Lyons: Targeting a normal football season

Hancock Stadium
Will fans be allowed at Hancock Stadium this fall? ISU athletic director Larry Lyons said time will tell. (WJBC file photo)

 

By Neil Doyle

NORMAL – The NCAA put all spring sports on hold this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but what will the fall look like?

Illinois State University athletic director Larry Lyons said those conversations are starting on a national level. In particular, people are wondering about the upcoming football season.

“I think everybody is targeting having a normal football season,” Lyons told WJBC’s Scott Miller. “So what is the right time to bring football players back to give them the chance to get ready for the season? Those discussions are taking place right now.”

Lyons said athletic departments will have to work in conjunction with the institutions and follow the guidance of state leaders.

Some other sports hoping for a normal return this fall include volleyball, soccer, and cross country. As for fans at Hancock Stadium – Lyons said time will tell.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…