College football 2020 offseason thread

MWC is going with eight conference games plus two OOC.

 

Now if UConn can make this permanent, they’ll really have some foresight. Football independence ain’t for everybody.

 

Oh, boy. Here we go.


Their proposal:

Oversight and Transparency

• Third-party, approved by players, to administer COVID testing and to enforce all COVID-19 health and safety standards
• Sufficient penalties for noncompliance
• Mandate for athletics personnel to report suspected violations

Prevention and Safety Protocols

• Ensure all athletes have up-to-date information about the risks that COVID-19 may pose to their personal health, the health of their families and the health of their communities
• Adherence to WHO and CDC guidance for sporting events and compliance with all federal, state, and local statutes and regulations
• Safety standards that are appropriate for each sport
• Social distancing requirements and mandatory mask-wearing in and around athletic facilities by coaches, staff, players, vendors, press, and visitors
• Minimum cleaning and sanitation protocols for all uniforms, equipment, and athletic facilities, including visitor locker rooms
• Temperature checks for anyone entering any athletic facility

Testing, Contact Tracing and Related Procedures

• Contact-tracing protocols for anyone who comes into contact with college athletes and team personnel who test positive
• Testing of everyone who comes into contact with college athletes, including coaches, trainers, medical staff, nutrition staff, referees, media, etc.
• In-season testing of all of the above three days per week
  • Testing twice per week with an FDA-approved test with less than 1% false negatives
  • Additionally, testing on the day of competition (or within 24 hours of competition for each team that can be quarantined) with an FDA-approved test with less than 5% false negatives, with results delivered at least two hours before competition
• Immediate quarantine of any person who tests positive or exhibits symptoms
• Quarantine rules for college athletes who test positive, and protocols for their return to practice and competition
• Objective criteria for shutting down seasons should the pandemic take a turn for the worse or if teams experience significant outbreaks

Player Assurances

• Whistleblower protections for athletics personnel and college athletes reporting a suspected violation
• Ban the use of COVID-19 liability waivers
• Automatic medical redshirt for any player who misses any competitions due to a positive test or a mandatory quarantine due to contact tracing
• Preserve athletic eligibility, scholarship, and roster spot for any player who opts out of athletic participation or is unable to play more than 40% of their scheduled season due to COVID-19 or season postponement/cancellation
• Complimentary access to the Big Ten Network for athletes’ family members

Hazard-Related Economic Support

• Coverage for all out-of-pocket medical expenses related to COVID-19 (both short-term and long-term) incurred by active college athletes
• Scholarship protections (including room, board and stipend) in the event that the season is canceled due to COVID-19
• An adjustment to the cost-of-living stipend to account for the increase in personal expenses related to limited access that players have to facilities
• Reimbursement for stipends that were reduced during the summer

 

Edited for clarification and improvement.

As much money as football has been losing in Storrs, er, East Hartford, combined with the Big East not wanting to play the sport and the fact that Randy Edsall is rotten human being, it would be a stellar example of addition by subtraction.

 

Possible that it is so MWC teams can try to get a money game or two, Pac-12 or Brigham Young maybe? As well as Air Force, that makes sense.

 

The Big Ten list is great. It involves health and safety only and does not make absurd demands about money.
The thrice-weekly testing will be expensive, but it's probably feasible.

 

such virtue signaling asking for free stuff when real men just take it when their teammates aren't looking

 

Strength and conditioning coaches make a half a mil a year. I think they can afford it.