CFB Players' Opinions on Returning Amid COVID-19 Pandemic Outlined in Poll

In an anonymous poll conducted by ESPN in May, most college football players asked were in favor of starting the 2020 season on time.

The poll included 73 FBS players, and 64 of them said they were comfortable practicing and playing games without a vaccine in place for the coronavirus. Only eight said they wouldn't be comfortable and one said they were somewhat comfortable.

One player offered the following take on what could help make for the safest environment possible given the conditions:

"I would be comfortable playing if we can get some kind of professional advising that it's safe, and that there's a way we can do this and keep everybody as safe as possible. Getting that type of professional advising and the green light from the people who really know what they're talking about, I think that would mean everything."

Another player said: "I would be comfortable as long as there's consistent testing for the players, referees, coaches the day prior to the game or as long as the people participating on the field have been tested and are coronavirus-free."

All team-related activities have taken place virtually since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but teams are starting to return to their campuses for voluntary workouts even though students still aren't allowed to be there.

The players were also asked about their comfort level regarding games taking place in empty stadiums, which is a possibility if the season starts on time.

Fifty-nine were in favor of playing in empty stadiums, 13 were against it and one said it "depends." One of the respondents said: "I believe that no fans should be a last resort. It is such a big part of the game and it also brings in a ton of revenue. But if it came down to no football or no fans, then I would rather play the season with no fans."

A second player added: "The first time will probably be a little weird, but at the same time we have scrimmages against each other all the time and we're out there playing live and nobody's in the stands and we're out there having fun."

Playing without fans would mean a massive financial hit to many schools since gate revenue for football games is lucrative.

According to Daniel Roberts of Yahoo Finance, 40 percent of national champion LSU's football revenue came at the gate last season, meaning it was the program's biggest moneymaker. A media executive source told Roberts that it would be an "economic disaster" even if stadiums can be half full.

As of now, the NCAA is operating under the idea that it will be able to start the season as scheduled, although preparation has been impacted. On Thursday, it announced a proposed preseason model that will be voted upon by the Division I Council on Wednesday.

Under the proposal, players would be tasked with participating in a certain amount of weight training, conditioning and film review during a 14-day period in July and August before the official start of preseason practice in early August.

The scheduled start of the season is about two-and-a-half months away, which means the pressure is on to get the players ready to compete.

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Bleacher Report's David Gardner interviews athletes and other sports figures for the podcast How to Survive Without Sports.