While concern mounts as to whether the 2020 college football season will begin on time, fall sports have already been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Slippery Rock University athletic director Paul Lueken indicated that discussions among NCAA Division II commissioners have been ongoing and may involve trimming some games from the 2020-21 athletic schedule.

“This would concern all sports, all seasons,” Lueken said. “Different scenarios are being presented.The sports that play fewer games would have fewer cuts.

“For example, football may be shortened by one or two games in the fall whereas field hockey and volleyball would lose more games.”

The idea is aimed toward trimming athletic costs as schools have taken a financial hit from the COVID-19 outbreak.

“One of the big things would be travel costs,” Lueken said.

PSAC Commissioner Steve Murray said this scenario is “financially motivated” and has nothing to do with a possible delay of athletics if college campuses are unable to reopen in the fall.

“It goes without saying that if schools are not having in-person learning on campus, there will be no sports being played,” Murray said.

“We may trim the football season by two games. Basketball may go from 26 games to 22. All sports would be affected. We're trying to get something finalized so people can budget, but it's difficult right now because so much is still unknown.”

Division II commissioners have asked athletic trainers to have a plan in place by June 1 that would provide a safe return for athletes in terms of “normal levels of sports medicine, training and testing,” Murray said.

NCAA rules allow for 24 days of practice before a football team can play its first game.

“There can be no less than that,” Murray said. “Division 1 feels they need six weeks before the first game. Divsion II football coaches are lobbying for an extra three days of (preseason) practice this year, giving them 27.”

Reporting date for SRU football players is Aug. 10.

But this will not be a normal preseason.

“Nobody had any spring football,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “We had an advantage over a lot of teams in that we have a lot of starters coming back, but we don't even have our two-deep chart set yet.

“When our guys do come in, we're going to have to work out gradually at first, making sure everyone is in shape and ready to go. Incoming freshmen will have as good a chance at landing a spot as red-shirt freshmen who had no spring ball.

“It's going to be different. Things will not come together as quickly,” Lutz added.

Division II football is radically different from Division I in one respect.

“We're not driving the economy,” Murray said. “We're not an essential thing at this level. We have the ability to adjust quickly in whatever we decide to do.”

Lueken agreed.

“If I told Shawn on Aug. 9 that he had the OK to bring his players in on Aug. 10 ... He would have them here,” Lueken said.

Even if social distancing measures still had to be heeded.

“We can run, sprint, condition, get people in shape while maintaining social distancing, even if our weight room couldn't be open,” Lutz said.

Murray acknowledged that social distancing “can be practiced and controlled in a classroom much easier than in a locker room.

“Golf and cross country appear feasible at this point. Other sports? I just don't know,” the commissioner added.

He emphasized that once the July 4 holiday passes, the NCAA Division II commissioners will be looking to put some type of fall plan in place.

One possibility includes playing the entire 2020-21 sports season from January to early July, 2021. The 2020 football season would be played in the spring under that scenario.

“That would be one of the worst-case scenarios,” Lueken said. “The worst would be not playing any fall sports at all.

“It would be tricky because a lot of teams at our schools share facilities.”

The January to July scenario is only a preliminary idea. No logistics or details have been addressed as to how it would play out or work out.

“We're determined to have all of our sports have their season at some point,” Murray said. “I can't imagine not having one.”

But at this point, is the PSAC commissioner concerned about college football not starting on time?

“I'm very concerned,” Murray said.