Shot.
Spring practice around college football has been heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic across the country.
While that has been a big inconvenience to coaches and players, they at least haven’t had their entire season canceled like athletes participating in NCAA spring sports. However, with estimates that it could take months to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, what would happen if football were put on ice just like everything else?
Financially speaking, some athletic directors would say it would be dire for the entire college system.
“For right now, it’s all manageable,” Florida AD Scott Stricklin told the Orlando Sentinel, “but the question your mind goes to really quickly is if this lasts into another school year. From a financial standpoint, if we’re not playing football games in the fall, it will shake the foundation of college athletics. As everyone knows, football pays for the enterprise to go forward.”
Auburn athletics may be on hold due to the coronavirus but the school is moving forward on a new football facility.
Speaking to reporters late last week, Tigers athletic director Allen Greene confirmed that plans will still be progressing on putting shovels in the ground on a brand new football palace on the plains.
“Right now we are full steam ahead on the football facility,” Greene said Friday, according to AL.com. “Obviously, as things change on our campus and in our country and around the world, we will audible as we see fit, but we have been given the directive to move forward full steam ahead.”
“Audible”. Greene thinks using a football expression makes him sound more competent. All he’s really proving is that the facilities race never sleeps, even during a pandemic.
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Has anyone thought about the fact that parents may decide not to send their son or daughter to old State U next year to overpay for online classes and to pay for dormitory housing that may not be safe once 1,000 18-year-olds are jammed into a space? That student may say, “I would rather take a gap year rather than take classes from home.” The parents may say you can take online classes or commuter classes at the local community college if you have to live at home anyway for a whole lot less money.
Of course, this doesn’t apply to students already in their major field of study except they may decide to take a gap year instead.
If fall semester classes are online, I assume pretty much every piece of student rental real estate (especially the high end stuff like The Mark) is going to be empty as parents say keep our deposit.
Interesting thought that I doubt any egghead administrator or property manager is thinking about.
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Without wanting to hurt the little guy, i wouldn’t otherwise mind a little course correction on BigCollege economics.
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I’m sympathetic. It’s a tough call to stop work. You put people out of work, it usually costs more to place work on hold and re-boot later, and you may need funds for other vital purposes. If it were me, I guess I’d slow walk it as best I could with the excuse there’s more important issues right now. Full steam ahead is out of touch with reality. Optimistically things will normalize in 6 months to 18 months.
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Well then there’s the other thingie about the Fed Rate at 0% and the interest rate on building is going higher by the week. Latest I saw was 4.23% which was up from last week but that probably doesn’t apply to the palace construction of major football facilities. That is low compared to mid Eighties when rates were at 13% and we in the Ninety’s bailed out the banks. Now in the 00’s THEY are arguing about bailing out the airlines, Wall Street, cruise lines and Lordy while ever small business in my town has laid off servers, County transportation drivers, florists shut down. Don’t guess the state will be up to vixen’ many pot holes either. WalMart still hiring though if any you computer geeks need work.
The workers on the Plains doin the grunt labor practicin’ social distancing I assume. Much like the Spring Tequila Filled Spring Breakers that were bullet proof to Covid-19.
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What?! Tequila doesn’t work? I’m a goner.
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