College Football Season Could Be Shortened, N.C.A.A. Chief Tells Congress

Colleges and universities have essentially accepted that some campuses will face outbreaks, including some around their athletic communities, and have focused much of their attention on containing the spread of the virus while preserving some semblance of normalcy.

An abridged schedule, if it comes to pass, would be jarring to fervent college football fans. But any games are financial lifelines for schools that would each stand to lose millions of dollars if the season were completely scrubbed.

Emmert was one of five sports executives to brief influential lawmakers during a call organized by Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the second-ranking House Republican. The leaders of NASCAR, the N.F.L., the N.H.L. and the PGA Tour also participated, congressional officials said.

“They all said they’re going to be respectful of whatever state we’re operating in has for criteria in terms of crowd sizes and all that,” Walden recalled.

Other leagues are aiming for robust schedules beginning this summer and into the fall, potentially crowding calendars with a succession of live sporting events following months of cancellations.

The pandemic hit college sports especially hard, forcing the cancellations of the national men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and depriving universities of crucial revenues.

But the N.C.A.A. has acknowledged that, despite its membership’s financial reliance on major events, like football games, it may take a different approach than professional leagues. And its approach may be scrambled from one state or conference to the next.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/sports/ncaafootball/ncaa-college-football-season-shortened.html