think it's drawbacks and further questions will make this pretty low on the option list.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Can't see it. If a team had any significant injuries, that would pretty much rule those players out for the 'next' season.

I would rather have no season this year as opposed to doing something that mucks up future seasons.

Having said that, I still think there will be games this fall - but with no fans in the stands and possibly a shortened season with no non-conference games.
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If there are not games this fall I think that schools would do this in order to keep their revenue streams going. Additionally no football this season probably mucks things up for every other sport in future seasons.
 

I saw another option of 9 games and conference games only. Compact the season.
 



Season as scheduled, but only those that paid a "donation" can attend and your group must sit at least 3 seats/rows from others.
 

We are on the coronavirus schedule. Until we have a vaccine or effective testing and screening for the majority, the 2020 season is hanging on the balance.
 

I think a spring to summer schedule is wonderful. Early recruits have a chance to make a true instant impact, lol. Then, earIly enrollees would also have the advantage of signing day, followed by the first day of class. Sounds simple enough (except tough to get the classes you want). And, for a change, we could schedule on a Sunday, and not compete with the No Fun League. It has so much potential overall. Higher attention of the public. Higher ad revenue. Football fans will abandon their secondary sports to return to their true love, football. Let's do Spring - Summer football. Better weather, for the most part.
 

I could see this happening if the probable future peaks were smaller and the fatality rate was cut largely by one of the treatments in the works. However, if it's looking like we can't even get back to semi-normal without a vaccine, I doubt this is considered.
 

Playing games in FL, GA, AL, MS, TX, etc gets a bit tricky into April. Heat stroke becomes a big issue.
 


LesBolstad said:
Season as scheduled, but only those that paid a "donation" can attend and your group must sit at least 3 seats/rows from others.
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Ladies and Gentlemen, Your 2018 Minnesota Golden Gophers.
 



Stating the obvious... football in the spring would just not be the same. I hate this idea. It would sort of feel like the NFL when it used replacement players. Games... yes, but not really. I think they should play the games this fall no matter what. And I think they will. I can see a scenario where everyone has to be tested to gain admittance. That includes the players. But whatever... let me sign a damn waiver of some sort. You can literally let me die if I get the virus at the game. If I catch it, I will be out of quarantine and back in the stadium two weeks later. Hopefully the Saturday while I am out is an away game.
 

If they can't play in fall but could in spring I would guess they play it in spring. Not ideal but football brings in so much money that they'd do whatever they can to avoid missing the season.

I think it's pretty unlikely they can't play in November but can play in February though. The start of the season is still four and a half months out and even if they can't make that they could probably start a month or two late and either compress the season or extend the regular season into December/next year. If they can't play by late fall they're probably not going to be able to play until there is a vaccine.
 

zman said:
If only we had kept the heating coyles......
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The informed speculation is that Mark Coyle didn't think the university was big enough for two Coyles and ordered them torn out in the dead of night.
 





Crosby said:
Stating the obvious... football in the spring would just not be the same. I hate this idea. It would sort of feel like the NFL when it used replacement players. Games... yes, but not really. I think they should play the games this fall no matter what. And I think they will. I can see a scenario where everyone has to be tested to gain admittance. That includes the players. But whatever... let me sign a damn waiver of some sort. You can literally let me die if I get the virus at the game. If I catch it, I will be out of quarantine and back in the stadium two weeks later. Hopefully the Saturday while I am out is an away game.
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Don't really get this take at all. Yes it would be weird to play the games at a different time of year then we are used to but the comparison to the NFL using replacement players makes no sense to me. You would still have the same athletes involved in the spring that you would have had in the fall so the quality of football should be the same no matter when the games are played.

I'm still holding out hope that we will have the season in the fall but it is just too early to know what the landscape is going to look like at that point across the country.
 

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