The commissioners of college football’s Power 5 conferences held a meeting on Sunday to determine whether there would in fact be, a 2020 college football season.
The results of that meeting are not officially known. However, unofficially, it looks like two of the five major conferences are ready to shut their programs down.
According to reports, the Pac-12 and the Big 10 will announce their decision not to play on Tuesday.
There are several underlying issues the conferences are dealing with. First, the financial: Is it worth having a season if teams can’t make money off of concessions, parking, ticket sales, advertising, and television deals.
Second, is the very nature of college football itself. Several player groups in different conferences have approached their leagues with demands and threatened not to play if their coronavirus and social justice demands are not met.
This is a radical departure from the traditional “student-athlete” model of college football, where the school called the shots and the players just played. Schools don’t really know how to deal with this and need to figure out how to move and groove in an environment where they’re going to be in a collective bargaining type of situation.
Still, one could argue college football was headed that way anyway after agreeing to compensate players.
An enhanced SEC “super conference” would completely alter the college football landscape, and it may not just be for one year. A large league with so many of the teams best and most highly visible teams would be an instant winner with fans and television networks.
Either way, whatever is announced Tuesday could have implications for college football that extend far beyond just this season.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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