The optics of asking

This is how college football is.

The problem is money. Non-conference football is lucrative. Not only via ticket sales for the programs hosting the games but many Group of Five programs rely on non-conference payouts to bolster their athletic budgets. “We need those non-conference games,” a sitting Group of 5 head coach told 247Sports.

For example, South Florida’s 2020 trip to Texas is set to net the Bulls $1.9 million, according to the Tampa Bay Times. That number would have accounted for 4.2 percent of South Florida’s $45.56 million budget during the 2017-18 academic calendar year.

“I don’t really mind however late we start from a financial standpoint as long as we can get them in,” USF Athletic Director and former CFP Playoff Chief Operating Officer Michael Kelly told 247Sports as part of its Social Distance series.

There is a caveat to that assertion. Kelly is worried about a spring football season that pushes too far into the 2021 calendar. The 2021 season is at risk when that starts to happen because of recovery concerns for the players. Kelly said playing games in July would be a non-starter as it would threaten the 2021 campaign. There’s also the negative optics that come with asking an unpaid labor force to play two football seasons within 12 months.  [Emphasis added.]

That last sentence is really something.  Except they won’t be asking and they won’t give a shit about the optics once the check is stroked.