By Marty Gordon
The COVID-19 pandemic has everyone in college athletics wondering if there will be an NCAA football season later this year. Wednesday afternoon, Virginia Tech Athletic Director Whit Babcock and head football coach Justin Fuente addressed the media through a live teleconference.
“The way we do things has changed,” Babcock said. He said he believes there will be a college football season in 2020, but there could be some adjustments for everyone involved.
Wednesday’s questions centered on what the 2020 football season could look like, ranging from starting later to playing in front of an empty stadium.
The administrator would not rule out limited viewership, but he said he hopes that would not have to happen.
"I would never say never because we were going to play the NCAA Tournament without fans, but if it’s not safe enough for fans and students to come back, then I would have a hard time operating a football game," Babcock said. "But if I’ve learned anything, it’s that things change very rapidly. So that’s not off the table. But I believe we would look at pushing the season back, starting it later, rather than [playing without fans in the stands]."
Babcock said he would shift the football season deeper into the winter if need be.
The university’s staff has kept tabs on all of its athletes including the 180 or so who are back in Blacksburg. “They have been medically screened and checked to see where they have traveled before they came back to town,” Babcock said.
The NCAA has ruled that spring athletes who lost their season because the pandemic will be given an extra year of eligibility. Babcock said his staff has been checking with those seniors to see if they plan to come back to school, decisions that could cost Tech as much as $668,000.
“We don’t have that just lying around,” said Babcock. “Some schools might zero dollars for that and some have a reserve. Virginia Tech is sort of in the middle, but I think we will be okay.”
He also pointed to the fact that the situation could cost every school in the Atlantic Coast Conference two million dollars or more in revenue.
Babcock said he does not think he will have to furlough any employees.
Fuente told reporters his life has been turned upside down not only as a coach but as a father of two young girls. He currently runs the football program from his home downstairs while his wife conducts second- and sixth-grade classes upstairs.
“In the afternoon, we get outside, and you might say I’m in charge of P.E.,” he said.
Fuente extended congratulations to his players for the excellent way they have dealt with all the turmoil. “I think they’re a generation programmed to handle things like Zoom and the online stuff,” he said.
The head coach’s staff has had to find creative ways to deal with the “isolation” from each other and from the players.
This situation isn’t necessarily ideal, Fuente said, but everyone involved with Virginia Tech football is making the most of it, the head coach said.
For the coaches, the priority has been the health and safety of their families, Fuente said. “After that come the players, just making sure we stay on top of them the best way we can. Obviously, we’ve got recruiting. It’s a dead period, but we’ve still got to continue to stay in touch with recruits. And our coaches are working on our first couple of opponents.
"The thing we have to do is make sure we’re taking care of our guys the best we can," Fuente said. "We still have our tutor sessions. We’re still on top of our guys in terms of assignments and class attendance the best that we can. We still have Monday meetings with some of our high-risk players. We’re trying to make it as normal as possible.
“Nutritionally, we still have our nutrition staff that’s here,” Fuente said. “We’re able to do some things in terms of trying to help these guys out nutritionally from a distance, whether it’s per diem or whatever we’re doing. They’re still getting their scholarship check, so they can continue to eat the best that they can."
Fuente said no player nor staff member has tested positive for COVID-19, and the university is taking extra precautions on a daily basis.
But there was at least one Hokie player directly impacted by what has happened. Incoming player Wilfried Pene flew home to France to visit his family but was forced to stay put when the pandemic broke out. The 6-3, 240 tight end was born in France but spent his senior year at St. Thomas Academy in Oakdale, Conn.
The issue of no spring ball also came up during the media session. Fuente said he would love to have more preseason work but knows that could be scarce.
And that may create some difficulties for the Hokies since they have a new defensive coordinator in Justin Hamilton, a barn full of running backs and a quarterback competition that includes a transfer from the University of Oregon.
"The first thought I had was our defense," Fuente said. "We have a new defensive coordinator and several new coaches on the defensive side of the ball. There’s certainly an element of X’s and O’s and terminology and scheme that will carry over, and some will change, as you can imagine with any change in personality or person in charge.
“Maybe the bigger thing was our kids actually being on the field and being coached by these guys and getting a better feel or better window with their new position coach or new coordinator. How they’re going to teach, how they react to great things, how they react to mistakes and how they react to things that happen throughout spring ball."
The tradition of the “lunch pail” might be pared down. Babcock points to the fact that the lunch pail is former coach Bud Foster’s, and he has given his permission to use it, the university is nevertheless backing off from it.
"We will still use the lunch pail somewhat," Babcock said. "It’s obviously on Coach Foster’s banner. It will be displayed. That era of history will be one that we’ll always brag on and be proud of. You will not see us carrying the lunch pail to every game and doing it that way.
"We talked to Coach Foster, who owns the trademarks, and he said, ‘If you guys want to use it, you certainly can, and if you don’t, I certainly understand that,’” the AD said.
“Justin Hamilton, whom I take a lot of stock in as a former player, didn’t move into Bud’s office,” Babcock said. “It’s hard to follow a legend. We need people to be able to create their own program and not be an extension of the last one. But we’re not going to shy away from the lunch pail. You’ll just see it used a little less."
