James Franklin appeared on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Tuesday morning, becoming the latest Big Ten head coach to advocate for a season and express his team’s desire to play in the midst of uncertainty. It’s an hour-by-hour news cycle that has ranged from imminent cancellation to postponement to carrying on as planned.
Advertisement
But as we ride the rollercoaster of emotion and wait to see whether the Big Ten — or other Power 5 conferences — cancels the 2020 season, one thing has remained a constant. And Franklin spoke to that in front of a national audience.
“There’s just so many questions that I don’t think from a leadership standpoint … that you cancel the season and then people ask you, ‘Well Coach, what does this mean for my future?’” Franklin said. “We don’t have any of those answers right now.”
One crucial question that has yet to be answered: What would the cancellation of the season mean for scholarship numbers?
That may seem like something that can be dealt with later given that the immediate concern is figuring out whether we can proceed with a season, but the domino effect of cancellation or postponement could be costly.
It at least seems odd that big questions haven’t been addressed publicly. The scholarship numbers are a critical part of how the NCAA is going to handle players’ futures given most would want to return in 2021. At the same time, many recruiting classes already have 15 or more commitments waiting to enroll. So what do you do with the numbers?
Do you expand it from the current limit of 85? And if so, for how long? Is one year enough?
Do you force schools to break ties with commitments because there are seniors coming back?
Do you not grant an extra year of eligibility for seniors on current rosters?
This is messy.
“Ever since March when this thing has come out, there’s been ongoing discussions about everything,” said Todd Berry, the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, who has a non-voting chair on the NCAA Football Oversight Committee. “Now, there’s a lot of things that are still out there. You know, certainly right now with the players that are opting out, are they going to be granted another year of eligibility? And that’s the big question because that’s going to hugely impact what happens in recruiting this year in relation to number of scholarships because it’s not just as easy to say, ‘Well, everybody gets their eligibility back, because then you don’t have any incoming freshmen coming onto your team.’
Advertisement
“Or you blow up the cap, which then has gender-equity issues, Title IX issues, because you’re gonna have to do it for all sports. You can’t just do it for some. There are some other things in discussions in conjunction with this that do have a bearing on it.
“These are ongoing discussions based off of kind of where things are at. I think we’re getting to that point in time where it’s important for the prospective student-athletes to kind of know what’s going on. And so I have a feeling that some of these decisions, but not all of them, but some of them will be made to kind of give the student-athletes, these prospective student-athletes some-guidance.”
Right now, there is no guidance, and it’s putting pressure on everyone involved.
Football has already been postponed in the Mid-American Conference, but as Franklin put it, there aren’t a lot of answers right now. A recruiting coordinator from the MAC told The Athletic that he has three main priorities:
1. Reassure commitments that the school is fully committed to playing football moving forward.
2. Go over scholarship numbers and be prepared for the various scenarios, whether it is sticking to the NCAA-mandated 85 or having expanded scholarship availability with an extra year for the current seniors.
3. Make sure they stay in constant communication with seniors.
“I think it’s crazy that they didn’t figure out anything before making a decision,” the MAC recruiting coordinator said. “From an overall standpoint, practice, scholarships, visits, signing day. All of it. It’s creating way more (stress) than necessary. It’s like living in an uncivilized world without rules.”
That’s just a preview of what is to come if the Power 5 conferences call it quits as soon as this week. What does that mean for the bevy of five- and four-star athletes? What does it mean for the lower-rated prospects who may find themselves fighting for a spot? What does it mean for the players on the current rosters?
Advertisement
Prospects who have issued verbal commitments to MAC schools are already living in a state of anxiety because they are unclear what this means for their future. The MAC recruiting coordinator said people on both sides — schools and recruits — are holding it together now, but you can see how this could become chaotic if answers aren’t provided soon.
“It’s like a tsunami,” he said. “The tide is pulling back, and you can see it coming in the distance.”
Should a decision of how the kids are treated come first? Maybe that’s not practical because businesses tend to focus on the next obstacle — and in this case the obstacle is whether or not to play the season. But in a world where players are already on rosters and commitments have already been made, something is going to have to give. And no matter what decision the NCAA ends up making in terms of scholarship numbers, things are going to be uncomfortable.
“These are some pretty complex things that we need to try to be as fair as we can to everyone,” said Berry, who serves as a spokesperson for college coaches and their concerns. “That’s difficult. You want to be fair to the current student-athletes, the prospective student-athletes and you certainly have Title IX responsibilities. So when you say, ‘Okay, well, let’s just, you know, we’ll waive the cap. Well, that’s easier said than done, because it costs money and quite frankly right now everybody is concerned about the money not knowing exactly what the revenues are going to be.
“And then to make a commitment, is it just one year? What if a sophomore opts out and a season is played? What does that do for the cap? How long do you have to get the numbers right? There is an awful lot to deal with right now. There are a lot of good minds and interactions as we try to come to some conclusions on this stuff. We are trying to wait some things out until we can’t wait any longer.”
As some Power 5 conferences are currently discussing what is next for the season, that time may be now.
(Photo of James Franklin: Gregory Fisher / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.
Ari Wasserman is a senior writer for The Athletic covering college football and recruiting nationally. He previously spent 10 years covering Ohio State for The Athletic and Cleveland.com, starting on the Buckeyes beat in 2009. Follow Ari on Twitter @AriWasserman
