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Brett McMurphy of The Stadium reported Saturday that the Mid-American Conference was planning to shut down all fall sports to wait to resume in 2021. The Mid-American Conference has since confirmed the news.
The news has an immediate impact on Boston College. The Eagles’ football team was set to take on the Bobcats in the first game of the season, but the game has been cancelled in light of the news coming out of the MAC.
Mid-American Conference postpones fall athletics seasonhttps://t.co/5l6UldULWB pic.twitter.com/2p6m7exCuU
— Ohio Bobcats (@OhioBobcats) August 8, 2020
McMurphy reported that the news out of the MAC has created some concern within the Power 5 about proceeding forward. According to a tweet McMurphy posted, at least one source within the Power 5 indicated that the news allows a potential decision to postpone fall sports to be easier for the Power 5.
Power 5 source to @Stadium: “College football season is done. I don’t think everyone immediately follows MAC, but it gives other league presidents 1 more reason to make an easier decision. Biggest thing is unknown long-term impact of COVID & liability issues involved"
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 8, 2020
The Power 5 likely will wait a little while longer to make a decision, after all, not too long ago there was speculation that the Power 5 was planning to splinter of the NCAA to hold their own seasons and championships in the event the NCAA chose to cancel. However, the news out of the MAC certainly puts league presidents throughout FBS football in a difficult situation if they chose to move forward.