The First Domino Has Fallen

[crixus]

Tennessee is out of the Liberty Bowl. I hope Army gets to fill their spot vs West Virginia.

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ovid-19-issues

[crixus]

The Guaranteed Rate Bowl and the Birmingham Bowl have both been cancelled.

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...-teams-opt-out

[crixus]

Minnesota, Nebraska and Michigan State to decline bowl bids if invited.

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...tation-invited

[crixus]

Tennessee is out of the Liberty Bowl. I hope Army gets to fill their spot vs West Virginia.

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ovid-19-issues

Game on! Army will take Tennessee's spot.

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...cing-tennessee

[crixus]

Iowa pauses workouts because of Covid-19 cases within their program. But they're hoping the Music City Bowl will be played.

https://247sports.com/Article/Iowa-H...ame-157582050/

[boatcapt]

Not sports, but here's an interesting article about the financial impact COVID is having on schools.

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-n...id-and-red-ink

They make an interesting albeit bold prediction - 1/3rd of private schools will either have to close or merge in the next few years. I don't see that happening personally, but I do think the closures will trickle in at a higher rate than they otherwise would have.

I think the schools that close/merge were in serious financial problem before Covid. I'd say 3/4 of the 1/3 predicted would have closed anyway...maybe not next year, but certainly in 5 years.

[SW_Mustang]

I think the schools that close/merge were in serious financial problem before Covid. I'd say 3/4 of the 1/3 predicted would have closed anyway...maybe not next year, but certainly in 5 years.

Those are my thoughts too. If anything, COVID is just speeding up the process for the schools that were on their way out anyway. This is just a gut opinion, but I think the pandemic would have to be around for 2-3 years before we start seeing impact on other schools that would have been fine otherwise - and even then, the Harvards and Stanfords of the world would survive just fine.

[SW_Mustang]

Minnesota, Nebraska and Michigan State to decline bowl bids if invited.

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...tation-invited

I wonder why we've come full-circle. Everyone started the season not playing, ended up playing, and now won't finish the season.

I wonder what makes this next stretch that much more different than when the season began. The situation is a lot worse now, and will continue to get worse for the next couple months yet - but it just seems odd to me.

[boatcapt]

Those are my thoughts too. If anything, COVID is just speeding up the process for the schools that were on their way out anyway. This is just a gut opinion, but I think the pandemic would have to be around for 2-3 years before we start seeing impact on other schools that would have been fine otherwise - and even then, the Harvards and Stanfords of the world would survive just fine.

Most schools have received considerable funds from the Gov for "Covid relief." While maybe not being made whole to pre-Covid levels, I would imagine they are doing quite a bit to mitigate closures.

[SW_Mustang]

Most schools have received considerable funds from the Gov for "Covid relief." While maybe not being made whole to pre-Covid levels, I would imagine they are doing quite a bit to mitigate closures.

That's probably it. I'm also guessing student retention was a lot higher than expected, and maybe a handful of schools were able to rally some extra alumni support (especially with those relief checks).

[boatcapt]

That's probably it. I'm also guessing student retention was a lot higher than expected, and maybe a handful of schools were able to rally some extra alumni support (especially with those relief checks).

Just a snap shot, but West Virginia public universities only saw a system wide decline of 2.8%. Of course there were winners (Glenville State saw a 6.0% increase in enrollment), losers (Shepherd University saw a 12.3% decline) and every place between the two.

[Wildcat Khan]

Iowa pauses workouts because of Covid-19 cases within their program. But they're hoping the Music City Bowl will be played.

https://247sports.com/Article/Iowa-H...ame-157582050/

I saw that and thought uh oh, Gonzaga just played them and then realized it was the football team. Gonzaga's already had a 2 week pause before they played Iowa on Saturday.

[crixus]

Gasparilla Bowl cancelled after South Carolina pulls out.

https://247sports.com/Article/Gaspar...-19-157642995/

[crixus]

How will a one-city NCAA tournament work? This hockey conference offered a glimpse.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...ffered-glimpse

[SW_Mustang]

Just a snap shot, but West Virginia public universities only saw a system wide decline of 2.8%. Of course there were winners (Glenville State saw a 6.0% increase in enrollment), losers (Shepherd University saw a 12.3% decline) and every place between the two.

It's obviously a lot of hysteria, but I got the sense that people were bracing for 20%+ losses. 2.8% isn't actually that bad given the circumstances. There are obviously outliers, but I don't think students exited the system at rates that people were expecting.

If I were in college (assuming I have the knowledge and opinions I do now), I would not have gone back full-time. Instead I would have focused on gaining some work experience. Courses designed for online delivery given by experienced instructors are one thing, but willy-nilly Zoom classes are completely different. I'm putting off going back to school for a while because of it, actually.