Bob Bowlsby: Would Be 'Very, Very Lucky' to Play CFB Season Without Disruption

Bob Bowlsby has his doubts about playing a full season in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Big 12 commissioner said during an interview on SiriusXM Big 12 radio Thursday (h/t Sam Khan Jr. of ESPN) that the conference "will be very, very lucky" to both start the 2020 college season on time and play through the entire schedule "without disruptions."

He added he was more worried the league wouldn't be able to finish the season due to the possibility of another outbreak of the coronavirus than he was concerned about starting on time.

"If the virus comes roaring back in the traditional flu and virus season in November, December, through March, I wonder if we're going to get basketball seasons in, I wonder if we're going to get the [College Football Playoff] in, I wonder if we're going to get the NCAA tournament in," he said.

Bowlsby previously told Seth Davis of The Athletic that one scenario being considered for college football was "a split season where some games happen in the fall and some happen in the spring."

He said Thursday, however, that such a position was a "fallback position" and wasn't his preference.

Whether teams will be able to play in front of fans in packed stadiums also remains an ongoing conversation. The current conversation surrounding sports currently on hiatus, such as the NBA and MLB, is that games will be played in empty arenas or stadiums once those leagues resume play.

Such a scenario could very well persist into the fall if social distancing guidelines remain in place around the country.

"It's hard to put 100,000 people in a stadium when you've got to sit 6 feet apart," he said. "Does a 100,000-seat stadium become a 25,000-seat stadium?"

That could particularly affect the Red River Showdown, annually played between Texas and Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl during the State Fair of Texas.

"When you think about a petri dish for spreading infection can you think of one that's better than the State Fair of Texas?" he asked. "I mean, people are jammed in there and they're enthusiastic and it's about a perfect place to transmit any kind of an infection."

A lot remains in limbo regarding NCAA fall sports, and how leagues like the NBA and MLB proceed—and eventually the NFL—will likely guide the approach the NCAA takes with college football.