SOUTH BEND, IN – MARCH 4: An Irish cheerleader from Notre Dame Fighting is seen during the game during the game against the Florida State Seminoles at the Purcell Pavilion on March 4, 2020 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey / Getty Images)
On Friday, the Southeast Conference made a major announcement involving fall sports athletes and their scholarships. One would expect Notre Dame athletics to do the same.
The Southeast Conference set what may be an important precedent on Friday afternoon. The conference announced that schools will still honor scholarships for student athletes who participate in fall sports, even if those athletes choose not to participate due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It goes without saying that Notre Dame Athletics, along with other athletic departments across the country, should give similar guarantees to its student athletes.
Recently, I considered whether some Notre Dame players might consider sitting in a makeshift 2020 season. While Notre Dame has made no such formal announcement, perhaps the SEC’s established precedence will inspire other conferences and institutions to do the same. If that’s the case, certainly more players will consider the risk versus reward of playing in 2020.
While it’s scary for college football fans to consider that certain household names would consider staying out in 2020, giving them the option to do so is certainly the right thing to do. Wherever you are on the subject of closures, masks, and all the other issues related to college athletics and the COVID-19 pandemic, college athletics programs should put the student first. In this case, one would expect the Notre Dame Athletics Department to do the same.
With odd hours and perhaps a season on the horizon, this SEC proclamation could be the next domino to fall into what will be a very atypical college football season. There is at least a small faction of fans on social media that suggests teams “clear” in the 2020 season and use whatever happens to be a stepping stone to reload in 2021.
It’s hard to understand that college football may be less meaningful in 2020, but as I’ve always said, less meaningful football is better than no football.
