Report: Ivy League to postpone football season to 2021 due to pandemic

Roughly one week after Rutgers University president Jonathan Holloway suggested college football will have to wait until at least the spring because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Ivy League schools could become the first entities to make a decision that leads to a domino effect across the country.

On Monday, The Athletic's Bruce Feldman and Nicole Auerbach wrote that Ivy League coaches believe the conference will announce that fall sports, including football, are postponed until the spring on Wednesday.

Feldman and Auerbach added:

But the move wouldn’t simply be about eight schools. College athletic administrators throughout Division I told The Athletic that they expect a cascading effect following the Ivy League’s decision, adding that it essentially will give other FCS leagues — such as the Patriot League, to start — cover to make similar decisions. Those administrators expect the final decisions regarding a fall football season to then be made at the Group of 5 level and, by early August at the latest, at the Power 5 level.

Coronavirus spikes throughout the United States have led many to believe collegiate and professional team sports won't return to play at any point in the foreseeable future. In late June, SEC insider Paul Finebaum reported there was a "very good" chance the start of the college football season would be delayed. 

Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour recently referred to spring football as a "something is better than nothing" option. 

Major League Soccer is scheduled to start its "MLS is Back" tournament on Wednesday despite FC Dallas recently enduring a virus outbreak among personnel. The NHL, NBA, and MLB are set to return later in the month.