Ohio State AD Gene Smith 'Concerned' About CFB Season in Fall In The Middle Of COVID-19

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith acknowledged he’s “ concerned” about the fate of the 2020 college football season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smith said Thursday in a conference call with reporters that he had been confident a few months ago about staging a season however that the recent boost in confirmed coronavirus cases has provided him stop briefly:

Patrick Murphy @_Pat_Murphy

Smith admits that he’s “extremely concerned” about Ohio State’s ability to play fall sports. He was very carefully optimistic a few months ago “I’m not even there now.” He stated at one point things were looking positive and now the U.S.’s behavior is among the worst in the world w/ COVID.

Ari Wasserman @AriWasserman

” I’m truly worried,” stated Gene Smith when inquired about his optimism that football will happen in the fall. “When you look at the habits of our country and in may we were on a down trajectory … Now, if we are not the worst on the planet, one of the worst worldwide.”

The Huge 10 announced it will adopt conference-only schedules for the fall sports season.

In May, Smith informed press reporters Ohio State had checked out strategies in which seating at Ohio Stadium would be restricted for football. The forecasts were as low as 20,000-22,000 with stringent social distancing or as high as 40,000-50,000 with relaxed safety guidelines.

Smith’s tone changed significantly Thursday.

Joey Kaufman @joeyrkaufman

Gene Smith said “we’re not in a good place” when asked about fan presence at games at Ohio Stadium this fall. He declined to provide a crowd quote, though included, “If we have fans in the stands, it’ll be based upon CDC standards.”

With the Big Ten’s announcement, other FBS conferences will likely follow suit. Arena’s Brett McMurphy and The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported the ACC is intending on a conference-only sports schedule as well, with the possible exception of keeping Notre Dame games in the fold.

The Huge 10 likewise appeared to leave open the possibility of the postponement or cancellation of fall sports when it stated the conference-only format will be made use of “if the conference is able to take part.”

As Smith mentioned, the original belief was that the United States would flatten its curve of brand-new coronavirus cases to lead the way for sports this fall, just like what has taken place in Europe with the return of significant soccer leagues.

However, pandemic numbers are as soon as again trending upward across the nation.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. has verified a little bit more than 3 million cases, with 58,600 brand-new cases reported Wednesday.

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