FBS ADs Believe There Is A 50 Percent Chance College Football Doesn’t Play Full Season

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Roughly one-fifth of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) athletic directors believe there is at least a 50 percent chance that college football won’t play a full season in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Stadium’s Brett McMurphy.

In a survey conducted by the sports outlet, “all 130 FBS athletic directors were asked to rank their optimism on the upcoming season being played from “1” (will not be played) to “10” (definitely will be played). Of the 130 ADs contacted during the past week, 112 participated in the anonymous survey.”

When answering the survey, none of the athletic directors responded saying there was a 50/50 chance of no season.

About one-fifth of ADs believe there is at least a 50% chance that there won’t be a full college football season in 2020 according to @Brett_McMurphy. https://t.co/VKEzZbe4i5 pic.twitter.com/XCN5sLVuJr

— Kyle Ireland (@kyleireland) March 31, 2020

Many of the AD’s “admitted they probably provided a higher-numbered response because they wanted to remain positive and optimistic about having the season.”

These are some of the responses by FBS athletic directors in response to the survey:

• “There better be (a season) or many programs will be out of business.”
• “Quite simply, it would be devastating.”
• “I’m optimistic we’ll have a season but ask me again in May what I think.”
• “There is still so much to be assessed over the next several months. Concerns with finances, adequate practice for teams, potential looming restrictions in regard to travel to certain states, TV scheduling, the uncertainty of what the stadiums will be — what will be the fans’ perspective of sitting so close to another? You get the idea. I could go on and on and on.”
• “This has been crazy with high anxiety. The potential financial impact is starting to be understood.”
• “As of right now, I have no clue if there will be a full season but if we don’t, it will get ugly.”
• “Most of the Power Five schools wouldn’t miss a beat but it would be devastating to the rest of us.”
• “If we’re aren’t back (playing) by the fall, it will look like the Great Depression, and we will be in soup lines.”

A @Stadium survey of all 130 FBS ADs asked how optimistic they were a full 12-game CFB season would be played. If canceled because of COVID-19, one AD said some Olympic sports could get eliminated & “many (athletic) programs will be out of business” https://t.co/DNJW5d6ejh

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) March 31, 2020

Earlier in March, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby was on a conference call and said that the next 60-90 days would determine if there was a football season. He also admitted that “the fall is in jeopardy.”

“It’s a whole new ballgame. It affects everything we do,” said Bowlsby on the if there isn’t a season. “It affects the largest portion of our TV contract. If that doesn’t happen, the underpinning of what we know as normal goes away, and we’ll have some major changes to make.”

The first FBS college football games of the 2020 season are scheduled to be played on August 29.

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