(10-12-2020 08:54 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(10-12-2020 07:13 PM)JRsec Wrote:  Well as of today the SEC is postponing and rescheduling their first game. Vanderbilt vs Missouri is off for this week. The reason is that the SEC school with the finest medical school can't run an effective quarantine on their football team probably because they really don't have an A.D. and instead have a bureaucratic system answerable only to the President and Trustees.

If the two Mississippi schools can one you would think that Vanderbilt could, but noooooooo! This is jus another in a long list of Vanderbilt compliance issues. Sports accommodation venue standards? Nope Requisite number of required sports? Nope Remaining deliberately competitive in money sports? Nope Health Safety Protocols maintained? Nope

So if they wanted to de-emphasize sports it would likely be as welcomed as Suwanee's departure. Only I don't think they would need to fully depart, but they would need to upgrade the basketball venue, add women's softball, and become a partial football member.. Nobody in the SEC hates Vanderbilt, but they are severely lagging in compliance with conference standards in athletics.

As an institution, I don’t think they have any desire to play this year so I think they’ll do everything they can to avoid playing.

If Vanderbilt won’t voluntarily take themselves out of big time athletics would the rest of the membership dare to take them out against their will?

The SEC has never asked anyone to leave. Suwanee, Tulane, and Georgia Tech all chose to leave. Suwanee simply couldn't continue to commit to sports, Tulane thought they could make more as an independent, and Georgia Tech really left because of hard feelings between Bobby Dodd and Bear Bryant.

As I keep saying, I could see Vanderbilt essentially taking a step down in football and becoming a partial member of the SEC. That's quite different than simply leaving.

What might best help Vanderbilt football?
A: Playi 9 SEC games as we are likely to do in the future where they might be able to win 1 or 2 on a consistent basis meaning on years when they win 2 they still couldn't get the 6 wins they need for a bowl.

B. Play 5 SEC games with a couple at home giving them a great gate and having 7 more games to play schools like Wake, Rice, Tulsa, Duke, Tulane, Northwestern, etc. and with a good year they may actually have a decent shot at a bowl?

I believe a strong argument moving forward could be made for B.

Now as to Love and Honor's post that catalyst for many including numerous smaller privates will be any court order pushing pay for play and it will impact some state schools as well, just not the larger ones.