Ohio State AD Gene Smith 'Concerned' About CFB Season in Fall Amid COVID-19

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith acknowledged he's "concerned" about the fate of the 2020 college football season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smith said Thursday in a conference call with reporters that he had been hopeful a few months ago about staging a season but that the recent increase in confirmed coronavirus cases has given him pause:

The Big Ten announced it will adopt conference-only schedules for the fall sports season.

In May, Smith told reporters Ohio State had looked into plans in which seating at Ohio Stadium would be limited for football. The projections were as low as 20,000-22,000 with strict social distancing or as high as 40,000-50,000 with relaxed safety guidelines.

Smith's tone changed significantly Thursday.

With the Big Ten's announcement, other FBS conferences will likely follow suit. Stadium's Brett McMurphy and The Athletic's Bruce Feldman reported the ACC is planning on a conference-only sports schedule as well, with the possible exception of keeping Notre Dame games in the fold.

The Big Ten also appeared to leave open the possibility of the postponement or cancellation of fall sports when it said the conference-only format will be utilized "if the conference is able to participate."

As Smith alluded to, the original belief was that the United States would flatten its curve of new coronavirus cases to pave the way for sports this fall, much like what has happened in Europe with the return of major soccer leagues.

However, pandemic numbers are once again trending upward across the country.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. has confirmed a little more than 3 million cases, with 58,600 new cases reported Wednesday.