Exactly right. Are you implying that decision has been made, i.e., not to grant another year of eligibility or are you assuming a spring season avoids the issue?I think rolling over a year of eligibility for everyone would have really effected programs for the next several years. People tend to focus on the seniors getting another year, but it’s everyone. How can you recruit next season’s freshman class, when you have a full freshman class in house? There are only so many slots available.
I know people hate it when you say ‘it is what it is,’ but that’s
the case,” said Aggie head football coach Dan Hawkins.
“I’m disappointed for the kids, but we’ll adjust and we’ll roll.
Our guys are great. They get it and they want to be safe.”
Hawkins said football staff and school officials have been “very honest and transparent” with the players and have presented them with “all sorts of scenarios. So it was disappointing, but absolutely not a surprise. Medically, it’s the right decision.
“Kevin (Blue) and Gary (May) were great through this whole
process. They were very supportive of everyone and we all
knew what was going on.
Now, the shape of winter/spring football for the Aggies rests with the Big Sky Council of Presidents and the member schools’ athletic directors. Decisions to be made include starting dates, whether the current schedule will simply translate to its new “spring” home, will fans be allowed and whether the conference’s decision will spur a decision about a Football Championship Subdivision playoff, albeit truncated.
“We’re going to work with the NCAA to see if there’s any possibility of an FCS championship playoff in the spring,” May reported. “Short of that, we may be able to have a Big Sky championship game if we split into divisions. That’s all up in the air at this point. I can’t imagine the FCS will go ahead with a fall playoff.”
Notes: Aggie QB Brock Johnson did not “opt out” of playing football because of the pandemic (as reported last week by The Enterprise). Hawkins said the Mission Viejo native is a senior who wants to take advantage of employment opportunities. “It had nothing to do with the virus,” clarified Hawkins. Every year programs lose a player or three for one reason or another — but this year if anyone leaves a team, fans and media often assume it’s virus related. …
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