WE HAVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL BACK ON JUNE 1!!!!! (Kind of)

[Yahoo] - This doesn’t necessarily mean a rush back to campus for those three sports, as those decisions will be made in concert with state government, local government and university officials.

The availability and frequency of testing will be a big issue. There will be no NCAA mandate on required frequency of testing. It will be up to the schools and political decision-makers to develop protocols on the tests, which cost approximately $100 each. “No one wants to get into that,” said a source. “They want to leave it to your own campus and state.”

Athletes who’ve remained in their college towns will likely be the first ones to integrate in. Hypothetically, one athletic director said that means starting with 25 or 30 players in four separate groups amid a socially distanced weight room upon opening. From there, players will be added to the groups as they return to campus. In theory, as one source laid out, a full squad could be around and working out in groups in July.

Boom and just like that it sure sounds like we're getting college sports. Now granted it's not a guarantee, but the fact that the Division I Council voted to approve this is a major, major step. It's been so long since we've had college sports, I don't even care about fan attendance. You know what I'd do to spend a Saturday watching an Iowa/Wisconsin game at noon before Alabama/Ole Miss at 3:30 and Kentucky/Missouri at 7? Pretty much fucking anything. 

There's still some things to get figured out. I know for the SEC the Presidents are voting on when players can come back this Friday. So we'll see what that date is. But the point is this is a step in the right direction. We have hope. That's all I can ask for right now. We've hit day 80 or whatever of quarantine and I'm just looking for any sort of light at the end of the tunnel. It seems like we're getting there. 

I am curious to see what happens if a conference or a team votes against this. Do they just get screwed out on for the season? This has always been the fascinating part of this from the college sports world in a way. They are technically not getting paid so if you don't have regular students on campus, how can you justify having student-athletes? That's where it'll get interesting. But for now we celebrate. 

June 1 is so close and we have approval for voluntary actions.