MU’s Sterk on life with no sports during COVID: ‘It’s just been crap (for) 6 months’
Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk said he feels “pretty dang optimistic” when it comes to playing a football season — especially compared to a few weeks ago, when the Big Ten and Pac-12 canceled their fall seasons.
But Sterk suggested you ask him again in two weeks, saying it’s a “crucial” time in determining whether there will be football this fall or not.
“Right now, we’ve been progressing and taking our little baby steps and all,” Sterk said in a video call Monday. “We need to continue to progress. If high school football or the pandemic rises to a real serious level here in Boone County and across the footprint of the SEC, then that changes the game.”
It’s a critical juncture because University of Missouri students started classes Monday. The university reported 159 students, or 0.5% of the student body, tested positive for the novel coronavirus and are currently in isolation.
Preventing a COVID-19 outbreak on the Mizzou football team is key, Sterk said, as those student-athletes mingle in classes and other social settings. It’s a wait-and-see situation as the modified 10-game, SEC-only 2020 season approaches, with a scheduled kickoff Sept. 26.
The Tigers and first-year MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz are working through preseason camp and are currently done with five of their 25 allotted practices.
“I was talking to (MU men’s basketball) coach (Cuonzo) Martin: We need some sports to occur, we need some contests to occur,” Sterk said. “We’ve been going through the past six months and it’s just been crap the whole six months with all these different issues and things. We’re missing the highs and lows of that competition.”
Sterk reiterated his stance Monday that “as long as campus is operational, then you can have sports.” When MU athletes returned to campus for summer workouts, the university was open to veterinary medicine students and others involved in research.
Some universities have already canceled all in-person classes, including North Carolina, Notre Dame and Michigan State. Missouri isn’t at that point and is still conducting hybrid courses — a mix of in-person and online.
Sterk said he didn’t know the specific number of student-athletes who’ve tested positive for COVID-19, saying it’s mixed into the aggregate of the university’s overall figures.
“I think we’re in as good a shape as possible,” Sterk said. “I’d rather have zero cases, but I’m also a realist and understand that. But I think we haven’t seen a massive spike or anything like that occur.”
Another layer of uncertainty comes from the NCAA’s blanket waiver granting an extra year of eligibility to Division I fall athletes. Sterk said the details of this arrangement, including how many students will want to return for another season, are still being evaluated. The financial implications will also need to be navigated, Sterk said.
Sterk projected about a 20% revenue shortfall earlier this summer because of COVID-19’s impact. The school has instituted furloughs and layoffs in Mizzou’s athletic department.
Sterks believes Mizzou is in better shape than Big Ten schools, which will not have a football season at all this fall. He said the Tigers are eager to play a season, and to do so as safely as possible.
“There’s been a lot of planning and it’s still continuing, Sterk said. “We’ve been dealing with the things as we’ve done it and continue that, but at the same time (we’re) pushing things back as far as we can to get as much information as possible before we make those hard decisions.”
Fans at Faurot
Mizzou plans to host fans at Faurot Field this fall, should there be a season, at 25% capacity. The SEC has mandated that all fans at stadiums this fall wear masks.
Sterk said Mizzou also plans to have in-house policies in place to further protect fans. One such example: fans will be asked to circulate within specific zones on game days, whether at gates, restrooms or concessions. The goal: limiting interactions.
“We’re going to need cooperation from people to be able to do it,” Sterk said. “If you can’t social distance, you need to wear that mask. We’ll have groups of social groupings, if you will. But we’ll also ... outline, ‘Here’s how we would like you to handle yourself while you’re here.’ We need cooperation.”
Fall sports
When the Division I Council recommended fall sports shut down this year, it didn’t affect the MU football team. The Football Bowl Subdivision, of which Mizzou is a member, conducts its own championship in the form of the College Football Playoff.
The decision did affect Mizzou’s non-revenue sports, however, including soccer, cross country and volleyball. Sterk said the SEC is still determining details of its fall sports plan and what competition will look like. Conferences may conduct their own championships, for instance; there just won’t be an NCAA-sanctioned championship event at the end of the season.
Sterk said that if fall seasons are held for non-revenue sports, the Tigers will likely limit attendance at those competitions, too. He noted that the Hearnes Center, where the MU volleyball team plays, could still hold a lot of people, even with capacity limited by COVID.
“We’re looking at how that impacts our fall sports and looking at possible schedules and options,” Sterk said. “They (the SEC) didn’t give all the answers as it was announced.”