College football in Missouri and Kansas starts earlier in 2027. Heat will be even more concerning - KCUR
By Google News Sports ·
On a blistering Saturday in early September, a University of Iowa band member collapsed before halftime at a home game at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.
That same day, Sept. 5, 2026, a Husker football player vomited on the field during the University of Nebraska’s home opener in Lincoln. The player, Jahsear Whittington, was referred to flippantly online as “another victim of week 1.”
And, in Topeka, Kansas, something almost unheard of in football occurred that same afternoon: Washburn University and Colorado School of Mines tied. The Ichabods and Orediggers were knotted at 16 when the fourth quarter ended. But instead of continuing to overtime, the game was stopped because a wet-bulb globe temperature reading exceeded 92.1 degrees, the limit set by the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The heat index was 108 degrees.
At all three universities, some fans needed medical help due to extreme heat that Saturday. At the University of Iowa, the number of people needing assistance set a record.
As late-summer heat waves become more common in the Midwest — and college football seasons start even earlier in 2027 — athletes are at greater risk for heat-related illness and even death. So is everyone adjacent to the game: fans, cheerleaders, band members, dance team members, vendors and even mascots.
There are solutions, but many are expensive. Some would fundamentally change the traditions and nostalgia around a game that decades ago eclipsed baseball as America’s most beloved sport.
The push to expand the Division I college football season to “Week Zero” means that in 2027, more universities will start their seasons the weekend before the traditional opening week of the college football season, with games as early as Aug. 21.
“As someone who enjoys college…
Originally published by Google News Sports