NDSU Has Scheduled Football for This Fall Too. WTF is the Big Ten Doing?

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Photo: Tim Sanger - GoBison.com

Look what I just ran across. Let’s ignore how bad of a Minnesota sports “reporter” I am, being this news actually dropped last night. We have bigger fish to fry. Just in case you’re later to the party than me, North Dakota State University will now play one football game this fall.

The game will be held in front of a limited amount of Fargo Dome fans, on October 3. The showcase game will give their team and fans something to look forward to, plus their Redshirt Sophomore QB (with NFL aspirations) will get a 2020 game to show scouts he’s still progressing.

Even Smaller Schools Get to Play

I thought smaller schools, like North Dakota State, didn’t have the money or resources to prevent the spread of coronavirus through a football? At least, that’s what we were told. So, why are many smaller schools still playing? NDSU isn’t the only one. Many are still planning full conference seasons.

“Group of Five” conferences like, American Athletic, Conference USA and the Sun Belt are all still playing football this Fall. THEIR SEASONS ARE ACTUALLY SCHEDULED TO START BEFORE THE POWER-5 SCHOOLS.

That’s right, Central Arkansas vs UAB and South Alabama vs Southern Mississippi will kickoff simultaneously on September 3 at 7PM, marking the start of the 2020 college football season. That’s just NINE days from today. There won’t be any Power 5 games played that first week, but who cares… it’s football. The Monday night finale will feature BYU vs Navy.

On September 10, ACC affiliate, Miami (FL) Hurricanes are scheduled to take to their home stadium in front of 13,000 fans, to play against UAB. It will be UAB’s second game of the 2020 season.

Is This a Sick Joke?

Meanwhile, players and fans of Big Ten and PAC-12 teams will be watching from home, muttering common sense expletives under their breaths. We have been more “responsible” in the midwest and out on the West Coast.

I thought that mattered (lol). We wore more masks and even had it mandated before it was a necessity. We’ve social distanced and canceled schools, while the South has left things much more open and only used mandates and cancellations after outbreaks had already taken place.

Yet, here we are. They get football and we don’t. And now, just to deliver a People’s Elbow while the good state of Minnesota and most of midwest football is down, NDSU Football announces they will get one game to play this fall too. Sure, it’s just one game… but that’s better than zero games.

None of this makes any fucking sense… Power-5 conferences from the South have less restrictions regarding the spread of COVID and their cases and deaths are higher than the midwest.

Warren’s Job or a COVID Outbreak

At this point, it’s clear college football will happen as long as a big breakout doesn’t occur on any of these teams, before or during their seasons. If ACC, SEC and Big-12 seasons are played and finished, while Big Ten and PAC-12 seasons are not, the fallout for new Big Ten Commissioner, Kevin Warren, could be catastrophic.

Universities that aren’t playing football, have forecasted losses in the $100 million range for just 2020 alone. If football is played, especially if fans are allowed in the stands, those millions get recouped in fast order. The Star Tribune has reported a possible loss of $300+ million for the school, in total, $75 million of that due to athletics. Nearly all revenue pulled in through athletics, comes from football.

If Southern Universities allow students and athletes to attend campus and bring some of that revenue back, while Big Ten schools wither away from every corner… what does that do to the future of these programs from a competitive advantage standpoint, both in the classroom and on the field?

Are we to the point where the Big Ten and PAC-12 are hoping for COVID-19 breakouts among the teams that are playing football in the south? Otherwise, they stand to look foolish in positions where that isn’t allowed. I guess it depends on how much Kevin Warren likes his new gig…

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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