ASU’s Crow: ‘Every contingency’ considered to play fall sports
May 15, 2020, 9:33 AM | Updated: 9:39 am
Arizona State University president Michael Crow interviews with Doug & Wolf on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station on Feb. 13, 2020. (Matt Layman/Arizona Sports)
(Matt Layman/Arizona Sports)
Arizona State University president Michael Crow said Friday on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Mike Broomhead Show that all considerations are being made for fall sports, including college football, to commence at some point in 2020.
With that said, the expectation as of mid-May is schedules will certainly be altered and possibly reduced as universities slowly reopen to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“Everybody’s hoping, including me,” Crow said when asked if he expects fall sports to take place for his Pac-12 school. “We’re excited about the possibilities. We’ve just got to figure out what the timing is, and we have to figure out how to keep everybody safe and healthy as we do all of this. So every contingency that you can imagine is being thought about.
“People are thinking about maybe we start the season a little bit later, maybe we play only conference teams — that kind of thing. Everybody is working to figure out how to make that happen.”
Crow’s cautious optimism is shared by his counterpart at the University of Arizona. Dr. Robert Robbins said a week prior in an interview with CNBC that he believed sports will resume in some fashion this calendar year.
That, Robbins said, can only happen if schools like ASU and UA can safely allow students back on campus for classes.
“I think there’s a plan to try to play games. It’ll probably be a reduced schedule, it’ll start a little later. I don’t think it’ll be with people in the stands,” Robbins said.
“We’re watching what’s going on with the PGA Tour, NASCAR, (the) NFL is supposed to make a big announcement, but the first thing that has to happen is the campuses have to invite students back, which we plan to do.”
