TCU’s going to online-only courses this summer. How that affects football, athletics.
With TCU announcing its plans for an online-only summer course load amid the coronavirus pandemic, most students won’t be on campus until early August. That would seem to suggest that student-athletes wouldn’t be allowed back on campus until early August as well.
However, TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said that isn’t necessarily the case, describing the two as “mutually exclusive.”
TCU had to make a decision on the summer courses to allow professors and faculty enough time to prepare and formulate a plan for the curriculum. That doesn’t necessarily mean students won’t be allowed back on campus at some point in the summer, if it’s deemed safe for them to return.
“To take it one step further,” Donati said, “we could have student-athletes who are here this summer training for the fall, assuming it’s been cleared as safe for them to do so and for us to be here providing services for them. I could absolutely see the two happening.”
As of now, the Big 12 has prohibited schools from any organized, in-person team activities of any type, in any location until May 31.
Prep time
Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork told the Star-Telegram earlier this week that programs needed at least 45-60 days to prepare for the season. Donati agreed with that timeline.
With that being said, for the football season to start on time in late August or early September, student-athletes must be reporting to campuses in early July. That’s why there’s speculation of football season possibly being disrupted by COVID-19 if students aren’t on campus in the summer.
“You need at least 45-60 days to get your players in game shape,” Donati said. “You can’t just say, OK, fall camp starts tomorrow. We’re playing a game at Cal Berkeley in a month.
“We’re doing everything out of the health and safety of our student-athletes. To throw them in harm’s way would not be the right thing to do.”
Cal flip?
Speaking of Cal, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he doesn’t expect stadiums to be filled by the masses when football season starts in September. TCU opens its season at Cal on Sept. 5.
Donati said he hasn’t reached out to Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton yet about possibly flipping the home-and-home series, or playing elsewhere if there’s a safer venue at that time.
“I’ll reach out to him soon just to extend an olive branch and start a potential conversation,” Donati said. “If we determine that the game could be played somewhere else more safely, and this would go for any of our opponents, it’s something we should consider. We should put every potential scenario on the table for the 2020 season.”
