When Will College Sports Return?

COULD AUBURN BE PLAYING IN AN EMPTY STADIUM THIS FALL?

The national pandemic has affected almost all of us in some way, including our coverage of Auburn Sports here at Track ‘Em Tigers. At the end of March, we announced in an article that there’s not much we can bring our readers due to the cancellation of all collegiate sports.

In the interim, not much has changed in the sports world as the coronavirus still has a strong hold on our nation.

The Kentucky Derby was the latest national sporting event to be affected. The 146^th Run for the Roses was scheduled to take place Saturday but had to be postponed until the fall. And even then it’s not clear if fans will be allowed in the stands.

The latest on the start of Major League Baseball is games “may” begin toward the end of June and, again, possibly in front of empty stadiums.

NASCAR is the first professional sport to announce plans to return. A formal announcement came this week stating the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina will renew the season on May 17th. However, there will be no fans in the stands or in future race events until further notice.

At present, the NFL is looking at alternative plans that would push the season back to October or November and have the games be played in empty stadiums, according to ESPN. 

Probably the most asked question by sports fans is, “Will there be college football this fall?” There has been a lot of speculation by talking heads but the real answer is … no one really knows.

Nevertheless, the signs are not favorable as college campuses are closed with no certainty as to when they will open.

ESPN reported on a teleconference college commissioners had with Mike Pence, Chairman of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, telling the Vice President they would not allow the start of football at closed campuses.

Reliable reports are the commissioners are looking at various options ranging from playing a reduced schedule to moving the games to the spring of 2021, to playing in front of empty stadiums.

When they do settle on a plan of action, it still might not mean there will be football. The ultimate decision of when college football returns will come from the federal and state governments along with the new NCAA Medical Advisory panel.

And just like so many businesses, schools, and churches, we still do not know when we will return to our normal activity here at Track ‘Em Tigers. We wait, and hope, and pray for our nation. We look forward to the day when we can only see the present situation through the prism of the rearview mirror. Until that day arrives, stay safe and …

War Eagle!