Southern leagues aim to forge ahead
SEC, ACC, Big 12 try to do shortened season as others have shut down
Folks in the South aren’t giving up on their beloved fall tradition of college football just yet.
While other conferences have conceded the fall to COVID-19, the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 are holding out hope they can play a shortened season with uncertain national championship prospects.
From Oklahoma to Alabama to South Carolina, a number of states don’t have NFL teams and college football is king. Weddings and other events are planned around game days and states practically stand still for showdowns like Alabama-auburn and Oklahomatexas.
“It’s so deeply rooted here and part of the culture of social life, tailgating and all that,” said Charles Reagan Wilson, professor emeritus at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi.
The Pac-12, Big Ten and some lower-profile leagues won’t play football this fall because of the pandemic. ACC teams? They are already practicing in preparation for a Sept. 12 start and the SEC and Big 12 are going ahead, too, with conference openers set for Sept. 26.
Still, powerhouse Alabama and other SEC teams head into Monday’s practices knowing college football is still on for them, but not guaranteed.
“That’s the only mood I feel like is going around is we don’t know if we’re playing and we really want to play,’” Alabama tailback Najee Harris said Friday. He then talked about his younger teammates.
“We try to tell them don’t go to parties, but like it’s kind of hard to tell somebody not to go to a party in college,” he said. “We understand it, but we’re kind of just telling them, ‘If you do go to a party, like make sure you guys are overly safe.’ ”
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who led the Tigers to national titles in 2016 and 2018, said “the virus doesn’t go away” without football.
“Yes, guys could still get it and I could still get it,” Swinney said. “But we all have to make our risk assessments in life. It’s always been that way. It’s not going to be any different in the spring . ... Our football team has made its decision. Hopefully, people will respect our decision and allow us to play.”
Many fans are certainly hoping they are able to since Saturday game days would provide a sense of normalcy. That is true for players, too. Campus is seen as a safe haven for some.
“Back where a lot of us are from, it’s not good for us to go back home right now during this time,” said Louisville quarterback Micale Cunningham, who is from Birmingham, Ala. “I mean, you can catch the virus like you can catch it here, just being out on the street.”
Meanwhile, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said nine Sooners tested positive for COVID-19 after he gave his players a week break from team activities. And a group of Ohio State football players’ parents Saturday joined parents of players at Iowa in calling for the Big Ten to overturn its decision not to play this fall because of the pandemic, calling for the reinstatement of the 10-game schedule the conference unveiled six days before it postponed football until spring.