Colonial Athletic Association football became the most recent domino to tumble in college football, declaring on Friday it won’t have a conference schedule this fall as a result of worries over the global coronavirus pandemic. The 12 individuals from the conference, be that as it may, are permitted to seek after independent schedules.
The last situation is not quite the same as past declarations made by the Ivy and Patriot leagues and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, where none of their individuals will have a fall sports season. Hampton, a Big South Conference member, likewise reported recently it won’t have fall competition.
The FCS – the lower half of Division I – has 13 conference and 127 member programs. The CAA is viewed as one of the three top conferences with the Big Sky and Missouri Valley, adding up to 11 national championship game appearances between six changed programs since 2003.
The James Madison Dukes have caught three of the previous four CAA titles and progressed to the national championship game three times in that span, winning the 2016 crown. Indeed, even without a CAA schedule, the Dukes’ athletic program declared it will investigate its own schedule as long as the NCAA holds a postseason and medical guidance takes into account safe competition.
Most CAA individuals don’t think about that opportunity as being feasible, and some quickly declared full suspension of fall competition, rather placing faith on having a potential spring season.
Said CAA commissioner Joe D’Antonio: “Each of our institutions is making the best decisions for its campus community, based on a totality of the circumstances analysis.”
This previous Tuesday, the CAA canceled the following week’s virtual media day – an ominous sign, in retrospect. With the conference schedule nixed on Friday, it could be seen as a potential tipping point against any form of a 2020 FCS season. The CAA was one of the greater dominoes, and more could fall in the coming weeks.
