NCAA President Mark Emmert 'Very Concerned' About Status of Fall Sports

NCAA President Mark Emmert said Tuesday he continues to be "very concerned" about the status of fall sports as the United States struggles to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview with Heather Dinich of ESPN, Emmert posited that a shortened and delayed schedule may be the best course of action:

"We do get to see what happens when people return to campus. You get to learn a lot from what's going on with professional sports. We get to see how the testing protocols emerge and how that can be more effective, especially if we can get antigen testing going, for keeping track of the virus on campuses. The fact a delay could provide us with time to do all that could be very, very useful.

"Also, the move to a smaller number of games can be really helpful because you've got bigger breaks between games then, and you could provide flexibility around schedules. ... If you have to quarantine a team or a big chunk of a team, you've got time to do that and you've got time to adjust. ... I think having fewer contests and doing them over a delayed period of time could be very, very helpful."

Several conferences have already canceled their nonconference schedules, including the Big Ten and Pac-12. The Big 12, SEC and ACC are yet to make an announcement, though their nonconference slates are expected to be significantly altered or canceled outright.

The NCAA will have a precarious road if it wants to hold any fall sports in 2020. Many college campuses are providing online-only learning options for students amid the pandemic, with some canceling in-person learning altogether for the fall semester.

Emmert has said that the NCAA will not hold sporting events if it's deemed unsafe for students to return to classes.

It's likely the NCAA will continue to assess the situation until the last possible minute, given the financial implications. The NCAA and its member schools stand to lose billions in revenue generated by fall sports, specifically football. Those attempting to play in-conference schedules may be doing so in large part to satisfy their television-rights deals for both conference-owned and national networks.