Ohio State AD Gene Smith 'very concerned' there will be no college football

More and more people involved with college football are of the mindset there will be no fall season amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic.

Hours after ESPN's Paul Finebaum bemoaned that "the college football season is slipping away," the Big Ten announced that member schools will only play conference games if there are college seasons for fall terms.

Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith spoke with reporters Thursday afternoon and admitted he's not overly optimistic fans will watch college football in September.

"I am very concerned," Smith said of college fall sports, per ESPN Cleveland. "We need the virus to be managed differently than it is now because we are at a spike again."

Back in May, Smith said he was hopeful that up to 50,000 spectators could attend Buckeyes home games this fall. That was before states reopening establishments resulted in coronavirus spikes throughout the country.

Ohio State temporarily halted student-athlete workouts on Wednesday following positive coronavirus tests. The university declined to say how many individuals tested positive. Earlier that same day, the Ivy League canceled all fall sports for member schools due to the uncontrolled virus outbreak.

Also on Thursday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that 12 counties are at Red Alert Level 3 due to growing virus cases: