Spring sports leading to problems for athletes
October 15, 2020
By Benjamin Coloske
Staff Writer
The start of September 2020 is going to be the most interesting September for athletes and fans around the world. For millions of fans and athletes worldwide the 2020-2021 football season has been anticipated. For some states though, the teams’ season would be pushed to the spring due to COVID-19; these states include Michigan, California, Washington-D.C, Virginia, New Mexico, Nevada and Washington. Luckily though, some of those states’ governors made the decision to resume the season, one of those being the state of Michigan. Although the season will be cut short three games, football teams in Michigan will still be guaranteed seven games because the regular season is now six games, and every team makes the playoffs. This is great news for athletes in Michigan, particularly if they are looking to receive a Division-I scholarship to play sports at the next level. Starting Sept. 1st, the NCAA officially announced that all Division-I college coaches could start reaching out and recruiting athletes to play sports for their school.
Now that Michigan athletes are having a season in their sport, this means these coaches will be able to get film of these athletes much sooner than the athletes who will be getting to play in the spring. This is a big disadvantage for the athletes waiting until the spring because coaches are going to start the recruiting process as soon as possible. A big concern with high school athletics being moved to spring is the disadvantage top recruits would have with not having a senior highlight tape for college coaches to look at. Trevor Leigh, an offensive and defensive lineman for the Milford Mavericks also stated that Michigan athletes have a disadvantage with the recruitment process due to the change of the season. Leigh says, “I think Michigan athletes are at a disadvantage because some states are still playing, and could potentially get an offer before someone from Michigan due to them getting to play sooner.”
Plano John Paul II Coach George Teague, a former Cowboys defensive back, stated in “The Dallas Morning News” that he dislikes the idea of football being moved to the spring entirely, and that the NCAA would have to change its signing day if the schedule change occurs. Teague says , “This would force top recruits to choose between playing their senior year for their high school or enroll early in college.” Every year, the NCAA has kept its national signing day for athletes in between December and February, which for the most part is shortly after the football season is played. This time span is designed so college coaches can have some time to watch new films and recruit, while the athletes have time to make the decision about where they want to go. For the states that have spring sports however, those athletes would most likely miss the NCAA signing day. Spring athletes’ highlights would be available almost six months after the athletes who had their season in the fall, which sets those athletes back tremendously.
With more great news coming to athletes, all states are officially allowed to play football in the spring. Some schools have decided to opt out of the 2020-2021 fall season; the athletes who are enrolled at those schools will face issues with the timing of National Signing Day and the spring season, which is a problem. The question that needs to be answered is as follows: is the NCAA going to move the national signing day? John Mcarthy, a graduate from Kansas State and writer of KC Kingdom stated in his article titled “National signing day must be moved back” talks about the problem some athletes are facing. Mcarthy explained that not only will some athletes not have a sea
Official NCAA Logo (NCAA)son until after National Signing Day, but, due to COVID-19, some players will not be able to visit schools until after this crucial day as well. Before signing to a school, most athletes wind up visiting the school or meet the coach. The world pandemic that is going on however has affected that process, and has made the recruiting process for the Class of 2021 a whirlwind. Some athletes in the Class of 2021 are in desperate help by the NCAA to have a fair recruitment process and the time to mandate things is running out. What will the NCAA do about this problem?
