Effects of Lost Revenue Continue to Spread -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Impacts on College Sports Draw Nearer to P5 Conferences

To this point, the loss of revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic has yet to truly impact the athletics of Power 5 conferences and their member schools. UofL's layoffs were definitely caused by the situation, but they were not direct impacts to the athletic teams and programs. Cincinnati, a P5 adjacent, was one of the first schools to make a move, canceling men's soccer. Since that time, more schools have shuttered more programs.

Thursday, Akron announced their elimination of men's golf, men's cross country, and women's tennis. Not only eliminating sports, though, Akron will also be closing six of their eleven colleges to attempt to save up to $70 million. By one count on twitter, Akron's move brings the total number of sports eliminated across all levels to 78, 40 men's teams and 38 women's teams. These eliminations include some colleges and universities closing completely. To date, only eight D1 programs had been cut.

At the same time as Akron was cutting non-revenue sports, their conference was making financial decisions itself. The MAC announced on Friday that eight sports in the conference would no longer participate in a post-season conference tournament: baseball, softball, men's and women's soccer, field hockey, women's lacrosse, and men's and women's tennis. This moratorium on conference tournaments is set to take effect for "at least four" years in an effort to save the conference money. 

Another cost saving technique that the conference announced is that the conference's football coaches have been directed to no longer stay in hotels the night before hosting a football game. The long standing tradition of home teams staying in hotels is generally meant to reduce campus distractions and more effectively enforce curfews on football players the night before a home game. Some coaches have already implied that this may help to create an advantage for visiting teams who are removed from this distraction by default. 

While these measures have not yet been seen at the top levels of college athletics, it may be fair to say that this is only a matter of time. Earlier I mentioned UofL's layoffs. These show how tight of a budget athletics programs operate on and how big of an impact the loss of revenue can have. Louisville is not the only school to have taken measures such as these. They will not be the last. The next major question is whether or not fall sports, college football in particular, will be able to take place. The debate has raged for a few weeks now, and one of the major factors at this point is if schools will even return to session. No students on campus means no student-athletes at the facility. Another question is whether or not conferences will break off to do their own thing. At this point, the PAC-12 seems pretty likely to not open campuses this fall. However, will the SEC reorganize their season to ensure college football goes on in the south? No one really knows yet.

One thing is clear, though. College football matters to the bottom line, especially in the Power 5. TV deals are lucrative, but they typically don't pay out when the product isn't available to be put on TV. Whether or not college football comes to a campus near you this fall could make or break a number of teams, as the nest eggs that athletics programs have on hand are already running short. It's a long way out, but if college basketball is made to miss another Big Dance in addition to no football, all bets will be off.

We are still all on pins and needles. I don't want to alarm anyone with my speculation, but it seems fair to be realistic about the possibilities at play. As fans of programs that are oft forgotten, we don't want to see them go by the wayside in the event that things get worse. As long as UofL keeps supporting these programs, you can bet that Cardinal Couple will too. Continue joining us for wherever the ride takes us.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Now that I've put everyone through their daily gloom and doom, join us for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour! I'll try to avoid talking about what I just wrote because it gives me anxiety to think about. However, there were a few teleconferences this week that were part of the site and we should have a full house to discuss them and any other ongoings from this past week.

Paulie has also hinted about a return of the Worldwide Cardinal Couple Quiz, so that could be an additional element to today's show. That is, of course, if he isn't standing by the fence in the Churchill Downs parking lot in a rainsuit screaming at the horses and enjoying beverages. Check out his picks for the sloppy, soggy card today at  -- PAULIE'S PICKS

Tune in to the Cardinal Couple YouTube Channel at 11 AM for all of the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-