San Jose State will play fall football as Mountain West reverses course
Less than seven weeks after deciding to delay fall sports until the spring, the Mountain West Conference’s Board of Directors on Thursday night reversed course and voted to resume athletic competition in the coming weeks, with an eight-game football season slated to begin in October.
The conference announced it will begin its football season Oct. 24, with a championship game held Dec. 19. The decision to hold games is subject to approval from state, county and local officials.
The 2020 Mountain West schedule will be announced at a later time.
Thursday’s announcement came just hours after the Pac-12 approved a restart of competition, which includes an abbreviated football season that begins the weekend of Nov. 6-7.
On Aug. 10, the Mountain West delayed the start of fall sports until the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But on Monday, the Board, comprised of the Mountain West’s 12 school presidents, received a proposal from their respective athletic directors to play an eight-game, conference-only football schedule.
Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson told The Associated Press last week the conference would not play football this fall without its schools having the ability to test every day. The AP reported earlier this week, though, the conference is now nearing a deal that will provide every school the ability to perform daily COVID-19 antigen tests on its athletes.
Now San Jose State will see if it can get up to speed.
The San Jose State football team was able to hold six out of a possible 15 spring practices and has not been allowed to hold on-field workouts with its entire squad since mid-March. Instead, the Spartans have been practicing in groups of up to 16 players, according to a university spokesman. The team has held strength and conditioning workouts, and has conducted team meetings online.
It is unclear when San Jose State would be able to begin practicing in larger groups.
The university has not yet submitted a return-to-play plan to Santa Clara County health officials, but a statement Thursday night from the school read, “With the Mountain West Board of Directors voting for a 2020 football season and once testing and return-to-play protocols are established, San Jose State University’s action plan will be submitted to county officials for review.”
In an email to this newspaper, a representative from county’s public health department wrote, “We will review (San Jose State’s) plans once they are made available, and welcome dialogue to determine whether or not there is a way to facilitate team practice and games (without spectators) in a manner that minimizes risk to players, team staff and the public similar to what has been accomplished with professional sports teams in Santa Clara County.”
The 49ers played one home game Sept. 13 at Levi’s Stadium without fans. The San Jose Earthquakes have played four home games this month.
Thursday, after the conference’s announcement, the San Jose State football team tweeted, “Mom said we can play if Dad says it’s ok. Dad?”, tagging Santa Clara County’s official Twitter handle.
Mom said we can play if Dad says it’s ok.
Dad? @SCCgov https://t.co/JlYuOEMK3V
— San José State Football (@SanJoseStateFB) September 25, 2020
It had already been announced that San Jose State’s 2020 nonconference football games with Central Michigan, UC Davis, Penn State and UConn had been canceled because of the pandemic. The Spartans’ first Mountain West game was originally supposed to take place Oct. 3 at Boise State.
Brent Brennan is entering his fourth season as the Spartans’ head coach. San Jose State went 3-22 in Brennan’s first two seasons in 2017 and 2018, but improved to 5-7 overall last year with a 2-6 mark in conference play.
Late Thursday afternoon, the NCAA’s Division I Football Oversight Committee recommended waiving the requirements for bowl eligibility this season. Schools must continue to meet Academic Progress Rate requirements for postseason eligibility, but would not have to have a .500 overall record against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents like they normally would.