BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Indiana University football team is preparing for a season as much as they can, while they can, despite COVID-19.
"As long as the doctors say we can do this, we're going to do it,” said IU Head Coach Tom Allen. “If they tell us that we can't, then we won't, no matter how bad we want to play - how bad I want to play, or the kids want to play. To me it's got to be data driven. As long as that's the case and we follow that, then you feel good about it."
But the latest data comes from national radio show host Dan Patrick, who reported a 12-2 vote by Big Ten university presidents to cancel fall sports. The loss of a football season forfeits $60 million or more in revenue for member schools Purdue and IU from media rights and ticket sales.
"With every crisis there's an opportunity, and I think the opportunity here really is for leaders to rethink, reimagine, restructure college sports in ways that are more financially responsible,” said Amy Privette Perko, CEO of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
The Knight Commission promotes reform to strengthen the educational mission of college sports. Perko fears the estimated loss of $4 billion dollars from a major college football season canceled, could mean the loss of other sports.
"Programs will be pared down to the minimum, and some of the spending and excesses frankly in football and basketball and in some of the other sports will just continue," Perko said.
Some lost revenue could be offset by moving the football season to next spring.
"I think everyone wants football at some point - players, fans, and everyone included,” said Purdue Head Coach Jeff Brohm. “We'd like to be able to give it to them. I would 100 percent be in favor of trying to make it work where we can have a spring season, if we can't go in the fall, and then trying to figure out a way to make the fall season work for 2021 - even if there's minor adjustments."
The pandemic is causing major adjustments to college sports schedules and budgets.
"University presidents have to take the long view here and really look at this in terms of what college sports should look like coming out of the pandemic and not lose its focus on the mission of the priority to take care of college athletes health and safety, first and foremost,” Perko said.
The Big Ten Championship football game is supposed to be in Indianapolis on Dec. 5. The game brought an estimated $19.5 million economic impact to the city last year.