Three takeaways from Rick George's conference call with the media

BOULDER — Colorado Buffaloes athletic director Rick George spoke with reporters about the Buffs’ response to the COVID-19 outbreak over a conference call Tuesday afternoon.

Here’s what we learned:

He hasn’t reviewed the basketball season

The Buffs’ 2019-20 basketball campaign ended on a disappointing note but George hasn’t had a chance to break down what went wrong with head coach Tad Boyle.

“We came back together on the plane from Las Vegas so Tad and I spoke briefly, but we didn’t really do a deep dive into the end of the season,” George said. “We will do that at the appropriate time. Obviously, with the things that transpired between that game on Wednesday night and where we are today, my focus has really been on the student-athletes and what we’re doing operationally in our department to complement what the campus is doing.”

One important point is one of Boyle’s bonuses.

Boyle is due a bonus if Colorado makes it to the NCAA Tournament but since the tournament will not be played, it’s unclear whether CU will give him the money. The Buffs were locks to make the tournament, so Boyle likely deserved the money, but since the team won’t be playing they’ll miss out on their share of the $1.7 million per game played that the Pac-12 would earn for CU’s appearance.

George and Boyle haven’t had a chance to talk about the issue.

The spring football schedule is still up in the air

Colorado was supposed to open the 2020 spring football season on Monday but decided to hold off on bringing the team together until March 29 at the earliest.

Now, two Power 5 conferences have canceled all practices on top of canceling the remaining competitions this school year. The Pac-12 hasn’t made the move yet, but it could be on the way.

“We all know that this is a very challenging environment that we’re in today, and I can tell you that the health and wellness of our student-athletes is our highest priority,” George said.

As of now, the Buffs are essentially living day-to-day. George has a standing, daily conference call with the rest of the Pac-12 athletic directors. He meets with a national group of athletic directors a few times per week.

“What we learned very quickly is we’ve got to be very adaptive and when we can be proactive, we should be,” George said.

Colorado’s plans for spring football are flexible but if the Buffs can’t get onto the field until the late spring, George would ask the Pac-12 and NCAA to allow practices in May or June.

“We certainly would push for that given (that the Buffs have) a new staff and want to get prepared for the upcoming (season),” he said.

Student-athletes may be given a fifth year of eligibility

The NCAA is planning on giving student-athletes who compete in spring sports a fifth year of eligibility, but just how the policy will be implemented is still unknown.

“If you just think about the complexity of that issue, each sport has scholarship limits,” George said. “Most sports have already recruited for the upcoming year to supplant those scholarships that are utilized by a senior.”

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, but there are plenty of solutions that need to be found. One question is whether student-athletes who compete in winter sports will be given relief.

“I don’t think you are going to see a solution in the next few weeks,” George said. “I think that is going to take a little bit of time to vet all of that relative to both the winter sports and the spring sports.”

These are some of the discussions that are still ongoing.

“Some of the spring seasons hadn’t even started and then some had gone through about 20 percent. I know our conference is working on some conversations with that, with the NCAA. I know they are having daily calls with athletic directors and faculty athletics representatives and compliance directors, so there will be a lot of really good input on that subject.”