Syracuse Orange athletics in June is great possibility

The NCAA announced that starting June 1, student-athletes are permitted for voluntary on-campus workouts. Here’s what that means for the Syracuse Orange.

This vote was directed solely at football and men’s and women’s basketball players, as they are usually the first athletes on campus during the summer. This news is a huge step forward, as collegiate athletics have practically been shut down for over two months due to Covid-19.

It comes amid concerns over the possibilities of having fall sports seasons in 2020. However, with NASCAR already resumed, the PGA Tour starting play back up on June 11, and both the MLB and NBA seemingly very close to finalizing plans to play, it has become laid light on the fact that college sports could still go on.

There are still a lot of barriers and ground to cover, but as all 50 states have now begun to re-open is one way or another, it seems as if the fluidity of the situation has ramped up.

For the Syracuse Orange, it is a huge step, but perhaps comes with more caution than most schools.

For one, it’s a big, international University. Chancellor Kent Syverud announced on May 20 a plan to have students back on campus by August 24th, in an “accelerated academic calendar.” The full update can be read here.

However, because of it’s size and students attending from all over the world, SU will have to be even that much more careful. Extra precautions must be enforced and any violators can not be tolerated. Safety will be the key, and if students don’t go by the rules, they can say bye-bye to the rest of the semester, and possibly athletics as well.

And that’s where the Syracuse Orange sports teams comes in. Both men’s and women’s basketball house many players both from other states and even countries. In fact, the two programs have eight internationally born players in total, highlighting the challenges of bringing everyone back together amidst a national pandemic.

For the football team, the main concern is the amount of players on the roster. Basketball teams are small, so with correct precautions, they should be easier to monitor. However, between coaches and players, college football teams have roughly 100 personnel. That alone would be tough to social distance, and would require ultimate trust in self quarantining should someone feel sick.

My main concern is the safety of the students and student-athletes. I want sports to come back as much as the next person. However, precautions must be taken, even if some may seem extreme. Leaders need to take things one step at a time. Sure, it’s easy to look ahead at the fall sports season, but right now, the current day is all that can be worried about.

If Syracuse Orange athletes can begin coming back to campus for voluntary workouts by sometime in June, I’d be all for it. They just need to be extremely safe in all ways.