Eastern Michigan athletic director Scott Wetherbee saw what happened Saturday in the Mid-American Conference, and he believes it’s only the beginning of the …
Eastern Michigan athletic director Scott Wetherbee saw what happened Saturday in the Mid-American Conference, and he believes it’s only the beginning of the most chaotic lead-up to a college football season in history. In a historic move, MAC presidents voted unanimously to cancel football in the conference in 2020, pushing over a massive domino that could give other FBS conferences the impetus to follow suit, as university leaders grapple with how to safely hold a season during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s the first time the MAC has canceled a football season since the league’s inception in 1946. The conference joins Connecticut as FBS programs that won’t play this fall. « It wouldn’t shock me if some followed suit, » Wetherbee said. « Actually, I would be surprised if some didn’t. » The MAC hopes to move all fall sports, including football, to the spring, and there’s a growing belief other conferences — particularly in the Group of 5 — will try to do the same. Or perhaps even in the Big Ten, where conference commissioner Kevin Warren also is favoring a spring season, sources told the Free Press on Saturday. Neither Wetherbee nor Western Michigan athletic director Kathy Beauregard could speculate on what a spring season might look like. There are hurdles to clear, including the prospect of playing two seasons in one year, and there’s no guarantee a COVID-19 vaccine will be readily available by that time. « It depends on who is staying in the fall and how big of a schedule you can have and what does that do for the fall in the following year, » Wetherbee said. « Those are all things we’ve got to have discussions about. » MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher was adamant Saturday the conference’s decision was about health and safety, rather than money. « It’s a health and well-being decision, » he said.
