Basketball not to be this year?

[Carnac]

If need be something like this might work. Most schools consider their conference schedule the main event, and the out of conference is usually a much easier warmup to the conference schedule. Of course for Uconn it is just the opposite. If our out of conference games were cancelled the closest thing we might have to a signature win would be on the road against DePaul, and we might not play a ranked school at all.

I had the same idea that I proposed in an earlier post: "If not a full 30 game season, perhaps a shortened “condensed“ season that begins after the Christmas break, and runs for 3 months. Play all conference post season tournaments beginning Tuesday March 30 through Saturday April 3. Have selection Monday April 5, and begin tournament play that Friday April 9. Final four weekend would be April 24-26."

 

[hoopsfan22]

A new forecast of more than 140,000 deaths by early August just came out today. Will college presidents decide to go ahead with students on campus with so many dead?

I think so. If things are still bad towards the end of the summer, they can always reverse course and just say stay home and continue with the status quo which is distance learning. What you can't do is wait until August and then decide to open.

 

[Alydar]

I think so. If things are still bad towards the end of the summer, they can always reverse course and just say stay home and continue with the status quo which is distance learning. What you can't do is wait until August and then decide to open.

I don't think it's as simple as that. A college campus is a small city with all the expenses, police, fire, healthcare etc. Do you staff your "small city" and then at the last moment lay them all off? Do you plan on having residence halls' staff and food services contracted and then just cancelled?
It's relatively easy for students to just stay home and learn on-line but far more difficult for the rest of the campus support population.

 

[Charliebball]

You guys know this does not include, UCLA, Cal, UC Davis, all part of the UC system. Nor. USC(private) or Stanford(private)

The 23 Cal State schools can be seen on the linked map, scroll over the red dots.

www2.calstate.edu/attend/campuses

the mayor of Los Angeles has recently made it very clear that LA will be in lock down mode until there is an actual cure..............since most believe a vaccine won't be available on a mass basis until at least January I find it hard to believe that UCLA and likely USC will be open for students before then......

 

[Charliebball]

I think so. If things are still bad towards the end of the summer, they can always reverse course and just say stay home and continue with the status quo which is distance learning. What you can't do is wait until August and then decide to open.

I don't think that college administrations can wait that long to make a decision................at least most colleges in the NY/NJ area will be letting students know by the end of June at the latest.......

 

[donalddoowop]

If there are no games until 2021, assuming no one decommits, UConn would not be hurt as much as some teams because they have no seniors.

 

[Kaizen]

I think more college football fans will worry about this issue since football season starts in September ....

 

[Charliebball]

[Q

I think more college football fans will worry about this issue since football season starts in September ....

if schools are closed to students in August/September, I assume they will be closed in October/November...........when does the WBB season start?

 

[Roger G]

I wish there were some degree of continuity in what is going on. I prefer to know as much as possible even if down the line it is bad because at least we can plan to some degree. Unfortunately the enemy we are fighting does not appear to have a timeline and is getting in the first punch before we can counter. As much as I'd love to see our ladies running up and down the court and flattening their opponents I'd rather see them stay safe to fight another day.

I think it's more like the virus is hitting layups and we're throwing up off-balance 3 point attempts. You know, basketball site.

 

[Steelerone]

The problem is: none of the "experts" know what the future holds. I get so angry when the 2 political sides argue about what steps to take, instead of working together for the good of the whole country.

Thank you Monte. I think you are swimming in a very crowded pool.

 

[Roger G]

I agree, a lot of us want to be Americans rather than Dems or Reps.

It's pitiful that so far this has only three likes. So true. Patriotic.

 

[LCConnFan]

All things aside, even if we play a reduced number of games, say after December, when will they practice? How can a team 'gel' if they can't practice with each other?

 

[Boreifs]

NCAA providing zero leadership, as usual...

NCAA won't mandate uniform return to college sports, Mark Emmert says

The NCAA won't mandate or oversee a uniform return to college sports, NCAA president Mark Emmert told ESPN on Tuesday, leaving decisions on start dates to state officials and university presidents.

www.espn.com

That is an incredibly cheap shot. The NCAA has no role whatsoever in determining whether playing sports on a campus is safe. That decision rightly rests with the college Presidents.

 

[azfan]

The Arizona schools will reverse their positions. It is the responsible thing to do.

On Friday night presidents Michael Crowe and Rita Cheng of ASU and NAU respectively will appear on the local PBS channel for a one-hour Town Hall. I submitted questions for both of them regarding the fallback or plan b to their decision to have students on campus this fall in the case of a spike in the virus.

Today on the Will Cain show there was a discussion about fall college athletics. Specifically regarding football the analysis was if the season is to begin as scheduled athletes need to appear on a campus in mid-july which would require planning to begin in mid-june. The discussion by Cane and his guests concluded that for colleges to proceed with football as scheduled would require decisions over that first week of June.

Continuing uncertainty would certainly postponed the college football season.

I think we all need to prepare ourselves to see live college athletics again in 2021 and not before.

 

[eebmg]

On Friday night presidents Michael Crowe and Rita Cheng of ASU and NAU respectively will appear on the local PBS channel for a one-hour Town Hall. I submitted questions for both of them regarding the fallback or plan b to their decision to have students on campus this fall in the case of a spike in the virus.

Today on the Will Cain show there was a discussion about fall college athletics. Specifically regarding football the analysis was if the season is to begin as scheduled athletes need to appear on a campus in mid-july which would require planning to begin in mid-june. The discussion by Cane and his guests concluded that for colleges to proceed with football as scheduled would require decisions over that first week of June.

Continuing uncertainty would certainly postponed the college football season.

I think we all need to prepare ourselves to see live college athletics again in 2021 and not before.

Unfortunately, I agree. Our effective incoming 2021 class would be 9 (with Azzi).

 

[Boreifs]

A new forecast of more than 140,000 deaths by early August just came out today. Will college presidents decide to go ahead with students on campus with so many dead?

I have seen some argue that college students are young and less susceptible. Well, college faculty are not young; they also have no way of social distancing in a classroom. This is an incredibly complex issue; if even one person dies because a college chose to open up, it is unacceptable. It’s like allowing loaded weapons in the classroom, with several people randomly firing shots continuously.

 

[Cornell Lt]

The Colleges and University's are dealing with two competing dynamics. They have the health and well being of students, staff and faculty and the surrounding communities and those are pitted against the financial ramifications of not reopening the campuses to in person instruction.

If schools open and there is a virus outbreak I can see all kinds of lawsuits being filed plus there's the cost of shutting down the campus all over again.

If you don't open in the fall the financial ramifications will be severe, many smaller schools may not survive.

 

[jabstep]

I think more college football fans will worry about this issue since football season starts in September ....

I know I heard that the SEC was going to have football in the Fall. I don't think they will. The legal repercussions for those colleges could be severe. 100,000 people in a stadium is not a good reciept for virus protection.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

The Colleges and University's are dealing with two competing dynamics. They have the health and well being of students, staff and faculty and the surrounding communities and those are pitted against the financial ramifications of not reopening the campuses to in person instruction.

If schools open and there is a virus outbreak I can see all kinds of lawsuits being filed plus there's the cost of shutting down the campus all over again.

If you don't open in the fall the financial ramifications will be severe, many smaller schools may not survive.

Thank you. In all these discussions - directly sports related here and political on other forums - there is a tendency not to recognize that these issues are complex. We stake positions and don't budge.

Personally, I'm going with something the maestro said earlier in this thread or in another one - we will all have a better idea in a few weeks, certainly by June 1st, as we see the results of the increasing opening up of the country. Certainly that info, whatever it is, will be another factor for "planners" to take into account.

Like most here, I would love to have WBB (and other sports) back up and running. Like others, I am concerned, although I don't know enough to be optimistic or pessimistic. The biggest concern - out of the many - always seems (to me) to be what happens if a member of a team becomes ill with Covid19? If a sport starts up and team members throughout the league of conference start being affected, that would probably end it there.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Perhaps the example of Liberty University will prove a harbinger of what could happen if universities open up. Liberty, which told its students to return for the spring semester, has just been sued by a student alleging that remaining open and telling its students

"to continue to use their housing, meal plans, parking, and the benefits of the services and activities for which their fees paid, was not only illusory and empty—because there were no more on-campus classes—but it was also extremely dangerous and irresponsible,"

Student files class-action lawsuit against Liberty University over coronavirus response

thehill.com

The key words are "extremely dangerous and irresponsible." What if UConn were to open up with a resurgence of the virus underway? I can't envision a scenario in which the university is closed to the general student population, but an exception is made to permit basketball players, or the other fall sports athletes, to return, remain in athletes' dorms, and gather together in gym changing facilities and showers, yet the university leaders feel no worries about the consequences.

 

[oldude]

Perhaps the example of Liberty University will prove a harbinger of what could happen if universities open up. Liberty, which told its students to return for the spring semester, has just been sued by a student alleging that remaining open and telling its students

"to continue to use their housing, meal plans, parking, and the benefits of the services and activities for which their fees paid, was not only illusory and empty—because there were no more on-campus classes—but it was also extremely dangerous and irresponsible,"

Student files class-action lawsuit against Liberty University over coronavirus response

thehill.com

The key words are "extremely dangerous and irresponsible." What if UConn were to open up with a resurgence of the virus underway? I can't envision a scenario in which the university is closed to the general student population, but an exception is made to permit basketball players, or the other fall sports athletes, to return, remain in athletes' dorms, and gather together in gym changing facilities and showers, yet the university leaders feel no worries about the consequences.

One of the political battles that is yet to be fought will be the push by some in Congress to exempt businesses from coronavirus related lawsuits. I have mixed emotions about that initiative. On the one hand, businesses, including colleges, should not get a pass on taking all reasonable precautions to protect employees, customers and students. On the other hand, given the potential for asymptomatic transmission of this highly infectious disease, it is virtually impossible for any business to put in place a foolproof plan to completely protect everyone.

I suspect there will be some horse trading in Congress that will result in the passage of this liability protection. I think democrats will agree to the liability protection in exchange for the republicans agreeing to substantial aid to state and local governments.

 

[ShmiCO]

The "Powers That Be" keep acting like one day we will wake up and it will be gone. Not going to happen! Every one of us will get it one way or the other. Either you will show symptoms or you will be asymptomatic. The population can not begin to fight it on their own until a vast majority has been exposed to it. Isolation may have slowed down the spread, but it also slowed down the immune buildup.

If you watched any of the hearing yesterday, you heard that the vaccine may never be effective. The Flu vaccine is usually only 50-60% effective. Everyone seems to be banking on something that may never come.

Agreed. The other thing isolation has done, however, is control the damage to our medical system. That was the whole point of flattening the curve. If we decide to "spike the curve" instead, at what point do the for-profit medical corporations that form the backbone of health care in the US decide to throw in the towel?

 

[TheFarmFan]

FWIW, Yale's provost announced yesterday that the university has yet to make a final decision on on-campus attendance, and may wait to do so until as late as July:

[Summary: Yale will begin fall semester 2020 on time. Decisions about class format (in-person, online, or a hybrid) will be announced by early July. In accordance with guidelines issued by public health experts and the state’s Reopen CT Initiative, Yale will begin a limited and phased expansion of on-campus research and library services in June.]

Academic Continuity Planning for the Fall
The Academic Continuity Committee is developing educational contingency plans with input from the community. Even though we are all eager to know what to expect in the fall, many details cannot be resolved until we have more information about the path of the pandemic. We continue to make plans for both a residential education or for instruction online. As stated by President Salovey in his April 21 message, a detailed announcement about these plans and decisions for the fall will be released by early July. However, there is a key recommendation from the committee that we have accepted and can report now:

Yale University will begin fall semester 2020 on time. Classes in Yale College will begin the week of August 31. Most graduate and professional programs will start on schedule beginning after August 15, although some orientation activities will be rescheduled or conducted remotely. To maximize the chances that we can hold classes in person, there may be adjustments to the academic calendar that will limit the number of times that students travel to and from campus, and the schedule of courses may be expanded to utilize all the hours of the work day and the work week to accommodate social distancing. The graduate and professional school deans will be providing more details to their communities soon, and detailed information about the Yale College academic calendar will be announced by the end of May.

 

[oldhusky]

The Colleges and University's are dealing with two competing dynamics. They have the health and well being of students, staff and faculty and the surrounding communities and those are pitted against the financial ramifications of not reopening the campuses to in person instruction.

If schools open and there is a virus outbreak I can see all kinds of lawsuits being filed plus there's the cost of shutting down the campus all over again.

If you don't open in the fall the financial ramifications will be severe, many smaller schools may not survive.

I agree completely with the "competing dynamics" and trade-offs that that are a factor not just for universities but for all areas of our society. Like it or not there is a cost for human life vs a destroyed economy. Everybody has their own view on that, but those kind of difficult decisions are now everywhere to be made. All decision makers have to make very difficult choices where they could be wrong on either side of the aggressive vs conservative debate. History may show who was right or wrong if one approach was clearly the best one in hindsight, but more likely is that whatever happens, major parts of the population will still disagree after the fact because of their relative views on the importance of lives vs. the economy.

 

[azfan]

If schools open and there is a virus outbreak I can see all kinds of lawsuits being filed plus there's the cost of shutting down the campus all over again.

If you don't open in the fall the financial ramifications will be severe, many smaller schools may not survive.

This is an important point. Of the over 1,600 small liberal arts colleges in the United States the pandemic will most certainly have dramatic if not fatal consequences for many. Small schools in the news like Evergreen State and Hampshire will most certainly struggle and fail to stay open.

"The miniscule size of some of these colleges is astounding. The Chronicle of Higher Ed reports:

Of the 1,600 private nonprofit colleges and universities in the United States, almost 30 percent have enrollments of under 1,000 students. And though closings have amounted to less than one percent of private colleges, according to David Warren, president of the National Association of Independent College and Universities, a Moody’s Investors"

This article goes on to point out that these small colleges must offer significant discounts off tuition to attract students and have tiny or non-existent endowments. Like many fragile businesses for example restaurants and bars they simply do not have the wherewithal to survive this pandemic.

Are liberal arts colleges doomed?

Two days before classes started at Hampshire College in September, the school’s incoming first-year students – all 13 of them – attended a welcome reception in the campus’ new R.W. Kern Center. A motley mix of plaids, khakis and combat boots, the group lined up to shake hands with the college...

www.boston.com

"Even worse is the fact that these small private colleges tend to be incredibly expensive. Nowadays, few people have the resources and leisure time to pay $80,000 for an education at a small college in a small town where there are few opportunities for earning income to supplement one's living expenses.

Indeed, many of these colleges have more the feel of a resort rather than a serious educational institution. Many of them are in bucolic settings with old-timey buildings that help one re-enact "the college experience" one sees in television shows and movies."

Many Small Private Colleges Are Doomed | Mises Institute

Inside Higher Ed reports that yet another small private college is closing:

mises.org

 

[Jmsdawg]

Based upon what I see in my community, I believe we will see a return to college sports this fall. I live in the Northwest Florida panhandle. The difference between two weeks ago and now is stark, two weeks ago it was like I lived in a ghost town, now it is almost activity as usual. I am a member of the at risk group, old with health conditions, and I admit I am concerned. People around here are no longer wearing mask except for guys like me. I fear the virus and plan to continue reduced activity and less people contact. I will be so glad when this virus is conquered and my life can return to normal. Must admit I long to watch college sports on TV!

 

[oldhusky]

On the safety front on campus, you could argue that the students are low risk because even if they catch it, they are at very low risk of dying from it. I believe Jordy mentioned the risk to teachers which is more significant, but maybe the biggest societal risk is when they return home for weekends, or Thanksgiving and Christmas with parents, grandparents etc. If campuses were a self contained community and students never left, they could do well with minimal precautions, but returning home is a whole new ballgame.

Another complication if basketball resumes and a player gets it, is that of course that player would be out for a significant period, but because of close contact if one gets it several more could have before it is discovered. Could there be team that had to sit half their roster and didn't have enough active players to put five on the court? Maybe, so perhaps adding DJC might make more sense in a season like this than otherwise.

 

[hoopsfan22]

It's not just about dying. This virus impacts us in multiple ways some of which are permanent from dangerous blood clots to attacking the nervous system to destroying lungs and attacking other vital organs. This isn't a binary thing where you either die or just get severe cold symptoms. We simply don't know enough about this virus yet, and it's hard to make critical decisions when you don't know what you don't know.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Perhaps we should take note of the words of Rick Bright, the former top U.S. vaccine official:

"While it is terrifying to acknowledge the extent of the challenge that we currently confront, the undeniable fact is there will be a resurgence of the COVID19 this fall, greatly compounding the challenges of seasonal influenza and putting an unprecedented strain on our health care system. Without clear planning and implementation of the steps that I and other experts have outlined, 2020 will be darkest winter in modern history."

Will universities decide to open to students- and student-athletes- on campus if over the next few weeks we see a resurgence of the disease?

 

[baggerbob]

Starting up colleges in the fall is problematic at best. Starting up college sports presents a whole different level of complexity. If one player on a team tests positive, the entire team should be quarantined for 14 days per CDC guidelines. If you think that is a bit much, keep in mind that the NBA season was shut down after a couple players tested positive.

If schools aren't open for the general student population, then there should be no sports programs. The NCAA and the power conference's have pushed the Student Athletes for years. If they play without the general student population, then they have no way to say the athletes are student's.