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Big 12 Commish Bob Bowlsby: Student-Athletes Could Return to Campus in Mid-June
May 18, 2020
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby gave a timeline for when student-athletes will be able to return to their respective campuses during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to 247Sports' Brandon Marcello, who relayed the following:
"Dates discussed in the Big 12 have ranged from June 1 to July 1, Bowlsby said Monday, and athletic directors are in a 'good spirit of compromise' concerning a vote on when student-athletes will be allowed to return to campuses across the 10-team conference. He believes the conference's board of presidents and chancellors are 'trending more toward the middle of the month' of June."
Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger previously reported on how the NCAA Division I Council is planning to ease into the return of college football:
Ross Dellenger @RossDellengerNEWS: #NCAA DI Council can cross a major hurdle in football's return Wednesday, lifting a moratorium on on-campus training that would allow athletes to return June 1. Several programs, from SEC to Sun Belt, are mobilizing to begin voluntary workouts then https://t.co/3sJDiOabtH
Ross Dellenger @RossDellengerNo high-fiving, no weight spotting, no showering, no sharing towels & no passing of a football. Schools are expecting to start voluntary summer work in June. They can provide a pilot program for training camp & the season. “It’ll be different.” https://t.co/Wixst1xNyU
NCAA President Mark Emmert told ESPN's Heather Dinich on May 12 that there will not be a mandated uniform return to college sports, which means individual conferences can move at their own pace depending on decisions made by state governments and university presidents.
Emmert explained to Dinich:
"Normally, there's an agreed-upon start date for every sport, every season, but under these circumstances, now that's all been derailed by the pandemic. It won't be the conferences that can do that either. It will be the local and state health officials that say whether or not you can open and play football with fans.
"We already saw the Oregon governor offering her views on what's likely to happen in September. The Pac-12 can say, 'Gee, we'd all like to open up on this date,' but whether or not you can is going to be ultimately up to the state and local health officials and the campus itself making a decision whether or not they want to go forward."
Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk confirmed to reporters last week that a vote will be held Friday to determine whether the SEC will allow student-athletes to return to university facilities beginning on June 1:
As for the Big 12, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley has expressed opposition to a potential June 1 return date:
College athletics, including spring football, began to be either canceled or suspended on March 12.
The college football season is presently scheduled to begin on Aug. 29, though there is doubt that it will be able to start on time.