It is looking more and more likely that this year’s Texas Tech football schedule will consist of only Big 12 games so let’s look at the drawbacks of that scenario.
We learned late Friday that the Texas Tech football program’s 2020 home game with Arizona isn’t going to happen. That’s because the PAC 12, of which Arizona is a member, has decided to do away with conference games this fall in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
"An official statement from Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt read in full: “I was notified this afternoon by Arizona Athletics Director, Dave Heeke, that the Pac-12 Conference will play only conference football games this fall. While we are disappointed, we understand the challenges the upcoming football season will present for all of us. We will continue to evaluate our options to play a complete football schedule.”"
Though Hocutt wants to play a complete 12-game regular-season schedule, that possibility seems rather unlikely. That’s because the PAC 12 is far from the only conference to cancel non-conference football games.
In fact, the Big 10 was the first of the Power 5 conferences to do away with the non-conference portion of the 2020 schedule. That decision was made Thursday setting off a potential domino effect across the NCAA football landscape.
"“We are facing uncertain and unprecedented times, and the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, game officials, and others associated with our sports programs and campuses remain our number one priority,” the conference said in a statement."
Of course, this will impact teams across all levels of football, not just in the FCS. That’s because FBS teams often rely on their yearly games against Power 5 conference opponents to comprise the majority of their athletic department revenues.
"“Big Ten football teams had been scheduled to play 33 non-conference games at home,” writes Steve Berkowitz. “USA TODAY Sports has been able to obtain contracts for 26 of those games – and they had been scheduled to have total payouts to the visiting teams of nearly $22.2 million. That figure includes payouts connected to single, one-off games and games that were to be parts of series.”"
What’s more, the loss of revenue from the absence of non-conference games will hurt non-revenue sports at major universities. That’s because programs such as soccer, track, golf, tennis, and others all rely heavily on the money that football programs bring in.
"“In the wake of the pandemic, athletic directors and universities face significant financial uncertainty because of cancellations and the economic downturn,” writes Emily Giambalvo of Boston.com. “They worry about losing donations and declining enrollment. Athletic departments received a much smaller distribution from the NCAA after the cancellation of the men’s basketball tournament, a primary revenue-generator. Questions about how and when the college football season can safely be played exacerbate that concern. “Without football, athletic departments at major programs would lose millions in television and attendance revenue. Smaller programs would miss out on payouts from guarantee games. Departments that rely on student fees might not have that influx of funding if students can’t be on campus in the fall. Some athletic departments have already implemented pay cuts and furloughs to alleviate financial strain, but sport offerings could also be in jeopardy.”"
But on the other hand, any semblance of a college football season would be welcomed by fans at this point. That’s because, with every passing day, it seems as if the likelihood of a canceled season continues to increase and now that we are just a month away from when fall camps were set to open across the nation, we are soon going to get to the point when universities and conferences will have to make their final decisions about this fall.
So let’s lean into the anxiety a bit and take a look at what life will look like if Tech has a schedule that consists of only Big 12 games this fall. Tomorrow, we will look at some potential positives of such a scenario but today, we begin by looking at the drawbacks.