The NCAA already lost millions with March Madness cancelled. Now colleges have to consider the cost of safely re-opening their athletic facilities and housing accommodations amid the COVID crisis. This will come at a hefty price tag.
On May 22, 2020 the NCAA announced the voluntarily return of activities in all sports beginning on June 1, 2020. However, each school will need to work with their respective state and school officials to determine when the best time is for coaches, athletes and administrators to physically return to campus. New York for example has been hardest hit by the coronavirus so the timeframe for athletes to return to campuses in New York will most certainty lag behind other states.
Colleges cannot host football camps and clinics during the summer of 2020 and coaches are prohibited from working at football camps and clinics held at other four-year NCAA schools. This coincides with the recruiting dead period in place through June 30, 2020 which prohibits football camps and clinics. If the recruiting dead period is extended past June 30, camps and clinics will continue to be prohibited.
Contact sports without contact? This will be the new norm when athletes return to campus to train. Chatter among NCAA football powerhouses include safety measures with coaches, athletes and staff in masks and gloves. Temperature tests at the front door. Hand sanitizing stations. Small group training. Social distancing weight room squat racks 20 apart. Moving weight training outside. No access to locker room showers. No passing a football back and forth. No sharing towels or water bottles. No shared water fountains or hydration stations. No hugging, no high-fiving and no weight-training exercises that require assistance from a spotter.
“It will be the new norm," says Tory Lindley, president of the National Athletic Trainers' Association and an associate athletic director at Northwestern University.
Keep in mind a typical NCAA Division 1 school has over 100 active players on their football roster. Coaches, trainers and staff will have the additional responsibility of ensuring social distancing and safety measures are followed. Athletes will have to train themselves for this new norm as well.
Welcome to the world as we now know it.
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