ACC commish says it's on 'radar' to play without entire league on board

[Jim Dedmon photo] (Photo: Usat / USATODAY)

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Fri May 08 11:11:53 GMT-04:00 2020

The upcoming season is certainly shaping up to be one of the more unique in the history of college football.

After recently coming out with a hardline on needing students back on campus to play, Power 5 commissioners have softened that stance, says Stadium's Brett McMurphy.

“Going to class in an online sense is satisfactory,” Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby told the outlet. “There’s room for that to happen. School has to be in session, student-athletes have to be going to class.”

What's more intriguing is if certain schools aren't cleared, the scene seems to be set to play anyway where schools can.

“It’s not inconceivable at all,” Bowlsby told Stadium, “that they could be playing in the Big Ten and not the Pac-12, or we’re playing in the Big 12 and they’re not playing in the SEC. Conferences will work together, but we’re not pledged to be in lockstep.”

ACC commissioner John Swofford says that possibility is being considered for them as well.

“I suspect if the majority of schools can play, then they should play,” said Swofford of the ACC to Stadium. “It’s on our radar. We’ll cross that bridge later. Hopefully we won’t be in that situation.”

An Associated Press report this week had nine of the 14 ACC schools with announced plans to re-open campuses for students this fall.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was one of the first P5 commissioners to float the idea. He believes their league will set the tone.

"Playing football is important to us," Sankey told CBS. "[President Donald Trump] any number of times has remarked about his travels to our LSU-Alabama game last year. I think there is a great deal of focus, properly, on what the SEC does. That's why I think it's important to me to represent we're focused on playing football as scheduled.

"The circumstances around this virus will guide us. The importance of people paying attention to hygiene, the public health warnings, the distancing … All of that is important, but part of that is a communication to say we're going to be prepared to get back to normal. We do believe we have a leadership in all of that work."