It’s a ‘tough situation,’ but Jim Cole optimistic as Mercer plans for football season
Over his 10 seasons at the helm of Mercer University’s athletic operations, Jim Cole has made it a priority to be visible to his staff. That hasn’t changed over the two months of running the program amid a pandemic.
Cole still walks into the office to assume his duties as athletic director each day, and sees some of his coaches in passing as they perform duties while following safety guidelines. At any moment, his door is open and a coffee maker stays plugged in as a starter for any needed conversation.
The day-to-day routine doesn’t feel too different for Mercer’s athletics leader, other than all of his spring sports being buried. Once August rolls around and most college program’s big financial driver — football season — is set to begin, Cole anticipates a routine to resemble normalcy, too.
“We’re planning to play football unless somebody tells us otherwise,” Cole said in an interview with The Telegraph, who added those goals are in lockstep with the mission outlined by university president William Underwood.
Cole dedicates a large chunk of his time planning for an altered look inside Five Star Stadium, scheduled to begin Sept. 12 against Western Carolina. His focus remains on optimizing spaced-out seating arrangements for social distancing, exchange of money and tickets, and a safe concession setup based on guidelines set at the state and local levels.
Mercer, per a university email distributed to its students, plans to take a number of measures upon resuming face-to-face instruction (which is planned to begin during the summer term). Some of these guidelines include:
▪ An on-campus lab that is certified to process 1,000 COVID-19 tests per day and quarantine students if needed in isolated housing
▪ Adding numerous hand sanitizing stations throughout campus and providing students with a “limitless supply” of individual sanitizers
▪ Enhancing disinfecting mechanisms throughout campus
▪ Providing masks for all students, faculty and staff
▪ Providing digital thermometers for each student and implementing contactless checks in major facilities such as the library, dining hall and student center
▪ Arranging classrooms to appropriate social distancing guidelines (seats six feet apart)
Cole is confident in a safe resumption of on-campus activities once students return, and the arrival for athletes could come sooner. The NCAA Division I Council approved that voluntary athletic activities can resume June 1, according to a Wednesday night statement. For now that includes football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball.
“I know this is a moving target,” Cole said. “I’ll continue to make decisions that are best for Mercer University. We’ve got to get plans in place to keep our student-athletes and staff safe. I’m optimistic, although this is a tough situation.”
Mercer, along with every other college athletics program, felt the effects of a decreased revenue due to the cancellation of spring sports. Some smaller programs, including Southern Conference peer Furman, had to eliminate some athletic programs. Eighteen sports are conducted at Mercer, and Cole doesn’t plan to cut any of them due to the circumstances.
Cole believes the current arrangement of programs intertwines with the university’s core mission, and plans to take necessary measures to avoid compromising it. Mercer’s financial health details are not publicly available as a private institution, but an increase in funding was reported by the Mercer Athletic Foundation.
While sports will remain intact, Mercer searches for ways to uphold efficiency on a daily basis. One of Cole’s principles involves keeping things “lean,” such as a smaller administrative staff, in order to leave money within his respective teams and fulfilling those various needs.
“We look through each item on the budget line,” Cole said, citing examples of travel or the pyrotechnics when the football team enters the field. “There’s a process of analyzing every aspect of every operation. We might eliminate smaller things and are not looking at anything drastic right now.”
None of Cole’s employees have been furloughed or experienced pay cuts. Those measures haven’t yet been necessary, Cole said.
As long as the coffee maker stays on for productive dialogue to continue, a semblance of positivity remains within Mercer’s athletic grounds. Cole’s approach remains the same, but he’s ready for his job site to return to the sideline.
“We’ve kept our nose to the grindstone,” Cole said. “We intend to have sports back this fall.”