LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Western Kentucky Athletic Director Todd Stewart answered media questions for more than 25 minutes Thursday afternoon, and the vibe on college football proceeding during the novel coronavirus pandemic was clear:
WKU wants to play.
“There is no apprehension in our locker room at all,” Stewart said. “They want to play.”
The Hilltoppers want to play as many football games as possible. Stewart said no players have opted out of voluntary workouts because of virus fears.
He said the players have unanimously communicated to him and the WKU coaching staff that they want to play football, which the Hilltoppers are scheduled to do Sept. 3 when Chattanooga is booked to visit Bowling Green.
The Hilltoppers want to play at Louisville on Sept. 26, too.
They wanted to play at Indiana on Sept. 12. Stewart said that he was surprised when the Big Ten eliminated non-league games last week, pushing the WKU-IU game off the schedule.
But he said Indiana Athletic Director Scott Dolson called him after the announcement, and the two had an excellent discussion. Stewart said the final two games of the three-game WKU-IU contract will proceed as scheduled.
He said he and Dolson will talk next week to decide how the schools will handle the canceled game. He said he did not want to speculate about whether the game would be moved to another season or if there would be a financial settlement.
Don’t forget basketball. The Hilltoppers also want to play basketball. To be precise, Stewart said WKU will always want to play the University of Kentucky in basketball.
He said Rick Stansbury’s program was open to playing in Rupp Arena any time. He acknowledged it was unlikely the Wildcats would appear in Diddle Arena, even though Louisville, Wisconsin and Arkansas have all played in Bowling Green in the last six years.
Brows were furrowed across WKU when Kentucky announced its 2020-21 schedule included a pair of uninspiring opponents from Conference USA — Marshall and UAB — but not the Hilltoppers, who have won two of their half dozen games against the Wildcats.
But I digress.
Before we fuss about basketball, we should finish fussing about football. It’s the sport scheduled to start practice in less than three weeks. It’s the sport that has been scrambled by the Big Ten and Pac-12 cancellations of non-league games.
It’s the sport that pays the bills.
“I’m still remain optimistic that we can play football this fall,” Stewart said.
Stewart said his optimism was fueled by the commitment of his players, by progress pro sports have made and by data.
“First and foremost, our players want to play,” Stewart said. “They are very excited to be back on campus. They’ve made it abundantly clear that they feel comfortable and they want to play ...
“From their standpoint, there is no apprehension whatsoever.”
He said only one person 30 or under has died from COVID-19 in Kentucky, while 91% of the deaths have been people 60 or over.
“I’m going to be optimistic until I can’t be,” Stewart said. “I’m just looking at the facts ... I’m just confident that way beyond Western Kentucky that our nation can manage through this.”
Like every athletic director, Stewart will have a financial challenge to manage. If the ACC follows the Big Ten’s lead and cuts non-conference games, WKU would face a financial shortfall of more than $1.15 million from losing those two road checks.
Stewart said the goal was to add an opponent to replace IU and play a 12-game schedule. But this situation changes during every ZOOM conference call.
“I am a fan of football season being played under a different format than no football season being played,” Stewart said. “If things change, and they look a little different, that’s still better than no season.”
Stewart said he has had conversations with top donors about finances. He instituted cuts of more than $1 million last month but said with 89 full-time employees WKU had one of the leanest budgets in Conference USA.
“All the easy cuts have long since been made,” Stewart said. “Since 2012, we’ve had $7 million in reductions ... If we had to do anything more, it would just be a very challenging situation for us.”
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