UConn: Cancelling 2020 Season An Option? (Updated 8/5 to yes)

[Vuce]

I get your point but what is the advantage to show up the Big East before they make a decision on Fall/Winter Sports?

If you are TRULY talking about protecting the kids then it shouldn't matter what the league says. Given the football decision and the statements made for the reasons why (did not have to do with the schedule falling apart) then the fall sports better not play in any capacity save for scrimmages with their own teams. Otherwise it's very hypocritical and those saying we cancelled football because we knew as an indy we wouldnt have games will have a point. Since we are proud to be the first school in the country to cancel football why not be proud to be the first school in the country to cancel fall sports in order to protect the student athletes?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

That's my point - so if UConn football was still in the AAC then it has nothing to do with keeping kids safe, it's that we have other schools to play. If we - as a school - made a decision to keep student athletes safe then there is no reason to cancel just one sport. You cancel ALL fall sports unless you are playing scrimmages on campus with kids who are secluded from any other places. If the decision to cancel football was only made because we knew as an indy we'd really have no games, then that is a really bad look to try to spin it the other way. There is no reason to wait, cancel all fall sports now if the aim is really to keep the student athletes safe.

Tap the brakes. If you can't tell the risk differential between football, in which every program has well over 100 people in close proximity to each other and plays teams from all over the country, and some of the other fall sports, I don't know what to say.

 

[Vuce]

Tap the brakes. If you can't tell the risk differential between football, in which every program has well over 100 people in close proximity to each other and plays teams from all over the country, and some of the other fall sports, I don't know what to say.

OK I can get on board with that but if it's "risk differential" then how many kids can get it where it will be OK? Just because the risk might be lower doesn't mean it's 0%. What is considered a success or "worth the risk"? 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, etc? Tell us the number or even a range.

 

[huskymedic]

3 part post. Part 1:

 

[huskymedic]

Part 2:

 

[huskymedic]

Part 3:

 

[huskymedic]

>>In announcing the decision, UConn said players would rather preserve a year of eligibility. The NCAA Board of Governors announced Wednesday that “appropriate eligibility-related accommodations” must be made for athletes whose seasons are interrupted by COVID-19, but those details have not been determined.

Theoretically, senior football players don’t know for sure that they can return next season. The NCAA did approve an extra year of eligibility for spring sports athletes who lost their seasons, though providing scholarship aid was left up to schools. Benedict thinks something similar could happen in this case.

“I would find it very unlikely that they are not going to treat fall sports student-athletes in a similar fashion that they did spring sport athletes from last year,” he said. “We will begin to submit waivers to the NCAA relative to individuals that want extra years. We have a lot of kids that are both juniors and seniors that never redshirted. So they obviously would be able to take advantage of their redshirt, which would eliminate the need for an additional year. But certainly, we would expect the NCAA to be supportive of fall sports student-athletes, whether it be football or any other sport that, if the opportunity to compete is taken out of their hands because of the pandemic or a university decision, they would be granted an additional year.”

Benedict thinks team scholarship limits could be adjusted in 2021, as they were with spring sports.<<

 

[Exit 4]

>>Benedict thinks team scholarship limits could be adjusted in 2021, as they were with spring sports.<<

<--Well this is significant for roster building. But Randy and Co are going to have to cool it on new offers until they get confirmation.

 

[CTMike]

No power so my apologies I can’t consolidate into one post like I would during an in season press conference:

Sorry

 

[Dooooooomed]

The NCAA has banned waivers. Could get expensive for schools that have outbreaks.

 

[husky8273]

CFB is not happening. The lawyers will bring any institution, conference and the NCAA to their knees quicker than a Rutgers coed.

a low blow

 

[John Greene]

I'll be curious to see what the players do in the coming month(s). I guess the kids who want a college education will stick. Those who want to play, who knows. Can't be good for recruiting.

They are late teens and early 20's. In the coming months most will attend more parties than they would have if they were preparing for a game each week. The result will be an avalanche of positive tests for the virus among team members.

 

[billybud]

They are late teens and early 20's. In the coming months most will attend more parties than they would have if they were preparing for a game each week. The result will be an avalanche of positive tests for the virus among team members.

And that is what I do not get...having 8,000 students on campus....

 

[huskypantz]

Colorado State setting the bar low. Can’t imagine any P5 schools might be following along.......

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Its standard thing to do in America for virtually every high risk activity; skiing (defacto with your lift ticket by state laws or skiing would have gone bankrupt decades ago), sky diving, mountain biking, paragliding, etc etc. Playing football during COVid is absolutely high risk. Heck, you can't play HS sports in CT w/o signing an acknowledge about concussions.

Without a waiver and at least an acknowledgement, I don't see how any clear thinking University President moves forward until we have a vaccine which could provide some cover. And if kids don't want to sign them I completely understand why. The waiver establishes the participants knew the risks and went forward anyway. There is still room for recourse, but it does become harder for the signee.

I know they are standard, but this isn't skiing. You pay to ski. Football players aren't being paid and they are the product. Anyone who signs a waiver to play football should be examined ed by a board of Psychiatrists.

Lives and long term health are on the line. Why would a 20 year sign away their only course of protection to play for a University?

 

[huskymedic]

Can't be good for recruiting.

Obviously proof will come on signing day in December/February but early returns from football crazy Texas seem to be trending positively...



>>The announcement didn’t deter future Huskies recruits from the Dallas area, including UConn’s top-rated pledge in 2021, Trophy Club Byron Nelson running back Max Modeste. He acknowledged the cancellation “wasn’t the best news,” but said he’s “110% committed to UConn.”

“I’m focused on my high school season ahead of me to grow as a player then gladly take my game to UConn,” Modeste said in a text message to The Dallas Morning News. “Just a opportunity for the coaches and staff to be even more prepared for this 2021 class.”

Modeste’s current and future teammate, Byron Nelson offensive tackle Femi Sakiri, also re-affirmed his commitment to UConn. ‘With something that is not under their control such as the virus, shows how much they care for their players/students health to keep them safe with everything going on in the world,” Sakiri told The News.

DeSoto offensive tackle Yakiri Walker also told The News that his commitment to UConn hasn’t wavered in light of the announcement to cancel the 2020 season.<<

 

[Chief00]

Bad take. You are ignoring medical reality.

For starters, Randy is beholden to state medical guidelines and those alone make practicing very very changing after you get just a couple kids with symptoms and you follow contact tracing quarantine.

Other schools just haven't gotten there yet. They will in two to three weeks.

The landscape is conference schools are playing each other but expelling non conference teams from their schedule. They are no more likely to catch the virus from their non conference opponent than their conference foe. It’s all about protecting the conference TV contract and the associated revenue and nothing to do about a player’s health.
As a result, UConn landed where it did and made an economic decision too as their schedule imploded. If the Big Ten and soon the ACC hadn’t cancelled 4 games, we would be playing football - even if they were 24 hour trips to comply with CT quarantine rules. Of course, you can catch this virus in less than 24 hours, so they don’t make sense either from a health perspective. But, with football follow the money not the health narrative.

 

[Exit 4]

I know they are standard, but this isn't skiing. You pay to ski. Football players aren't being paid and they are the product. Anyone who signs a waiver to play football should be examined ed by a board of Psychiatrists.

Lives and long term health are on the line. Why would a 20 year sign away their only course of protection to play for a University?

I don’t want to derail this thread, but the idea that a waiver isn’t logical and normal in American life for this situation just really isn’t the case. They sell 50 million lift tickets a year for a sport that is about as dangerous as they come for the mass market. People routinely agree to waivers and for good reason for athletic activities everyday because they want the experience offered and are willing to take the risk. Football is already crazy risky. I am sure most of the kids in FBS would be quick to sign such a waiver provided the language isn’t too radical. These kids are on university health insurance and thus if they get COVid they will be covered per their insurance policy and not entitled to something more (ie it will be an ordinary injury like an ACL or broken foot etc).

That said, as a CT tax payer I fine with canceling the season if we weren’t going to get protection from frivolous COVid lawsuits. Now- granted there could be a situation that would give rise to a legitimate COVid lawsuit, but having the waiver sets the bar higher for gross negligence.

 

[Exit 4]

The landscaoe is conference schools are playing ea


The landscaoe is conference schools are playing each other but expellling non conference teams from their schedule. They are no more likely to catch the virus from their non conference opponent than their conference foe. It’s all about protecting the conference TV contract and the associated revenue.
As a result, UConn landed where it did and made an economic decision too as their schedule imploded.
If the Big Ten and soon the ACC hadn’t cancelled 4 games, we would be playing football - even if they were 24 hour trips to comply with CT quorantine rules. Of course, you can catch this virus in less than 24 hours, so they don’t make sense either from a health perspective. Welcome to CT.

Let’s revisit this after the P5 plays three games.

 

[Adios]

Of course this health explanation is BS, we cancelled the season because our schedule fell apart as a result of OUR decision to go Independent.
We continue to make NCAA football history. Per ESPN headline, we are the first D1 college team to cancel the season after being the worst defensive team in history two years ago.

The worst defensive team was UMass last year. That UConn defense of 2018 gets to redshirt with this cancelled season.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

I don’t want to derail this thread, but the idea that a waiver isn’t logical and normal in American life for this situation just really isn’t the case. They sell 50 million lift tickets a year for a sport that is about as dangerous as they come for the mass market. People routinely agree to waivers and for good reason for athletic activities everyday because they want the experience offered and are willing to take the risk. Football is already crazy risky. I am sure most of the kids in FBS would be quick to sign such a waiver provided the language isn’t too radical. These kids are on university health insurance and thus if they get COVid they will be covered per their insurance policy and not entitled to something more (ie it will be an ordinary injury like an ACL or broken foot etc).

That said, as a CT tax payer I fine with canceling the season if we weren’t going to get protection from frivolous COVid lawsuits. Now- granted there could be a situation that would give rise to a legitimate COVid lawsuit, but having the waiver sets the bar higher for gross negligence.

You are comparing apples to mothballs. This isn't a recreational endeavor. This is college athletics. And no, a lot of kids won't sign a waiver. Many will, but again, that's why we call them "kids". I can't speak for anyone else, but I would hate to have my 20 year old mindset making lifelong decisions for me now. I had a ball back then, but man did I do a few dumb-ass things.

We aren't debating waivers as real or not. We are talking application and context. Hell, even the useless NCAA wants to be on the right side of history when it come to having students sign waiver to play a sport. Why is a kid using a school that put his life at risk for something that isn't football related considered frivolous?

"Sign away all rights so the masses can be entertained!" Is not a great ad campaign.

 

[Exit 4]

You are comparing apples to mothballs. This isn't a recreational endeavor. This is college athletics. And no, a lot of kids won't sign a waiver. Many will, but again, that's why we call them "kids". I can't speak for anyone else, but I would hate to have my 20 year old mindset making lifelong decisions for me now. I had a ball back then, but man did I do a few dumb-ass things.

We aren't debating waivers as real or not. We are talking application and context. Hell, even the useless NCAA wants to be on the right side of history when it come to having students sign waiver to play a sport. Why is a kid using a school that put his life at risk for something that isn't football related considered frivolous?

"Sign away all rights so the masses can be entertained!" Is not a great ad campaign.

We aren’t comparing mothballs to apples - people sign waivers everyday whenever there is uncontrolled and elevated risk. This is without a doubt one of those situations. The schools can’t control COVid and so there needs to be no illusions to the contrary. If I am the NCAA I am using the waiver to spell out the risks in stark terms to the kids and reminding them they don’t have to play- but if they do the system can make only reasonable to control COVid. I would also point out that the full impact of COVid over the long term is unknown. The waiver is a warning.

Without a waiver - as a CT tax payer I am glad we aren’t playing football. Going into this without any attempt to curb frivolous lawsuits is basically begging for legal trouble.

People make this about simply entertaining the masses, while also ignoring the athletes. If football was only about audience entertainment with no joy to the players then why the heck are so many high schools pushing so hard to play FBS? There is no cash after all (but I think there should be cash/ time to let the gets want whatever they can).

If kids can’t be trusted to properly assess a liability waiver than we might as well roll back the 26th amendment and bring the voting age back to 21.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

We aren’t comparing mothballs to apples - people sign waivers everyday whenever there is uncontrolled and elevated risk. This is without a doubt one of those situations. The schools can’t control COVid and so there needs to be no illusions to the contrary. If I am the NCAA I am using the waiver to spell out the risks in stark terms to the kids and reminding them they don’t have to play- but if they do the system can make only reasonable to control COVid. I would also point out that the full impact of COVid over the long term is unknown. The waiver is a warning.

Without a waiver - as a CT tax payer I am glad we aren’t playing football. Going into this without any attempt to curb frivolous lawsuits is basically begging for legal trouble.

People make this about simply entertaining the masses, while also ignoring the athletes. If football was only about audience entertainment with no joy to the players then why the heck are so many high schools pushing so hard to play FBS? There is no cash after all (but I think there should be cash/ time to let the gets want whatever they can).

If kids can’t be trusted to properly assess a liability waiver than we might as well roll back the 26th amendment and bring the voting age back to 21.

There is no waiver for negligence, and the P5 scheduling plan is so far over the line into negligence that people could go to jail for it. Also, ESPN just got itself a seat at the defendant's table with their editorials trashing UConn for cancelling the season. It would not be hard for a plaintiff's attorney to show that ESPN induced the P5 to play their insane schedule.

 

[Exit 4]

There is no waiver for negligence

Good point regarding negligence- but a waiver sets the standard higher. I don’t necessarily agree with the rest of your sentiments. Although I fully agree that the NCAA and universities are totally exposed unless they roll out some clear stark guidance to the student athletes that this is volunteer activity with no obligation to participate. Sort of a “rights” notice regarding COVid this fall.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Good point regarding negligence- but a waiver sets the standard higher. I don’t necessarily agree with the rest of your sentiments. Although I fully agree that the NCAA and universities are totally exposed unless they roll out some clear stark guidance to the student athletes that this is volunteer activity with no obligation to participate. Sort of a “rights” notice regarding COVid this fall.

You are focusing on the wrong issue. Transferring liability should not be the driving factor for schools. Reducing risk should be the driving factor.