Colorado Mesa University (CMU) could see football back in action this fall.
Fall sports were suspended until spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The possibility of football being played in the fall hasn’t been dismissed in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC).
“There were some conversations about the sport of football and that quick turn around of playing eight games in the spring and then playing eleven more next fall may not be the best thing for that health and safety issue,” Co-Athletic Director Bryan Rooks said.
Conversations discussing how football can be played this fall within the health and safety guidelines are ongoing.
The football program has implemented the family model to make sure that athletes are doing everything they can to keep players and staff.
The football program has 163 people involved, making them the largest organization on campus. Due to their size, they have to do things a little differently than other teams.
“We do things together when we are out on the field, we go in the locker rooms in rotations, we’ve got all these things to follow,” Jackson said. “Once we start competing, we will be the first team to get tested 72 hours prior to competition.”
The Maverick football team has been preparing all summer with voluntary workouts and practices. Official team practices started Sept. 1 to start preparations for the upcoming season.
“We’ve worked a lot over summer, and we have volunteered our hours to come in and work and learn the new systems and stuff,” redshirt junior defensive lineman Logan Bayus said.
The team is going through daily routines like they will be playing tomorrow. They are hitting weight rooms and practicing as if they will get the call to play tomorrow.
“We are lifting weights like we are ready for a game, practicing like we are ready for a game. So we’re just being ready, staying ready so we don’t have to get ready,” redshirt junior running back Isaac Maestas said.
Jackson hopes that the team can play most of their games this fall because he knows playing in the spring presents its own challenges.
“I think it’s detrimental to play eight games in the spring then turn back around in fall 2021 then play ten to twelve games or how many we can play,” Jackson said. “I’d prefer not to play more than two games in the spring because we don’t normally do that.
The Athletic Department and the football staff are working together to try to form a schedule for football in the fall. Both sides are working to play games within the protocols given by local health and the Center for Disease Control to protect against COVID-19.
“We would play the Tennessee Titans if they would come to Grand Junction,” Jackson said. “We are open to anybody our conference would let us play. We’d play some conference schools but we would play anybody, anytime, anywhere.”
Coaches and players would both like to play the season as soon as possible but understand that games in the spring may happen as well. The presidents and athletic council are expected to release schedules that potentially start games in mid-October in the next coming weeks.
