Over the past several weeks, the coronavirus pandemic has rattled the college sports landscape — along with the rest of the world — to its core. The unprecedented step to cancel March Madness might have seemed shocking at first, but after the NCAA’s spring seasons suffered the same fate, the path forward for college athletics is hazy, at best.
The football season is in flux. Non-revenue-generating sports are on the chopping block. Athletic departments and conferences have already taken drastic measures to cut costs and there is no end in sight. Before a new normal can begin to take shape, colleges and universities will have to find a safe way to simply reopen campuses. Complex, high-stakes public health issues need to be dealt with before there is a good sense of what college sports will look like on the other side.
Here is a look at some of the major ways the pandemic has impacted college sports. — Kyle Bonagura
Latest on conference news
A letter from the commissioners of the American Athletic Conference, Mountain West Conference, Mid-American Conference, Sun Belt Conference and Conference USA to NCAA president Mark Emmert asked for temporary relief from requirements pertaining to financial aid and average football attendance. The request was made on behalf of all 350 Division I schools.
Latest on CFP standing
As of April 13, CFP executive director Bill Hancock said the College Football Playoff staff is still planning for the event to be held “on time.”
Cancellations so far
No announcements have been made yet on the start of the college football season, with games currently slated to begin Aug. 29.
Schools that have cut programs
A day after the University of Cincinnati announced it will be permanently cutting its men’s soccer program, a letter from five conference commissioners to NCAA president Mark Emmert asked, in part, for the NCAA to lift rules that require Division I schools to sponsor at least 16 varsity sports.
Here is a running tally of programs that have been disbanded:
Recruiting
Without the ability of coaches to travel, the recruiting process has shifted to an almost entirely virtual experience, and the recruiting dead period was extended.
Eligibility
The NCAA announced it will allow schools to grant an additional season of eligibility to spring-sport athletes who did not get to participate in 2020. On the surface, that seems like the right thing to do, but it wasn’t a mandate. Schools have the option to do so, but the additional cost in retaining a larger roster will likely be unfeasible for a significant number of schools. It’s unclear how many schools will take advantage of the NCAA’s offer. Wisconsin was the first major school to announce it would not seek waivers for its outgoing seniors.
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