BleedGopher
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per STrib:
For many sports fans, autumn weekends revolve around football: Friday night high school, Saturday morning college and Sunday afternoon NFL, until long after the leaves turn.
But the coronavirus pandemic could change that backdrop from fall foliage to spring flowers.
“I’m hoping not. I would prefer that we played in the fall,” St. John’s coach Gary Fasching said. “But … I think we have to be open-minded.”
The idea of pushing the Division I college season to spring surfaced early in the pandemic but faded as optimism grew about the fall. Recently, though, with COVID-19 cases surging nationally and several NCAA programs reporting positive tests, renewed attention has turned to what a spring football season could look like.
“I think the people who say it’s not [an option], in my opinion, just don’t want to think about it,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley told reporters. “… I, for one, think it’s very doable.”
The Ivy League is reportedly on the verge of pushing its fall sports to the spring, including a football season with a seven-game conference schedule through April and May. The Ivy League was the first to halt sports during the pandemic, and the NCAA as a whole could follow its lead again.
Injury issues
Gophers coach P.J. Fleck has said moving football to the spring because of the pandemic “makes sense” but worries about what toll playing two seasons in one calendar year would take on his players. He notes that a championship-caliber team could play up to 28 games in one calendar year.
“Every idea that we have has some type of thought process back to No. 1 and foremost: player safety,” Fleck said.
Minnesota State Moorhead coach Steve Laqua mentioned how players who endure an injury in the spring season would then have their fall season jeopardized. He said coaches would be cautious about load management and lightening the summer conditioning schedule.
Decreased roster numbers could make that especially difficult.
“We don’t have any players that are on full scholarships. So we have 18 seniors; a majority of them have planned on graduating at the end of fall semester. So they’re not around in the spring,” Laqua said. “And are they going to pay tuition to take extra credits to play football? I’d say that’s probably an unlikely scenario.”
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
For many sports fans, autumn weekends revolve around football: Friday night high school, Saturday morning college and Sunday afternoon NFL, until long after the leaves turn.
But the coronavirus pandemic could change that backdrop from fall foliage to spring flowers.
“I’m hoping not. I would prefer that we played in the fall,” St. John’s coach Gary Fasching said. “But … I think we have to be open-minded.”
The idea of pushing the Division I college season to spring surfaced early in the pandemic but faded as optimism grew about the fall. Recently, though, with COVID-19 cases surging nationally and several NCAA programs reporting positive tests, renewed attention has turned to what a spring football season could look like.
“I think the people who say it’s not [an option], in my opinion, just don’t want to think about it,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley told reporters. “… I, for one, think it’s very doable.”
The Ivy League is reportedly on the verge of pushing its fall sports to the spring, including a football season with a seven-game conference schedule through April and May. The Ivy League was the first to halt sports during the pandemic, and the NCAA as a whole could follow its lead again.
Injury issues
Gophers coach P.J. Fleck has said moving football to the spring because of the pandemic “makes sense” but worries about what toll playing two seasons in one calendar year would take on his players. He notes that a championship-caliber team could play up to 28 games in one calendar year.
“Every idea that we have has some type of thought process back to No. 1 and foremost: player safety,” Fleck said.
Minnesota State Moorhead coach Steve Laqua mentioned how players who endure an injury in the spring season would then have their fall season jeopardized. He said coaches would be cautious about load management and lightening the summer conditioning schedule.
Decreased roster numbers could make that especially difficult.
“We don’t have any players that are on full scholarships. So we have 18 seniors; a majority of them have planned on graduating at the end of fall semester. So they’re not around in the spring,” Laqua said. “And are they going to pay tuition to take extra credits to play football? I’d say that’s probably an unlikely scenario.”
College, prep football in spring is unpopular option, but things are heading that way
Pandemic may drive the switch, even while tradition -- and school coffers -- absorb a big hit.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
