The budget issue is the same in spring or fall. Testing is the key factor and it seems like testing has gotten faster and maybe a little cheaper.

Allow kids to opt out. Remember when Clemson had like30 player contract? All have recovered with no long term issues, just like the flu

https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/colle...0200917135

Interesting

(09-17-2020 03:08 PM)ChicagoHuskie Wrote:  https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/colle...0200917135

Interesting

Can anyone post content? I got a sales pitch

Looked interesting for 5 seconds

(09-17-2020 03:29 PM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  Can anyone post content? I got a sales pitch

Mid-American Conference considering fall restart

Nicholas Piotrowicz and David Briggs
The Blade
Sep 17, 2020
11:33 AM
BOWLING GREEN — There is a growing sentiment among Mid-American Conference administrators and coaches the league should play a fall football season or not play at all, according to league sources.
The MAC, which postponed its football season Aug. 8 due to the coronavirus pandemic, initially aimed to play all of its fall sports, including football, during the spring semester.
The MAC reaffirmed its delay plans with a short statement Wednesday from commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, who said, "Currently there are no plans to play a fall season in any sport."
In the past two days, however, tides have turned in college football.
Citing expansions in rapid testing, the Big Ten — which also postponed its season — reversed course and announced plans to start football games in October.
Similar to players in the Big Ten, MAC players have started their own campaign to play a fall season. The measure was supported by Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson, Bowling Green quarterback Matt McDonald, and endorsed by players at Toledo, Western Michigan, and Northern Illinois, among a host of others.
According to sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, MAC directors of athletics met virtually Wednesday, and the tone of meetings has changed drastically since university presidents voted 12-0 to postpone the season last month.
The MAC has considered a number of ideas for the season, including playing a schedule that begins in February, but there is a renewed push to play in the fall. 
According to a MAC source, the proposed fall schedule would be six or eight games beginning Oct. 24, with no fans allowed and a championship game still at Ford Field in Detroit, its normal home.
After the Big Ten resumed, the Pac-12 jump started its efforts, and the Mountain West Conference has discussed a return, a MAC source said, "The optics of being the only league not playing would be incredibly negative."
Testing for coronavirus — and the additional funding it requires — is the main hang-up, though multiple sources said the league would not necessarily mandate daily testing to return. The MAC’s current protocol tests athletes multiple times per week, even though they are not in season.
Most MAC schools have similar academic calendars due to the pandemic. At or before exam week, students at 10 schools will return home for Thanksgiving, at which point schools will end the fall semester or hold the remaining time remotely before resuming spring semesters in January. The remaining two, Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan, end fall semester classes on Dec. 5 and Dec. 11, respectively.
The break would allow campuses six or more weeks without the full student body on campus — which some coaches and administrators believe will provide the best window for playing a season.
MAC presidents will meet again Saturday to discuss the proposal, according to sources.

(09-17-2020 05:03 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  

(09-17-2020 03:29 PM)NIUfilmmaker Wrote:  Can anyone post content? I got a sales pitch

Mid-American Conference considering fall restart

Nicholas Piotrowicz and David Briggs
The Blade
Sep 17, 2020
11:33 AM
BOWLING GREEN — There is a growing sentiment among Mid-American Conference administrators and coaches the league should play a fall football season or not play at all, according to league sources.
The MAC, which postponed its football season Aug. 8 due to the coronavirus pandemic, initially aimed to play all of its fall sports, including football, during the spring semester.
The MAC reaffirmed its delay plans with a short statement Wednesday from commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, who said, "Currently there are no plans to play a fall season in any sport."
In the past two days, however, tides have turned in college football.
Citing expansions in rapid testing, the Big Ten — which also postponed its season — reversed course and announced plans to start football games in October.
Similar to players in the Big Ten, MAC players have started their own campaign to play a fall season. The measure was supported by Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson, Bowling Green quarterback Matt McDonald, and endorsed by players at Toledo, Western Michigan, and Northern Illinois, among a host of others.
According to sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, MAC directors of athletics met virtually Wednesday, and the tone of meetings has changed drastically since university presidents voted 12-0 to postpone the season last month.
The MAC has considered a number of ideas for the season, including playing a schedule that begins in February, but there is a renewed push to play in the fall. 
According to a MAC source, the proposed fall schedule would be six or eight games beginning Oct. 24, with no fans allowed and a championship game still at Ford Field in Detroit, its normal home.
After the Big Ten resumed, the Pac-12 jump started its efforts, and the Mountain West Conference has discussed a return, a MAC source said, "The optics of being the only league not playing would be incredibly negative."
Testing for coronavirus — and the additional funding it requires — is the main hang-up, though multiple sources said the league would not necessarily mandate daily testing to return. The MAC’s current protocol tests athletes multiple times per week, even though they are not in season.
Most MAC schools have similar academic calendars due to the pandemic. At or before exam week, students at 10 schools will return home for Thanksgiving, at which point schools will end the fall semester or hold the remaining time remotely before resuming spring semesters in January. The remaining two, Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan, end fall semester classes on Dec. 5 and Dec. 11, respectively.
The break would allow campuses six or more weeks without the full student body on campus — which some coaches and administrators believe will provide the best window for playing a season.
MAC presidents will meet again Saturday to discuss the proposal, according to sources.

The is good news, and yes, the optics of being the only FBS conference sitting out would be bad, much less for player retention. The players want to play.

Playing in December? Did I read that right?

Thank God they won't let fans in to watch that.

Imagine how hard that turf will feel for the players.

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Our jobs have me and my wife working from home since March and will continue into Spring 2021.

I can't even go pickup shoes or other items I left at the office.

I don't care if the kids play. If they do I'll watch from home.

For those saying this is political I disagree. I take the president and AD at their words. They don't think they can protect the students and I agree. Just take LSU and Wisconsin as examples.

NIU will have trouble affording to keep the kids safe. That might be the next hurdle.

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(09-17-2020 11:37 AM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  It sounds as if vaccines will be ready sometime between November and January. I Like the BIG10’s idea to wait until January and play indoors.

Too soon. CDC director says it won't generally be available until 2Q or 3Q 2021.

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The MAC needs to follow the other FBS conferences.
They're making it work, the MAC can too.

But, wasn't the national ringleader in postponement of fall sports our very own Sean Frazier. Won't this be a hindrance in a re-start?

(09-17-2020 06:27 PM)Teamduh Wrote:  

(09-17-2020 11:37 AM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  It sounds as if vaccines will be ready sometime between November and January. I Like the BIG10’s idea to wait until January and play indoors.

Too soon. CDC director says it won't generally be available until 2Q or 3Q 2021.

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I believe that means a quantity available to the entire public. Not so much about when one will be OK’d through testing. No idea what priority an NCAA team would have, but several are almost all
The way through the testing stages.

The MAC, PAC, and MW all followed the BIG and now they all look silly. The MAC teams really lean on the non conference "money games" to pay for the season and for the other sports. Without those money games against the Big Ten and other high profile conferences it will be tough financially especially with no fans and the added cost of testing. I think the conference needs to get creative. One option, though probably not popular for fans of MAC schools would be to increase MACTION. ESPN and the other networks are really the only potential source of revenue this fall and if the MAC is going to come back they are going to have to play when those networks say they have a time slot for them. Another option would be to try and partner with one of the bigger conferences or two and when games get cancelled they could play each other. I don't know how feasible that would be especially with the tv contracts. But lets say they find out a week in advance that Minnesota can't play Nebraska because of covid and Western Michigan can't play NIU because of covid. Then NIU can play Nebraska so at least those two teams can play and make some money. Long story short it's up to the MAC commissioner to not only allow MAC football to play this fall but also find ways to bring in income for the schools.

(09-17-2020 07:35 PM)OswegoHuskie Wrote:  The MAC, PAC, and MW all followed the BIG and now they all look silly. The MAC teams really lean on the non conference "money games" to pay for the season and for the other sports. Without those money games against the Big Ten and other high profile conferences it will be tough financially especially with no fans and the added cost of testing. I think the conference needs to get creative. One option, though probably not popular for fans of MAC schools would be to increase MACTION. ESPN and the other networks are really the only potential source of revenue this fall and if the MAC is going to come back they are going to have to play when those networks say they have a time slot for them. Another option would be to try and partner with one of the bigger conferences or two and when games get cancelled they could play each other. I don't know how feasible that would be especially with the tv contracts. But lets say they find out a week in advance that Minnesota can't play Nebraska because of covid and Western Michigan can't play NIU because of covid. Then NIU can play Nebraska so at least those two teams can play and make some money. Long story short it's up to the MAC commissioner to not only allow MAC football to play this fall but also find ways to bring in income for the schools.

I fear that the half-assed season and no fans will diminish the interest in maction even more than usual. And I’m not sure NIU can make anywhere near the same money playing Nebraska last minute. It’s just not a situation a G5 can survive like a P5 can. The MAC was least equipped to deal with this pandemic. They can’t be the only conference to not play...but I just don’t know what they can do.

The MAC’s best hope is that everyone else is wrong and their seasons are dysfunctional and meaningless. And that’s a bad thought to have.

(09-17-2020 07:35 PM)OswegoHuskie Wrote:  The MAC, PAC, and MW all followed the BIG and now they all look silly. The MAC teams really lean on the non conference "money games" to pay for the season and for the other sports. Without those money games against the Big Ten and other high profile conferences it will be tough financially especially with no fans and the added cost of testing. I think the conference needs to get creative. One option, though probably not popular for fans of MAC schools would be to increase MACTION. ESPN and the other networks are really the only potential source of revenue this fall and if the MAC is going to come back they are going to have to play when those networks say they have a time slot for them. Another option would be to try and partner with one of the bigger conferences or two and when games get cancelled they could play each other. I don't know how feasible that would be especially with the tv contracts. But lets say they find out a week in advance that Minnesota can't play Nebraska because of covid and Western Michigan can't play NIU because of covid. Then NIU can play Nebraska so at least those two teams can play and make some money. Long story short it's up to the MAC commissioner to not only allow MAC football to play this fall but also find ways to bring in income for the schools.

Picking up the scrap ESPN timeslots would be a good idea. There will no attendance at the games anyway, so the Tuesday night in November won't have an impact on the crowd like it normally does.

Hopefully the MAC plays a truncated schedule this fall. They will look bad if they don't.

(09-17-2020 06:54 PM)acolbert Wrote:  But, wasn't the national ringleader in postponement of fall sports our very own Sean Frazier. Won't this be a hindrance in a re-start?

STFu tries so hard to be out front. I’ll give him credit for that. He gives 100% when it’s about STF

(09-17-2020 09:37 PM)62423dp Wrote:  

(09-17-2020 06:54 PM)acolbert Wrote:  But, wasn't the national ringleader in postponement of fall sports our very own Sean Frazier. Won't this be a hindrance in a re-start?

STFu tries so hard to be out front. I’ll give him credit for that. He gives 100% when it’s about STF

Sean Frazier likes Sean Frazier

"When my information changes, I alter my conclusions. What do you do, sir?"
John Maynard Keynes
(There's that NIU Econ degree kicking in!)

(09-17-2020 07:35 PM)OswegoHuskie Wrote:  One option, though probably not popular for fans of MAC schools would be to increase MACTION. ESPN and the other networks are really the only potential source of revenue this fall and if the MAC is going to come back they are going to have to play when those networks say they have a time slot for them. Another option would be to try and partner with one of the bigger conferences or two and when games get cancelled they could play each other. I don't know how feasible that would be especially with the tv contracts. But lets say they find out a week in advance that Minnesota can't play Nebraska because of covid and Western Michigan can't play NIU because of covid. Then NIU can play Nebraska so at least those two teams can play and make some money. .

This is neither an option or even feasible. The B1G is playing conference games ONLY, period, end of discussion. That was the plan before they curtailed play because they wanted to compete against programs that were following the same protocols, testing policies, etc. Between the cost of testing, no revenue from fans, parking, concessions, etc., this season is going to be a financial disaster for every league. And the single biggest issue is going to be what happens if a player gets ill in a major way and ends up hospitalized.

Baylor-Houston Game Postponed

Florida Atlantic postpones game against Georgia Southern over positive coronavirus tests

Charlotte 49ers cancel game vs. North Carolina Tar Heels due to COVID-19

Virginia Cavaliers now will meet Virginia Tech Hokies on Dec. 12

Missouri Tigers will be without 12 players against Alabama after COVID-19 testing

Orgeron says most LSU players have caught the coronavirus

Some really selfish, sick adults are risking the lives and health of young people because these adults live lives of quiet desperation. Make America Sick Again!