If football isn’t played in the fall because of the coronavirus, schools stand to lose millions more in revenue. At UW, around 15% of annual athletics revenue comes from football ticket sales, and more comes from football-heavy media deals.

“Those are things that we’ve got to be prepared for, be proactive in our thinking,” Alvarez said.

He said it was “foolish” for those in athletics to make bold predictions about quick returns to practice and competition. Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy told reporters this week his goal was to return to the team’s facilities by May 1.

Gundy’s school later refuted the comments, saying the coach wouldn’t make the decision on when the campus would reopen.

“I think our guys are using common sense,” Alvarez said of UW’s coaches. “They’re doing what they can right now. We’ll see how everything plays out.

“Whenever we can bring our people back to campus, we’ll be prepared to pick up things right there and move forward. And when it’s healthy for us to get fans in the stands, then we’ll do that. That’s the smart way to go about it, rather than to come out and make a statement that you’re going to project whether you have a season, whether you won’t have a season, when we’re going to play and all those type of things.”

Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.