(08-10-2020 01:45 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(08-10-2020 11:52 AM)InterestedX Wrote:  

(08-10-2020 11:40 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(08-10-2020 11:23 AM)ausowl Wrote:  

(08-10-2020 10:22 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  Big 10

Old Dominion Out

My Goodness! What will all these athletes at those schools do? They might actually have to go to class! The horror!

Nope. If it's too dangerous for sports it is definitely too dangerous to have classes in person indoors. Shut the whole sham down.

I'd disagree with that sort of a blanket statement.

Classes can actually allow for complete social distancing and mask wearing, cutting the risk of person-to-person transmission down significantly (see example of the infected barber who didn't pass along COVID to any of her clients, as both parties all wore masks). They're also typically less than 60 minutes and generally don't require people to breathe heavily.

The biggest risks to students being on campus aren't in-class lectures, but the interactions in the student body outside of class. There's a great video out of UNC where this small, OC house looks like a clown car as 60ish girls stream out of it, without a masks in sight.

At the same time, if sports can be played with masks on, and all training can be done with masks on, I think the risks are worth it to keep the less person-to-person sports (volleyball, soccer, etc.) with some modifications.

IMO, universities and governing bodies should have made tough decisions sooner, rather than later. That includes reducing student body #s on campus (a la Harvard) and specifically identifying which sports would continue and which would be put on hold. All parties wanted to use up as much time as possible to see if they could avoid, what will likely be, an inevitable outcome.

From the ODU announcement, it sounds like travel safety and the cost of providing a safe competitive environment were major considerations.

Quote:"We concluded that the season – including travel and competition – posed too great a risk for our student-athletes," (ODU) President (John R. ) Broderick said.

...

"We're not like the NBA" (said Athletic Director Wood Selig). "We can't put our athletes and coaches and fans in a bubble, and we don't have unlimited resources."