No football at Shaw, SAU and NCCU this fall. The three coaches explain the plan moving forward
Trei Oliver can’t remember the last time he had a fall without football. For Adrian Jones it was 1988, when he was still in middle school. And it looks like David Bowser will have to wait a few extra months to coach his first game.
Such is life for the trio of coaches who know they won’t be on the sidelines this fall. The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) both announced they are suspending fall sports due to COVID-19.
For Saint Augustine’s, under first-year coach Bowser, it’ll be the first time in 18 years football won’t be played. It’ll be the first time in 17 years for Jones and the Shaw Bears. Oliver said it’s been around 37 or 38 years since he hasn’t been around football in the fall, small potatoes compared to the 98 years it’s been since North Carolina Central hasn’t played football.
The announcement was made for the safety of the athletes and, for the most part, the coaches understand. However, it’s still an adjustment for all parties. Instead of tailgates, bands and homecomings on the weekends, the three Triangle campuses will be relatively quiet.
Moving forward, the goal for these threeis to find a way to keep their players motivated and plan for the future, despite the unknown that lies ahead.
RIGHT CALL?
On July 9, the CIAA made the call that so many people were dreading, yet expecting — that they were suspending fall sports. Seven days later, the MEAC did the same.
“This was a difficult decision but remains consistent with our long-standing priority of always acting in the best interest of our student-athletes, coaches, and support staff,” CIAA commissioner Jacqie McWilliams said in a statement. “While there will be no athletic competition in the fall, we will continue to support opportunities that enhance the experiences of our student-athletes, member institutions and partners.”
Dennis Thomas, MEAC commissioner, released a similar statement.
“Obviously this is an arduous decision because everyone wants to have a fall season for student-athletes, fans and others,” Thomas wrote. “Part of our responsibility is to ensure the mental and physical health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff is paramount. It is imperative that everyone recognize that is our first and foremost responsibility.”
In the days leading up to these decisions, other conferences, such as the Ivy League, made the same call. It felt inevitable for the trio of Triangle schools. North Carolina recently hit the 100,000 confirmed cases mark, and between the two leagues, there are 10 schools located in North Carolina. The risk, it seems, was greater than the reward.
Jones was stunned the day the news was announced, but he had to gather himself before he told his team. Phone calls had to be made to break the news and players were disappointed. The Bears were one game away from playing in the CIAA title game last season and, before spring football was canceled after just three practices in March because of COVID-19, Jones had liked what he saw.
Once players were notified, there was a wide range of emotions, according to all three coaches. Players were upset and had questions that coaches could not answer — like when will they play? Would they lose scholarships? What happens with the seniors?
For now, the CIAA coaches feel confident that there will be a consolidated regular season in the spring and they will treat this fall as spring practice, depending on how much the league allows. That seemed to satisfy the players.
“Right now that urge of playing football (in the spring) has motivated those guys to work hard,” Jones told the N&O. “Being that they love the game and it’s been taken away right now, they want to make sure they are in shape.”
The plan for the three universities is to bring students back on campus in August, which is a plus for the coaches because at least the players will be there. They can interact with them, safely, and put them through the paces. But how do you keep them motivated, with no games to play in the fall? While student-athletes are on campus to get an education, first and foremost, the reality is football keeps a lot of the athletes focused on school.
“Right now we are encouraging them to understand that your number one goal is to get an education,” Bowser said. “Even though you feel like football is what you came here for.”
Bowser and Jones each said they haven’t lost any players, and that their athletes are excited about returning to school next month to continue their education and prepare for a new season, whenever that might be.
Oliver said he was glad the MEAC officials and school leaders made the tough call. The second-year coach told the N&O that he had some players come to him with concerns about playing, had there been a season this fall. If players didn’t want to participate he assured them they would remain on scholarship. Like Jones and Bowser, the next few months will serve as an extended spring practice for the Eagles, who never got spring practices started.
“Right now we are putting together a schedule for the fall, workouts and conditioning, how we are going to safely meet with our guys,” Oliver said. “We’ve been coming up with a plan the last six months. Then we’ll be waiting to hear from the conference to see if we can use this as spring ball and how much working out we will be able to do.”
NOW WHAT?
So what will the coaches do? Sure, Monday through Friday they will work tirelessly, business as usual. They will watch film and evaluate recruits, set up workout schedules and prepare their teams for an opponent that’ll never show on the weekends.
Saturdays will be another day with no action, something that’s an adjustment for these football lifers. Oliver is excited about his garden, which he will surely have more time for. He jokes that on Saturday’s he might drive to the stadium and just park his car there.
Jones plans on spending more time with his wife as well as reading more. He’s picked up some more books recently, bracing himself for more idle time. He has also started to take his golf game more seriously.
The coaches will have to get creative when it comes to team activities. Preseason camp is usually big for team bonding and it won’t take place in these unusual times. But the number one rule for all three coaches is keep their players safe and find a way to adapt to a new normal.
“The biggest thing is getting these guys here, once we get the green light to bring them back to campus and get them moved in safely and make sure they are responsible with the social distancing and wearing their masks to class,” Bowser said. “That’s going to be the number one thing.”
This story was originally published July 26, 2020 at 3:02 PM with the headline "No football at Shaw, SAU and NCCU this fall. The three coaches explain the plan moving forward."
