Barta chose not to break down every scheduling scenario, but modeling conversations have begun in earnest without a timetable determined. For Big Ten schools, the discussions include a full regular season schedule to a partial campaign starting later in the fall. A calendar shift would provide a separate obstacle for Big Ten schools should the regular season extend past Thanksgiving, unlike their southern, southwestern and most of their West Coast counterparts.
“Obviously, it’s colder here,” Barta said. “Could you play outdoors? We’d love to have a southern team come up here in December and have to play, but you can play football in this part of the country late into the year. It’s not optimal, which is why we would prefer not to do it. We haven’t picked a date, so I’m not willing to say it’s September this or October that. But we are looking at that as one possibility, if we have to start later. If we do, how late do we go?”
Attendance is another complicated issue, especially if a second wave of the virus strikes the United States this fall.
theathletic.com
