The COVID-19 pandemic has brought uncertainty for the upcoming college football season with everyone hoping football can be played in 2020. Amid the global crisis, Navy’s athletic director is seemingly still hoping for the season to start in August.
In an interview on The Paul Finebaum Show, Navy’s athletic director Chet Gladchuk expressed optimism for the upcoming game in Ireland against Notre Dame on Aug. 29.
While there is confidence among athletic directors that football will be played, no one in the NCAA is expressing any confidence in a potential timetable.There are already discussions about starting the season next spring and that would just be for games in the United States.
The NCAA’s Football Oversight Committee advocated that players would need at least six weeks to prepare for the 2020 season. Meanwhile, the University of Oklahoma is closed through July 31 and schools across the country will likely remain closed for months.
The Notre Dame-Navy game has been expected to be one of the first that could be wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Players for Navy and Notre Dame would need to start training by early June, being back at their team’s facilities and practicing frequently. Even with states beginning to lift some stay-at-home restrictions, that timetable is viewed as unlikely.
Furthermore, flying hundreds of players and coaches to Ireland would put them at risk and could jeopardize the health of others.
Notre Dame and Navy would both love to still hold this iconic game in such an incredible location. It would be the kind of entertainment that fans from across the globe would enjoy on an international stage. Unfortunately, despite Gladchuk’s optimism, it seems incredibly unlikely to happen.