Kirk Herbstreit believes coronavirus outbreak will cancel college football season

All of us are hoping the coronavirus pandemic is under control by the start of the 2020 football season, and it seems like there is a decent chance of that happening. Even if the spread has slowed dramatically, however, Kirk Herbstreit does not think we are going to see college football this year.

Herbstreit said during an appearance on ESPN Radio Thursday night that he would be “shocked” if the 2020 college football season is not canceled.

“I’ll be shocked if we have NFL football this fall, if we have college football. I’ll be so surprised if that happens,” Herbstreit said, as transcribed by TMZ. “Just because from what I understand, people that I listen to, you’re 12 to 18 months from a (coronavirus) vaccine. I don’t know how you let these guys go into locker rooms and let stadiums be filled up and how you can play ball. I just don’t know how you can do it with the optics of it.”

While he is certainly not an epidemiologist, Herbstreit said he believes what we have seen with the coronavirus outbreak thus far is only “scratching the surface of where this thing’s gonna go.” He’s also concerned about the lack of preparation time for teams even if the pandemic has quieted down in a few months.

“You don’t all of the sudden come up with something in July or August and say, ‘Okay we’re good to go’ and turn ’em loose!” Herbstreit said.

At this point, the NFL seems to be the only league refusing to make major changes to its schedule. However, there are plenty of people around the league who believe the start of the 2020 will be delayed, at the very least.

There has been some talk that the NBA season could resume in June, but no one really knows exactly what the future holds. If the NBA and NHL are able to finish their seasons, that will be a good sign for football.