The Big 12 Conference is still waiting for me to play a full season of soccer this fall, but every day, as some dominoes drop, that hope seems less and less likely.
Although Big Ten and Pac-12 have already announced their intentions to play conference-only schedules this fall, the other three Power 5 leagues, Big 12, ACC and SEC, have yet to reveal any alternative plans other than playing as scheduled. .
Obviously, however, officials at those conferences also have additional options that they may be forced to implement.
Those options would apparently include:
Plan A – A full schedule this fall
Plan B: go to a conference-only whiteboard
Plan C: divide the season between fall and spring
Plan D – Move all games to spring
Plan E: some other variation
Plan F: cancel the season completely
Undoubtedly, canceling the football season would be the last option due to the financial ramifications it would entail for all athletic departments. It is estimated that WVU alone would lose at least $ 40 million if it does not have a soccer season.
All levels of soccer are making similar decisions about next fall. Because the start of the regular season is only five weeks away, those decisions must be made quickly.
Many are starting to reveal their choices now, while others, like the Big 12, are trying to wait a little longer before making a move.
The NCAA Football Oversight Committee, chaired by WVU Director of Athletics Shane Lyons, sent a letter on the matter to the NCAA Board of Governors, urging that group to delay cancellation or postpone the championships. autumn sports. The Board of Governors will meet on Friday, July 24 and may, but is not guaranteed, propose or vote a cancellation or postponement. Such a decision would affect all fall sports championships except FBS bowling, which is not administered by the NCAA.
The NFL is gearing up to open its preseason camp in hopes of playing its full schedule this fall, though the number of fans who will be able to attend those games is still in doubt. Philadelphia city officials have already said the Eagles will not be able to have fans in the stands at Lincoln Financial Field, and that other professional teams may be under similar limitations.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said college sports events in his state can be played this fall, but fans will not be allowed in the stands for those home games. That means Syracuse and other universities in New York will play empty sands at home, if there is to be a fall season.
In New Mexico, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is urging the University of New Mexico and the State of New Mexico to postpone all of their fall sports. If they follow that suggestion, the Wolves and Aggies would be the first FBS shows to completely postpone / cancel their 2020 season.
However, many others at the FCS, Division II and Division III level have already done so.
On Wednesday, the Mountain East Conference, a D-II league of 13 teams of which 10 are West Virginia universities, announced that it would delay the start of all competition for its fall sports until Oct. 1. Any competitions in soccer and other teams’ sports that were originally scheduled for September will now be carried over to the spring semester. And of course that is subject to additional changes if COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the coming months.
The MEC is far from being the first to alter its fall slate. Between the FCS conferences, Ivy, Patriot, Colonial, MEAC and SWAC have already postponed the fall competition and plan to play their games in the spring. However, a couple of CAA teams, James Madison and Elon, are making arrangements to continue playing this fall, if the NCAA maintains its FCS playoffs in November and December.
Several Division II conferences, such as the MEC, are making changes. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, of which Shepherd University (W.Va.) is a member, suspended soccer and all other sports this fall with a view to moving those seasons to spring.
In total, 10 D-II and eight D-III leagues have already postponed all fall sports competitions with the idea that each will hopefully play in the spring.
Dominoes are also falling in the ranks of the high school.
In West Virginia, the WVSSAC delayed the start of the soccer season by one week and also delayed the start of other fall sports.
High school football in California, Virginia, New Mexico and Washington, DC, was postponed entirely until spring.
Arizona, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington state are, like West Virginia, delaying their high school soccer seasons by a week or two. New Jersey high schools won’t start the griddle competition until October 1, and the largest rankings in Texas (6A and 5A) are delaying the start of their high school seasons by five weeks. When Texas high school soccer is forced to change, that should give everyone an idea of how serious things are.
For those who haven’t made a decision yet on what to do with the fall sports calendar, like the Big 12, time is running out to make a change. If pre-season soccer practice starts in West Virginia on August 7 and no announcement has been made about the fall roster alteration, chances are things are basically going as planned.
However, with so many dominoes falling, it seems increasingly inevitable that the Big 12 and the others will soon have to make some changes as well.
