University of Michigan president: No college football in fall if students aren't on campus
Dr. Mark Schlissel's thoughts on the possibility of a college football season have not changed.
If there are no students on campus this fall, Michigan's president does not think there will be college football.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Schlissel — an immunologist by training — touched upon the potential return of athletics and the potential difficulties ahead.
“If there is no on-campus instruction then there won’t be intercollegiate athletics, at least for Michigan,” Schlissel told the Wall Street Journal. He also expressed "some degree of doubt as to whether there will be college athletics (anywhere), at least in the fall.”
Schlissel's comments echoed his comments during an interview on CNBC in early May. He also says a decision on whether students will return this fall could be made "in the coming weeks."
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“Any decision we make for this coming fall is likely going to be the case for the whole academic year. What’s going to be different in January?” Schlissel said.
While other universities have declared there will be college football and teams are on the verge of bringing their athletes back to campus (Ohio State's football team will reportedly return to Columbus on June 8, while Illinois football and basketball will return between June 3-8), U-M is taking a more patient approach — which is also necessitated given the state's current stay-at-home order has been extended through June 12. The Wolverines will not return to campus and voluntary workouts before then.
Elsewhere in the state, Central Michigan, Ferris State and Western Michigan have all announced they will welcome students on campus for the fall semester. Michigan State, the state's other Big Ten school, has said it will wait until July to make a decision on the fall semester.
"Whenever students are allowed back on campus, we will work with U-M leadership and the Big Ten Conference to establish next steps," said associate athletic director Kurt Svoboda in a statement Wednesday.
Schissel told the Wall Street Journal that when the football team returns to campus, the players and staff could be tested regularly. He also expressed doubts about the ability to allow fans to attend games at Michigan Stadium, which has a capacity of 107,601.
“I can’t imagine a way to do that safely,” Schlissel said.
Contact Orion Sang at osang@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter.