Collegiate Athletics versus COVID-19
As the 2020 Fall athletic year has quickly came upon us, the NCAA is faced with some major decisions regarding to how they want to go about their season. These tough times seem endless, but there will come a day where we continue to live our regular, daily lives. In this article, I will primarily be discussing how the NCAA took upon a call to action in regards with starting the 2020 football season.
Below I have attached an article published by ESPN:
There were many questions and concerns ranging from the student-athletes themselves, coaches, staff/officials, and even parents/guardians of the student-athletes. One of the most generated questions had to be “Will there be a 2020 college football season? And if so, how will conferences take on the challenge?”. As of this week, Sept. 13–20 there have been conferences who ultimately decided to continue on with the season, hold out, and opt out of their hold out by setting a comeback date. One big noteworthy headline is the Big Ten planning to begin their 2020 football season. The Big Ten initially declared to postpone all 2020 Fall athletics as they were seeing other Power Five conferences such as the SEC and PAC-12 do so, thus following the trend. The Big Ten made an announcement early this week stating that their 2020 football season will begin on October 24th, 2020.
The Big 10 conference has dealt with much scrutiny over these last several weeks in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions arising from, “Will there be a season?, If so, will fans be permitted to attend?”. As a Penn State student, I believe that football should take place. There are many student-athletes who have the talent to take them to the pro level, and by postponing a season can jeopardize their future towards reaching the NFL. Many parents of these particular student-athletes feel the same way. Though the atmosphere may not feel the same without any fans, or any for that matter, as well as tailgating prior to the game, it will still give these student-athletes the opportunity to compete and prove their worth.
Attached below is an article published by PennLive:
“Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win.” We are living in very different, uncomfortable times right now. In life, there are many curve-balls that come our way. In order to overcome struggles and difficulties, we must adapt to change, and that is what we are witnessing at this very moment.
Sources:
Gpickel@pennlive.com, G. (2020, August 16). Penn State football parents send letter demanding answers from Big Ten’s Kevin Warren, PSU president Barron. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/2020/08/penn-state-football-parents-send-letter-demanding-answers-from-big-tens-kevin-warren-psu-president-barron.html
NCAA.org. (2020, March 30). Division I Council extends eligibility for student-athletes impacted by COVID-19. Retrieved September 19, 2020, from https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2020-03-30/division-i-council-extends-eligibility-student-athletes-impacted-covid
Ries, B. (2020, September 16). Big Ten backtracks on its decision to postpone and will play football this fall after all. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/16/us/big-ten-football-oct-spt-trnd/index.html
The coronavirus and college sports: NCAA reopening plans, latest news, program cuts, more. (2020, September 17). Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29036650/the-coronavirus-college-sports-ncaa-reopening-plans-latest-news-program-cuts-more
