As California is in the process of re-opening the economy, San Jose State Director of Athletics Marie Tuite spoke earlier this week on the game plan for resuming athletics at the University.
“I believe that we’re going to have Fall sports. There may not be many spectators in the stands,” Tuite said on KNBR’s The Mark Willard Show on Monday night.
Her thoughts are in stark contrast to the California College Athletic Association (CCAA), a Division 2 conference that is home to San Francisco State and Cal State East Bay. On May 12, the CCAA decided to suspend all Fall sports.
Tuite also mentioned that football is necessary for other Fall sports to be active. “If there’s no college football this Fall, there’s very little likelihood there will be any other sports, because 85 percent of the revenue derived in college athletics comes from the sport of football. Because football creates so much revenue for the department, it provides opportunity for the other 21 sports that we sponsor and in particular just in the area of scholarships.” Tuite also added that athletic scholarships cost nearly $7.5 million a year with the conference television contract serving as an important revenue source.
Tuite made her comments about resuming athletic activities at SJSU after California governor Gavin Newsom announced that professional sports can resume games without fans by June 1.
