Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Tuesday that whenever college football begins play, he wants to see fans in the stands.
“I don’t see a model where we play, at least any extended number of games, in facilities where we don’t have fans,” Swarbrick said on ESPN. “College football is about the cheerleaders and the band and the campus environment on game day. We’re interested in solutions that allow us to have a traditional game-day experience.”
The NCAA put a halt to all spring sports in March amid the coronavirus pandemic, and college football programs later stopped spring practices.
ESPN said some conferences and college administrators are discussing a variety of scenarios in case the season can’t start as scheduled in late August, which includes doing away wtih some nonconference games or playing into next year.
And while some pro sports leagues are pondering resuming, or starting the seasons, in empty venues, Swarbrick said that isn’t sustainable for college football.
“There might be a middle ground where you say, the first two games of the season, you might have to make some accommodations,” he told ESPN. “Maybe you only have students in attendance and you don’t invite other fans. I couldn’t see us going past a very limited example of that.”
