Michigan Football: Jim Harbaugh supports games without fans

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh went on ESPN Wednesday morning and said he would be all for playing games without fans.

As far as the 2020 Michigan football season is concerned, there are plenty of unknowns. Will there be a college football season? Will fans be allowed? And will teams like Michigan be able to travel cross country to play a team like Washington?

Those are all questions we don’t have the answer to right now. Most coaches and college football experts seem to believe we will have a season at some point in 2020 or maybe even in the spring of 2021, depending on who you believe.

No one really knows, but if teams are willing and able to play games without fans, it would probably mean a quicker return and Jim Harbaugh, Michigan football’s head coach is all for it. Here’s what he said on ESPN this morning:

"“Heck yeah, I would be comfortable coaching a game without any fans. If the choice was to play in front of no fans or not play, I would choose play in front of no fans. Most of the … darn near every guy I’ve talked to on our team, that’s the way they feel about it.”"

Obviously, no Michigan football player wants to play in the Big House without 100,000-plus fans cheering them on but with uncertainty about campuses opening in the fall, it’s a possibility, especially in Michigan where the Governor said football stadiums shouldn’t be full.

The Wolverines are supposed to head to Seattle to take on Washington to open the season but that game is up in the air, even though both sides are working to make it happen according to Rivals. 

While Harbaugh and his players are willing to play with no fans in attendance, other coaches and athletic directors have said that’s not something they want to do, including Ohio State’s Gene Smith.

It’s obviously not ideal and for anyone watching the Bundesliga, a German soccer league over the weekend, it wasn’t spectacular with fans. But if the option was to have a 2020 football season without fans or not have one at all, then most would likely agree with Harbaugh’s point of view.

Knowing Harbaugh and his competitive nature, of course, he would rather play than not. I’m sure many other players and coaches feel the same way. Hopefully, it just doesn’t come to that.