Collegiate football programs like the University of New Mexico, Colorado State and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas are at a disadvantage when competing against schools like San Jose State, which haven’t canceled or postponed games because of players contracting the coronavirus.
Teams with COVID-19 cases may have key players sit out for several games, which is unfair.
When football players can’t play because they are sick, teams have to adjust by starting bench players.
As soon as a star athlete contracts the virus and is forced to sit out of games, it affects the entire league by putting teams that may not be as good at an advantage to move forward. This is because they will be playing against the bench players who are more likely to make mistakes.
In addition, teams are robbed of the opportunity to make up games later because canceled games are not rescheduled because of roster thresholds.
The roster threshold means a game can be canceled and declared no contest if an institution’s football program has fewer than 53 players available to participate or less than 12 position players available to begin the game, according to the Mountain West Conference 2020 Football Testing and Game Cancellation Thresholds.
According to an Oct. 28 CBS article, no contest means that the game is not counted for on either side.
The impacted institution has the option to play the game with fewer than 53 players or less than the minimum number of position players listed above if it chooses.
Football teams run the risk of having to play at a disadvantage because while most of the population is isolated during the pandemic, football players are expected to practice and play regardless of their increased risk of contracting the virus.
According to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department’s mandatory directive for collegiate athletes and professional athletics released on Oct. 10, athletes engaged in athletic activities don’t have to wear face coverings. Only those on the sidelines or in the stands must wear them.
Although not wearing masks during the game makes it easier for the players to breathe, it creates safety concerns because without masks players are left vulnerable to catching the virus; thereby hindering their own stats and hindering the team.
According to an Oct. 15 Albuquerque Journal article, eight New Mexico football players and one assistant coach tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 14. This led the school’s athletic director to stop practice and team activities for the following two days. Still, he had hoped to resume practice three days after players tested positive so the team could prepare for their game against Colorado State.
New Mexico’s season-opener against Colorado State on Oct. 24 was eventually canceled because of an increase in
COVID-19 cases in New Mexico’s Bernalillo County. However, New Mexico played against SJSU on Oct. 30 after the game was moved from New Mexico to SJSU’s CEFCU Stadium.
According to an Oct. 30 Mercury News article, New Mexico head coach Danny Gonzales said his team would be “real rusty” for the first game of the season. The team hasn’t beaten SJSU since 2016 and with multiple canceled practices and a canceled game, New Mexico was at a severe disadvantage.
If the Mountain West Conference continues to move forward without rescheduling games, teams that are deprived of key players because of COVID-19 will face a much steeper disadvantage than teams with no outbreaks.
And for players, it’s disappointing not to play games after hours of practice, isolation and hard work.
The road to recovery will also be long for the diagnosed players, as doctors have said that even after people test negative for the virus, their lungs can still be scarred.
Players can also face an emotional toll of catching COVID-19, despite taking safety precautions.
Being infected by COVID-19 can affect players mentally and physically even after they get better and test negative. This may translate into how they play on the field and could hobble the teams for the rest of the season.
Given all these reasons, the football season is obsolete because teams like SJSU are playing with an advantage by being equipped with its best players compared to teams who are playing with substitutes.
