For a while now, the Ivy League has been considered the leader in college football innovation in a number of ways.
They were the first conference to adopt strict in-season contact rules, they've also tweaked kickoff rules to curb concussions, and earlier this year Brown University became the first to have a full-time on-the-field female coach.
Later this week, they'll have the opportunity to be a trailblazer in a different way.
On Wednesday, the conference will vote on whether to delay the start of football and other fall sports to the spring. A decision to push those fall sports to the spring would be the first such decision in college football. Around the country, state associations (like Michigan) are considering doing the same as a last resort.
"With return to campus protocols still being developed and introduced by Ivy League institutions, the council of Ivy League presidents intends to announce a final decision regarding the status of intercollegiate athletic activity for the Fall term on July 8. THat decision will be communicated first to Ivy League Director of Athletics, coaches, and student athletes, followed by the wider Ivy League Campus community, media, alumni and the public," the school shared in a statement last week.
Interestingly enough, Harvard announced today that all course instruction for the 2020-21 academic year will be delivered online to undergrad and graduate students, while 40% of undergrads will be welcomed back to campus for the fall.
If the Ivy League decides to push football to the spring and becomes the first of the dominos to fall, the pattern they've laid out with many of their other trailblazing changes sure makes it seem like it's only a matter of time before other leagues follow suit.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.