A network analysis of the 2020 college football schedule using NetworkX and musings about difficult decisions in college football

When Notre Dame paused in-person learning on Aug. 17th, it was a response to an explosion of positive cases of COVID-19. I questioned how this move would affect the continuation of football activities if the campus was closed to students. Thankfully, after returning to in-person learning, the numbers on the Notre Dame dashboard show positive tests have fallen and remained stable. However, the threat of another cluster remains, especially as classes and football present a taste of normalcy. Other football powerhouses did not take such swift action. For example, the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa (aka Alabama) continued in person learning through a major cluster. The UA system released a report with some optimism on a drop of weekly cases. This is good news and hopefully that trend continues, however, 6.1% of the student population at Alabama has already tested positive. That’s a lot. The burning question to administrators of the school is what amount of positive tests are enough to shut campus?

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