Kansas State AD Gene Taylor outlines seven contingency plans for football season
There’s still no telling exactly what college football will look like next season.
When will games begin? How many games will be played? Will fans be allowed to watch games from inside campus stadiums?
Those questions remain unanswered four months before teams are scheduled to return to the gridiron as the sporting universe remains on pause because of the coronavirus pandemic.
But there are several possibilities. Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor says the Big 12 is currently discussing seven primary options for the upcoming football season, and he outlined them during a conversation on Friday.
- Starting the season as scheduled in early September
- Starting the season in late September and ending games in December
- Starting the season in October and playing a conference-only schedule
- Starting the season in September and playing a conference-only schedule
- Waiting until 2021 and starting the season in January
- Waiting until 2021 and starting the season in March
- Splitting up the season with six games in the fall and six games in the spring
Taylor thinks all seven options are on the table right now, but he is more optimistic about certain plans than others. He said starting the season on time “is going to be a long shot.” He isn’t sure why teams would start the season in September and scrub all non-nonconference games. There would be many moving parts involved with a split season. And he thinks the idea of beginning the season in January is particularly far-fetched.
“This is just me talking, but playing a full season starting in January and playing through March is a crazy plan,” Taylor said. “There are some parts of the country that I’m not sure I want to go to in January and February.”
But there is no perfect plan. At least not right now.
“Some say that we should start in March and end in May, which may be a little more palatable from a weather perspective,” Taylor said. “But how are you going to handle the draft? And then you’ve got players playing all the way through May and then they are going to come back in the fall. Some of those logistics are crazy to think about.”
Even delaying football season a few weeks could be problematic, as teams have already booked hotels for road games on specific dates. Taylor said K-State football coach Chris Klieman has wondered aloud what might happen if the Wildcats’ first road game, scheduled for Sept. 26 at West Virginia, is postponed what would the team do if replacement hotel options aren’t available?
Perhaps K-State could travel on game day and return immediately after, eliminating the need for lodging? That is one of many possible scenarios that won’t be explored until a firm plan is set in place.
It is also unclear if bowl games could be held at new times next season.
“We are going to talk more about it next week,” Taylor said, “and hone in on the top three or four options that we really think are feasible.”
One thing that has become clear for Taylor after talking with his peers is that football teams are hoping for a six-week buildup to the season after players are allowed to return to campus. That should give players enough time to return to football shape and go through preseason camp after spending months in quarantine.
Whatever plan college football ultimately goes with, Taylor is gaining confidence that games will be played next season.
“Whether we play in front of 10 fans or 20,000 fans, I couldn’t tell you,” Taylor said. “But I do think everybody is trying to figure out a way to play a football season. At this point, we are trying to figure out when we will play a football season.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 2:42 PM with the headline "Kansas State AD Gene Taylor outlines seven contingency plans for football season."