Will college football season take place this fall? Clemson’s Dan Radakovich weighs in
One of the biggest questions surrounding college athletics right now is whether or not there will be a football season in 2020.
Most programs around the country have already had a portion of their spring football practice, if not all of it, canceled, because of the coronavirus outbreak, and there is a growing concern that the entire 2020 season could be wiped out as well. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit recently said he would be “shocked” if there is a college football or NFL season this fall, causing concern to grow that the effects of COVID-19 may keep sports from taking place this fall as well.
Clemson Athletics Director Dan Radakovich appeared on the SportsTalk radio show Monday night and was asked if he expects there to be a football season in 2020.
“I really don’t know at this point in time, but I will tell you that this is the greatest country in the world. We have great healthcare. We have great people working on this issue right now. And it’s not because of the football season or the fall or whatever. It’s just about trying to get back to normal,” Radakovich said. “I really have great faith and optimism as it relates to being able to do that and the timing does work out that students will be able to get back to their respective schools and there will be the sports that we offer in the fall.”
While Radakovich did not take a strong stance either way, he did say that he chooses to view a potential football season with “the glass as being half full.”
As of now, Clemson is planning as if there will be a season this fall, although that could change as more information becomes available.
“The month of April is going to be a busy one, making sure that we continue to move ahead like we’re going to have a football season,” Radakovich said. “But at least one eye is going to be on if some things don’t come out in a positive way that we can still continue to have an athletic program into the future, because this is certainly not going to last forever.”
Radakovich was also asked about the possibility of playing only the eight conference games during the regular season instead of a typical 12-game schedule with four nonconference opponents.
He pointed out that if the Tigers are going to play an abbreviated schedule this coming season, it will need to be at least nine games.
“Well, you know we play eight conference games, so there would need to be at least eight weeks. Here in our state there would need to be nine, because we would need to play South Carolina,” Radakovich said. “So until we understand a little bit more of the issues that could be at hand there, it’s really hard to speculate. I’m one of those folks that, ‘Hey, you can do a lot of things if everybody’s willing to sacrifice a little bit.’ But I don’t think we’re anywhere close to making that kind of decision yet.”
