What does canceling Alabama football spring practices and A-Day mean for fall

Alabama football fans don’t want to consider if the SEC canceling all sports practices and competitions for the remaining athletic year indicates anything about next fall.

The 2019-20 athletic year is over for Alabama football and other Crimson Tide sports. On Tuesday, the SEC joined all the Power Five conferences in shutting down for the 2019-20 athletic year. There will be no A-Day game, no later, renewed play by baseball and softball. Every winter and spring sport is finished until the next calendar cycle.

It is not known what additional changes, if any, will be made to the recruiting calendars.

While the decision by the conferences and the NCAA probably means little for the NFL and NBA, both will be impacted. There will be no college Pro Days for the NFL to evaluate talent. Perhaps in select situations, like Tua, a small contingent of not more than 10 individuals could use a non-college facility for a workout.

The kind of pre-Draft workouts conducted by the NBA may not be possible. The NFL and the NBA will establish guidelines for the activities of their teams. A young man, like John Petty Jr., very much needs those pre-Draft opportunities to increase his chance of being drafted.

No Alabama football fan wants to think about any restrictions to the Alabama football fall calendar. It is not too early to wonder if the virus will be well enough contained to allow a late summer practice schedule and fall games. There are medical experts concerned if the virus becomes contained over the next 6-12 weeks, loosening of limited contact mandates could lead to a renewal of the outbreak in late summer or fall.

The truth is even the best medical experts and scientists don’t know. It is a new virus and there is no guarantee it will follow patterns of past coronaviruses. Until more is learned, being overly cautious is not an over-reaction.

Alabama football historian, Kirk McNair published an interesting piece on Tuesday, before the cancellation announcement.

"Alabama has had football seasons affected by war and weather and national catastrophe and even the administration of The University, but never for an epidemic.In 1918 the Crimson Tide did not field a football team, but the reason given was World War I and the military draft in America. There were fewer references to the Spanish Flu, which came the same year as the war and which killed many."

As always, optimism is the strongest default position. There will be Alabama football again at some point, hopefully on its normal summer schedule. If not, there is always, Africam.

Shoutout to the Alabama baseball team whose season is over at 16-1. Its 14-0 start is believed to be the second-best in school history.