Brian Kelly Says 'I'm Not Sure' Notre Dame Would Play in CFP Without Families

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is taking a stand, saying he wants the families of players to be able to attend the College Football Playoff if the Irish make it. 

"I'm not sure we'd play in the playoff if families can't be there," Kelly told reporters Friday.

The Rose Bowl, one of the sites of the two CFP semifinal matchups, has already announced it will not allow fan attendance. It's unclear if the Sugar Bowl, the other site, will allow fans. The New Orleans Saints play at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome where the Sugar Bowl is held and have been able to have a minimal amount of fans in their stadium. 

Families in attendance or not, it's hard to imagine Kelly or Notre Dame players would willingly sit out a chance at a national championship over the matter of family attendance.

"It makes no sense to me to put a bunch of kids on a plane and fly them all the way to California to play in an empty stadium. That makes zero sense," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told reporters Friday.

The committee is considering moving the Rose Bowl from Pasadena for the first time since 1915 in part because families would not be able to attend. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, a member of the committee, told Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports that the issue is "unresolved" earlier this week. 

"I think it's hard to say to parents of student-athletes that they can't go watch their sons play in the biggest game of their career," Bowlsby said. "That's hard. There's all the quarantine issues and all the travel issues. It's unresolved. The [CFP] Management Committee is going to have to deal with it."

AT&T Stadium in Texas is considered the likely host of the Rose Bowl if the game is moved.