There was zero need for those other conferences to make their decisions now.

The narrative that fall sports - football in particular - should be cancelled, and the only reason some conferences are trying to have a season because "it's all about money and not player health" is false. Patently false.

Yes, a great deal of money is involved. Schools need that revenue; no person can deny this. However, the reason some conferences haven't decided to follow suit and cancel or push fall sports to the new year aren't strictly money driven. The truth is there is actual real science, logic, and common sense involved.

What does the science say? NOTE: the term "children", for this post, are all younger than 15.

1) For starters, in the entire world, as of today August 12, 2020, almost 10 months after the first reported case of Covid19, there is not 1 documented case throughout the entire world of a child passing the virus to an adult. There isn't a single reported case on the planet of this. Not one, not after the extensive contact tracing and peer reviewed studies conducted here and abroad. Every single study, no matter the source or politics, has concluded at worst "kids don't play a significant role of spreading the virus".

2) This has actually been a great surprise, as the first thing that was shutdown was schools. It was assumed that like the common cold, influenza, and a host of other virus' that children would be the source of the biggest spread of Covid19. Yet every study and analysis of the actual facts (10 months of data) contradicts that assumption and narrative. For whatever reason, the youth react opposite than was expected to Covid19 than every other strain in the coronavirus/common cold and influenza family.

3) What the hard data does show is that influenza is 7x more deadly to children than Covid19. There have been less than 50 children Covid19 deaths in the US over the last 8 months. Through the first 8 months each of the last 5 years, the number is exponentially higher with the flu (on average 511 flu deaths per year in same age group, or 341 thru first 8 months).

4) The average age of all Covid-19 deaths in the USA is 78. That's including deaths called "Covid-19" that are presumed (no positive test for virus), including self inflicted gunshots, drug overdoses, head on collisions, and all manner of frickery.

5) Influenza death rate is estimated at 0.1% - 7x higher than the rate for children under 15, and on par with young adults under 25. Simply, unless the immune system is severely compromised (i.e. childhood cancer, morbid obesity, diabetes) Covid-19 is less lethal than influenza for all those college age and younger.

6) For all ages under 25, this year alone, Covid-19 isn't even in the top 25 for cause of death (I couldn't find a more extensive list, like say top 50).

7) All combined Covid-19 deaths under the age of 65 are less than the deaths in the 65-74 range alone, less than the 75-84 age range alone, less than the 85+ age range alone. Simply, there are 4x more deaths over the age of 65 than all combined under 65.

8) Raw data alone, no study needed, demonstrably illustrates Covid-19 is nowhere near as lethal as influenza and a host of other causes of death we count as "normal" for those under the age of 65.

9) Almost every country has reopened schools. There are a few notables who never locked down anything, never required a mask, and just lived responsibly. Their amount of cases and deaths are less per capita than countries of the opposite extreme.

10) The potency of Covid-19 is decreasing. Many epidemiologist here and abroad believe it will die out by October. The overwhelming majority of youth under the age of 25 who contracted Covid-19 had either very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, and that was true back in April and May when it was most potent.

Remove the politics, remove the fear porn mainstream media who are very partisan and agenda driven, and go to CDC and Johns Hopkins or worldmeters or ___ and look at the data yourself. Without the news or politicians, it is pretty damn clear that for athletes and students, the risk to health isn't nearly as great as yearly influenza.

There is zero scientific and medical reason to cancel fall sports. Argue all you want, but be a gentleman and bring hard statistical facts to the table. Unless you can show why this is more lethal than influenza, unless you can show it is more dangerous than influenza to all under the age of 25, then actual science and hard data do not demand mitigation methods more drastic than what is already being done at universities that have re-opened.

Yes, money is important, but the decisions to not cancel fall sports has equal merit based on analysis of health risk. There was zero need for those other conferences to make their decisions now. And for the record, positive tests have zero bearing on potency and effect.