Spurrier, Holtz speak out against college football without fans

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Two of the most notable coaches in South Carolina history are speaking out against the possibility of playing a college football season without fans in attendance.

In separate interviews, former coaches Steve Spurrier and Lou Holtz both said having college football without fans in the audience — because of COVID 19 — shouldn’t be entertained.

“You gotta have fans in the stands,” said Spurrier. “I don’t know how you have a college football season without fans. They make it what it is.”

Earlier Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert and one of the faces of the United States’ fight against the coronavirus, says the only way professional sports will happen this summer is by holding events without fans in attendance and by keeping players in hotels.

That could very well stretch to this fall, impacting college football and the NFL.

“I think personally it’s ill-conceived,” said Holtz. “It’s the pregame festivities at South Carolina, the fans that tailgate… you could go on and on.”

Fauci’s comments come a week after 72% of Americans polled by Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business said they would not attend if sporting events resumed without a vaccine for the coronavirus. Just 13% of Americans said they would feel comfortable attending games the way they had in the past. A second poll this week had a slight plurality, 46% to 36%, saying the NFL season should not open as scheduled in early September.

“Hopefully we’ll reach a point where — those most vulnerable to the virus — they better be careful about their health,” said Holtz. “But everybody else, you decide if you want to go. Hopefully we can make that choice available to people so they can choose themselves.”

ESPN contributed to the writing of this article.