When Are Sports Returning

By now, everyone is aware of the dangers of COVID-19 and how quickly it spreads. This pandemic has swept the world and still has the ability to spread en masse, so many companies and even industries have been heavily impacted.  This obviously includes cancellations and closures of live events and gatherings of large amounts of people, typically attributes of large sporting events.  With different locations worldwide hitting peaks in COVID-19 cases and rushing to revitalize their economies, some sport events and leagues are seeking opportunities to re-open or at least come close to a similar conclusion.  Below we have detailed statements different sports leagues have put out on steps being taken to re-open the world to organized sporting events as the world is coming to grips with how “a new normal” may be, at least in the short term. 

NFL

Status: Original Start set for 09/10/2020
Expected Return: 09/10/2020, but without crowds

Through statements made by Roger Goodell, all 32 teams have been permitted to allow certain staff back into team facilities for regular work, but this still prohibits coaches and players from stepping on-site. Even with these permissions, no more than 50 percent of staff are allowed on property, a means to promote social distancing even while permitting work to be done on-site. 

Originally, the NFL’s regular season was supposed to begin September 10th, 2020 with a Thursday night showdown between Houston and Kansas City, but due to the pandemic, this date doesn’t seem as likely to host a return. Although the league’s start hasn’t been directly impacted just yet, since it hasn’t started, all of the offseason preparations that typically take place during the summer and spring have been absent. The NFL obviously hopes strongly to start and continue as usual, but there are contingency plans in place just in case things aren’t so smooth. For right now, the idea is that the games will start back up as originally planned but without any crowds. Teams will travel to play in empty stadiums for the time being, but the NFL understands that even this may not be possible depending on if the pandemic resurges come fall. 

NBA

Status: Season suspended 03/11/2020
Expected Return: 07/31/2020 , Shortened 22-Team Season in Orlando

The NBA was halted mid-season due to COVID-19’s spread throughout the U.S. As of the writing of this article, the NBA doesn’t have a final decision on the return of the season, but there is currently a “return-to-play plan” yet to be approved that would have 22 teams play in a shortened season starting late July with Orlando as the host city for the season. Since there are 30 teams total, the remaining 8 have lobbied for inclusion in some way, and, since the plan has yet to be approved, perhaps amends would be made.

MLB

Status: Suspended. Originally set for 3/26/2020 start date
Expected Return: Proposed start in July

While the Major League Baseball season was set for an original start date in March, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the season to be suspended until a later date was agreed upon as safe enough.  For weeks, MLB and the MLB Players Association have been negotiating a plan for returning to play for players deemed safe and justified. As of today, the return date has not been agreed upon, but it seems that July will be a return to form for the league, with some changes in store. Through the back-and-forth debates between the two parties, safety and shortening of the season have seemed to be priorities, but details of exactly how many games will be played in the season and how player payments will work are still undecided. Protocols will also be in place for potential games in empty stadiums to promote or even eliminate the necessity for social distancing in the potential future. It is expected for the negotiations to conclude sometime soon so everyone will have a better picture of how the season will look, but for now, expect a July return date for the MLB.

Golf/PGA Tour

Status: Suspended/Hiatus
Expected Returns:
First Competition Back – 6/8/2020 at Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, TX
PGA Tour 2020-2021 Start – TPC Harding Park in San Francisco on 8/3/2020
PGA Tour 2019-2020 Conclusion – Championship in Atlanta on 8/31/2020

For anyone who has been trying to watch sports in the recent months, the closest excitement we have had was in the form of the Champions for Charity match.  This event featured a golfing competition between a Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson team against one with Peyton Manning and Tiger Woods. While this was a nice featurette, it wasn’t conventional golf with pros against pros. While we have had a couple exhibitions in the past few months, proper professional competitions are set to return to form starting with the Charles Schwab Challenge as early as June 8th, 2020.  Past that, the PGA Tour’s situation is a little stranger, but understandable. The Open Championship was originally canceled April 6th, so while the 2019-2020 season will conclude with a Tour Championship in Atlanta on August 31st, the 2020-2021 season will begin earlier in the month on August 3rd. 

CFB

Status: Uncertain
Expected Return: Possibly 8/29/20 weekend 

While other organizations are in negotiations to decide when professional athletes will return to their fields, tracks, etc., college football is in a stranger place.  Because players who participate are students and not professional athletes, there is some issue of allowing athletes to return to playing for schools that may not be open in the fall due to the presence, and potential spread of, the COVID-19 pandemic.  The NCAA has cleared, by way of vote, the ability for teams to host on-campus voluntary workouts as early as June 1st, but with only some schools deciding to allow them on their campuses that early.  With different regions relaxing social distancing laws more than others, it is uncertain to what extent and rate different schools will allow practices and workouts to begin again. With the earliest games set to begin on August 29th, there is great uncertainty behind what schools will be comfortable playing at that time and under what conditions (empty bleachers, mandatory non-player social distancing, etc.). 

CBB

Status: 2019-2020 Season Cancelled
Expected Return: Invitational Tournaments begin 11/19/2020

With an original championship date decided for April 6th, 2020, the College Basketball 2019-2020 season was cancelled prematurely on March 12th due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first cancelled NCAAB season in history and resulted with no champion selected. While dates are set to change given some new resurgence of COVID-19, the initial invitational tournaments of the season are set to begin as early as November 19th, 2020 for the 2020-2021 season.

XFL

Status: Season Cancelled
Expected Return: XFL filed for bankruptcy. Cancelled indefinitely. 

The XFL came seemingly out of nowhere as an offseason league to complement both the NCAAF and NFL football seasons and provide football to watch while the main football season was over. Just as soon as it found its second berth and reached TVs nationwide, the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic halted all momentum and forced what could have been a great thing to find its second and, seemingly, final end. Unfortunately, the XFL’s parent company filed for bankruptcy, laid off nearly all employees, and will be finished indefinitely as of April 13th, 2020.

NHL

Status: Suspended 3/12/2020
Expected Return: Regular Season Cancelled; Adjusted playoffs will begin TBD (Later than July)

Like other sports, the NHL was blindsided by the pandemic, forcing a stoppage of events and the regular season in its normal form. As of March 12th, 2020, the regular season was temporarily suspended before its determined cancellation. Due to the season’s momentum, however, agreements made within the NHL’s return-to-play plan decided that a 24-team playoff tournament be played in specific hub cities with no crowds watching and only necessary staff in attendance. In the return to team facilities and practice, the league has decided to crackdown on safety and health with mandatory COVID-19 tests throughout with situational self-isolation made necessary. No date has been determined yet, but players and staff will be allowed to return to team facilities in small groups starting early June.  Training camps will be permitted to begin as early as mid-July, and the official start of the playoffs do not have a start date yet.

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