Today’s stadiums and arenas aren’t designed for pandemic social distancing.

“The social distancing thing would not work in the stadium,” said University of New Haven Sports Management Professor Gil Fried, an internationally recognized expert on stadium safety.

There are other variables to be considered in preparing stadiums and arenas for games, Fried noted.

The fans’ pandemic game-day experience, including such things as time-honored pregame tailgating rituals outside of the stadium, will be different as well, Fried said.

The struggling UConn football program recently inked a deal with CBS Sports Network, which prompted SUNY Assistant Professor Lindsey Darvin to tweet last week, “Subpar men’s contests have a much higher chance of being televised than top-25 women’s.”