California Football could be back in less than a month
I've got no dates in my personal life, so I've compensated with dates for college football.
The path forward to college football in 2020 just became a little more concrete thanks to the NCAA Oversight Committee, which finalized their recommended schedule for summer and fall camps. This plan has been submitted to the NCAA Division I Council, which will vote to approve or deny the plan on June 17—a vote that reportedly is merely a “formality”.
But Yahoo decided to get all fancy by presenting the schedule out of chronological order and inconsistently; the issue is only further complicated by the fact that California will start the season one week early than the majority of the schools as we’re scheduled to play in Week 0. So, I’m here to try to lay things out a little more simply.
Where applicable below, the first and bolded date is presumably for Cal and other Week 0 teams and the second date is for the general NCAA.
June 1 - NCAA-permitted “voluntary workouts” can begin. Unclear if California and Week 0 teams can start a week early.
June 17 - NCAA Division I Council votes to approve the proposal or make this article useless.
July 6/13 - “[C]oaches can begin formally working with their teams”, including strength & conditioning and film study. I believe these would be capped at eight hours per week for the team.
July 17/24 - The team transitions to 20-hr weeks with walkthroughs and an actual football to prime players’ bodies to the rigor of the game.
July 31/August 7 - The formal start of four-week fall camp, defined as 25 days after the start of “summer access” (i.e., July 6/13).
August 29 is kick-off for (most) Week 0 games/September 5 is kick-off for (most) Week 1 games.
Of course, given how insane everything is right now, I wouldn’t assume any of this is set in stone—even if the proposal passes the June 17 vote. Players at Texas, Auburn, and Alabama have reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus, cases are are rising at an “alarming” rate due to all of the re-openings, and a second spike is potentially coming, so things may be abruptly cancelled once again in the name of public safety.
As a Cal fan, hope is what I've clung to for most of my life. Usually the hope of success on the field, but now it's the hope that football will be played at all, knowing we have a competitive team with tons of promise, comprised of young men and coaches I am proud to cheer for. Hope.....it's just part of being a Cal fan......
As a fan, I could get cute and do a parody of my own timeline. I'll forgo that but if and when real deal full pad fall practice starts, I will be in a long awaited phase that previously, I took a bit too de rigueur.