The announcement by the Mid-American Conference on Saturday that they are canceling their bankruptcy season (including for football) and plans to move the affected activities to the spring has led to much discussion that other NCAA conferences may follow. Some FCS-level conferences, including the CAA, the MEAC, the Ivy League, and the Patriot League, had already canceled fall sports, as FBS had independent UConn, but the MAC move was the first of a conference on FBS level.) And that could lead to some interesting TV discussions. To begin with, it is noteworthy that there are already reports that ESPN is interested in televising the MAC this spring, including that of Joe Danneman of Fox 19 in Cincinnati (at MAC member Miami University, based in Oxford, Ohio search):
Miami athletic director David Sayler on the viability of a spring football season (after MAC postponed all bankruptcy sports): I find it very livable. Just start researching possibilities. ESPN has already reached out to commissioner of conference on television games.
– Joe Danneman (@ FOX19Joe) August 8, 2020
At present, it is far from certain that all other FBS conferences will follow the shift from MAC to the spring, especially when it comes to the Power Five. Groups of five conferences such as the MAC have been particularly hard hit by the Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC which only go to conference schedules (and the ACC and Big 12 go to a maximum of one non-conference game per school), and it seems very plausible that other Group of Five conferences may also opt for the spring. At the moment, however, the Power Five conferences seem to be officially on the wane, even though some officials express skepticism through reporters who are willing to leave an anonymous source:
Power 5 source to @Stadium: “Season football season is over. I do not think everyone immediately follows MAC, but it gives other league presidents 1 more reason to make an easier decision. Biggest thing is unknown long-term impact of involved COVID & liability “
– Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 8, 2020
CBS Sports News: 2 Power Five ADs: ‘Inevitable’ 2020 College Football Season Will Not Be Played This Fall https://t.co/3XKwARGm6k
– Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) August 9, 2020
Prominent source from the sector: “I think by the end of the week, the autumn sports will be postponed in all conferences.”
– Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) August 8, 2020
Sources: Big ten commissioners want the spring season football college through@reporterdavidjhttps://t.co/gXHQQc0FHb
– Chris Solari (@chrissolari) August 8, 2020
While none of that is official, at least from a TV standpoint, a spring shift could work just fine for both college football and ESPN (which by far has the most live college football games, especially if you factor in the SEC Network, the ACC Network). , Longhorn Network and ESPN +). There are a lot of sporting events with big tickets still planned (at the moment) for this fall, including the NFL season, the conclusion of last season and playoffs in the NBA, NHL and MLS, the short MLS season, and the various golf tournaments.
And at the moment, spring football game is not insured. While the assets of the XFL were officially sold to a group led by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital Partners Friday (after approval by a bankruptcy judge), and although that ownership group has spoken of a return of 2021, there are obstacles there, including on the TV side. There are also doubts about what college basketball and other professional sports might look like in the spring; the NBA and NHL are currently still planning full seasons of 2020-21 (with December starting eye for both), but neither of those is yet certain.
So for the moment, ESPN (and Fox and NBC, to a lesser degree) might come up to be pretty happy with spring college football. And that may be the case, even though that is with a few conferences or with most or all of them. And it is striking that they have for ESPN in particular until September September to make up their promised number of events to cable providers. That moving football content to the spring might just be good for them.
It should be noted that even a spring football season is not guaranteed. Until there is an actual vaccine for COVID-19 (and estimate of the timeline across that different width), it will be difficult to pull off sports competitions, especially without a full bubble. And some of the problems that are arising right now may still be present in the spring. But a spring season has certainly gained some momentum this weekend, and it is noteworthy that the various TV partners (and in particular ESPN) of the NCAA conferences can cope with it.
