Perception often is reality.
If impressionable high school student/athletes have a bad impression of a college program, sports, activity, club, they will veer away and look for seemingly greener pastures.
That situation may be the reality within the Northwestern University football program for highly-recruited high school players. Northwestern must make the right moves, work hard to be positive, and assure that hazing has stopped within the football program, if long-term recovery is to be developed.
High school athletics can be detrimental to schools, or, they can be positive steps in athletes’ and fans’ lives. The paths are available for every program in every corner of the State and Country, positive or negative. It is continually up to every program. Assumptions are available each year.
- Independence Day 2023 is in the history books. Sooner than later Summer fades into the next steps of life. In high school athletics, Autumn sports practices officially will start Monday, Aug. 7, less than three weeks away. The first football games may begin Thursday, Aug. 24. For information at the Illinois High School Association website, go to IHSA.org. The Voice will plan to run various high school football schedules over time for those who need to know. Stay tuned. See Bobby Narang’s coverage of excellent high programs, Benet Academy boys and girls basketball teams.
- High School Autumn sports this coming school year will include boys cross country, girls cross country, girls golf, boys golf, boys soccer, girls swimming and diving, girls tennis, and girls volleyball. It will keep participants, fans, and writers busy and interested in multiple sports and multiple programs. Most high school sports, by rule, can start competition prior to football games because of the physical preparation involved. Read contact preparation.
- College football programs will be allowed to start as early Saturday, Aug. 26 in what is seen as Week 0, with 10 games, to include Notre Dame University playing Navy in Dublin, Ireland. Week 1 will be Saturday, Sept. 2 for the most part, although the Big Ten Conference teams will play games Thursday, Aug. 31 (Nebraska at Minnesota, 7 p.m. on Fox television) and Friday, Sept. 1 (Central Michigan at Michigan State, 6 p.m. FS1). The remainder of the Big Ten games Week 1 will be Saturday, Sept. 2 (Utah State at Iowa, 11 a.m., FS1; Buffalo at Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m., FS1; Ohio State at Indiana, 2:30 p.m., CBS; Towson at Maryland, 2:30 p.m., BTN; Toledo at Illinois, 6:30 p.m., BTN; West Virginia at Penn State, 6:30 p.m. NBC; Sunday, Sept. 3, Northwestern at Rutgers, 11 a.m., CBS. Games will continue each week with each school taking n planned week off during the season, an excellent idea to rest injuries take deep breaths, and heal.
- The Big Ten Conference will continue in two divisions, East and West for this season prior to expansion in 2024 and eliminate the two divisions. In 2024 the there will be 16 teams, to include UCLA and USC. The first and second place teams at the end of the regular season in 2024 will play in the Big Ten Conference championship game. This season, Big Ten West: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin. Big Ten East teams: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers.
- The Division II and Division III college football teams, for the most part, will begin playing Saturday, Sept. 2. Those games will include: Aurora University, home to Hope University, 1 p.m. and North Central College at Roosevelt University in Arlington Heights, 1 p.m.; Wheaton University will begin Saturday, September 9 at home against Wisconsin-Oshkosh.