Every Lost Game Is a Big Hit For App State and Charlotte Football

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With the 2020 college football season up in the air due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Appalachian State and UNC Charlotte are two Group of Five schools that are doing their best to manage the financial hits caused by coronavirus since March. 

App State, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, has already had to cut men's soccer and tennis, and men and women's indoor track and field, and now both schools are preparing for the possibility of losing key football games this year, or worse, the entire season.

For G5 schools that don't make as much revenue in comparison to Power Five schools, every lost game or season is a big hit. 

"I think there is a high level of concern," Charlotte 49ers director of athletics Mike Hill said on The Mac Attack this week. "We always want to be positive and optimistic and we're hopeful we will play but we also can't have our heads in the sand." 

The ACC and SEC are reportedly leaning towards that same decision, potentially leaving huge financial gaps on the Mountaineers and 49ers football schedules. 

The Ivy League, MEAC, CAA, Patriot League and Atlantic 10 have already canceled or postponed their fall sports seasons
"In some ways, the hits keeping hitting," App State athletics director Doug Gillin told The Mac Attack. "You go back to what already happened and it's very significant for us. Wisconsin was a guaranteed game and that represented significant revenue for us... All of those things start to add up. It's when will the next fall drop?"

The Mountaineers were scheduled to play Big 10 opponent Wisconsin and also lost Morgan State, who plays in the MEAC, on their schedule.

The 49ers will also have schedule gaps, having lost MEAC member, Norfolk State, and potentially ACC opponent Duke and SEC member Tennessee. 

"It's concerning because those are important games to our program," Hill said. "Competitively, the experience for our team and our fans, obviously there is a financial impact with the Tennessee game. The Duke game is a home and home. Those are important marquee opponents for us." 

NCAA president Mark Emmerts has already been criticized for his lack of leadership throughout this struggle and a lost college football season could greatly set back programs such as App State and Charlotte. 

"I'm hopeful that it stabilizes but I don't know if stabilize means all of a sudden you're back to where you were on March 10," Gillin said. 

Hill, who was hired in 2018, is just making sure the school is doing everything it can to slow the spread of the virus.

"There is a high level of concern," he said. "Six weeks ago when we had prior conversations, the numbers looked better in the community. We're proud of the fact that we have managed but we can't control what is going on in the world right now. But let's control to the best of our ability."

One thing is for sure: Whether there is a college football season or not, there will be a lot of work for G5 schools to recover moving forward.