The need for strong leadership in sports has never been more apparent than our current time. Strong leaders are only as good as they dare to be bad. There can be no shortcut to a successful outcome in any endeavor without assuming some risk. Recently we heard the Big Ten intends to play league games only this fall. Several smaller schools and leagues have also made that choice. Do these decisions leave those still planning to play a full schedule any options?
Every leader in sports today must make decisions based on what is right for their own unique situations. However, every decision made impacts others in some way. Many athletic administrators around the country are privately grumbling about the impact of the Big Ten’s decision. Not so much about the decision, because many of them might end up doing something similar, but the lack of their knowledge about it being made and the possible impact it has on them.
Is it fair to question why there is not more of a cohesive leadership in collegiate sports at the highest levels on these issues? The Big Ten’s decision to postpone 36 non-league football games directly impacts many smaller Division I programs and other Power 5 teams. Notre Dame must feel like the lonely child on the playground wondering if they will have anyone to play. Conferences like the Mid-American could suffer huge financial ramifications. It is nearly impossible the way sports are operated in the United States to have one voice representing leadership for all.
The Big Ten whether it meant to or not, took a leadership role on playing fall sports at the collegiate level. The true role of any leader first and foremost is to keep hope alive. They have kept the hopes of a season alive while attempting to maintain a safe and healthy environment for their teams and staffs. At the same time they have fired a warning shot across the bow of every college athletic program in the country. This will not be a normal year in athletics.
As we move forward from the decision made by the Big Ten, expect to see other Division I power 5 conferences make similar moves. Change is happening in all sports at the professional, collegiate, high school and amateur levels. There really has never been times like these in sports before. There are risks and costs to any organization that chooses a specific course of action. But those actions and risks are way better than the cost of inaction.
The adversity you face today is not the final act in this show.
Oh Geez Sports 