The Mountain West’s move was not exactly a surprise. Unlike the other G5 leagues that had announced plans to play a full schedule and start as early as possible, the Mountain West determined last week it would only play up to 10 games and not start until Sept. 19. But all schedule announcements came with caveats from commissioners that the plans could change.
“We were hopeful we could carefully and responsibly conduct competition as originally scheduled with essential protocols in place,” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said in a statement Monday. “However, numerous external factors and unknowns outside our control made this difficult decision necessary.”
Added Boise State athletic director Curt Apsey, “In the end, the physical and mental well-being of student-athletes across the conference necessitated today’s announcement.”
The Mountain West’s geographic footprint in particular has been hit hard by the pandemic recently. Three teams reside in California, one of the hardest-hit states, and Fresno State never actually brought its players back to campus. The Central Valley in particular has been ravaged by the virus, named one of 10 major hotspots by the federal government.
“To my knowledge, we were the only, or one of the only, FBS schools in the country that had yet to bring back student-athletes, and that was because our administration and our coaches felt so strongly about ensuring the health and safety of our people,” Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer said in a statement.
Unlike the MAC, the Mountain West’s decision came amid a public player uprising in favor of playing — a movement gained momentum over the weekend and led to coaches and athletic directors publicly arguing Monday to play out the season. So it wasn’t a surprise to see Mountain West players express their frustration over the news about their league.
“Saying because of safety concerns for players is a cop out,” Wyoming quarterback Sean Chambers tweeted. “There (are) many universities that put their players in a beyond safe environment for us to play football this fall. (Wyoming) has done everything right since June 1st and to receive news like this is a major blow to us. … It starts from the top with the NCAA. If there was any semblance of leadership we wouldn’t be in this mess. No direction or leadership lead us to a decision like this. Now us athletes have to reap the consequences that we don’t deserve.”
Chambers singled out athletic director Tom Burman, head coach Craig Bohl and the school administration for doing everything right, as he put it. Other players shared similar frustrations about the league.
“We were hopeful we could carefully and responsibly conduct competition as originally scheduled with essential protocols in place,” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said in a statement Monday. “However, numerous external factors and unknowns outside our control made this difficult decision necessary.”
Added Boise State athletic director Curt Apsey, “In the end, the physical and mental well-being of student-athletes across the conference necessitated today’s announcement.”
The Mountain West’s geographic footprint in particular has been hit hard by the pandemic recently. Three teams reside in California, one of the hardest-hit states, and Fresno State never actually brought its players back to campus. The Central Valley in particular has been ravaged by the virus, named one of 10 major hotspots by the federal government.
“To my knowledge, we were the only, or one of the only, FBS schools in the country that had yet to bring back student-athletes, and that was because our administration and our coaches felt so strongly about ensuring the health and safety of our people,” Fresno State head coach Kalen DeBoer said in a statement.
Unlike the MAC, the Mountain West’s decision came amid a public player uprising in favor of playing — a movement gained momentum over the weekend and led to coaches and athletic directors publicly arguing Monday to play out the season. So it wasn’t a surprise to see Mountain West players express their frustration over the news about their league.
“Saying because of safety concerns for players is a cop out,” Wyoming quarterback Sean Chambers tweeted. “There (are) many universities that put their players in a beyond safe environment for us to play football this fall. (Wyoming) has done everything right since June 1st and to receive news like this is a major blow to us. … It starts from the top with the NCAA. If there was any semblance of leadership we wouldn’t be in this mess. No direction or leadership lead us to a decision like this. Now us athletes have to reap the consequences that we don’t deserve.”
Chambers singled out athletic director Tom Burman, head coach Craig Bohl and the school administration for doing everything right, as he put it. Other players shared similar frustrations about the league.
