ESPN's Chris Fowler: College football could be played February through May

The XFL may not provide fans with springtime football, but the NCAA could take its place next year. 

ESPN analyst Chris Fowler recently said that the possibility of the 2020 college football season moving to early 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic is "gaining momentum." 

Per Fowler, the campaign would, under this plan, begin in February and run through May. He also said that there needs to be a definitive timetable for determining the course of action.

"By the end of May, there has to be clarity," Fowler said. "If you’re going to have college campuses open, which you have to have if you’re going to bring the players back, that’s about the deadline."

"It seems unlikely, given the fact that the virus is cresting and the peak is at different places at different times, we’re suddenly going to be back to normal to get the crowd back in stadiums everywhere by late August and early September," Fowler added. 

Last week, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick told ESPN he would not want to see college football games played inside empty stadiums. 

"College football is about the cheerleaders and the band and the campus environment on game day," Swarbrick said. "We're interested in solutions that allow us to have a traditional game-day experience."

Eric Crawford of Louisville television channel WDRB explained how Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra, among others within collegiate sports, wants the 2020 season played in full, even if that means pushing its start back from this fall. If college football doesn't begin until February 2021, the season would directly conflict with March Madness and also the scheduled NHL and NBA postseasons. 

It's also worth noting Fowler, and anybody else commenting on the matter, is merely guessing during the virus outbreak that shut down sports around the world last month.