Fall Sports Season Is Going To Be Affected
May 6, 2020 at 12:54 a.m.
Fall Sports Season Is Going To Be Affected
By Roger Grossman-
This is not a political column and so you will not read my thoughts on Holcomb’s plan or my predictions on its ultimate success.
If the plan works, and we don’t experience any setbacks, the state will pretty much be back to fully-functioning for Independence Day — how ironic, right?
Two other statements were made last week that you need to keep in mind for this discussion.
The first came from Indiana State School Superintendent Dr. Jennifer McCormick, who said that all school buildings and properties should remain closed until the end of June.
There was an assumption that schools will be able to reopen when their school calendar says the year is over. The governor did say schools would be closed for the remainder of the school year, right?
Last days of school vary, so McCormick had to clarify her position.
The other statement we need to consider is outgoing IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox, who admitted that there is “significant concern” about whether or not there would be a fall sports season in an article in the Indianapolis Star.
In the first week of May, we are going to need to understand something: this fall is not going to look like any other fall that we’ve ever seen before.
I think I can safely say that, here in Kosciusko County, we have done pretty well in the battle against the Coronavirus. We did not go unscathed, but it could have been much worse here. It is much worse in places like South Bend, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis than here.
So we also have to understand that, just like how you handle our expanding freedoms that change from week-to-week might be different than how I handle them, how ready a specific location is for sporting events is going to be different.
For example: It would seem to be safe to say that the opening night football game between Triton and South Central could happen on schedule. Two 1A schools located in places where the number of cases has been pretty low, in August — feels right.
Notre Dame’s game with Navy won’t be played in Ireland as planned, but will it be played at all and will any of us be able to sit in the stadium and watch it?
You ask “What’s the difference?”
The answer is about 85,000 people.
Local high school sporting events held in locations where the number of cases has been low seems to have a better chance than an Indianapolis Colts game, or IU or Purdue.
But there is a giant X factor plopped right in the middle of this — there is a new IHSAA commissioner ready to take over this summer.
I cannot say, nor will I guess, what Paul Neidig’s mentality on this might be. But what a tough place to find yourself in. A man who has dedicated his adult life to the advancement of young people is faced with a decision of this magnitude in a new job that he technically haven’t even started yet.
A decision on fall sports would likely come to us before August, and what a tough call that might be.
Football alone is one of if not the major funding source for all other sports. The football playoffs not happening would cost about $2 million in revenue to the IHSAA. That, on top of losing the last three rounds of the boys basketball tournament, would mean both the IHSAA and athletic departments statewide might have to start cutting staff or reducing pay.
Here is hoping we all play this smart, do what we are supposed to do, don’t do what we aren’t supposed to do, and maybe — just maybe — we can start girls golf on time.
This is not a political column and so you will not read my thoughts on Holcomb’s plan or my predictions on its ultimate success.
If the plan works, and we don’t experience any setbacks, the state will pretty much be back to fully-functioning for Independence Day — how ironic, right?
Two other statements were made last week that you need to keep in mind for this discussion.
The first came from Indiana State School Superintendent Dr. Jennifer McCormick, who said that all school buildings and properties should remain closed until the end of June.
There was an assumption that schools will be able to reopen when their school calendar says the year is over. The governor did say schools would be closed for the remainder of the school year, right?
Last days of school vary, so McCormick had to clarify her position.
The other statement we need to consider is outgoing IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox, who admitted that there is “significant concern” about whether or not there would be a fall sports season in an article in the Indianapolis Star.
In the first week of May, we are going to need to understand something: this fall is not going to look like any other fall that we’ve ever seen before.
I think I can safely say that, here in Kosciusko County, we have done pretty well in the battle against the Coronavirus. We did not go unscathed, but it could have been much worse here. It is much worse in places like South Bend, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis than here.
So we also have to understand that, just like how you handle our expanding freedoms that change from week-to-week might be different than how I handle them, how ready a specific location is for sporting events is going to be different.
For example: It would seem to be safe to say that the opening night football game between Triton and South Central could happen on schedule. Two 1A schools located in places where the number of cases has been pretty low, in August — feels right.
Notre Dame’s game with Navy won’t be played in Ireland as planned, but will it be played at all and will any of us be able to sit in the stadium and watch it?
You ask “What’s the difference?”
The answer is about 85,000 people.
Local high school sporting events held in locations where the number of cases has been low seems to have a better chance than an Indianapolis Colts game, or IU or Purdue.
But there is a giant X factor plopped right in the middle of this — there is a new IHSAA commissioner ready to take over this summer.
I cannot say, nor will I guess, what Paul Neidig’s mentality on this might be. But what a tough place to find yourself in. A man who has dedicated his adult life to the advancement of young people is faced with a decision of this magnitude in a new job that he technically haven’t even started yet.
A decision on fall sports would likely come to us before August, and what a tough call that might be.
Football alone is one of if not the major funding source for all other sports. The football playoffs not happening would cost about $2 million in revenue to the IHSAA. That, on top of losing the last three rounds of the boys basketball tournament, would mean both the IHSAA and athletic departments statewide might have to start cutting staff or reducing pay.
Here is hoping we all play this smart, do what we are supposed to do, don’t do what we aren’t supposed to do, and maybe — just maybe — we can start girls golf on time.
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