Coronavirus

[robertearle]

Re: Coronavirus

Two bits of 'gallows humor' occurred to me just now.

I was flipping through channels on TV, and I came across a game from the Wisconsin high school girls' state basketball tournament. And I was about to change away from it when I thought "watch a few minutes... it may be the last sports on TV you'll see in a long, long time".

Then I went past ESPN and Fox Sports Wisconsin, and though "Geez, what the hell are they gonna do with all that air time for the next couple months?!?"

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Coronavirus

And with the horrifying lack of testing going on, there could be dozens or more athletes who already have it. We need to take action now to slow the spread.

It should be noted that "slow the spread" is what's at play now. At this point, the virus has escaped containment, and we're all going to be exposed to it eventually, though that doesn't mean that we'll all catch it. But slowing it down is still important. If we don't, there's a good chance that it overwhelms the health care system. There are only about 100,000 ventilators in the United States to use to treat the critically ill, and it's not like all of the other conditions for which people need them have gone away just because Covid-19 arrived. There are also limited numbers of hospital beds. So, we need to stretch out the timeline for people getting ill.

[Offsides Guy]

It should be noted that "slow the spread" is what's at play now. At this point, the virus has escaped containment, and we're all going to be exposed to it eventually, though that doesn't mean that we'll all catch it. But slowing it down is still important. If we don't, there's a good chance that it overwhelms the health care system. There are only about 100,000 ventilators in the United States to use to treat the critically ill, and it's not like all of the other conditions for which people need them have gone away just because Covid-19 arrived. There are also limited numbers of hospital beds. So, we need to stretch out the timeline for people getting ill.

Yes. Thank you!

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Coronavirus

I had been wondering what this would mean for the eligibility of athletes in sports that have had seasons cancelled. Apparently, I'm not the only one, as the commissioners of the SEC and the Big 12 have said that this is under discussion. I have to imagine that, for winter sports like hockey, the eligibility status of athletes will be unchanged. A player who was a senior this year (redshirt or otherwise) is still done as a college player.

But for the spring sports that are just getting started, this is a potential nightmare. Does this mean that every athlete on the teams is taking a redshirt? What about players who have already been redshirted once? Do they get to take a second? And what is this going to mean for incoming freshmen who were expecting scholarship money if the entire senior class sticks around?

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: Coronavirus

I had been wondering what this would mean for the eligibility of athletes in sports that have had seasons cancelled. Apparently, I'm not the only one, as the commissioners of the SEC and the Big 12 have said that this is under discussion. I have to imagine that, for winter sports like hockey, the eligibility status of athletes will be unchanged. A player who was a senior this year (redshirt or otherwise) is still done as a college player.

But for the spring sports that are just getting started, this is a potential nightmare. Does this mean that every athlete on the teams is taking a redshirt? What about players who have already been redshirted once? Do they get to take a second? And what is this going to mean for incoming freshmen who were expecting scholarship money if the entire senior class sticks around?

The NCAA always allows for special circumstances, like a medical redshirt even if they have already redshirted in the past.

True, for the winter sports, they already played this year. It's just like if your team didn't make the playoffs. You're done.

But for the Spring sports, I got to think the NCAA will grant everyone a redshirt if you ask. If they don't, they are going to look really, really bad, and the last thing the NCAA wants is more bad press on how they treat the athletes.

[joecct]

The NCAA always allows for special circumstances, like a medical redshirt even if they have already redshirted in the past.

True, for the winter sports, they already played this year. It's just like if your team didn't make the playoffs. You're done.

But for the Spring sports, I got to think the NCAA will grant everyone a redshirt if you ask. If they don't, they are going to look really, really bad, and the last thing the NCAA wants is more bad press on how they treat the athletes.

Duke lacrosse

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Coronavirus

But for the Spring sports, I got to think the NCAA will grant everyone a redshirt if you ask. If they don't, they are going to look really, really bad, and the last thing the NCAA wants is more bad press on how they treat the athletes.

I agree that this is almost certainly what they're going to do, but it causes problems for incoming freshmen, and classes after them, for scholarships and playing time. Teams are going to have five full classes of players on the roster. It won't get solved until programs simply recruit fewer players several years down the line.

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: Coronavirus

I agree that this is almost certainly what they're going to do, but it causes problems for incoming freshmen, and classes after them, for scholarships and playing time. Teams are going to have five full classes of players on the roster. It won't get solved until programs simply recruit fewer players several years down the line.

That's a good point. I didn't think of the unintended consequences. Especially since there will be a mass of redshirt exceptions.

[NUProf]

Re: Coronavirus

That's a good point. I didn't think of the unintended consequences. Especially since there will be a mass of redshirt exceptions.

This really depends on how many are student/athletes, and for how many the "student" part is a joke. Many of the real students will just move on and graduate on time, and they won't affect roster sizes at all. The ones who are not really students will create a numbers crunch.

[Offsides Guy]

This really depends on how many are student/athletes, and for how many the "student" part is a joke. Many of the real students will just move on and graduate on time, and they won't affect roster sizes at all. The ones who are not really students will create a numbers crunch.

That’s a bit harsh. There are plenty of talented, competitive athletes who are also serious students who would give anything to get a cancelled season back. Especially in women’s sports where college is almost always the end of the line.

[Timothy A]

Re: Coronavirus

It’s nuts. Instead of cancelling wouldn’t a delay or something have worked, say in a couple of weeks or until things maybe get better ? If it doesn’t at least u tried. And if u have to change the setup, do it. Instead of a frozen 4 have a frozen 8.
Sounds corny, but hey......at least they’d be playing. No fans, even family not allowed. Free streaming. As for location just figure something out. These girls (and men’s teams) have worked their asses off and I especially feel for the seniors.

I agree with this. A postponement to see how things would develop would not be an unreasonable thing to try. If you postpone and then cancel, at least you tried. A final 8 at one site would have been really cool. 4 games Friday, 2 Saturday, 1 Monday night to give the legs a rest for the final 2.

I just think since all inter-United States travel is not at all limited, why pull the rug out from under .00000001% of the population? There's no reason the games could not have been still played without spectators. Right now if events cancellations stop 1% of the population of the US from intermingling, that is a drop in the bucket.

If we really want to get serious about this, ban all interstate travel (and all foreign flights into the country, close the Mexican and Canadian borders too) except for cargo so the supply chain is not broken. Then you truly contain this.

[TonyTheTiger20]

That’s a bit harsh. There are plenty of talented, competitive athletes who are also serious students who would give anything to get a cancelled season back. Especially in women’s sports where college is almost always the end of the line.

Not to mention the ones suddenly able to work towards a Master's

[4and20]

Re: Coronavirus

Well, than I stand corrected. Would that apply only to the Frozen Four? Or the semi’s as well? OSU is flying commercial this weekend and had to split their team up on to two different flights. My contact had said that was because the NCAA does not pay for private charters. Must have been more to it.

I may have my weekend wrong but I think you are talking about the March 14th DI Women's hockey quarter finals. Basketball March Madness would not have started until the following weekend when the NCAA would have all the charter jets available. I believe the NCAA would be paying the travel cost for Ohio State this weekend but like I mentioned earlier if they want a charter they would have had to pay the difference between the commercial cost and charter cost.

On a somewhat related issue, maybe the Hockey DI & DIII both men's and women's schools should work with their championship committees to match up dates with March Madness when the charter jets would be more available. I believe a number of years back when SNC was defending champion and made the final's the next season the NCAA had them flying commercial changing planes with multiple stops and long bus ride to get to the finals, with Stevens Point flying charter direct. The SNC President call the NCAA on Monday and told them SNC wasn't coming. The NCAA send a jet!

[Still Eeyore]

Re: Coronavirus

I agree with this. A postponement to see how things would develop would not be an unreasonable thing to try. If you postpone and then cancel, at least you tried. A final 8 at one site would have been really cool. 4 games Friday, 2 Saturday, 1 Monday night to give the legs a rest for the final 2.

I just think since all inter-United States travel is not at all limited, why pull the rug out from under .00000001% of the population? There's no reason the games could not have been still played without spectators. Right now if events cancellations stop 1% of the population of the US from intermingling, that is a drop in the bucket..

Apparently, the NCAA considered this, and ended up deciding that it wasn't feasible. One element of that is that it really isn't under the control of the NCAA. Keep in mind that postponing or cancelling wasn't really the NCAA's decision. They were still planning to go forward without fans when a number of schools and conferences, including Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas, informed them that they would not participate in any tournaments. It was only after their hands were forced that the NCAA decided not to play in empty stadiums.

And any decision to reschedule would similarly be subject to the schools' participation. Most NCAA member universities are closing down their campuses entirely, likely for the rest of the academic year. Until they reopen, there's no way for their athletic teams to come together for practice or much of anything else. Reopening campuses isn't something that the NCAA has any control over, and they likely would have faced a situation where some of the schools that would be invited to tournaments likely would not have done so, leaving them with an incomplete field.

That's on top of the logistical problems of trying to find venues and all of the other problems of rescheduling.

[Sieve1]

Apparently, the NCAA considered this, and ended up deciding that it wasn't feasible. One element of that is that it really isn't under the control of the NCAA. Keep in mind that postponing or cancelling wasn't really the NCAA's decision. They were still planning to go forward without fans when a number of schools and conferences, including Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas, informed them that they would not participate in any tournaments. It was only after their hands were forced that the NCAA decided not to play in empty stadiums.

And any decision to reschedule would similarly be subject to the schools' participation. Most NCAA member universities are closing down their campuses entirely, likely for the rest of the academic year. Until they reopen, there's no way for their athletic teams to come together for practice or much of anything else. Reopening campuses isn't something that the NCAA has any control over, and they likely would have faced a situation where some of the schools that would be invited to tournaments likely would not have done so, leaving them with an incomplete field.

That's on top of the logistical problems of trying to find venues and all of the other problems of rescheduling.

Colleges have sent students home and there’s no way to justify keeping a handful of athletes on campus because colleges won’t be able to provide any support. I have a D1 athlete in another sport who just spent spring break on an empty campus b/c practices and games were continuing for the spring sport. Campus amenities, including food service, are bare bones over break under normal circumstances, so it would be even worse now if they stayed. It breaks my heart that their season just ended but seeing what’s going on on the world right now (and what is yet to come) and considering what would happen if my kid did actually get sick, or had to quarantine or whatever... I’m ok with him coming home instead of being stranded. Don’t listen to Trump- listen to Fauci. It’s going to get much worse before it gets better.