Coronavirus shows college football needs ‘one voice,’ TCU athletic director says
The Power 5 commissioners have been speaking on an almost daily basis since the coronavirus pandemic wiped out conference basketball tournaments and March Madness in early March.
As Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said about his colleagues in announcing his league’s decision to proceed cautiously with football this fall: “Believe it or not, we actually like and respect one another other than the fact that we try and beat each other’s brains out when we compete. We actually spend a lot more time collaborating than we do anything else.”
That collaboration, though, has resulted in a fractured football season amid the pandemic. The Big 12 has joined the SEC and ACC to go forward with football. The Big Ten and Pac-12 postponed their seasons.
All of it has left fans across the country scratching their heads in response to the seeming dysfunction within the sport. As far as TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati is concerned, the fissures among Power 5 conferences simply showcases the need for the sport to have “one voice.”
“Right now, we don’t have that,” Donati said. “Whether that’s in the form of one commissioner that oversees it all, I don’t know. But I can tell you we’re lacking that voice and that was apparent in these decisions. That’s something I don’t know how it gets addressed, but that’s something that was pretty apparent during the entire decision-making process.
“Everyone was making their own decisions and then it becomes difficult to pick up pieces afterward.”
The Big Ten is facing a significant amount of backlash from its decision with head coaches and parents publicly expressing their displeasure. The NCAA has become an afterthought throughout the ordeal.
The NCAA has no control over big-time college football as the decision to play rests in the hands of the conferences. The bowl games and College Football Playoff are also out of the NCAA’s control.
The NCAA recently canceled the fall championships it does control, including soccer, volleyball and FCS football. And its chief medical officer, Brian Hainline, has made national TV appearances, including telling CNN last weekend: “We’re not in a place today where we could safely play sports.”
But Big 12, SEC and ACC continue to hold training camp practices with the mindset that games will start next month.
Every conference is fending for itself. The geographic regions represented by each conference also play a part, as the pandemic is more severe in some areas than others. The conferences also vary in how they carry out medical advice.
As much as Bowlsby talked about respecting and collaborating with fellow commissioners, the telling takeaway is what he said when it came down to the Big 12’s decision to move forward last week, albeit cautiously and knowing that it could be halted at any point.
“In the end, I think we all have to do what’s best for our individual conferences,” Bowlsby said.
