Northern stadium makes progress, as college football hopes to do the same

Summer is almost here, and the hopeful start of the 2020 college football season isn't that far away either.

Of course, the starting of the college football season hinges on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and whether or not on-campus instruction will take place this fall.

In the case of Montana State University-Northern, the move toward football this fall does continue.

First, the construction of the on-campus stadium at MSU-Northern continues at an exciting pace. The bowling of the stadium is and the major dirt work is complete, and recently two more big projects began.

Construction crews have begun to build the stands that will occupy the north side of the stadium, as well as a press box, meanwhile, more work is being done at field level in the way of all-important drainage being built.

The stadium construction will continue through the summer, and last month, MSU-N Chancellor Greg Kegel said the Lights hope to make their stadium debut during one of their October home games.

Speaking of Kegel, he recently sent out an update on MSU-N as it relates to the ongoing conronavirus pandemic. In that update, Kegel noted that Northern is working hard to plan for on-campus instruction in the fall, and that the semester, as of now, is set to begin Aug. 31. A return to on-campus instruction would bode well for Northern football, as many leading experts have said that college sports will not resume this fall if students aren't allowed to matriculate on campus at the same time.

Of course, building toward football in the fall is important, and two big milestones recently will enable college teams to do that.

In Montana, Gov. Steve Bullock announced last week that Montana will enter Phase II of its re-opening plan June 1, and included in that is the end of a 14-day quarantine for out-of-state travelers and Montanans who are returning to the state after travel. The end of that regulation means that college athletes, football players in particular, can come back to state without having to self-isolate for 14 days.

Phase II also allows for gatherings to top up to 50 people, which will make it easier for college football programs to conduct summer workouts once players are back on campus. In the case of the NCAA, which will also lift its ban on college facilities June 1, college football players can spend a certain amount of hours per week with their strength and conditioning coaches, as well as in team organized meetings. Aside from that, player-run practices are allowed during the summer, and the end of the quarantine, as well as the easing of group restrictions in Montana, will make those two things a bit easier to do, though college programs, including Northerns, will still be asked to follow, and will certainly adhere to, all safety and social distancing guidelines still in place.

And while the coronavirus still is front and center in the United States, and there is an enormous amount of uncertainty surrounding the 2020 season, June 1 will make a time when college football, including at MSU-Northern, can start to return to at least a semblance of normalcy.