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The Ivy League comprise some of the brightest minds in all of sports. The conference was the first to cancel its college basketball tournament in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rest of the NCAA followed suit. Now, the Ivy League has become the first conference to cancel all fall sports for the 2020 season. No Ivy League football teams will take the field this season, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the NCAA. Does this spell the beginning of the end of the 2020 college football season?

The Ivy League just canceled all fall sports in 2020

In a much-anticipated decision Wednesday, the Ivy League announced it has canceled all fall sports for the 2020 semester. The conference said it will not allow Division I sports to be played until Jan. 1, 2021, meaning Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale will all be without football this season.

It’s a grim announcement for college football fans across the country. Beyond the Ivy League itself, all eight teams were scheduled to play various teams in other Division I conferences. At the very least, the cancelation causes schedule problems all over the NCAA.

The announcement most likely predicts a much bleaker future, however.

The Ivy League was the first to cancel its conference basketball tournament

Back in March, the COVID-19 pandemic was a new phenomenon in the United States. College and NBA basketball were still in full swing, as Rudy Gobert hadn’t released the positive test that sent shockwaves through the sports world.

Before the NCAA canceled the NCAA Tournament, the Ivy League was the first conference to make the bold decision to cancel its postseason tournament. Many fans thought the league was crazy to jump to conclusions, but eventually, every league followed and the entire season went up in flames.

The Ivy League has proven to be trendsetters in handling the worldwide pandemic. The conference was ahead of every other league when it canceled their basketball conference, and it just became the first to cancel football in 2020.

Could this be the first domino to fall for the cancellation of the 2020 college football season?

The cancelation of the Ivy League football season might seem like a decision that affects a small percentage of colleges, but it might just be the first domino that ends up canceling the entire college football season.

There have already been some not-so-promising developments that could spell trouble for the 2020 season. The State Fair of Texas recently announced its cancellation, meaning no fans will be allowed at the storied Texas-Oklahoma matchup in October.

Multiple Athletic Directors have also announced limited fans will be allowed in home stadiums this season.

The Ivy League cancelation might seem like a decision felt in a vacuum, but it has the potential to derail the entire NCAA football season. Time will tell whether we’ll see college football in 2020, but it looks less likely with each crushing cancelation.

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Staff Writer

Jack Dougherty

Writing professionally since 2015, Jack Dougherty spent six years as a sportswriter with publications such as GoPSUSports.com, the Centre Daily Times, and the Associated Press before joining Sportscasting in 2020. He covers the NBA, the NFL, and the world of golf extensively and has added expertise on any team located in or around his hometown of Philadelphia. Yes, that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies.

When Jack isn’t writing about sports, he’s watching them or playing them as he regularly heads to the gym for some pickup basketball or the golf course to hit the links. He’s also an avid participant in the sports betting scene who worked at a casino sportsbook for a year and learned the ins and outs of the industry before bringing his expertise to Sportscasting with one excellent gambling recommendation after another.