Will the Ivy League lead the way again?

     The Ivy League just might be an innovator again, this time pertaining to college football.

     The league, which includes such iconic institutions as Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth, was the first one to cancel its college basketball conference tournaments last spring, when it became apparent that the COVID-19 pandemic began its massive spread in America.

     Now, the Ivy League is considering taking its college football season and moving it to the spring, according to a report that was broadcast by Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter and published on ESPN.com June 29.

     They might be onto something.

     As much as college football fans want something as close to normal as possible for the fall season, it’s looking less and less likely. The ESPN.com story included references to the major college football programs that invited players to voluntary workouts and have since reported multiple positive tests. Clemson reported 47 positive results. Houston and Kansas State both shut down their workouts after numerous positives.

     Some schools have shut down their programs for the season. Morehouse College, a Division II school in Atlanta, is one. Two Division III schools have also decided not to play in 2020: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and Bowdoin College in Maine have also made that call.

     It’s getting harder to imagine how a college football season can happen without endangering hundreds of student athletes and coaches, not to mention the fans who dutifully follow their teams.

     But what if the Ivy League has the right idea? What if all of college football could simply say, “You know what? We’ll just play in the spring and hope things are better by then.”

     The Ivy League proposal – which admittedly has to jump through many hoops on many levels before it is approved – calls for seven games, conference only, played in April and May.

     It’s a little unfair to compare this league to others, since all of the schools are in relatively close proximity. The ESPN story stated that the longest bus trip within the conference, Penn to Dartmouth, would be six hours.

     Still, the Ivy League set the tone by cancelling its basketball tournament and being the first to do so.

     In the article, league executive director Robin Harris was quoted as saying, “It turned out the rest of the world followed in like 24 hours.”