(Note: This story was updated Wednesday after the Ivy League’s announcement.)
As expected, the Ivy League announced Wednesday that it will not play any sports this fall.
There still remains the strong possibility that the Ivy League could play its football season in the spring, according to TMG Sports, but the league could also cancel the season and wait until next September to resume football.
“A decision on the remaining winter and spring sports competition calendar, and on whether fall sport competition would be feasible in the spring, will be determined at a later date,” the Ivy League said in a statement that it posted on Twitter.
Consistent with campus health & safety policies across the League, The Ivy League Presidents outline phased-in approach to intercollegiate athletics activity, including no competition prior to the end of the fall semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
— The Ivy League (@IvyLeague) July 8, 2020
📰» https://t.co/7iwQGnECsT pic.twitter.com/DYUFoFshA4
The decision will impact several Dallas-area football players who will be freshmen at Ivy League schools this fall. It’s a decision that might impact the rest of college football — and possibly have a trickle-down effect on high school football.
“I hope so. It’s the smart move ... and the only move that will safely allow a football season of any kind,” Euless Trinity coach Chris Jensen said. “The powers that be were all just waiting on someone to make an intelligent decision and have the guts to ‘go first.’”
The Ivy League could also serve as a possible model for what a shortened high school football regular season could look like. The Ivy League doesn’t participate in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs, and TMG Sports reported that the conference is considering shortening its season from 10 games to seven and playing only conference opponents — possibly in a spring season that would begin in April and conclude in mid-May.
Hurst L.D. Bell coach Mike Glaze has heard another possibility that Texas’ governing body for public school athletics might consider.
“There could be another possible option being looked at by the UIL,” he said. “Condensing the seasons and playing all sports from December/January to June. Not sure that is possible, but I would be interested to hear the plan.”
The UIL hopes to have a football season this fall. Starting practices Aug. 3 and beginning games Aug. 27-29 is looking less likely, as COVID-19 numbers continue to spike in Texas — and based on what happened after college teams returned to campus for voluntary workouts.
On June 20, Sports Illustrated reported that at least 30 of the 115 players on the roster for national champion LSU had been quarantined because they either tested positive or were found to have had contact with those who tested positive. As of June 26, national runner-up Clemson reported 37 players — nearly one-third of its roster — had tested positive in a month, according to ESPN.
“I think the NFL, it’s going to be really interesting what they do. The dynamics of football could change tremendously if we all do not do the same thing,” said former Cedar Hill football coach Joey McGuire, the associate head coach and outside linebackers coach at Baylor. “If you think about it, midyear graduates in high school, draft-eligible college players, just the impact on the game that it could have if we’re not all on the same page.”
“I think each entity has to make the best decision for what they have going on, but it would definitely help if we followed suit, if everybody is on the same page.”
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Even though Ivy League schools compete in the FCS, Wednesday’s announcement could impact the Football Bowl Subdivision. An administrator at a “power five” school told The Athletic, “My suspicion is that the majority of presidents in the FBS are uncomfortable with the notion of playing football this fall but for various reasons don’t want to be the first to step out and say that. So, more than anything else, that decision provides the cover they need. I expect it’ll be a big domino.”
DeSoto coach Claude Mathis, a former assistant at SMU, believes a chain reaction of decisions is possible.
“If you see the SEC [move football to the spring], if you see the Big 12 doing it, I think you’ll see more of the domino effect starting to take place. SEC, ACC, I think that is when it will start,” he said. “I don’t know if [the UIL] will do the same thing, but I think it will come across their table and they will probably look a little bit deeper into it.”
Something to remember: The Ivy League set the tone for what happened in basketball when the coronavirus outbreak started in March.
On March 10, the Ivy League became the first Division I conference to cancel its men’s and women’s conference tournaments. The next day, the NBA suspended its season after Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.
On March 12, major Division I leagues canceled the remainder of their conference tournaments, and the NCAA Tournament was canceled. When that happened, the UIL announced the same day that it was suspending the remainder of its boys basketball state tournament after four semifinal games had been played.
Many Ivy League students won’t even be on campus this fall.
Harvard won’t have in-class learning all year, and only up to 40% of its undergraduate students will be allowed on campus per semester, prioritizing freshmen in the fall. Yale will open in the fall without any sophomores on campus, and most undergraduate courses will be taught remotely.
“I’m disappointed as a freshman going in that we possibly don’t have the opportunity to play this fall, but I think they have our best interests at heart as students,” said Mitchell Tyler, a three-star defensive end from McKinney who will be playing at Yale. “I would like to play as soon as I can play. If that happens to be spring, then I’m completely cool with that.”
Ivy League football players haven’t been tested for COVID-19 because they weren’t scheduled to report to school for football workouts until Aug. 20. That is why some recruits from D-FW schools wish the Ivy League would have waited a little longer to make a final decision about fall sports.
“I think it’s a little too early and a little unfair to just rule Ivy League out of playing in the fall when we haven’t even reported yet or tested positive ourselves,” said Wills Meyer, a wide receiver from Southlake Carroll who will be playing at Columbia. “I don’t know if come spring and the cases still haven’t dropped, what they would do then.”
Running back Ty’son Edwards from Flower Mound Marcus, who will be Meyer’s teammate at Columbia, doesn’t agree with the timing of the announcement. But he understands the reasoning if football does get moved to the spring.
“I think they probably jumped the gun a little too early,” he said, “but COVID has really hit hard. I guess it will give us more time to get prepared and get ready.”
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