Players, coaches — and even Trump — say #WeWantToPlay college football this fall
College football is in jeopardy of being canceled this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a Stadium report on Monday, the Mountain West became the second Group of Five conference to shut down football for the fall, joining the MAC.
No Power Five conference has officially called off the season yet, although the Big Ten is reportedly close to postponing or canceling its season. The Pac-12 has also been linked as being likely to pull the plug on the season.
The ACC, meanwhile, is “moving forward in an attempt to play,” according to Sports Illustrated. And SEC commissioner Greg Sankey posted on Twitter the importance of staying patient and taking time to make decisions during this pandemic.
“Can we play? I don’t know,” Sankey wrote on Monday. “We haven’t stopped trying. We support, educate and care for student-athletes every day, and will continue to do so ... every day.”
The Big 12 board of directors and athletic directors are expected to meet with the league’s medical advisers on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments.
In other words, anybody’s guess is a good guess as to what will happen to the 2020 college football season.
While there seems to be movement toward canceling the fall season, players, coaches and, yes, even President Donald Trump have joined a viral social media campaign within the last 24 hours with the hashtag #WeWantToPlay.
Trump quote tweeted a post by Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, writing: “The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled. #WeWantToPlay”
Trump later added: “Play College Football!”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott echoed that he supports college football being played this fall as well in an interview with KWTX-TV in Waco on Monday. Abbott pointed to a social media post by Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer.
Brewer wrote: “I speak on behalf of myself and our team. We trust our medical staff here at Baylor University, and we believe they are going to put us in the best position possible to be safe. #WeWantToPlay.”
Abbott liked seeing that sentiment from Brewer and other players, saying: “What I’m saying in the Big 12 Conference as well as elsewhere is that players really want to play. ... I hope they’ll be able to do it.”
While that is newsworthy and uplifting to fans who are hopeful to see a season, it’s unlikely to sway what medical experts are telling the college administrators about the virus.
As one source described the social media push, “It doesn’t change what the doctors are telling us, so I’m not sure how much of an impact it could have. We have a responsibility to protect student-athletes.”
For now, all hope isn’t lost. At least for another day.
The Austin American-Statesman reported on Monday that high-ranking officials at the University of Texas want to play this season. A source told the Star-Telegram that TCU is of a similar mindset.
Several TCU players joined the #WeWantToPlay movement, as well as coaches on Monday. Among the notable coaches to speak out on going forward with a season included Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, Alabama’s Nick Saban, Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Nebraska’s Scott Frost and SMU’s Sonny Dykes.
Frost went as far as saying Nebraska would be open to “any and all options” to play this season even if the Big Ten shut down.
“Our university is committed to playing football any way we possibly can, regardless of what anybody else does,” Frost told reporters on Monday. “I look forward to the opportunity to let our guys get on the field and show the progress they’ve made in a safe environment.”
This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 6:10 PM.
