Alabama Football: SEC fighting hard for fall football

Alabama football fans take heart. The SEC making a concerted effort for fall football.

Alabama football in Bryant-Denny Stadium this fall? There are strong indications it will happen. Nothing – and we repeat NOTHING – is firm. National trends in college football are moving away from anything resembling a normal regular season.

In a precursor to what the SWAC might decide, the MEAC will not have football this fall. No SEC teams have games scheduled against MEAC teams but Mississippi State has a scheduled home game with Alabama A&M. If the SWAC along with the MEAC and Ivy League cancel the season, can the Sun Belt be far behind? Revenues and expenses will be a factor. Can the lower tier programs still collect game guarantees if games are canceled? If the SEC opts for a 9-game, conference only schedule, all the SEC’s 2020 out-of-conference opponents will lose their scheduled SEC contests. For most of those schools lost game guarantees could be financially devastating.

Another development out of the Big Ten can be seen as encouraging or discouraging. When the B1G announced it would move to conference-only games, it also used the ‘If’ word in making the announcement. As in, ‘if’ it is possible to play any games. On Thursday, Big Ten member, Illinois announced only 20 percent capacity in Memorial Stadium this fall. Face masks will be required and no tailgating will be allowed.

No official plans have been released by the SEC but there appears to be a strong inclination to play a season in the fall. According to Ross Dellenger and Pat Forde of SI.com,

"the consensus among administrators is that their communities and athletes are strongly in favor of playing football this fall."

That does not mean there is unanimous opinion fall football is a go. According to Dellenger and Forde, if a season happens, spring football is considered as the worst alternative and perhaps not realistic.

What is being most frequently discussed are nine or ten-game regular seasons. There appears to be little support for a ten-game format to include only SEC games. Bama Hammer offered attractive nine or ten game options about a week ago.

The SEC wants more time to see how successfully professional sports restart. In that time, virus trends will be closely monitored. More time for evaluation makes sense, but by the end of July, decisions must be made.

More optimism for fall football will be tempered by realities.

One thing seems sure. Alabama football and the Georgia Bulldogs want to play Georgia State and East Tennessee State on Sept. 12. Having a potentially Playoff-impacting first season game, against each other, is to be avoided. If the conferences allow, the already big payouts to the smaller programs might be sweetened considerably to make those games happen.

Alabama football fans should use the link above to read the full story by Dellenger and Forde. It is filled with good information.