@adbono posted:University administrators are risk averse and want to avoid the possibility of lawsuits should there be a death related to a program at their school. They will err on the side of caution whether its a logical decision or not. None of like it but the future of college sports (in the near term) is very bleak.
I think that university administrators are probably just as worried that some non-athlete student dies and the university gets sued. But in that case, they can say that the student didn't have to come to campus, that there were online options, or the student could take the semester off. In accounts from places like Colorado State, ADs are particularly worried that players are being pressured to play, when they would rather not, and what if something happens to one player whose family says he felt he had to play. Scholarships complicate things - they can't necessarily just walk away, no matter what the NCAA says. So there are many issues involved.