The start of the new college year comes with the start of the new fall sports season!

Don’t worry, all the stress and anxiety that comes with the new school year is cancelled out by the exciting touchdowns, nifty goals, and dangerous spikes from your friendly neighborhood college sport teams.

Well, that would be the case if the year wasn’t 2020. However, this stoppage doesn’t just concern sports.

Nothing is the same this year. Most of us haven’t even sat down in a restaurant to eat in six months. Come to think of it, I’m not even 100% sure that my name is Daniel.

Out of the 20 million U.S. students in the 2019 academic year, 460,000 of them played a collegiate sport. Assuming there are similar numbers for the 2020 year, that means that about 2.3% of all college kids play a sport.

For many of the 2.3%, the college sport that they play provides them the financial push that they need to attend college. No fall sports could end up meaning no college for some student-athletes.

In addition to a financial aid strain, no sports could also have a significant factor on the future of many college athletes. Although less than 2% of college athletes ever go pro, a cancellation of their sport could mean a cancellation of their future.

For example, several teams that play in the fall often entail the professional level of their sport having the annual player draft in the spring. If their season gets delayed until the spring, then any player that was draft eligible can no longer play, as they would have to prepare for the draft.

The sport that can be seen most effected by this is college football.

With very few college fall sports, it is important for all students to keep their head up and find other ways to entertain themselves. Keeping your body and mind active is an essential in this lethargic, covid-plagued world.

I go by a saying, “When it’s time to work, work hard. When it’s time to play, play hard.”

Sadly, this fall will entail a lot of the former, and very little of the latter. Keep your head up, my fellow college students.